The Arrangement

The consequences of an arranged marriage are explored in this collection of three Regency romances from acclaimed authors Day (Butterfly in Frost), Minerva Spencer (Scandalous), and Kristin Vayden (Falling from His Grace). Originally published in 2007, Day’s “Mischief and the Marquess” opens the compilation with a couple in the midst of fending off meddlesome relations, but Justin, Marquess of Fontaine, is certain Lady Sophie Milton-Riley would never want him, while Sophie is convinced that a previous scandal will in turn bring down his estimation of her. New from Spencer, “The Duke’s Treasure” follows Josephine Loman, who is usually forgotten among the beauties at the ball, but that doesn’t stop her dying father from arranging her marriage to Beaumont Halliwell, Duke of Wroxton, who needs to settle the debts of the estate. Vayden concludes with “The Inconvenient Countess,” about an arrangement struck between Miss Diana Lambson and Charles Brook, Earl of Barrington. Diana’s father always warned his daughters from straying near their rakish neighbor Charles for fear of scandal, but Charles can provide for her family in exchange for the respectability a marriage will bring him.