Available Now! Avon ISBN-10: 006188569X ISBN-13: 978-0061885693

How the Marquess Was Won
by Julie Anne Long

About the Book

The Scandal Sheets call him Lord Ice.

Ruthless, cold, precise, Julian Spenser, Marquess Dryden, tolerates only the finest— in clothes, in horseflesh, in mistresses. And now he’s found the perfect bride, the one whose dowry will restore his family’s shattered legacy and bring him peace at last: the exquisite heiress Lisbeth Redmond.

She's about to play with fire...

But one unforgettable encounter with Lisbeth’s paid companion, Phoebe Vale, and the Marquess is undone. This quiet girl with the wicked smile and a wit to match is the first person to see through the icy faÇade to the fiery man beneath. But their irresistible attraction is a torment as sweet as it is dangerous, for surrendering to their desire could mean losing everything else they ever wanted.

Letter from the Author

Hello, ladies!

Happy New year—here’s to a healthy, joyous, frequently hilarious, all-around prosperous 2012 for all of us—and I hope it’s a year filled with unforgettable books, too. ;) Speaking of which, I’m delighted you’ll be reading HOW THE MARQUESS WAS WON this month, and I sincerely hope it helps get your year off to a memorable start! It’s the story of the Marquess Dryden, the infamous Lord Ice—star of the ton’s Scandal Sheets, breaker of hearts, winner of wagers, and Phoebe Vale, a schoolmistress with big dreams of faraway lands, a temperamental cat, and a certain longtime fascination with said aristocrat…though she never DREAMS she’ll encounter him in real life. They both have plans that don’t include each other; they’re both stubborn; they’re both more than a match for each other. What happens when worlds collide when Phoebe becomes Lisbeth Redmond’s paid companion? What happens when overwhelming temptation threatens everything they thought they wanted? And what happens the first time the Marquess tries to touch Phoebe’s cat?  You’re about to find out!

In case this is your first Pennyroyal Green book, let me tell you a bit about the series: it takes us through the lives, passions, adventures and misadventures of the denizens of Pennyroyal Green, Sussex, England, a town anchored by the wealthy Eversea and Redmond families —whose relations are civil on the surface, but seethe beneath with ancient secrets and grudges and —naturally — attractions. An ancient curse keeps things even more interesting—it alleges an Eversea is destined to fall in love with a Redmond once per generation, with disastrous consequences. We'll follow these folks wherever their passions take them —whether it's London, the gallows, a ballroom, a bedroom, the high seas, or the Sussex downs. The books are linked but can be read separately without getting lost…unless you get lost in the romance. ;).

Hope you have a wonderful time with HOW THE MARQUESS WAS WON—and I hope you’ll let me know what you think!

Here’s to Happily Ever After,

Julie Anne Long