The Baron and The Bluestocking
(2024)(The second book in the Waltzes and Wagers series)
A novel by Nicole Bennett
Waltzes and Wagers
Five scandalous and supremely bored gentlemen. One silly gamble.
Trapped in what is perhaps the single dullest social season in all of England, the most infamous, and tight-knit, group of rogues in the Ton require a diversion. A frivolous wager to pass the time seems just the thing, and it doesn’t take the mischievous men long to concoct a little game. The task: waltz with a prickly wallflower of the group’s choosing by the end of the summer. Succeed and receive a great reward. Fail and complete a humiliating dare.
The stakes are high, and the game is on. But the chosen ladies might just prove to be far more than any of the men bargained for...
Book Two: The Baron and The Bluestocking
A failed diamond…
With her delicate beauty, hefty dowry, and supreme sense of fashion, snagging a husband should have been a simple matter upon Cecily Balfour’s grand debut. But when the only man she’d ever wanted commits a shocking betrayal, all of her plans are turned to dust. Now, seven years later, Cecily is content to spend her days planning impeccable ensembles and perusing the latest scientific journals, happy to have the reputation of a caustic bluestocking to keep the vapid suitors at bay. But fate, in the form of her increasingly desperate Mama, has other ideas as Cecily is tricked into attending an extended matchmaking party in the country. Worse still is the attendance of Baron Lockhart, the man who broke her heart all those years ago, and whom, much to her bafflement, seems determined to follow her about for the entirety of the event. Regardless of the man’s no doubt dubious intentions, Cecily resolves to keep her mind locked tight and her heart even tighter. If only things were so simple.
An impossible task…
Colin Lockhart loves three things: beautiful women, carousing with his friends, and securing funding for his charitable projects, though society often only acknowledges the first two. Chafing against the unusual banality of the current season, he is more than eager to take up the offer of a frivolous wager to pass the tedium, even more so when a prized property that he desperately needs for his latest and greatest project is put forth as the reward. Failure is not an option, no matter that his mark is Cecily Balfour, the woman who left him broken-hearted and humiliated in the middle of a ballroom seven years ago. An upcoming country party provides the perfect opportunity for success, even if the very sight of the beautiful spinster sends his heart pounding over heated imaginings and whispers of a love that could have been.
Heat Level: Steamy
Genre: Historical Romance
Five scandalous and supremely bored gentlemen. One silly gamble.
Trapped in what is perhaps the single dullest social season in all of England, the most infamous, and tight-knit, group of rogues in the Ton require a diversion. A frivolous wager to pass the time seems just the thing, and it doesn’t take the mischievous men long to concoct a little game. The task: waltz with a prickly wallflower of the group’s choosing by the end of the summer. Succeed and receive a great reward. Fail and complete a humiliating dare.
The stakes are high, and the game is on. But the chosen ladies might just prove to be far more than any of the men bargained for...
Book Two: The Baron and The Bluestocking
A failed diamond…
With her delicate beauty, hefty dowry, and supreme sense of fashion, snagging a husband should have been a simple matter upon Cecily Balfour’s grand debut. But when the only man she’d ever wanted commits a shocking betrayal, all of her plans are turned to dust. Now, seven years later, Cecily is content to spend her days planning impeccable ensembles and perusing the latest scientific journals, happy to have the reputation of a caustic bluestocking to keep the vapid suitors at bay. But fate, in the form of her increasingly desperate Mama, has other ideas as Cecily is tricked into attending an extended matchmaking party in the country. Worse still is the attendance of Baron Lockhart, the man who broke her heart all those years ago, and whom, much to her bafflement, seems determined to follow her about for the entirety of the event. Regardless of the man’s no doubt dubious intentions, Cecily resolves to keep her mind locked tight and her heart even tighter. If only things were so simple.
An impossible task…
Colin Lockhart loves three things: beautiful women, carousing with his friends, and securing funding for his charitable projects, though society often only acknowledges the first two. Chafing against the unusual banality of the current season, he is more than eager to take up the offer of a frivolous wager to pass the tedium, even more so when a prized property that he desperately needs for his latest and greatest project is put forth as the reward. Failure is not an option, no matter that his mark is Cecily Balfour, the woman who left him broken-hearted and humiliated in the middle of a ballroom seven years ago. An upcoming country party provides the perfect opportunity for success, even if the very sight of the beautiful spinster sends his heart pounding over heated imaginings and whispers of a love that could have been.
Heat Level: Steamy
Genre: Historical Romance
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Used availability for Nicole Bennett's The Baron and The Bluestocking