There was an empty drawing room, and a dining room with only half the chairs that the table required, but at least this room offered him a quiet, peaceful place to retreat, to read, to attend to his correspondence.Īt the moment, however, it was not feeling terribly quiet or peaceful-not with his father seated on the opposite side of his desk, frowning at him in that way he had done since Julian was a boy. They were in the study of Julian’s recently purchased home on Duke Street-one of the only rooms in the house, in fact, that was fully furnished and decorated. But he was quite certain that there was still a fair amount of brandy sloshing around in his head, which might explain why it took him several repetitions to understand his father’s demand.Īn incredulous laugh escaped Julian, causing the lines on his father’s face to deepen. Oh, he wasn’t well and truly foxed it was, after all, midmorning, and he’d been able to catch at least a few hours of sleep in the wake of a round of energetic if ultimately uninspiring bedsport, so he was reasonably coherent. In retrospect, things might have gone better if Julian hadn’t been drunk.

With “an arch sense of humor and a marvelously witty voice that rivals the best of the Regency authors” ( Entertainment Weekly), Martha Waters crafts another fresh romantic comedy that for fans of Julia Quinn and Evie Dunmore.

But when a fleeing actress, murderous kitten, and meddlesome friends enter the fray, Emily and Julian will have to confront the fact that their marriage of convenience comes with rather inconvenient feelings. But they soon realize they have very different plans for their marriage-Julian wants Emily to remain a society wife, while Emily discovers an interest in the theater. With a marriage of convenience, Emily will use her society connections to promote the theater to a more respectable clientele and Julian will take her out from under the shadows of her father’s unsavory associates. When their lives intersect at a house party, Lord Julian hatches a plan to benefit them both. Meanwhile, Lord Julian Belfry, the second son of a marquess, has scandalized society as an actor and owner of a theater-the kind of establishment where men take their mistresses, but not their wives.

However, due to her father’s large debts, her only suitor is the persistent and odious owner of her father’s favorite gambling house. Lady Emily Turner has been a debutante for six seasons now and should have long settled into a suitable marriage. The “sweet, sexy, and utterly fun” (Emily Henry, author of People We Meet on Vacation) Regency Vows series continues with a witty, charming, and joyful novel following a seasoned debutante and a rakish theater owner as they navigate a complicated marriage of convenience. “Sure to delight Bridgerton fans.” - USA TODAY

Martha waters to marry and to meddle