Five years later, they have four children in their nursery, a ducal estate to care for, ailing family members needing care, and more trouble on the horizon than even a strong marriage might endure.

    The story first appeared in the 2010 Anthology The Mammoth Book of Regency Romance. Lydia Bettridge is a young woman suffering the pangs of unrequited love. To capture the attention of Geoffrey Danforth, the man who has stolen her heart but barely notices her, she has resorted to desperate measures with a seemingly clever plan. By engaging the help of Phillip, a friend of her brother's, to play the love-smitten fool in public, she hopes to pique the interest of her unnamed love. But when Geoffrey himself shows up to take Phillip's place, all her careful planning is turned upside down. What's a girl to do but to make the best of it? This short story was originally published in The Mammoth Book of Regency Romance.

    By day, he practices law at the Four Courts and gives reading lessons to the local children. By night he’s the man in the mask, prowling the streets of The Liberties defending the people—his people—from those who would prey upon them. But when his estranged wife appears on his doorstep with a summons from Sir Arthur Wellesley, both of Michael’s worlds are turned upside down. What will happen to The Liberties if he obeys Sir Arthur’s command to meet in Cork? Can he even trust the woman who married then left him five years ago?As a spy for Sir Arthur Wellesley, Joanna Pearson Devlin has executed this same mission flawlessly many times before: locate the subject, transport him safely, and present him to her employer. When Sir Arthur sends her out one more time to bring in her estranged husband, Joanna knows this mission will be anything except flawless. But Napoleon’s agents are everywhere, and Michael is an important part of the team Sir Arthur is assembling to stop them. For the sake of her country, Joanna heads to Dublin even as her discomfort grows. Will she be able to put aside her uncertainties and convince her husband to join the fight? Can they learn to work together again if he agrees?

    A visit from his youngest brother does nothing to change his mind. All he wants is to remain at his country estate with Henry Shaw. After days of going over documents, Arsen is more than ready for his brother to depart for London in the morning. He’s missed having Henry in his bed. Now if he can just convince his frustratingly cautious lover to join him in his bed for the night… Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable.

    But when her father catches her kissing the handsome Sir Roland (how else is she to determine if he is the one who will make her feel thunder and lightning, hear bells and music?), he declares that her days of headstrong independence are over. She will, he commands, announce her engagement to Sir Roland—immediately. But in an age where marriages are about alliances rather than affection, practicality not passion, Myriah wants more—she wants to fall in love. And she does not love Sir Roland. So she runs away to her grandfather with her faithful manservant, Tabson, at her side.A wrong turn in the fog, however, leads to the discovery of an injured young man, and before she knows it Myriah is caught up in world of intrigue and secrets. And when she meets the young man’s older brother, the mysterious Lord Kit Wimborne, the sparks fly. Their first encounter—in his bed, both of them naked, no less!—is an explosion of wills, and it is what finally set Myriah on fire.She has, it seems, finally found her thunder and lightning…**note: this is an updated version of an earlier novel written as Claudette Williams. The updated versions of Claudy's Claudette Williams titles are more sexually explicit than the original versions.

    Clair has long been a thorn in Daphne Summerville’s side. But when she is forced to act as his nursemaid after a bizarre accident, Daphne discovers that the Notorious Marquess has sensual talents she never knew existed.LADY ASHTON TAKES A LOVERLady Ashton’s friends finally convince her to take a lover for the summer. At a wicked masquerade ball, she meets a mysterious man who fires her passions and turns her world completely upside down, threatening all she holds dear.THE WEDDING PARTYJilted by her intended, Lady Althea Ramsay calls in a favor from her brother’s friend, the Duke of Wakefield. He will pose as her fiancé at a society wedding which the odious man will be attending. But Althea soon discovers that playing a part can set real desires burning in the human heart.Also includes an excerpt from the Regency Historical Romance, SEDUCING THE BRIDE, by Michelle McMasterWith a foreword by USA Today Bestselling Author JULIANNE MACLEAN

    Feeling deceived and betrayed into a loveless marriage, Lord Reese Harrington wants nothing to do with his new wife. Trapped in a marriage with no escape, the beautiful young bride must battle the demons of her husband's past and hope that she can weather the storm his brutish behavior unleashes.This is a medieval romance novella.Adult-content rating:This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages.First published as part of the anthology Blushing Brides in 1998

