Mrs. Brodie's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies appears exclusive and respectable, a place for daughters of the gentry to glean the accomplishments that will win them suitable husbands.
But the academy is not what it seems. It's more.
Alongside every lesson in French or dancing or mathematics, the students learn the skills they'll need to survive in a man's world. They forge; they fight; they change their accents to blend into a world apart. And the staff at the academy find a haven from their pastsβ¦and lose their hearts.
The Way to A Gentleman's Heart by Theresa Romain
Eight years ago, impoverished gentleman's daughter Marianne Redfern fled her Lincolnshire home when her first love was forced to wed another. At Mrs. Brodie's Academy, she learned the arts of cookery and self-defenseβand as head cook, she can manage her staff, feed hundreds, and take down thieves. But she has no defense against Jack Grahame's unexpected arrival two weeks before a dinner that will secure the academy's fortunes.
Now a wealthy widower, Jack still has a wicked twinkle in his eye and a place in Marianne's heart. Before long, he's at her side in the kitchen all day and the bedchamber all night. But forgiveness doesn't come together as easily as a sauce, and the wounds of the past could ruin Jack and Marianne's chance at a futureβ¦
** Counterfeit Scandal by Shana Galen**
Bridget Lavery gave up her son Jimmy when she was sent to debtor's prison. Now that she's free and has found steady work at the academy as a teacher of art and counterfeiting, she's desperate to reunite with her sonβbut he's lost in the warrens of London's streets. When she encounters Caleb Harris, a man from her pastβa man she thought was deadβhe agrees to help in her search. But both Bridget and Caleb have secrets. Some of them deadlyβ¦
Caleb Harris is a man with a price on his head. He knew his work during the war was dangerous, but he didn't think it would haunt him the rest of his life. Before he left for the war, he and Bridget had a passionate affair. Finding her again means everything to him. He wants to help her and he definitely still loves her, but loving her might just be too dangerous for either of them.