{"product_id":"2940046217841","title":"The Heiress","description":"\u003cp\u003eSir Nicholas Burley succeeds to the title of Baron Burley of Burley only to discover the beautiful Burley Manor is sadly neglected and his father's ruinous career has left the estate deep in debt. Determined to pay his creditors, and provide for his sisters he throws himself into managing his estate dispensing with all of the usual trappings of a gentleman.\u003cbr\u003eSix years later, a carriage conveying unconventional heiress Miss Isabella Rhetford on the way to London for her first season overturns in front of him. isabella is taken to Burley Manor to recover from her injuries where she is soon joined by her even more unconventional aunts who, despising polite society, spend their lives decorating other people's houses for entertainment. The Aunts propose that Nick's mother should bring out Isabella in their place and they suggest - as an incentive - that Lady Burley could also bring out her oldest daughter at the same time. While all this has been going on Isabella has discovered her host's financial straights and takes it upon herself to assist him in repairing his fortune - with spectacular results.\u003cbr\u003eThe return of the Burley Family has unintended consequences as Lord Thanet has never forgiven Nick's father for eloping with his oldest daughter - Nick's step mother - and he sets out to secure his revenge, if not on Nick then upon the Ladies in his life. Consumed by the slight committed (as he saw it) upon him by Nick's father he kidnaps Isabella from Nick's protection with the intention of forcing her to marry his eldest son. Thwarted at the altar he tries again this time abandoning Isabella, Nick's mother and sisters on the sand and mud of The Wash to await their fate with the advancing tide.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn short order Nick must rescue the ladies, deal with the arrival of a grandmother he never knew he had and face a series of eligible suitors desirous of marrying his sisters. He must find the truth about a crooked steward, prevent a land fraud and discover a secret cellar.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCan Miss Rhetford persuade her trustees that the well-bred but impoverished Lord Burley is a suitable husband for her? If so, can she then persuade Lord Burley that she will make him a suitable bride? Can Lord Burley rescue his estate, keep his mother and sisters safe and at the same time keep Miss Rhetford out of the clutches of Lord Thanet? Can he ever see what is right in front of his nose?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is a historical romance with a dash of comedy, containing unexpected twists, dramatic rescues, a dastardly villain, a chase through the night, an (often) bewildered hero and a determined and managing heroine. Everything a story set in the regency should have.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"J. Howard Shelley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47072415711472,"sku":"2940046217841","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940046217841_p0.jpg?v=1763999019","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940046217841","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}