Octavia McKenzie

Mary Bennet and Miss Lucca Bates know what it's like to be dismissed, overlooked, and underestimated. The message is loud and clear - they are too plain, not good enough, not woman enough by half. Misfits in society, they embark on a daring voyage across seas and oceans. Together they uncover the secret love affair of Queen Elizabeth I and the firestorm of passion and scandal that nearly toppled the monarchy.
The Duke of Stanhope is the catch of the season. Gorgeous, rich, wickedly charming, he's destined to marry a woman equal to him in rank - until Mary Bennet electrifies him with her intelligence and wit. Ethan Dee's heart is in equal danger with spinster, Lucca Bates. If he's anywhere near her, all hell breaks loose and there's no way he can stop love from taking him under. From a mysterious underground palace, to the pageantry of royal court, the lush tropics of Jamaica, the rage of war, and the hunt for pirate treasure, two spinsters have the adventure and love of a lifetime.