A Christmas surprise. A scandal in disguise. 1809. Eliza Courtney and Harryo Cavendish lead opposite lives, except for the secret that binds them. Harryo's life of luxury at Chatsworth House is shaken when pressure mounts on her to marry. A dreadful selection of suitors leaves her convinced that her late mother, the Duchess of Devonshire, was right: husbands are an incomparable nuisance. Meanwhile, Eliza can't wait to marry and escape her lonely existence, as an unwanted orphan in her own well-to-do household.But as the season begins, all matchmaking - eager or reluctant - is interrupted by rumours of a huge family secret. A secret daughter, in fact. Will Eliza be the last to know that she is the scandal everyone's talking about? This Christmas, romance lies around every corner. But another kind of love - sisterhood - might make this season one they'll never forget... * * * The Secret Sister is the second novel in Felicity York's internationally renowned Stately Scandals series. Each
All he wants is a quiet wife. But she wants something more . . . 1867, Liverpool. Wife to an errant husband, the art patron Frederick Leyland, Frances is losing her sense of self. So when Frederick announces they are moving into the crumbling Speke Hall, she throws herself into the all-consuming task of renovating their once-magnificent new home.But when one of Frederick's proteg廥 - the handsome, brooding American artist James Whistler - offers to help Frances decorate, she and the painter form an instant connection. And under the painter's gaze, Frances begins to see that like the house, there is neglected splendour within her, too. Inspired by the possibilities the artist arouses in her, she begins to wonder if love might still be in the picture for her, after all... Based on a true story, this is the heady, slow-burn tale of a woman reinventing herself, while embarking on a daring, forbidden love affair with James Whistler.
