But the bitter realities of life after the war cannot be denied: their home and land are but shells of their previous grandeur; death has claimed her father and brother; and her remaining brother, Daniel, has returned home bitter and broken. The privileged childhood Josephine enjoyed now seems like a long-ago dream. And the God who failed to answer any of her prayers during the war is lost to her as well.Josephine soon realizes that life is now a matter of daily survival--and recognizes that Lizzie, as one of the few remaining servants, is the one she must rely on to teach her all she needs to know. Josephine's mother, too, vows to rebuild White Oak... but a bitter hatred fuels her.With skill and emotion, Lynn Austin brings to life the difficult years of the Reconstruction era by interweaving the stories of three women--daughter, mother, and freed slave--in a riveting tale.

    The handsome rake believes her charade, which is exposed when the masks are dropped. But the real escapade has just begun. . . .

    But rescue came from a savage...Jack Savage, the hard-muscled Indian warrior who both terrified and fascinated her. Suddenly she was at the mercy of an arrogant halfbreed whose forbidden passion she dared not admit she wanted to taste. He was called Savage From the moment he saw her, Jack branded Candice his woman. No matter that he had chosen the Indian way...no matter that he could hang for touching her. nothing could stop him from making her his reluctant bride. Vowing to teach her every sensual pleasure, he set out to tame the fiery spirit of the blond beauty who had stolen his soul. But as war raged between the white man and the Apache, he found himself torn between duty to his people and a forbidden love he could not resist and could not live without.

    He directs a fleet of ships that service the king 15 days a year in exchange for special privileges. When Muriel Draper causes havoc on his wharf, he realizes she is a spinster—a woman who spins wool for a living—from the town. Her late father has angered the Clothmaker's Guild and now Muriel and her brother have been excommunicated from the guild and also left with a debt to the baron that he insists Muriel repays. She can either give the baron her deceased mother's wedding ring—the only memory of her parents she has left—or she can live with him at his manor house and be his Personal Clothier to pay back the debt. Can a merchant's daughter and a Baron of the Cinque Ports find a safe harbor with the passion for each other that burns between them, or will title and status sink that ship before it's even sailed? Watch for The Baron's Bounty - Book 2, and The Baron's Destiny - Book 3 coming soon!

    In the course of her business, though, Minnie meets Harold Grey (Lord John's elder brother), the newly-widowed (and alarmingly deranged) Duke of Pardloe, and things fall out.One of the two final novellas of Seven Stones to Stand or

    Spanish court of King Philip IV, this is the story of lovely, spirited young Juana de Arrelanos. Taken against her will from her home and from Jaime de Nueva, the man she loves, she is brought to the massive, magnificent Castillo Benaventes, the home of Bartolomé, Duque de Valenzuela - the man to whom she must be wed. Within the castle's heavy walls the rebellious Juana finds an atmosphere of secrecy, almost of conspiracy, and a number of cunning, sinister figures, chief among whom is the sardonic Felipe Tristán, the Duque's protector and mercenary, behind whose scarred face lie memories of horror Juana can only guess at.But the greatest horror is reserved for Juana, and for Juana alone. For the young Duque she is forced to marry, she discovers, is a cruel caricature of a man, a person twisted in mind and body. His wealth and rank can supply Juana with undreamed-of luxury - but also with incredible suffering, for the perfumed silks of the master bedchamber conceal the depravity of an unbalanced mind. Juana's brave attempts to escape from the marriage are dealt with harshly, and, to her limitless despair, she finds herself irrevocably betrothed to the terrifying, unbalanced Duque.Yet, against all hope, there is a way out. Swift and brutal action by the arrogant Felipe can insure Juana's escape from the secrets and treachery of the Castillo Benaventes. But Felipe's protection, she fears, may be more dangerous than his enmity, and all too soon he begins to demand a humiliating payment....

