Secrets of a Proper Lady »

Victoria Alexander was an award-winning television reporter until she discovered fiction was much more fun than real life. She turned to writing full time and has never looked back. Victoria grew up traveling the country as an Air Force brat and is now settled in Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband, two teenaged children, and a bearded collie named Sam. She firmly believes housework is a four-letter word, there are no calories in anything eaten standing up, procrastination is an art form, and it's never too soon to panic.

Who will be the last man standing? New York Times bestselling author Victoria Alexander's delicious series about four men desperately trying to avoid matrimony continues...

Lady Cordelia Bannister simply cannot marry a man she has not chosen herself, no matter what her father decrees. So, pretending to be her own companion, she decides to seek out information about her intended by meeting with his secretary a man who soon beguiles her. But Lady Cordelia doesn't know the truth the man she can't resist is really her intended, Daniel Sinclair.

Daniel has nearly won the wager he made with three of London's most eligible bachelors. While two of his compatriots have surrendered to the shackles of marriage, he's remained free to woo any woman he chooses. Yet duty forces him to consider Lady Cordelia and determined to escape honor intact, he continues the masquerade he started.

Each find the other completely irresistible...

Publishers Weekly

Lady Cordelia Bannister, Lord Marsham's youngest daughter, is a self-assured Victorian woman who writes articles about her extensive travels for ladies' magazines. Still single at 25, even Cordelia admits that too much independence isn't a good thing, but when her father engages Cordelia to a wealthy American, Daniel Sinclair, a man she's never met, Cordelia is furious. Determined to do what is best for her family, Cordelia sets out with her cousin to learn more about Daniel. When she comes upon a man in the park claiming to be Daniel's secretary, she assumes a false name to gather information, not realizing he's actually Daniel. Cordelia quickly finds herself falling for the handsome American, and he with her. Mistaken identities securely in place, Alexander has a fine time orchestrating the sparkling battle of wits between them. The leads make a superb match, bringing to mind classic sparring partners like Katharina and Petruchio or Bogie and Bacall; readers will be too amused by them to care that the supporting characters are a bit stunted. While there is no serious tension, Alexander knows what her romance readers want-charming characters, sharp banter, missed connections and a happy ending-and delivers with gusto. (Oct.)