She was unquestionably a lady. Still, that had never stopped him before. He could see that she was not, he thought, that young. Even better. Another twinge of pain from behind his eyes lent a harshness to his voice. «Who the devil are you?» In no way discomposed, she answered, «My name is Caroline Twinning. And if you really are the Duke of Twyford, then I’m very much afraid I’m your ward… »

Max Rotherbridge couldn’t believe it. Along with the dukedom of Twyford, he — London’s most notorious rogue — had inherited wardship of four devilishly attractive sisters! Including the irresistible Caroline Twinning. The eldest Twinning was everything he had ever wanted in a woman, but even Max couldn’t seduce his own ward… or could he? After all, he did have a substantial reputation to protect. And what better challenge than the one woman capable of stealing his heart?

The first romances New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens ever read were those of Georgette Heyer, and romances set in Regency England continue to be her favorites. After escaping from the dry world of professional science, Stephanie took up writing such romances for her own pleasure. Four in Hand was one of the eight original Regency romances that she wrote before turning her hand to longer, historical romances set in the Regency period.

Now residing in a leafy bayside suburb of Melbourne, Australia, Stephanie divides her free time between her husband, two teenage daughters and an affable idiot of a hound. She also enjoys gardening and needlework.