5 Pearls for the Earl Series by Louisa Cornell, Andrea K. Stein

Will a deadly secret from the past threaten the near-perfect life of an Earl’s mistress?Adrienne Godet believed she’d acquired a safe haven as the reclusive mistress of the Earl of Framlingwood. But an attack by a knife-wielding assassin in daylight hours on a Mayfair Street taught her safety is an illusion. She fears a deadly secret from the mists of her childhood has finally caught up with her... moreWill a deadly secret from the past threaten the near-perfect life of an Earl’s mistress?Adrienne Godet believed she’d acquired a safe haven as the reclusive mistress of the Earl of Framlingwood. But an attack by a knife-wielding assassin in daylight hours on a Mayfair Street taught her safety is an illusion. She fears a deadly secret from the mists of her childhood has finally caught up with her.Will the man she once loved abandon power and fortune to claim her as his own?Obadiah Lassen hadn’t been ready for Adrienne to walk out of his life. However, neither was he willing to give up his world of travel, fortune, and high adventure as the right-hand man and bodyguard of Captain Eleanor Goodrum Whitcombe, Duchess of Chelmsford. For many years he's helped the smuggler proprietress of London’s infamous Goodrum’s House of Pleasure rule a vast, ranging empire.Will Adrienne face up to her dangerous past and move out of the shadows with the help of her old friend and lover? Will Obadiah finally realize he belongs at the side of the woman who's owned his heart ever since their long-ago connection on the island of Martinique?Grab your copy today so you don’t miss this debut story in a thrilling new series - 5 Pearls for the Earl less

A talented harpist, an aspiring composer, and a burning passion.At seventeen, talented harpist Sophia Hawksworth believed being sold into marriage to a Seven Dials vicar was her salvation. However, the only fists harder and more cruel than her drunkard father's were those of her self-righteous reforming husband. She has no choice but to escape or die. Taken in by Captain El Goodrum, she earns her keep entertaining the pirate queen's guests at Goodrum's House of Pleasure as the Masked Muse... moreA talented harpist, an aspiring composer, and a burning passion.At seventeen, talented harpist Sophia Hawksworth believed being sold into marriage to a Seven Dials vicar was her salvation. However, the only fists harder and more cruel than her drunkard father's were those of her self-righteous reforming husband. She has no choice but to escape or die. Taken in by Captain El Goodrum, she earns her keep entertaining the pirate queen's guests at Goodrum's House of Pleasure as the Masked Muse. Until five years pass and one of those guests shows up searching for the vicar's runaway bride. Being taken on as the Earl of Framlingwood's mistress provides her with a home, anonymity, and a kind, undemanding lover. She is safe at last. Or is she?What else does an opera need, save a dark secret and the threat of murder?Being the second son of a wealthy, landed family is all well and good until one declines an impressive cavalry officer's commission and decides to become an opera composer instead. Joshua Norcross is no coward. Opening his own opera house takes courage. Unfortunately doing so also takes money. Teaching an earl's pampered mistress to read and write music seems an easy way to earn a great deal of money in a short time. Especially if he can determine if she is a murderess or not and collect the prize money the earl is offering for that information. With his talent for seducing women the task should be simple.Sophia's new teacher's lessons in notation and theory soon turn to lessons in pleasure. Their passion for music draws them ever closer together. Their bond grows more than physical. But the secrets and lies between them threaten to tear them apart. And when the time comes, Joshua must choose between the loss of his dream or the loss of the woman who may be the love of his life.Don't miss the crescendo climax to this operatic tale. Pre-order today! less

