The House of Ashbourne - Book 4: The Soldier's Return

By Polly Elizabeth

A wounded Major. A relentless reformer. A city built on secrets.

Fresh from the Peninsula and already limping through London's ruthlessly glittering Season, Major Gabriel Ashbourne wants only one thing: to keep his family name out of the betting book at White's. Miss Beatrice Hartwell wants something far more dangerous-bread, roofs, and truth-for the widows and children her little charity school refuses to abandon.

When forged vouchers and a counterfeit countersignature point to a rot running from the Pay Office to the City, Gabe and Beatrice strike a bargain: his access and discipline for her evidence and iron will. Ballrooms become battlefields, riverside warehouses become traps, and a single dull phrase-stamp, not seal-could topple reputations far grander than theirs. As warrants fly and donors flinch, partnership turns to something neither of them can afford to name...unless they mean to keep a door open for more than just the children.

The Soldier's Return delivers a slow-burn Regency romance with real stakes: courtroom tension, candlelit banter, and a found family that refuses to break. Expect a scarred soldier learning steadiness isn't weakness, a bluestocking who will not recant, and a happily-ever-after hard-won and fully paid.

Perfect for readers of Lisa Kleypas, Mary Balogh, and Evie Dunmore.

Tropes you'll love: wounded hero - bluestocking reformer - opposites attract - forced partnership - found family - slow burn - proper HEA

Series: Book Four in the Ashbourne novels. Can be read as a standalone.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FN7W3T3X
• ISBN13: 9798299010596
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 372 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.0" x 8.0"