Lord Hawkesbury's Players
6 primary works
Book 1
Previously available as A Secret Life.
Prepare for a romp through Elizabethan England, where finding love is written in the stars... Comely, courageous Minerva “Min” Peabody, a poor but passionate playwright, is determined to make her mark. Ill-fated to live in Elizabethan England, when women—deemed the inferior sex—most assuredly did not write plays, Min will prevail. With her finished play in hand, she implores Roger Style, a local theatre manager in London, to read it. Though desperate in his own right—due to a string of commercial failures—all Style sees before him is a woman playwright, and refuses to even look at her work. On impulse, Min changes her story, claiming the play was written by the man standing across the street, and secures the manager’s agreement to review it. But her choice of surrogate, Robert “Blake” Blakewell, promises to be a mixed blessing indeed. Blake, a handsome blue-eyed sea captain with his own agenda, is a man with a mysterious past, a pair of breathtaking shoulders, and an irresistible aura of intrigue. Though he agrees to her outlandish proposal, she has to wonder, as she gets lost in his eyes, what in the world she’s gotten herself into. Blake’s own mission? To ferret out the cad in Roger Style’s theatre company responsible for getting his sister with child. And when that objective threatens to derail Min’s nascent career, his dilemma is a daunting one: protect either his family’s honor or the woman who’s slowly but surely softening his heart and winning his love. Funny, fast-paced, and with a deliciously dark edge, Her Secret Desire speaks to any woman who’s ever had to fight for her dreams in a world that just won’t take her seriously.
Prepare for a romp through Elizabethan England, where finding love is written in the stars... Comely, courageous Minerva “Min” Peabody, a poor but passionate playwright, is determined to make her mark. Ill-fated to live in Elizabethan England, when women—deemed the inferior sex—most assuredly did not write plays, Min will prevail. With her finished play in hand, she implores Roger Style, a local theatre manager in London, to read it. Though desperate in his own right—due to a string of commercial failures—all Style sees before him is a woman playwright, and refuses to even look at her work. On impulse, Min changes her story, claiming the play was written by the man standing across the street, and secures the manager’s agreement to review it. But her choice of surrogate, Robert “Blake” Blakewell, promises to be a mixed blessing indeed. Blake, a handsome blue-eyed sea captain with his own agenda, is a man with a mysterious past, a pair of breathtaking shoulders, and an irresistible aura of intrigue. Though he agrees to her outlandish proposal, she has to wonder, as she gets lost in his eyes, what in the world she’s gotten herself into. Blake’s own mission? To ferret out the cad in Roger Style’s theatre company responsible for getting his sister with child. And when that objective threatens to derail Min’s nascent career, his dilemma is a daunting one: protect either his family’s honor or the woman who’s slowly but surely softening his heart and winning his love. Funny, fast-paced, and with a deliciously dark edge, Her Secret Desire speaks to any woman who’s ever had to fight for her dreams in a world that just won’t take her seriously.
Book 1
Book 2
Previously available as A Secret Desire.
In Shakespearean London, falling in love just became the greatest scandal of all... Just when Leo, Baron Warhurst, thinks his family’s financial situation can’t get any worse, he discovers that his unwed sister is pregnant. The Warhurst estate is already crumbling thanks to Leo’s father, and unless Leo can make a match with a wealthy heiress, his family will be ruined. Such are the dire straits that bring the ambitious nobleman to the White Swan Inn, where he must suffer the indignity of asking a common seamstress for help spying on his sister’s lover. Yet Alice Croft is anything but common. She is low-born, yes, but also strong-willed, clever, confident, and bears a luminous beauty Leo cannot ignore. Leo knows that even the mere rumor of a liaison between them could ruin his marriage prospects, but the harder he fights against her, the stronger their attraction grows—until Leo is forced to choose between the woman who stole his heart and the family that demands his honor. In this unforgettable follow-up to Her Secret Desire, Lord Warhurst’s turbulent love story unfolds with all the wit, passion, and drama that C. J. Archer’s growing legion of fans have come to expect.
In Shakespearean London, falling in love just became the greatest scandal of all... Just when Leo, Baron Warhurst, thinks his family’s financial situation can’t get any worse, he discovers that his unwed sister is pregnant. The Warhurst estate is already crumbling thanks to Leo’s father, and unless Leo can make a match with a wealthy heiress, his family will be ruined. Such are the dire straits that bring the ambitious nobleman to the White Swan Inn, where he must suffer the indignity of asking a common seamstress for help spying on his sister’s lover. Yet Alice Croft is anything but common. She is low-born, yes, but also strong-willed, clever, confident, and bears a luminous beauty Leo cannot ignore. Leo knows that even the mere rumor of a liaison between them could ruin his marriage prospects, but the harder he fights against her, the stronger their attraction grows—until Leo is forced to choose between the woman who stole his heart and the family that demands his honor. In this unforgettable follow-up to Her Secret Desire, Lord Warhurst’s turbulent love story unfolds with all the wit, passion, and drama that C. J. Archer’s growing legion of fans have come to expect.
Book 2
Book 3
He’s dark and dangerous…and she can’t stay away… Seven years have passed since Rafe Fletcher fled London. Now he has returned to make amends, only to find his brother, James, bound for debtors’ prison. Unable to clear James’s debts, Rafe does the next best thing, promising to watch over his brother’s betrothed in his absence. There’s just one problem: the shy, sweet girl he once knew has grown into an alluring young woman—one who wants absolutely nothing to do with a man like him. Lizzy Croft isn’t fooled by Rafe’s dark good looks; she remembers all too well the hot-headed rogue he once was. But when Lizzy is framed for murder, she has no choice but to trust the man who once beat his brutish stepfather half to death, the man whose recent past is shrouded in mystery—the man who is slowly, inexorably winning her heart. Loving him would be the greatest risk of all…
Book 3
