As his sister's impending marriage signals the inevitable drifting-apart of the Blackshear family, it's his last chance to give his siblings the sort of memorable, well-planned holiday their parents could never seem to provide.He has no time to dawdle, no time for nonsense, and certainly no time to drive the falconer's vexing, impulsive, lush-lipped, midnight-haired daughter to a house party before heading home. So why the devil did he agree to do just that?It couldn't be more deliciously mixed-up...Lucy Sharp has been waiting all her too-quiet life for an adventure, and she means to make the most of this one. She's going to enjoy the house party as no one has ever enjoyed a house party before, and in the meanwhile she's going to enjoy every minute in the company of amusingly stern, formidably proper, outrageously handsome Mr. Blackshear. Let him disapprove of her all he likes—it's not as though they'll see each other again after today....or will they? When a carriage mishap and a snowstorm strand the pair miles short of their destination, threatening them with scandal and jeopardizing all their Christmas plans, they'll have to work together to save the holiday from disaster. And along the way they just might learn that the best adventures are the ones you never would have thought to plan.

    Why, just about anyone would make a more suitable match...even her own paid companion, Emily Townsend! But if her dear, practical-minded Robert were to back out of the betrothal, the tongues of the ton would never stop wagging...At the very least, the dowager decides, she will extract a promise from her grandson to find Emily a husband. But when the handsome, rakish earl comes to know the charms of Emily Townsend, he suddenly regrets his hasty engagement-and is sorely tempted to win her hand for himself.

    But when another lady challenges her for a marquis's attentions, Phillippa entices him to a secret rendezvous-only to stumble upon The Blue Raven, England's most famous spy, lurking at the site of her planned tryst.The Blue Raven has uncovered an enemy plot directed at upcoming society functions, but he's unable to infiltrate London society. Phillippa makes an offer: in exchange for entré among the ton, he agrees to have his true identity revealed at the Benning Ball-guaranteeing her unrivaled notoriety. As the danger draws closer, the mysterious spy and Phillippa give in to mutual desire. But when the game turns deadly, betrayal waits around the corner, and Phillippa must decide once and for all-is it the myth that captured her heart, or the man?

    Forbid her from riding astride2. Hide her dueling sword3. Burn all her breeches and buy her silk drawers4. Frisk her for hidden daggers5. Don't get distracted while frisking her for hidden daggers...Anthony Carrington, Earl of Ravensbrook, expects a biddable bride. A man of fiery passion tempered by the rigors of war into steely self-control, he demands obedience from his troops and his future wife. Regardless of how fetching she looks in breeches.Promised to the Earl of Plump Pockets by her impoverished father, Caroline Montague is no simpering miss. She rides a war stallion named Hercules, fights with a blade, and can best most men with both bow and rifle. She finds Anthony autocratic, domineering, and...ridiculously gorgeous.It's a duel of wit and wills in this charming retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. But the question is...who's taming whom?An Excerpt from HOW TO TAME A WILLFUL WIFE: “You need to work on the way you hold a blade,” Lord Ravensbrook said.Caroline turned to find Anthony just beyond the riding ring. He stood with one polished boot raised on the lower rung of the fence. His obsidian hair fell to his collar in rich waves. His chestnut eyes held her as if she belonged to him already.“I have been told I have a great deal of skill with a blade, my lord, both with a rapier and a dagger.”“Then you’ve been lied to. I think we discovered your prowess is lacking when we met last night.”She felt a frisson of irritation at that jibe, but she swallowed it down. “Do you fence, my lord?”“Not with women or youths who do not know enough to hold the proper form.”“And which am I? A woman, or a youth?”“Dressed as you are, I cannot tell.”Caroline laughed, her eyes gleaming with mischief. She knew she had scored a point. In spite of his words, she saw his eyes roaming over the curves of her hips and thighs, the softness of her breasts beneath her vest. He might call her boyish, but he was lying.“Perhaps you will spar with me here.”“I do not tutor amateurs.”“Is that so?”“Not in fencing, at any rate.”She wondered what else he might seek to tutor her in. From the desire in his eyes, she could begin to guess.

    This romantic Regency won the RWA's 1991 Golden Heart Award.

    If his poor fiancée had not died, he would now be wed to her instead of Abigail. But then Abigail begins uncovering some of the secrets that are a part of her husband’s life and wonders if perhaps there is hope for their marriage after all.Derek, Lord Westdale, wasn’t sure why Abigail married him; she obviously despised him. On the other hand, he knew exactly why he was marrying her: she was the only woman he would ever love, despite his having offered marriage to another. Unfortunately, he can’t seem to convince Abigail that he never really betrayed her after all.Can their decoding of a secret Christmas cipher bring an end to their misunderstandings and help them create their own special Christmas tradition?

    He tracks down its creator, a sad and quiet young sculptor. But neither the angel nor the sculptor is done with John just yet. The blasted angel refuses to leave him be, behaving not at all like an inanimate object should.Alec Allston is resigned to the fact that his love will ever be a river that flows out and never flows in. All he wanted to do was create a special gift so that a small part of himself could be with his unattainable and noble beloved, always. But when the gift keeps showing back up at his shop in the hands of a windblown and rugged thief-taker, Alec will need to reconsider his conviction that love is destined to remain an aethereal ideal.

