Mrs. Budley Falls from Grace: A Novel of Regency England - Being the Third Volume of the Poor Relation

An aristocratic widow turns to crime—and discovers love—in a romance “notable for its gentle humor and adventurous spirit” from a New York Times bestseller (Publishers Weekly). The Poor Relation, a hotel run by impoverished aristocrats, is in need of money to survive. Widow Eliza Budley wants to help save her new home, but with her fortune lost due to her deceased husband's gambling debts, how can she? With no rich relative to go to, Eliza calls on the senile, elderly Marquess of Peterhouse, and pretends to be a relation while she steals just enough of his worldly goods to fund the hotel. But when she arrives at his bleak castle, she learns the Marquess is deceased, leaving his handsome nephew in charge of the estate. Once the dashing heir learns of her devious plot, can he get past her criminal leanings long enough to fall in love with her? With the Poor Relation Hotel in London losing money, Eliza Budley visits the rich, reputedly ailing Marquess of Peterhouse disguised as a relative in order to swipe his jewels, but the handsome, healthy Marquess forces her to reveal herself Eliza Budley, a beautiful widow whose husband gambled away a fortune, is advised to seek out a wealthy old widower, the Marquess of Peterhouse