Part of Series
Maili Craig finally has the London Season she has always wanted, but finds it is not what she dreamed. As the orphaned daughter of a country gentleman, she does not rank high enough for the ton’s gentlemen, and her forthright manner earns her criticism. At the last ball of the season, she meets a stranger, who claims to be her aunt and invites Maili to visit. Hugh Dickerson, Duke of Cavenray has finally agreed to wed in order to provide an heir. However, he is none too interested in his mother’s choices and finds himself tempted by a beauty of lower birth. He flees to his country estate to forget the beauty and hide from his mother. Instead of respite, he finds his property is being used by smugglers, and the very beauty he wanted to forget is visiting her new relatives in the neighboring estate. The unlikely pair is brought together by fate, but can they overcome their pride and see the other in a better light, and the possibilities before them, as danger threatens their very lives?
Author
Like many writers, Elizabeth Johns was first an avid reader, though she was a reluctant convert. It was Jane Austen's clever wit and unique turn of phrase that hooked Johns when she was "forced" to read Pride and Prejudice for a school assignment. She began writing when she ran out of her favorite author’s books and decided to try her hand at crafting a Regency romance novel. Her journey into publishing began with the release of Surrender the Past, book one of the Loring-Abbott Series. Johns makes no pretensions to Austen’s wit but hopes readers will perhaps laugh and find some enjoyment in her writing. Johns attributes much of her inspiration to her mother, a retired English teacher. During their last summer together, Johns would sit on the porch swing and read her stories to her mother, who encouraged her to continue writing. Busy with multiple careers, including a professional job in the medical field, author and mother of small children, Johns squeezes in time for reading whenever possible.
