Search - Miss Whiting and the Seven Wards (Zebra Regency Romance)

1st book in a trilogy. Best friends Sara, Ella & Rosamond must leave the school where they've grown up. Uncertain of their futures, they discover that fate can be kind & happy endings may be found in the most unexpected places.
An attempt on her life by her stepmother leaves her being cared for by 7 children. Sir Evan is sent to evict the tenants & finds himself charmed by the children & by Sara who is posing as their mother.

back cover:

For Miss Sara Whiting, the only thing harder than parting ways with her two best school chums is returning to a loveless home. Although she is aware of her stepmother's money-grubbing ways, Sara never suspects that the lady would turn to violence. But after a suspicious assault, she awakens to find herself in a warm bed in a cozy cottage - rescued by seven young boys in need of a savior of their own.

War wounds have effectively retired Sir Evan Beaumont from his soldiering career, whle his betrothed has jilted him in favor of a wealthy baron. To make matters worse, he owes a favor to the man who saved his life - namely to evict a widow and her children from his friend's property. But when Evan goes to investigate the tenants, he finds himself charmed by both the cottage and its inhabitants - particularly the lovely young woman whom he can't quite believe is the mother of seven strapping sons. The more time Evan spends with the lady, the more he suspects a secret...and the more he loses his heart.