    He is weary, cynical, and very bored. Known as the worst rake in England, he finds he has no interest in upholding that distinction, when his friend, the Marquis of Somerset, proposes a bet: "Five thousand guineas says that seducing Miss Elise Edwards will cure your ennui." Because his friend has just lost a packet to him, he agrees that the bet be posted in White's famous Betting Book.The following day, while walking in Green Park, he spies a mysterious young woman, veiled, and obviously grieving. A disembodied voice, sounding strangely like that of his late adjutant, informs him, "The jig is up. That is the girl you are going to marry!" He scoffs, but is nevertheless intrigued by something about the slight figure. He even sketches her and asks if he can be of assistance to her. She declines his offer kindly.At the opera that evening, he is captivated by a beauty across the Opera Hall. He hears the same voice, saying the same thing. The marquis informs him that the woman in question is Miss Elise Edwards. When he meets her, he recognizes her voice as that of the woman in the park. Now she is surrounded by a surfeit of ex-fiance's, one of them dangerously unbalanced. Ruisdell discovers an actual bond between them which renders him honor bound to protect her.Thus begins a train of unstoppable events--dangerous, humorous, devilish, and amorous--that carry his life along at such a pace that the duke soon knows not whether he is on his head or his heels. And then there is that bet . . .

    When a job opportunity as a housekeeper presents itself Hetty accepts believing that working for Isaac Wheeler and his family is a welcome, if not temporary, surrogate for her own family dreams. As she’s faced with learning to trust she discovers that wanting a family and building a family are two very different things. Will she learn to see herself as worthy of God’s gifts? Or will she return to the solitary existence that defined so much of her life? Isaac Wheeler, successful furniture maker and dishonorable bachelor, finds Hetty’s presence in his home to be disturbing and a haunting reminder of his past sins. As he struggles with his growing and unwanted feelings, he can’t help but torment himself with mistakes from his past. Can he navigate the family tensions, infidelity, and sudden choices destined to keep them apart? Or can Isaac endure each struggle and seek forgiveness before discovering what truly makes a family?

    But instead of a thriving store in a boom town, Devon discovered she was part owner of a filthy, disorganized tent with a bunch of gold diggers and a mountainous slap of animosity for a partner: Stone Man McKenna. Gathering mop, pail and sheer determination, Devon vowed to make this post the best in the Yukon Territory. Stone Man didn't scare her. But his kiss -- a gruff attempt to convince her that the Yukon was no place for a lady -- left her feeling, for the first time in her life, feminine and alive . . .

    Upon leaving her fathers gravesite, Tess spies creditors confiscating the finery of her first London Season. But her gowns will do little to satisfy her fathers debts. Fleet Prison awaits her. Tess dons a homely disguise, cloaking herself in mourning weeds. She is determined to evade the authorities until she brings to justice the swindler who ruined her father. Resolute in her quest, she will transform anew, reinventing herself as a temptress to seduce the villain. She only wants for hands-on training, but the man who volunteers proves too much of a distraction. Everything about Tallon Hawkes, the Earl of Marcliffe, fascinates, including the battle scars marking his body. A motivated pupil, Tess yields eagerly to his sexual demands. Long before he discovers the sensuous female beneath the layers of black crepelong before he discovers the brilliant copper-colored tresses hidden by the ratty wiglong before he tastes the sweetness of her skin, Tallon Hawkes heart has been hooked. Tallon plays along with Tesss scheme, but he is distrustful and jealous of her obsession with their shared enemy. Tallon is determined to bring her dangerous game to an end. But will his arrogant maneuver lose him any chance with Tess? Warning, this title contains the following: graphic language, explicit sex, light spanking, anal sex.

    Nevertheless, he has fallen in love with Clara Harkham, the woman he has been betrothed to since childhood. He knows her to be a flirtatious and thoughtless woman, though he first believed her to be genuine and true. At the tender age of 16 he gave her his heart, only to have it broken by her careless disregard for his feelings. Of course, Clara has been in love with Lucien since childhood, but Lucien has a maddening way of surprising her at the most indelicate moments--particularly when she is spurning the embrace of a would-be suitor who has come calling. Though the misunderstandings are thick, the two will marry; Clara is determined to find the kind, gentle person she once knew Lucien to be, and Lucien is determined to never let his heart be vulnerable again.

