His Study in Scandal

The Garden of Hedon, Regency London’s most notorious pleasure palace, blooms a new forbidden fruit in Frampton’s saucy second School for Scoundrels romance (after Her Lessons in Persuasion). Alexandra, the widowed Duchess of Chelmsworth, celebrates the end of her mourning period with an unforgettable night with a stranger at the Garden. Then she meets the man her stepdaughter Harriet is expected to marry and is shocked to learn he’s her own mystery lover. Theo Osborne, 12 years Alexandra’s junior, is part owner of the Garden of Hedon and has enjoyed the company of many women, but none has intrigued him as much as Alexandra. He reneges on plans to marry Harriet, resulting in her brother, who inherited the indebted dukedom, threatening to disown both women. To buy them all time to come up with a plan, Harriet absconds to Paris with Theo’s surrogate brother, Fenton, and on the trip to retrieve them, Alexandra and Theo fall deeply in love. But while Theo wants to marry, Alexandra has vowed never to relinquish her newfound freedom. Frampton serves up both spicy sex scenes and hefty emotions that will leave readers wanting more. This passionate love story keeps the series going strong. Agent: Louise Fury, Bent Agency. (May)