The last thing Camden Huxley wants is to sort out his family’s sprawling Yorkshire estate, along with its squabbling tenants, retainers, and neighbors. Cam nonetheless turns his back on his greatest passion–trade–and travels to Lorne Hall, telling himself all the while that he’s merely making the duty visit required of any new titleholder. Matters at the Hall are in serious disarray, but what alarms Cam even more are the matchmaking ambitions aimed in his direction. Miss Alice Singleton, granddaughter of the antediluvian estate steward, is a voice of reason and common sense, and she’s also sweet, kind, and possessed of a wicked sense of humor. To Cam’s bafflement, Alice alone seems to have no interest in becoming his baroness. For her part, Alice is indeed smitten with the new baron, but she has learned to avoid entanglements of any kind, and she is determined to make no exceptions even if this time, she really has fallen in love. Cam and Alice will have to overcome old secrets and new betrayals, and learn to trust their hearts and each other if they are to have any chance of a shared and joyous future.
Author
Grace Burrowes started writing as an antidote to empty nest and soon found it an antidote to life in general. She is the sixth out of seven children, raised in the rural surrounds of central Pennsylvania. Early in life she spent a lot of time reading romance novels and practicing the piano. Her first career was as a technical writer and editor in the Washington, DC, area, a busy job that nonetheless left enough time to read a lot of romance novels. It also left enough time to grab a law degree through an evening program, produce Beloved Offspring (only one, but she is a lion), and eventually move to the lovely Maryland countryside. While reading yet still more romance novels, Grace opened her own law practice, acquired a master's degree in Conflict Transformation (she had a teenage daughter by then) and started thinking about writing.... romance novels. This aim was realized when Beloved Offspring struck out into the Big World a few years ago. ("Mom, why doesn't anybody tell you being a grown-up is hard?") Grace eventually got up the courage to start pitching her manuscripts to agents and editors. The query letter that resulted in "the call" started out: "I am the buffoon in the bar at the RWA retreat who could not keep her heroines straight, could not look you in the eye, and could not stop blushing—and if that doesn't narrow down the possibilities, your job is even harder than I thought." (The dear lady bought the book anyway.) To contact Grace, email her at graceburrowes@yahoo.com.
