regency era romance, woman goes to the home of a mysterious gentleman who wants to marry her, then her old flame (a cleric) arrives amidst a storm

[Christine]

I read this book I believe in late 2013 or early 2014, I think it was on the "NEW" shelf in the library. The cover was of a woman in a dress, no face, and I thought that the title was the main character's name but I could be wrong. I can't remember if it was Romance or Fiction.

Key things I rememeber:

- Woman travels to a manor to spend time with myseterious man who wants to marry her.
- Woman had almost slept with (or was betrothed to) her cleric friend that she was in love with, I think there was a flashback scene to a night in the woods
- The cleric arrives by horseback having ridden through a storm to deliver some news or talk with the mysterious man (I think they were acquaintances).
- The man is persistant in winning her favor, I remember a scene where she was with him in his study and there was a fire going (random)
- At some point guests arrive and the woman is unsure of the mysterious man's character as strange things keep coming up.

Any help is greatly appreciated. I never finished it and would like to go back to it.

[Kris]

Christine, are the main characters rich/poor, have families/siblings, special skills/interests, etc.?

Does "no face" mean the cover image is cropped so the heroine's head doesn't show - or her face is covered in some way?

What's the tone - romantic, mystery, suspense, angsty, funny, steamy/clean, etc.?

Spoilers are okay - just give us a clear warning before revealing a spoiler.

[Christine]

The mysterious man is definitely rich. I believe the woman comes from lower-middle class stature.

"No face" just means that it is a cropped photo.

The overall tone is mysterious as she is trying to find out more about the man she is going to marry; he seems to have a dark past.

I wish I could tell you spoilers but that's all I remember and never finished it :(

The last thing I remember reading is that they were having a dinner party in this man's house. The cleric arrives seeming with urgent news and requests to speak with the mysterious man (I think they were acquaintances).

The romance level was pretty clean. There was one "steamy" scene when the woman and mysterious man were in his study at night with a fire going, but they were interrupted.

[Christine]

I recall the book being a part of 3 or 4 stand alone novels, all about different women and their stories.

[Christine]

Any ideas out there? :)

[Kris]

Please note you can "bump" your thread/topic (add a new comment) every 30+ days because this group is so large -- or sooner if you remember more information which you can add at any time.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Christine, are you still looking for this or did you find it?