Regency Valentines

From Jo Beverley, two Regency novellas involving Valentine's Day traditions and extra items about valentines, marriages, and peerage titles. IF FANCY BE THE FOOD OF LOVE was first published in 1991 in A Regency Valentine. This version has been partially rewritten to stand alone. The Honorable Charteris Ashby thinks his duty simple -- take a day off hunting to make sure his estranged cousin Juno Rathbone is all right. But once he's entangled in her life he'll never be the same. Juno has been raised to be fiercely independent, but she has a weakness for novels, and when a heroic young man enters her life, her principles may not be strong enough. SAINT AGNES AND THE BLACK SHEEP appeared in 2012 in a large collection, A Cast of Characters. Agnes Abbott doesn't want to marry. She's content with her life as a the daughter of a rural clergyman and marriage would change everything. When her aristocratic grandmother compels her to spend some weeks in London on the Marriage Mart she makes sure not to attract any suitors. Then her grandmother proposes a bargain. Spend time with Lady Martineux's godson, London's latest and worst scandal, and she can return to Dux Cherrymead in days. A small price to pay....