Her Secondhand Duke — Aileen Fish

(This novella was originally published in The Heart of a Duke anthology).

For the past year, Lady Charlotte has waited patiently for her turn at possessing the magical pendant given to her friends when they were young. A gypsy girl swore the necklace would lead the wearer to the heart of a duke, which only made sense since Lady Eleanor was betrothed to the Duke of Langley at the time. Now Charlotte's three friends and her sister are all married or betrothed, and not one of them has landed the most eligible, and quite unbearably handsome, Langley. Does Charlotte stand a chance?

Langley had thought his fate was settled: he was to marry the young lady his father had chosen. Then she fell for another, and since then, every marriageable miss he set his sights on has done the same. His mother wants him to marry and get on with providing an heir, but he has lost interest in the entire matter.

The final young ladies on his mother's list have come to stay at Hawking Hall, and the meek and mousy Lady Charlotte seems perfect, until she comes right out to say she has no desire to marry him. Never a man to back down from a challenge, Langley is intrigued. What would it take to change her mind?