An accused poisoner plucked from the streets of a Moroccan port finds security as an earl’s mistressSaida Hossini is so grateful to have escaped the narrow streets of Ceuta with her life intact, she doesn’t question the quiet existence offered by the woman who saved her life, Captain Eleanor Goodrum.She’d had a choice... moreAn accused poisoner plucked from the streets of a Moroccan port finds security as an earl’s mistressSaida Hossini is so grateful to have escaped the narrow streets of Ceuta with her life intact, she doesn’t question the quiet existence offered by the woman who saved her life, Captain Eleanor Goodrum.She’d had a choice. She could busy herself at one of her mentor’s many estates, training other former fugitives like herself in the fine art of herbalism…or she could take on the life and anonymity of an earl’s mistress. One day a week he's hers to please, to talk to…but sometimes, she wishes there were more. The kindly earl never shares anything of himself beyond the pleasure of his perfect body.At first she was entranced with the cozy townhouse near all the finest shopping Mayfair had to offer. But now, sometimes in the dark of the night, when the earl is visiting one of his other five mistresses and she’s alone, she chafes against the emptiness of her pampered life.The favorite Highlander physician of London’s bored noblewomen harbors a shameful secretDr. Hamish Douglas, the bastard son of a wealthy Scottish lord, has had a fine life as the favored child of a powerful, influential man whose children born on the correct side of the blanket are all daughters. His father made sure he attended the finest schools in Edinburgh, and now that he’s a physician, Lord Douglas has set him up in a London practice which treats only the wealthiest families close to Prinny’s court.He has nothing to complain about, but he’s discovered he’d rather be back in the Highlands, treating the poor people in his commoner mother’s village. However, to break away from the velvet cage in which his father has locked him, he needs money. The infamous Captain Goodrum has offered him an intriguing way to escape All he needs to do is teach a Morroccan herbalist the ways of English medicine whilst actually spying on her and reporting back to her protector, Lord Framlingwood. The earl suspects she might be a murderess.If the money were not so generous for a mere week’s work, he would have balked. But he can’t afford to let a small detail like murder get in his way. Time is running out for him to escape his stifling London practice. He’ll be twenty-nine at the end of the month, and he’s still patiently listening to the imagined illnesses of the wealthy, bored wives of London’s nobility.Will the sensuous Saida poison Hamish, or will they find the courage together to escape the confines of their unfulfilling lives? Don’t miss this hunky Highlander tale! less

When a disgraced actress accepts the help of a broken barrister, the ensuing smoldering desire between them threatens their shattered dreams and unspoken secrets.Never having learnt to read, at sixteen Lily Venable is an actress on the cusp of stardom when she steps in as understudy to the queen of the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh. When someone arranges for Lily to be caught with stolen pieces of the leading lady’s jewelry and a nice sum of money from the company’s cash box, her career is over... moreWhen a disgraced actress accepts the help of a broken barrister, the ensuing smoldering desire between them threatens their shattered dreams and unspoken secrets.Never having learnt to read, at sixteen Lily Venable is an actress on the cusp of stardom when she steps in as understudy to the queen of the Theatre Royal in Edinburgh. When someone arranges for Lily to be caught with stolen pieces of the leading lady’s jewelry and a nice sum of money from the company’s cash box, her career is over. She flees to London, starving and without money. A young street urchin finds her weeping in an alley and takes her to Goodrum’s House of Pleasure. After nine years working there as a seamstress, she volunteers to become mistress to a young earl. She is provided a home, anonymity, and a degree of independence for the price of sharing the earl’s bed once a week. Many failed actresses have settled for less.When a successful barrister makes a fatal mistake due to his own hubris, shame and guilt turn him into a drunken recluse.Aristotle Barker-Finch III comes from a long line of renowned barristers. At 22 he goes to Edinburgh to practice law from beneath the shadow of his father. Soon the most successful and sought after barrister in Scotland, he takes the case of an illiterate 15- year-old boy accused of murdering his aristocratic master. He's so confident, he doesn't consult with his client whose signed confession, once presented in court, destroys Aristotle’s career, and takes the innocent young man’s life. Shattered, Aristotle returns to England and sinks into the life of a drunken recluse. His mother despairs of her son, bent on his own destruction, until her friend Lady Camilla Bowles Attington Carrington Whitby makes him an offer that may provide redemption.Lily believes the earl’s offer of a tutor to teach her to read may revive her career on the stage. Aristotle wants the earl’s beautiful mistress to learn to read, but more than that, if he discovers she is a murderess, perhaps he can save her from the hangman and atone for his greatest failure. Two determined people drawn to each other by desires for success soon find their shared hunger threatens to engulf them in a passion they cannot escape. To return to their dreams, they must forsake each other or face failures from which they can never return.Will the crucible of shared fire fuse the lovers together or will their fevered dreams tear them apart? less

