The Lady Chosen by Stephanie Laurens

Miss Leonora Carling has lived a quiet life. She runs the house for her uncle and brother who work translating ancient languages.  Recently though, there have been some incidents that seem to ahve started from when someone was trying to buy the house next store. Now the sale has gone through and she is determined to meet the owner.

She meets one of them, Tristan Wemyss, Earl of Trentham. The house has actually been bought by a group of men who are recently retired from being spies and are all titled and hoping to have a quiet place to avoid the people who would like to marry off sisters, daughters, aunts. Tristan actually needs to marry before July or else he loses the money portion of his estate and he will be unable to support his fourteen aunts. Leonora is the perfect answer to who he could possibly find that he wants to live with for the rest of his life. And the two are ready to settle in but they need to clear up that pesky mystery of who keeps breaking in first.

A nice start to a new series built within the same time as Laurens' Cynster series. 

Four stars
This book came out August 26, 2003

Followed by A Gentleman's Honor

Borrowed as hard copy from library

Opinions are my own