Survival of the fittest is fine, so long as youâre the one on top ⦠but the family that has everything is about to lose it all â¦
The Montagues have found themselves at the centre of the tonâs rumour mill, with lords and ladies alike claiming the family is not what it used to be.
The mysterious death of the heir to the Dukedom, and the arrival of an unknown woman claiming he fathered her son, is only the tip of the iceberg in a family where scandal upstairs and downstairs threatens the very foundations of their once powerful and revered dynasty â¦
August 2012
THE WICKED LORD MONTAGUE â Carole Mortimer
September 2012
THE HOUSEMAIDâS SCANDALOUS SECRET â Helen Dickson
October 2012
THE LADY WHO BROKE THE RULES â Marguerite Kaye
November 2012
LADY OF SHAME â Ann Lethbridge
December 2012
THE ILLEGITIMATE MONTAGUE â Sarah Mallory
January 2013
UNBEFITTING A LADY â Bronwyn Scott
February 2013
REDEMPTION OF A FALLEN WOMAN â Joanna Fulford
March 2013
A STRANGER AT CASTONBURY â Amanda McCabe
Duke of Rothermere
Castonbury Park
Jamie,
After months of heartache and uncertainty, seeing you again still leaves a hole in my heart. Itâs hard for me to admit, but youâre not the son I once knew and, whilst you bear a physical resemblance to Jamie Montague, I cannot be certain that you are really him. The pain and the darkness in your eyes is consuming you. I thought that learning what had happened would bring this family closure, but my biggest fear now is that your return to Castonbury Park will turn a contained scandal into one thatâs rapidly getting out of control.
Father
AMANDA McCABE wrote her first romance at the age of sixteenâa vast epic, starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class. Sheâs never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA>®, Romantic Times Reviewersâ Choice Award, the Booksellers Best, the National Readersâ Choice Award and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Oklahoma, with a menagerie of two cats, a pug and a bossy miniature poodle, and loves dance classes, collecting cheesy travel souvenirs and watching the Food Networkâeven though she doesnât cook.Visit her at http://ammandamccabe.tripod.com and http://www.riskyregencies.blogspot.com
Previous novels by the same author:
TO CATCH A ROGUE* TO DECEIVE A DUKE* TO KISS A COUNT* A NOTORIOUS WOMAN + A SINFUL ALLIANCE + HIGH SEAS STOWAWAY + THE SHY DUCHESS THE TAMING OF THE ROGUE
And in Mills & Boon>® HistoricalUndone!eBooks:
SHIPWRECKED AND SEDUCED + TO BED A LIBERTINE THE MAIDâS LOVER TO COURT, CAPTURE AND CONQUER GIRL IN THE BEADED MASK UNLACING THE LADY IN WAITING ONE WICKED CHRISTMAS
*The Chase Muses trilogy + linked by character
Apart from your own, which other heroine did you empathise with the most?
That is such a hard question! I was really fascinated by everyone elseâs characters and the way they developedâboth in their own stories and as characters in the series as a whole. I did really admire Phaedra in Unbefitting a Ladyâshe seemed like such a free spirit, determined to follow her own heart and passions wherever they would lead her. Plus, she was my heroâs favourite baby sister!
Which Montague do you think Mrs Stratton the housekeeper let get away with the most?
I loved Mrs Stratton! She almost seemed like a second mother to the Montague children, watching them grow up and showing them affection when their own parents could not. I think maybe she had a soft spot for my hero, Jamieâhe was the oldest and the most solemn (even when he was a child!), and she might have felt just a bit sorry for him â¦
Which stately home inspired Castonbury Park and why?
We decided to take Kedleston Hall as our model for Castonbury. Itâs a large, grand, built-to-impress house, unusual in many of its architectural features, and has extensive and beautiful grounds (with lots of places for secret romantic meetings!). There is a great deal of information and many images available and also several of the authors had visited, so it seemed like a good spot for our characters. (And in spirit itâs a lot like Downton Abbey, a place that has its own character.)
Where did you get the inspiration for Jamie and Catalina?
I love the idea of wartime romanceâa whirlwind, passionate affair surrounded by danger and uncertaintyâand when Jamie first came into my mind I could see him as a man who would be surprised to find love at such a time and would be even more passionate for that. I also love the country of Spain, its landscape and turbulent history, so I loved it when a Spanish heroine appeared who was perfect for him.
What are you researching for your forthcoming novel?
I am starting another Regency series, centred around a family at the centre of a small, almost Cranford-esque village! I canât give away too much about it yet, but I am loving the characters and the trouble they can get into in such an unexpected place â¦
What would you most like to have been doing in Regency times?