Courting Julia

The Earl of Beaconswood wanted his beloved step-granddaughter to be married and settled happily before he died, but when he realized it was not going to happen, he amended his will. He left his home to Julia on condition she accepted an offer from one of her five step-cousins within a month. They all court her and offer her marriage—all, that is, except Daniel, the new earl, who has always disapproved of Julia's wild ways just as she had always despised his stuffiness. Will he offer before the month is over? More to the point, will she accept if he does?

Freddie Sullivan, having failed to persuade his cousin Julia to marry him, goes to Bath in desperate search of a rich wife so that he can pay off his debts. Clara Danforth, plain and wheelchair-bound, seems the ideal choice, and Freddie sets about wooing her with his good looks, flattery, and considerable charm. Clara is not deceived for a moment, but she encourages him anyway as for once she wants to possess something beautiful in her life.

Lady Harriet Wingham, a widow, takes her young daughter to London to stay with friends. There she becomes reacquainted with the Duke of Tenby, the man who broke her heart six years earlier when he offered her carte blanche instead of marriage. This time he has honourable intentions toward her, but Harriet misunderstands and impulsively agrees to become his mistress. And so begins an affair disastrous to them both, for their feelings for each other cannot be satisfied by such a casual and clandestine arrangement.