A loyal wife. A new start. A Yuletide Second chance love in Medieval Scotland.Robert De Keith has spent the last eight years rotting in an English dungeon. But when he returns home to Dunnottar Castle, he soon realizes he doesn’t fit into his old life anymore.His wife, Elizabeth, has ruled the castle in his absence. However, the woman who greets him now seems a stranger. Time and events have altered them both. Even his young son wants nothing to do with him.As Yule approaches, Robert and Elizabeth struggle to salvage their marriage and overcome the bitterness and distrust that separates them. But is it too late?The Laird's Return is a stand-alone Highland Festive Novella about the power of enduring love set in the same world as "The Immortal Highland Centurions."

    A longing to forget compels him. Fate may send them into each other’s arms, but only love can mend their hearts. An Outlander Raised by a tyrannical father, Marion de Lacy yearns for the comfort of belonging to a loving family. So when her father announces her betrothal to an evil knight in exchange for his help to overthrow the king, she concocts a desperate scheme to avoid the marriage: feigning her own death and then fleeing England. But when her plan goes terribly awry and she’s captured by the knight, not even her careful preparations could ready her for the Scottish barbarian who rescues her and then informs her that he’s to marry her by edict of her king. Certain her father will defy the king’s orders and wed her to the knight if she refuses the Highlander’s hand, Marion agrees to marry the strangely compelling but obstinate laird of the MacLeod clan. A Highlander After the death of his beloved wife, Iain MacLeod has no desire to marry ever again. Yet when he finds himself obliged to do so to secure the freedom of his childhood friend and king, he reluctantly travels across England to collect his unwanted bride, expecting to find a cold Englishwoman. Instead, he discovers a fiery, bold beauty who is fiercely loyal, protective of those she loves, and defies him at every turn, challenging his certainty that his heart is dead. Ensnared Following a hasty marriage and perilous journey to Scotland, Marion harbors no illusions that her new husband loves her. Still, her heart cannot resist the noble, brave warrior, and she cannot suppress the hope that she has finally found where she belongs. However, the harder she tries to fit in with the clan and gain Iain’s love, the farther away her dreams drift. Iain is more than willing to give his respect to his courageous wife—her kisses and caresses even ignite his blood and demand his passion—but he refuses to give up his heart. That is, until enemies near and far threaten to take Marion from him. Now the demons that haunt him can only be conquered by surrendering body and soul to Marion, if only it’s not too late…

    . .and a partridge in a pear tree . . . In Coventry's Christmas, Rebecca Hagan Lee offers a charming new story. With Christmas approaching, Amabel Thurston is ordered from the family home by her father's widow and must seek the protection of her guardian, Deverel Brookfield, eighth Marquess of Coventry. Unfortunately, the Devil of Coventry has little use for Christmas and even less for proper young ladies. In the never-in-print Star of Wonder, Lynn Kerstan brings her special brand of magic to the page when an exotic and dangerous stranger arrives to disrupt the meager Christmas of Stella Bryar, who has struggled to support the family retainers in the wake of her father's death.Allison Lane's newest Christmas treat is A Christmas Homecoming. When prodigal son Alex Northcote returns from a six year absence to take control of the family estate, he must run a gauntlet of possible brides, who have all been installed for a holiday house party by his determined grandmother. Avoiding the trap would have been so much easier, if the guest list hadn't included a quiet widow, who once jilted him for another. In the classic Home for Christmas, Alicia Rasley gives us a Christmas with a bit of intrigue. When Verity receives an unexpected invitation from her estranged father to spend the holidays at his Cornwall estate, she accepts with delight. But, ever mindful of her father's attention to propriety, she must scramble to find a husband and "father" for her fatherless child. Could a handsome and enigmatic stranger solve all her problems?

