Raising the stakes… As the unacknowledged son of the lecherous Lord Westleigh, John "Rhys" Rhysdale was forced to earn a crust gambling on the streets. Now he owns the most thrilling new gaming establishment in London. Witnessing polite society's debauchery and excess every night, Rhys prefers to live on its fringes, but a mysterious masked lady tempts him into the throng. Lady Celia Gale, known only as Madame Fortune, matches Rhys card for card and kiss for stolen kiss. But the stakes are raised when Rhys discovers she's from the very world he despises.…

The only person to know the true identity of the Masquerade Club's newest attraction is Xavier Campion, the club's new proprietor, who realizes she is Phillipa Westleigh, a woman he once shared a dance with and now is charged to protect her after he becomes concerned for her safety.

RAISING THE STAKES... As the unacknowledged son of the lecherous Lord Westleigh, John 'Rhys' Rhysdale was forced to earn a crust gambling on the streets. Now he owns the most thrilling new gaming establishment in London. Witnessing polite society's debauchery and excess every night, Rhys prefers to live on its fringes, but a mysterious masked lady tempts him into the throng. Lady Celia Gale, known only as Madame Fortune, matches Rhys card for card and kiss for stolen kiss. But the stakes are raised when Rhys discovers she's from the very world he despises... The Masquerade Club Identities concealed, desires revealed...

DESIRED FOR HERSELF ALONE... When fallen beauty Daphne, Lady Faville, is carried to safety from a rampaging fire, she’s horrified to recognise her rescuer as Hugh Westleigh – a man with every reason to despise her!

A compelling exploration of how reputation affects every aspect of contemporary life Reputation touches almost everything, guiding our behavior and choices in countless ways. But it is also shrouded in mystery. Why is it so powerful when the criteria by which people and things are defined as good or bad often appear to be arbitrary? Why do we care so much about how others see us that we may even do irrational and harmful things to try to influence their opinion? In this engaging book, Gloria Origgi draws on philosophy, social psychology, sociology, economics, literature, and history to offer an illuminating account of an important yet oddly neglected subject. Compellingly written and filled with surprising insights, Reputation pins down an elusive subject that affects us all.

In medieval Europe, the word fama denoted both talk (what was commonly said about a person or event) and an individual's ensuing reputation (one's fama). Although talk by others was no doubt often feared, it was also valued and even cultivated as a vehicle for shaping one's status. People had to think about how to "manage" their fama, which played an essential role in the medieval culture of appearances.At the same time, however, institutions such as law courts and the church, alarmed by the power of talk, sought increasingly to regulate it. Christian moral discourse, literary and visual representation, juristic manuals, and court records reflected concern about talk. This book's authors consider how talk was created and entered into memory. They address such topics as fama's relation to secular law and the preoccupations of the church, its impact on women's lives, and its capacity to shape the concept of literary authorship.

In this “fabulously entertaining” Regency romance, a rake on the road to reform meets an innocent beauty with a penchant for courting scandal (Booklist). Cyprian Sloane’s reputation is of the very worst. A gambler, smuggler, rake and a spy, he now faces the greatest challenge of all—attaining respectability! Moving to a new home and courting a proper young lady, nothing will stop him from becoming the sort of man who is accepted by Society. . . . until he meets his new neighbor, Morgana Hart. When Morgana’s caring nature thrusts her into the company of ladies of the night, her secret activities risk a scandal that would destroy them both. To become a gentleman, Cyprian must sacrifice the lady—or is there a way for the rake to save them both?