    Olivia Aberdeen, destitute widow of a man shot as a traitor to the South, is shunned by proper society and gratefully accepts an invitation from "Aunt" Elizabeth Harding, mistress of Belle Meade Plantation. Expecting to be the Harding's head housekeeper, Olivia is disillusioned when she learns the real reason Elizabeth's husband, Confederate General William Giles Harding, agreed to her coming. Not finding the safe haven she expects, Olivia is caught off guard by her feelings for Ridley Adam Cooper, a Southern man who seems anything but a Southern gentleman. Branded a traitor by some, Ridley Cooper, a Southern son who chose to fight for the Union, is a man desperate to end the war still raging inside him. Determined to learn "the gift" that Belle Meade's head horse trainer and former slave, Bob Green, possesses, Ridley harbors secrets that threaten both their lives. As Ridley seeks to make peace within himself for "betraying" the South he loved, Olivia is determined to never be betrayed again.

    After the death of her mother, Cadence sets her heart on becoming a nurse, both to erase the stain her brother has left on the family’s honor and to find long-sought approval in the eyes of her father. When Dorothea Dix turns her away due to her young age and pretty face, Cadence finds another way to serve . . . singing to the soldiers in Judiciary Square Hospital. Only one stubborn doctor stands in her way.Joshua Ivy is an intense man with a compassionate heart for the hurting and downtrodden. The one thing he can’t have is an idealistic woman destroying the plans he’s so carefully laid. When the chaos of war thrusts Cadence into the middle of his clandestine activities, he must decide if the lives at stake, and his own heart, are worth the risk of letting Cadence inside.Everything changes when Joshua and Cadence unearth the workings of a secret society so vile, the course of their lives, and the war, could be altered forever. If they fight an enemy they cannot see, will the One who sees all show them the way in the darkest night?

    . .Stephanie Sergeant has returned to Natchez to live with her sister Sam in the splendid antebellum mansion both inherited from Great-aunt Magnolia. But there is no peace at Harmony House. The grand estate is haunted not only by an ever-fretful Magnolia, but also by a gaggle of ghosts from the late-nineteenth century, including the spirits of a lovelorn former governess and her five rambunctious charges.Stephanie learns that the governess, “Miss Ebbie,” died of a broken heart after falling for the children’s widowed father. Determined to save Ebbie’s life and restore peace in the household, Stephanie soon embarks on an amazing waltz across time, straight into the arms of a dashing Southern rogue!Stephanie is astounded to find herself transported to the year 1878, where she meets Ebbie and the children. But she is even more flabbergasted to find herself the instant romantic quarry of her devastating host, Andre Goddard. Stephanie knows she’s been sent across time on a mission, to save Ebbie’s life by matching her up with Andre. Can she transform the shy spinster into a bold and alluring creature who can capture Andre’s eye, while keeping him at bay in the meantime?But Stephanie finds that the more she tries to pair up Ebbie with Andre, the more the sexy scamp and his five adorable children gravitate toward her. In the battle to save Ebbie’s life, will Stephanie lose her own heart instead?Waltz in Time is an enchanting full-length time travel romance of approximately 112,000 words.

    Raised in one of London's most infamous brothels, Salvatore and his partner Nicolette have climbed from struggling musicians to London's most sought-after entertainers. But even success can not satisfy the vengeance Salvatore craves toward his dead father and his heir, the Earl of Kedgwick.When an opportunity arises to play at his brother's engagement party, Salvatore puts a plan into motion Nicolette will seduce the earl, and convince him not to marry the Duke of Durham's daughter. Thereby causing further scandal of the Kedgwick name and denying the earl the rich dowry. Nicolette, who has no experience with intimacy, asks Salvatore to teach her how to make love, so that she can properly seduce the earl. Little does Salvatore know that Nicolette has been in love with him for years. All of that changes with one night of passion. Now Salvatore is questioning what is more important to him revenge, or the love of the woman he might lose...to the very man he hates most of all.