    Though devastated by their betrayal, she has little choice in the matter, for if she refuses, her innocent young sister must take her place. Although the spirited Fiona is willing to sacrifice her freedom to protect her kin, she vows to never surrender her heart.As eldest son of a clan chief, Myles Campbell is accustomed to having his own way. But when the Scottish King commands he wed a defiant Highland lass instead of the French mademoiselle who holds his heart, Myles must obey his royal duty. Meeting his bride for the first time on their wedding day, he is pleased to discover the lass is a beauty, but dismayed to learn she’d just as soon kill him as kiss him. And thus begins an uneasy alliance.When two such warrior spirits collide, sparks fly, igniting a fiery passion that strains against the bonds of family honor, clan loyalty—and the ultimate surrender – love.

    He certainly doesn’t expect to be confronted with his twin’s imminent death, or with the plan his brother has concocted. Ten years before, Malcolm made a tragic mistake, and, to preserve the family name—and his own skin—he allowed Kenneth to take the fall. Now that he is dying without an heir, Malcolm plans to atone for his mistake: by giving Kenneth his life back. All Kenneth has to do is assume his brother’s identity. But complicating matters is the unexpected return of Lady Isobel Mackay, the daughter of an English marquess and the wife Malcolm didn’t want. Isobel barely knows the husband who abandoned her even before their marriage, and she'd long since given up on having a real marriage with him. Yet when she returns to the Mackay holding far earlier than expected, she finds her husband a changed man. Despite the hurt between them, Isobel's heart responds to this man who cares for his entire clan as if they were family. Who, for the first time, cares for her as if she is, too. Falling in love with her husband had never been part of Isobel’s plan. But when their future is suddenly in peril, Isobel must find a way to save him—from himself and from the deception threatening to tear them apart.

    Her only hope is a marriage—in name only—to the notorious widower the Earl of Aytoun. THE GROOM Devastated by the tragic accident that killed his wife and left him gravely wounded, Lyon Pennington, fourth Earl of Aytoun, is tormented by the accusations that blame him for the catastrophe. Filled with despair, he lets his mother lure him into a marriage of convenience—for the sake of a good-hearted woman on the verge of financial ruin.THE DESIREUnder Millicent’s gentle gaze, Lyon begins to regain his strength and his wounded heart begins to heal. And soon Millicent discovers that beneath his unruly beard and grim demeanor, Lyon just may be the most handsome—and caring—man she’s ever encountered. For the first time in her life, she realizes that she is alive—alive with a smoldering desire for the one man she’ll love forever…

    . .After four long years, Morgan MacCraig has finally returned to the Highlands of his birth . . . with his honor in shreds. After a scandal, all he wants now is solace—yet peace is impossible to find with the castle's outspoken new maid trying his patience, challenging his manhood . . . and winning his love, body and soul.Jean MacDonald wants to leave her past behind and start anew, but Ballindair Castle, a Scottish estate rumored to be haunted, hasn't been the safe haven she envisioned. Ballindair's ancestral ghosts aren't as fascinating as Morgan, the most magnificent man she's ever seen. Though their passion triggers a fresh scandal that could force them to wed, Jean must first share the secrets of her own past—secrets that could force them apart, or be the beginning of a love and redemption unlike anything they've ever known.

    She is the daughter of a notorious traitor who decimated the clan during a post-Jacobite uprising. Having grown up lonely and unloved, she’s astonished when the dying and much revered chieftain of Clan Carmichael chooses her to wed his younger son. She’s perplexed when the older son and heir, Gavin Carmichael, arrives to claim her as his bride. Hasn’t her beautiful cousin, Vanora, the heiress of Gilmour Hall, boasted since girlhood she will marry Gavin to enjoin their bordering lands? Gavin expects nothing more from his arranged marriage to Alana than a compliant wife who will produce the future heir and an escape from her malicious, deceitful cousin. He underestimates Vanora’s schemes, however. Trouble erupts between the Carmichael and Gilmour clans. With rumors swirling of tainted blood and witchcraft, Alana becomes a prisoner in her own home. Attacks on his wife stir Gavin’s protective nature, and his feelings quickly turn to love. But it will take a higher power to save Alana from the evil hidden behind the walls of Gilmour Hall.

