Publisher's Synopsis
Spinsters who have been ignored in the ballrooms of Society for years and the Gentlemen Rakes they challenge in pursuit of one Season of excitement and fun, find themselves battling Society's expectations as well as their own, in pursuit of happiness, friendship and love.Beginning their eighth and final Season, Miss Alexandra Cavanaugh, Miss Lillian Whitehall, Miss Prudence Camville, Miss Allison Cranston and Miss Elmira Figbottom have a plan for their futures. They will buy a property together and live their lives free of Society's strictures, spending their days pursuing their individual passions. While they are all different, they are, one and all, intelligent, strong women who know exactly who they are and what they want. Marriage does not interest them. With a plan in place, they only want to enjoy this final Season before heading off into obscurity, and perhaps have a few new experiences to take with them. With boldness they didn't think possible, they find themselves in company with gentlemen rakes who are certain to liven up what would otherwise be another dull Season.The RakesAfter spending years building their reputations, it is time for the Marquess of Hargraves, the Earl of Raeburn, Viscount Thornley, The Hon. Lucien Waterford and the new Duke of Benbrooke to settle down and set up their nurseries. Wealthy and titled, they need to find wives this Season, but how can they manage to do so without tipping their hands to the matchmakers? Thanks to the resolve of one ambitious mama, a small deception by a bluestocking spinster, and a daring wager, they find themselves in company with a group of spinsters who have no interest in attaching them as husbands and are very willing to help them achieve their goals in exchange for their escort.The Season is filled with scandalous behavior, new experiences, and the startling realization that sometimes beauty is not the most important consideration when it comes to love, but no one said taking an intelligent and resourceful woman to wife would be easy. When their loves disappear at the end of the Season, the gentlemen are led on a merry chase to find them and convince them that marriage, love and happiness are not only possible but are desirable.