    Although gently raised, she is half-Egyptian, and at age twenty-eight believes she will never marry. With Christmas only days away, Cecilia has agreed to escort twelve-year-old Lucinda back to Chase Hall in York. The girl’s parents have been delayed, and in their place is Lucinda’s uncle, Lord Trevor Chase, who has been charged to chaperone Lucinda and her siblings. The bachelor black sheep of the family, Trevor scandalized his own class by becoming a barrister in London and championing the poor. Cecilia’s plan to return to Bath is thwarted when fire breaks out in the mansion, and she reluctantly agrees to stay a while longer. Will her delay prove to be Trevor Chase’s salvation? First published in 2003. “No Room at the Inn”: With Christmas, 1815, around the corner, Lady Mary is told that she is not the daughter of an earl, but simply Mary McIntyre, the base-born orphan Lord and Lady Davy reared as their own. After her true parentage is revealed, Mary must leave Coventry for Yorkshire and the farm of her new-found grandmother. Her travel companions are the snobbish son of Lord Davy’s estate steward, Thomas Shepard, and his family. Heavy snowfall soon blocks the roads, and there is no room at the inn, so the little group is forced to seek shelter in the home of Joseph Shepard, Thomas’ estranged brother, a handsome man Mary remembers fondly from childhood. In this “vulgar” mansion belonging to a common businessman, Mary will discover that happiness has little to do with titles or income, and that Christmas works its own magic. First published in 2002.

    Lord Caldwell comes to the rescue and forms a plan to fake an engagement to Lucy to save her from her terrible predicament. Even though the engagement is a rouse, Lucy soon develops true feelings for Lord Caldwell as she learns more about him. However, she believes that he does not feel the same way about her, so she refuses to open her heart to the possibility of finding true love. When Lord Hutton believes that Lucy is marrying someone else, he takes matters into his own hands because he thinks Lucy belongs to him. Lord Hutton’s forbidding pursuit puts lives in danger and threatens Lucy’s only chance at happiness. If you love clean, Regency-era romances filled with suspense and intrigue, you will love An Earl’s Agreement. Authors Note: This is a clean, stand-alone romance, so no cliffhangers. This is a 115-page romance with bonus books included.

    She is Elizabeth Curtis, a beautiful Englishwoman who wears the scarlet uniform of an English soldier and wields a sword like a seasoned fighter on the battlefield.Enemies meet, and passions collide...in THE REBELThe Rebel is a short story of 7000 words (approximately 28 pages). It first appeared in print in the MAMMOTH BOOK OF SCOTTISH ROMANCE, edited by Trisha Telep

    He never keeps one longer than a turn of the season. But he’s never met a woman as tempting as Arabella St. George…A fiery operatic diva, Arabella is blackmailed into helping the French. When she gives the envelope intended for a French assassin to the Duke of Winterhaven by mistake, she'll do anything to retrieve it. Even if she has to seduce him to do it...

    Soon he is mixed up in the affairs of Sir Francis Dashwood and his notorious Hellfire Club.

    Three Campbell sisters find true love with the ancestors of the three heroes featured in the author's hot new Regency romances.In this first installment, the clan has gathered for May Day festivities, and Laird Campbell is trying to arrange marriages for his younger sisters. Practical Elyne Campbell is pleased to marry whomever her brother has chosen for her. Unfortunately, she is more attracted to Tavish Grant, the cousin of her intended, than the prospective groom himself. When she is caught outside the castle gates during a siege and is forced to spend time hiding with Grant, the attraction grows beyond all hope of practicality.

    When her aunt gives her an ultimatum to leave, Jessamine accepts a position as companion to Lord Kirkendale’s sister—even though she’s been warned her predecessors can’t seem to resist the earl’s exceptional good looks. Can Jessamine manage to hold onto her job without losing her heart?To honor a promise made to his dying father, Lord Kirkendale agrees to an arranged marriage to a woman he cannot love. Although he is resigned to a life without sentiment, the arrival of his sister’s new companion awakens a slumbering passion. Can he find a way to secure his own happiness without sacrificing his family’s honor, or will his broken promise result in the ruination of the person he loves most?

     Determined to guard her kingdom's treasure, the lady warrior, daughter of the king, is the sole defender of the king's gold when the Northmen come. When the leader of the Northmen makes his way to the gold vault, he comes face to face with a long-limbed warrior who refuses to reveal her identity to him. All he knows is that she is determined to die for whatever lays in the vault. All she knows is that she will not let him pass. And so, a game of wits and strength begins. Join the lady warrior and the powerful Northman as each tries to outsmart the other, where tall tales mingle with myth and perhaps a grain of truth, and where brute strength does not always win out over all. As a raid goes on around them, the lady warrior and the Northman become so engrossed in their game of cunning and tall tales that neither one realizes when they cease to become mortal enemies and start to become attracted to one another. Based on 'Annabel Lee' by Edgar Allan Poe, KINGDOM BY THE SEA is a deeply romantic and bittersweet tale of two warriors falling in love in the midst of a battle. Book One of The Lore Chronicles Series. (A five book series for 2016 and 2017) Note: This novella was part of the collection, SIRENS OF THE NORTHERN SEAS published Jan 2016