“He is the core of all my hate—and all my love.” Welcome to book 1 in the the exciting new series from USA Today Bestselling author Mary Lancaster. Two years ago, the charismatic young Earl of Wenning abandoned his bride on their wedding night, leaving her to face the humiliation and inevitable suspicion of guilt alone, while he pursued his diplomatic ambitions abroad. But the resilient Grace refused to crumble. Setting aside her bewildered grief, she has become a fashionable socialite living on the edge of scandal, surrounded by male admirers. Now, she awaits her husband’s return with a little revenge in mind. However, a foolish wager has caused her to lose his wedding gift during a masquerade ball at the infamous Maida Pleasure Gardens, and she is worried it could be used against her. And, by the time Wenning comes home, she has befriended a mysterious stranger she met at Maida whom she believes might just serve as her means of revenge. The earl and the countess circle each other in a wary, dangerous dance where either might win—or ruin what’s left of their marriage. Meanwhile, a more deadly enemy stalks them. Can the couple rise above the past and unite before death parts them forever?

“Exactly how desperate are you?” Escaping to Maida Pleasure Gardens for an evening of anonymous moonlight waltzing is bliss for Viola Dove, compared to the strained formality of her first London Season. But the excitement reaches fever pitch when an escaped convict is pursued through the gardens—wounded and in desperate need of help. So, of course, Viola hides him in her family’s cellar. Lord Dominic Gorse, the rakehell son of a marquis, is ill-suited to confinement, whether in Newgate or a surprisingly comfortable cellar, cared for by the beautiful, intriguing Viola, a parcel of lively children, and a very large puppy. Viola sees beneath Dominic’s layers of charm and trouble to the man beneath, and sets out to help prove his innocence. But is she right to trust the handsome, volatile stranger with whom she is falling hopelessly in love? Is he using her for his own ends, or is there a deeper, deadlier deceit at work? One they need to expose to have any chance of happiness...

Love at first smile… Charmingly wicked, Johnny Winter has spent his adulthood drifting from scandal to scandal. However, inheriting the dukedom of Dearham has him considering his responsibilities, one of which is to right the wrong done to a distant cousin twenty years ago. His search takes him to Maida Pleasure Gardens, where he is distracted by an unusual and intriguing beauty. The first time Kitty saw the gentleman with the bone-melting smile, she lost her heart. When, more than a year later, she finally dances with him, the moment is spoiled by having to tie him up at gunpoint. For Kitty is the niece of the infamous Bill Renwick, who owns Maida Gardens and lives too close to the edges of the law. And Johnny has seen too much. So begins an impossible attraction – made all the more dangerous by the duke’s belief that she is his long-lost relation. Torn between the only family she knows and her longing for the duke, Kitty’s quandary is taken out of her hands by an attempt on her life. Learning to be a lady in the duke’s household brings further complications, not least her increasing obsession with her unconventional host, the man behind the mask he shows the world. The duke sees beyond the mystery of Kitty’s origins, but can she? And having finally found the love of his life, can he keep her safe and still find a way for them to be together?

Thief or gentleman, he is uniquely dangerous! Governess Matty Mather has grown to love her pupils of the Dove family. When a borrowed ring is stolen from Catherine Dove and her friend, now in their first London Season, the redoubtable Matty goes alone to Maida Pleasure Gardens to confront the thief – who turns out to be outrageous, charming and utterly mysterious. Francisco de Salgado has been long employed by the British government to take care of insoluble problems, both home and abroad. Returning to England to resign before he loses his soul entirely, he accepts one final mission that he regards as both foolish and beneath him. Making a rare mistake, he returns to Maida to right it – only to be faced with a severe young woman demanding he return the ring he stole. So begins an attraction that is both unwise and irresistible. Mutual suspicion dissolves eventually into an alliance to discover who is behind a plot to overthrow the British government and why. And the eventual solution will involve several old friends from the previous Pleasure Garden books. Read Free in Kindle Unlimited! Pleasure Garden Unmasking the Hero Unmasking Deception Unmasking Sin Unmasking the Duke Unmasking the Thief