An Autumn Courtship by Mary Kingswood

A family in trade moving up in the world. A family of landed gentry stepping aside for them. And the sons and daughters caught in the middle.

Johnny Fletcher is exactly where he wants to be – a Fellow at Cambridge, with a lifetime of scholarly pursuits in front of him. He’s not allowed to marry, but he has no need for a wife when he has his books for company. But his beautiful sister is on the brink of a wonderful marriage to an earl’s son, so he joins his family for a house party at the earl’s estate. At least there will be a decent library he can hide in. But when he intervenes to protect a young woman from unwanted attention, he finds himself caught up in scandal.
Lady Jemima Corsfield married young to please her family. Now her husband’s dead, she’s not allowed to look after her two sons, and she consoles herself by flitting from party to party, and flirting outrageously. The last thing she wants is another husband she doesn’t love. But when she’s caught alone and dishevelled with a stranger, the pressure for her to marry is intense. And if she refuses, she’ll lose her sons altogether. Can she find a way through the tangle, and will she ever find happiness?