    When her plans for a festive holiday with her family in Stirling crumble beneath the weight of her brother’s bitterness, the young schoolteacher wants nothing more than to return to the students she loves and the town house she calls home.   Then an unexpected detour places her in the path of Gordon Shaw, a handsome newspaperman from Glasgow, who struggles under a burden of remorse and shame.   When the secret of their shared history is revealed, will it leave them tangled in a knot of regret? Or might their past hold the threads that will bind their future together?   As warm as a woolen scarf on a cold winter’s eve, A Wreath of Snow is a tender story of love and forgiveness, wrapped in a celebration of all things Scottish, all things Victorian, and, especially, all things Christmas.

    A charming would-be "benefactor," Vincent Everett, the Baron of Windsmoor, has offered to shelter Larissa and her young brother. But more than Yuletide spirit seems to have inspired the baron's generosity. From the moment he first set eyes on Larissa, the highborn rogue was bewitched. And now that she has taken up residence in his home, he aches with wanting her --- a most unfortunate state of affairs, since the proud beauty obviously despises him ... and since Vincent has sworn to seek a righteous vengeance on the Ascot family.But Christmas is a time of miracles, after all. And even two rival souls can be touched by the spirit of forgiveness in these magical days --- and showered with precious gifts of tenderness, love, and ecstasy unbound.

    — In Gayle L. Buck's "Old Acquaintances," the magic of Christmas is remembered in a story of love and longing, while in "A Gift of Fortune," Anita Mills writes of the snowbound reunion of two unlikely lovers. Both Edith Layton's "The Duke's Progress" and Mary Balogh's "The Star of Bethlehem" are moving stories of holiday sadness, hope and the renewal of spirit. And "The Kissing Bough" by Patricia Rice is a bittersweet tale of love and reconciliation.These are stories to warm your heart with the romance, generosities, and joys of the season -- holiday tales that can be read and enjoyed year after year.

    When her father gambles away his fortune, the duke's only chance for recouping his losses lies in marrying off Lady Helen to any man wealthy enough to take a bride with nothing to recommend her but a lovely face and an eight-hundred-year-old pedigree. Enter Mr. Ethan Brundy, once an illegitimate workhouse orphan, now owner of a Lancashire textile mill and one of England's richest men. When he glimpses Lady Helen at Covent Garden Theatre, he is instantly smitten and vows to marry her. But this commonest of commoners will have his work cut out for him if he hopes to win the heart of his aristocratic bride.

    But her rescuer, the mysterious Anthony Sterling, immediately melts her heart and makes her dream of a life beyond her tiny, sheltered world. The more she gets to know him, the more she senses he is hiding something from her.When Captain Anthony Sterling was wounded in battle, he lost his leg, his fiancee, and any hope for happiness. Even the revelation that he is the heir to a fortune brought him nothing but bitterness. Then his chance encounter with the charming, innocent Phoebe makes him wonder if there may be a future for him after all. But first he must escape the shadows of his past.

    Could the earl resist a woman who wouldn't take no for an answer?Love at First Step by TERRI BRISBINWhile visiting friends in England for the holidays, Lord Gavin MacLeod cast his eye upon the mysterious Elizabeth. She was more noble beauty than serving wench, and Gavin vowed to uncover her past at any cost....A Christmas Secret by GAIL RANSTROMMiss Charity Wardlow expected a marriage proposal from her intended while attending a Christmas wedding. But when Sir Andrew MacGregor arrived at the manor, Charity realized she wanted no one but the Scotsman with the sensual smile....

    Even this might have proved tolerable. After all, Lydia was an independent sort of a girl, more than capable of holding her own against importunate tradesmen, and more than happy to bring her younger sister up on her own.It would not do, however. The state in which Lydia discovered the family affairs made independent existence quite out of the question. In spite of all her best efforts, within a few months of her mama’s death, and scarcely out of full mourning, it became apparent to her that there was nothing to be done but to acknowledge the inevitable and appeal to her relations for help….It is 1810. Lydia, now penniless, is forced to seek a home with an aunt and uncle who have no interest in her whatsoever. But there are plenty of others with an interest in her – including the handsome but selfish son of the family – her cousin Charles - and two elegant brothers who live nearby.Each, in his own way, poses an intriguing challenge to her. Luckily Lydia is well able to look after herself but she gets into a number of scrapes which almost cost her any chance of happiness before finally managing to sort things out in the end.

    1. Learn the most intimate secrets of London’s leading courtesan.2. Pretend to be a courtesan yourself, using the name Juliet Leighton.3. Travel to Venice and locate said husband.4. Seduce husband, conceive an heir, and voilà, your future is secure!For Julia, the Duchess of Colton, such a ruse promises to be foolproof. After all, her husband has not bothered to lay eyes on her in eight years, since their hasty wedding day when she was only sixteen. But what begins as a tempestuous flirtation escalates into full-blown passion—and the feeling is mutual. Could the man the Courtesan Duchess married actually turn out to be the love of her life?