Infamous courtesan Margot Fauchette adores her secret amor Gabrielle, heart and soul, but she prays none of her protectors discover her lady’s maid is also her true love. When a possible answer to their dilemma arrives, they face a far greater peril. In the absence of societal censure, will they find the courage to finally commit to the passion they’ve found in each other’s arms? Lord Framlingwood’s fifth mistress, Margot Fauchette, has a secret... moreInfamous courtesan Margot Fauchette adores her secret amor Gabrielle, heart and soul, but she prays none of her protectors discover her lady’s maid is also her true love. When a possible answer to their dilemma arrives, they face a far greater peril. In the absence of societal censure, will they find the courage to finally commit to the passion they’ve found in each other’s arms? Lord Framlingwood’s fifth mistress, Margot Fauchette, has a secret. She and her lady’s maid, Gabrielle Tamaryn, have lived the good life for several years, moving amongst the wealthy, sensuous men and women of the ton, flitting from one benefactor to the next. Their light-hearted lifestyle crashes back to reality when Gabrielle’s dour brother, Captain Jameson Tamaryn, returns to London after a long voyage for the East India Company. He’s incensed to find Gabrielle has disappeared from their family home in Surrey and that she’s apparently run off with her unconventional lover, Margot. He’s determined to end their “unnatural” alliance and see his sister safely married. In the absence of her compliance, he has no alternative but to hire a thief-taker to seize her and ensure she fulfills her responsibility. Otherwise, he’ll have her committed to an institution. Gabrielle Tamaryn has no intention of giving up her carefree existence of endless sybaritic soirees and salons Margot and Gabrielle no more than put their heads together to figure out how to outwit Captain Tamaryn than they’re confronted by the prospect of unwanted guests in their townhouse, at the insistence of Margot’s current protector, the Earl of Framlingwood. He insists a Cheapside draper and his partner move in so that Margot’s townhouse can be re-decorated. Both women are wary of the havey-cavey arrangement but agree to the eccentric earl’s demands. How long could it take to re-decorate a compact townhouse that’s already well turned out? What possible harm could there be? When Margot and Gabrielle face a choice that could not only change their lives forever, but end their carefree days of floating from one benefactor to the next, what will they do? Reserve your copy today to find out. less

Loss freezes the heart of a reclusive earl and clouds his judgment whilst his seductive housekeeper manages his bevy of mistresses and holds everyone’s secrets, especially her own. Widowed and alone on the island of Jamaica, eighteen-year-old Cassandra Collins sees her position as housekeeper to a viscount’s brother as her salvation. Salvation turns to nightmare when she is forced to commit an irreparable act to save a child’s life... moreLoss freezes the heart of a reclusive earl and clouds his judgment whilst his seductive housekeeper manages his bevy of mistresses and holds everyone’s secrets, especially her own. Widowed and alone on the island of Jamaica, eighteen-year-old Cassandra Collins sees her position as housekeeper to a viscount’s brother as her salvation. Salvation turns to nightmare when she is forced to commit an irreparable act to save a child’s life. In fear of the consequences, she flees to England with the help of Captain El Goodrum who, after several years of hiding Cassandra, finds her the perfect position as head housekeeper over the five homes of an earl’s five mistresses. Her need to remain anonymous and her steady demeanor make her the perfect person upon whom he can rely. The handsome and somewhat aloof earl soon comes to depend on her for far more than order. Being his confidante and advisor is no real trial until she realizes the terrible temptation the man is every minute she’s with him. What starts as friendship soon sparks a searing desire. But when sharing their bodies leads to sharing their secrets, will desire turn to disdain? Derek Welkirk, Earl of Framlingwood, learned two hard lessons when he was orphaned at the age of twelve and forced to take on the burdens of an earldom. Loving deeply only causes pain. And caring for people is best expressed by keeping them safe. These lessons are only reinforced when he fails at both which results in the death of his mistress and nearly destroys him. He has kept all succeeding mistresses so safe, he’s accumulated five of them, each in their own house and completely unaware of each other (or so he thinks). Thanks to his incredibly efficient housekeeper, Mrs. Collins, his eccentric life rolls along quite smoothly until a blackmailer announces that one of said mistresses is a murderess. He hopes to discover who she is, but only to protect her from the blackmailer. Fortunately, his lovely housekeeper is easy to confide in, and he trusts her implicitly. She’s become his closest friend…and his most frequent erotic fantasy. In the quest to thwart a blackmailer growing bolder and more violent by the day, Derek and Cassandra discover their admiration for each other has grown from friendship to love. The only thing more heated than the mystery of the murderess is the searing flames of the passion between them. The race is on with the blackmailer’s efforts to end their lives and the truth of the secrets between them set to end their love story forever. Can he dare to love her when she doesn’t need him to keep her safe? Will he ever open his heart to her after he discovers everything between them has been a lie? Grab your pre-order today so you don’t miss this high-stakes finale to the “5 Pearls for the Earl” Series. less