    Little does he know, it's his heart that needs the most loving care.

    Now trapped in a marriage of the worst kind, her life is an endless cycle of pain and fear. That is until Lord Helsing shows her another way to live... Lord Mason Helsing walked away from the one woman he’d always cared for, but upon returning to London, he finds Charlotte is in a loveless and cruel marriage. Should he throw away the principles by which he lives and follow a different path than he ought? But divorce for Charlotte means ruination. And Mason is relied upon to marry well and continue his family. Can they overcome the strictures of society and live the life they’ve always wanted? Or will they bow to pressure and do as society deems appropriate?

    But there is a price on Robert's head, and his avaricious younger half–brother, Simon, doesn't want him reclaiming his birthright. And it's not only Simon and the redcoats that threaten to destroy Robert's plans after a flame–haired complication of the feminine kind enters the scene...Jessie Munroe is forced to flee Lochrose Castle after the dissolute Simon Grant tries to coerce her into becoming his mistress. After a fateful encounter with a mysterious and handsome hunter, Robert, in a remote Highland glen, she throws her lot in with the stranger–even though she suspects he is a fugitive. She soon realises that this man is dangerous in an entirely different way to Simon... Despite their searing attraction, Robert and Jessie struggle to trust each other as they both seek a place to call home. The stakes are high and only one thing is certain: Simon Grant is in pursuit of them both...

     Scottland, 1998. When a beautiful American traveller stumbles upon this handsome Highlander, she is intensely drawn to the mystery surrounding this man, a mystery that has the power to alter history--and her heart--forever...

    No family, no guests, just a groom who's been dragged -- literally -- to the altar. But if marriage to Black Jack Kincaid, the handsome wastrel she'd sworn never to see again, will avert a bloody war between their clans, so be it. Surely she can share his bed without losing her heart.... Known throughout Scotland and London as a wild rogue, Jack is accustomed to waking in dire situations, but...married? Long ago, he and Fiona reveled in a youthful passion. Now, the fiery, sensual lass is his once more. And though their marriage is in name only, Jack is determined to win her forever -- body and soul....

    To save his family from financial ruin, he needs the help of his closest childhood friend, Violette. They must work together so he can gain the hand of her wealthy but spoiled heiress cousin and make a mutually beneficial marriage—a sound business arrangement for them both. In return for her help, Lawrence offers Violette the one thing she covets most—freedom. With his help, she can leave England and her cruel family behind. But there is a vital flaw in this near-perfect plan. Violette Pélet de Castelmarou is secretly in love with Lawrence and has hidden it for years. Yet now she finds herself feeding him lines and coaching him through sticky social situations in order to win over her cousin. But when emotions get involved, hearts become inextricably entangled. When the time comes, will Lawrence be able to say goodbye to Violette or will he compromise her virtue and make her his forever? If he cannot have her for his wife, then he’ll make her his mistress…

    It later appeared in a compilation, Scots, Spies & Salacious Lies. It is the first of the Tenacious Trents. Lady Elizabeth craved excitement and adventure. Unwilling to endure further boring Seasons, she convinces her uncle, who has lived a more adventurous life than anyone else she knew, to let her work for him. A few years later Elizabeth was established in Tuileries Castle, a servant in Napoleon’s court known as Lisette Renard. John Phillip Trent has been working in the stables of Tuileries as Jean Pierre Bouvier for the past two years. His only English contact being Lisette Renard, a lovely blond lass, who he desired but kept at a professional arm’s length. When Lisette receives a summons to return home for Christmas, John learns that she is none other than the granddaughter of the Duke of Danby and she had named Jean Pierre as her husband. Their cover is compromised with the same letter and the two find themselves escaping the palace and France, knowing they could very well never see each other again and must face the truth of how they truly feel for the other.