What a Lady Needs for Christmas

Lady Joan Flynn needs a husband—any husband—if she’s not to find scandal and mischief under her Christmas tree. Scottish wool magnate Dante “Hard-hearted” Hartwell needs an aristocratic wife to gain access to the financing that will keep his wool mills secure and safe. Can holiday magic weave an expedient match into true love, and spin wary differences into trust?

The Laird

After years at war, Michael Brodie comes home to his Scottish estate to find his clan expects him to set aside Brenna, the arranged bride he left behind nearly a decade ago. To make matters worse, Michael’s Uncle Angus, whom Michael relied on to manage state matters, is also impatient with Brenna’s independence and contrariness, though the clansmen and tenants loathe Angus, too.

Michael will not abandon a wife who has loyally—if angrily—waited for his return, but he soon realizes the resentments stirring among his family have deep, miserable roots, and the war he left behind was paltry compared to the battle he must fight to win his wife’s heart, and keep her in her rightful place at his side.

The Traitor

Sebastian St. Clair is stranded in France as a boy, and joins the French Army rather than face imprisonment. His knowledge of the English peerage means he’s put in a position of having to torture men he might otherwise have called friends. After the war, though Sebastian is permitted to resume a life in England, his former captives insist on challenging him to duels.

Milly Danforth joins Sebastian’s London household as companion to his aging aunt Freddy. Milly is protective of Sebastian, rather than judgmental regarding his role during the war. Sebastian does not want to endanger Milly—to whom he is prodigiously attracted—but accepts that he has a duty to the succession, and hopes English officers will not begrudge him an heir before they eventually kill him on the field of honor.

He offers Milly marriage, and she accepts, but Milly but quickly understands that her husband will not defend himself against those seeking revenge for a war that has ended. Sebastian must choose between the demands of honor, and the demands of his heart, and find away to hold on to both his marriage and his life.

The Captive Duke (formerly published as The Captive)

Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia, is captured out of uniform by the French, and is thus subject to torture. Christian does not break, not once, and is released when Toulouse falls. Back in England, Christian has great difficulty taking up the reins of his life until Gillian, Countess of Windmere, pointedly reminds him that he has a daughter who still needs him very much—a daughter who no longer speaks. Gilly pushes, pulls, and drags Christian back to life, and slowly, she and he admit an attraction to each other.

Christian offers Gilly marriage, but Gilly is a widow, and has fared badly at the hands of her first husband. Gillian will not pledge her heart to a man bent on violence, for Christian cannot give up his determination to extract revenge from his tormentors. What will it take for them to give up their stubborn convictions and choose each other over the bonds of the past?

NOTE: This story was originally published in 2014 as The Captive. The June 2023 version has a new cover and title, but has not be substantially revised.

Hadrian

Hadrian Bothwell was never an excellent fit with a religious calling, so when his brother bids him come to learn how to run the family estate, Hadrian gives up vicaring and returns to his boyhood home. He’s spent years thinking of Lady Avis Portmaine as the woman he should have fought for, but he finds Avis has become a recluse on the neighboring estate, socially shunned, and more unavailable than ever. If Hadrian wants to win the lady’s heart, he must first win her freedom from a past that will not leave her in peace.

 

 

Worth

Consummate man of business and rake at large, Worth Kettering, repairs to his country estate to sort out his familial situation, trusting the ever efficient (though as yet unmet) housekeeper, Jacaranda Wyeth, will provide his family a pleasant summer retreat. To his surprise, his household is manage by a quick-witted, violet-eyed Amazon who’s his match in many regards.

As Jacaranda and Worth become enamored, the family she’s kept hidden from him, the financial clients Worth feels singularly protective of, and the ragged state of affairs between Worth and his estranged older brother Hessian all conspire to keep Worth and Jacaranda apart. Worth must choose between love and profit, and Jacaranda must decide between loyalty to her family, and the love of a man who values her above all others.

Trenton

After a short, troubled marriage Trenton Lindsey, heir to the Wilton earldom, finds himself a widower with three small children. His year of mourning leaves him adrift, until his brother Darius forces him to take a repairing lease in Surrey. Social conventions require Trent to call on his recently widowed neighbor, Elegy Hampton, Lady Rammel, and as friendship develops, consolation of an intimate sort tempts them both. Just as Trent acknowledges the joy and pleasure to be shared with Ellie, an unseen enemy threatens him and Ellie, too. Can he reach for the love Ellie offers, when some one else is trying to take his life?

Gabriel

Gabriel North has spent two years allowing his family to believe him dead, while he assumes the identity of a hardworking steward on the neglected Three Springs estate. When Gabriel falls in love with Polonaise Hunt, cook at Three Springs, he realizes he must solve the mystery of who tried repeatedly to kill him, before he can ask any woman to share his life.

Gabriel resumes his proper identity as Marquis of Hesketh only to find that Polonaise has also resumed her calling, that of talented portrait artist, and she’s been commission to paint Gabriel’s heir. While Gabriel tries to untangle the mystery of his attempted murder, he finds Polonaise has been keeping secrets of her own. She can capture Gabriel’s likeness on canvas, but can he capture her heart?

Mary Fran and Matthew

Former military officer Matthew Daniels has been sent home from the Crimea in disgrace. Mary Frances MacGregor is a Scottish widow who loathes everything about the British military, and yet both Mary Fran and Matthew understand more than they want to about being lonely and isolated even amid family. They yearn to understand each other too, but old secrets and divided family loyalties threaten to cost them their chance at shared happiness.

David

David Worthington, Viscount Fairly, has inherited a brothel he does not want, but hesitates to sell for fear his employees will not be treated well by the establishment’s next owner. He hires Letty Banks, a courtesan currently without protector, to serve as madam, but soon finds himself attracted to her on more than just a physical level.

When serious harm befalls Letty at David’s brothel, he realizes he cannot continue to ignore the dreams of a woman he cares for. He arranges a way for Letty to return to obscure respectability, and prepares to walk out of her life, only to find he cannot leave her undefended against the trouble bearing down from her past.