Estranged from his wealthy family, Griffin Darrowby made a tidy fortune on his own. But now the Ton's favorite beau is facing financial ruin and is forced to consider wooing a beautiful, wealthy widow. When a mistaken shortcut through the woods surrounding her estate leads him to a lovely ragamuffin—and her larcenous stepbrothers—his carefully planned future is suddenly turned upside down. Regency Romance by Nancy Butler; originally published by Signet
COLORADO 1880 Jem Wheeler has always been a survivor. He just wants to make a fresh start in Colorado Springs after the loss of his wife. But then he happens upon a young mute woman being sold off to the highest bidder. He wasn't looking for a mail-order bride. He wasn't looking to rescue anyone either. But desperate circumstances can drive a good man to do things he hadn't planned on doing... When Jem steps into Annie's life, she's not expecting anyone to save her. Mute from birth, she's just using all her wits to survive. All she's ever really wanted is a family of her own. For someone to see her. To look at her long enough to hear the things she can't say. Can Annie finally break through the silence to win Jem's heart? Sweet Historical Western Romance A Mail-Order Bride Novel Each book in The Brides Series can be read as a stand-alone novel, but reading in order will provide a more complete reading experience. THE BRIDES SERIES The Unexpected Bride Sleigh Bells & Mistletoe The Bartered Bride Only the Heart Knows Excerpt Jem took the apple core from his daughter and passed her one of the remaining crackers with a piece of cheese on it. Mae munched that down and looked to him immediately for another, the last one. He gave it to her, then showed her his empty hands. She frowned. "More?" "No more," Jem said, and showed her his empty hands again, making a bigger gesture out of it, as if the little girl was accusing him of hiding some. If Annie weren't so intent on eating her share of cheese and crackers she might have smiled at the sight of them, one of the most dangerous men she'd ever seen sitting side by side with that tiny little girl. They made quite a mismatched pair. Mae looked over at Annie, at the last cracker in her hand and the last bit of cheese. Annie gulped down the mouthful she was chewing. She looked down at the last of her meal and back at the little girl. To her shame, she didn't want to give up her last cracker. She could barely remember the last meal she'd eaten. "That's Annie's food," Jem admonished the little girl. "You've had yours." Mae bit her lip. She glanced down at her lap, then back at Annie again. I can share, Annie attempted to tell Mae with her eyes alone. She snapped her cracker in half--simply unable to bear parting with the whole thing--and passed it across to the little girl. Mae took it and popped the whole thing in her mouth, making Annie smile. "Mae!" her father said. She looked at him wide-eyed, her mouth full of cracker. "Whaf dafdda?" she said, muffled, spraying a few cracker crumbs onto his trousers. He closed his eyes briefly and brushed them off. "You didn't have to give her any," he said to Annie, "but thanks." Annie grunted, her way of saying she didn't mind that much. She looked down quickly and finished her last bit of food. The crackers had been crispy and the cheese silky and smooth. They'd tasted like heaven. "You must be thirsty," he said. "Do you mind sharing?" She shook her head and automatically lifted two fingers. "Two's no?" he asked. She nodded, pleased, and lifted one finger. She'd grown up sending signals through the floor of the Ruskins' house, one stomp for yes, two for no. It came natural as rain now. "And one's yes," he said, catching on quick. Annie drank deep when he passed her the flask of water, amazed he'd let her drink from it. She tried her best to pour it down her throat without touching her lips to the flask, so he wouldn't regret giving it to someone so dirty. She wished she could tell him thanks, but after Mae had her fill and he took his own swallow, he was back under his hat, likely going over the events of the day. How he'd stuck himself with her. How he probably regretted even stepping off the train at the last stop. She couldn't say she blamed him. She hadn't much wanted to marry a stranger herself. ***
"Do We Marry Or Not, Caroline Holt?" It occurred to Caroline that everyone in her small North Carolina community accepted the obvious reason for her agreeing to marry Frederich Graeber. She was pregnant, and the real father of her baby was unwilling. She was due in a few short months. Her unborn child would have everything to gain by Caroline making the strong, silent farmer her husband…. The Marriage Pledge "If you marry me, then the child will be mine…." With Frederich's words ringing in her ears, Caroline made her decision. She'd become his bartered bride…and risk giving this enigmatic stranger her heart free.
After building a fortune in the exotic East, American adventurer and merchant prince Gavin Elliott sets his sails for London to begin a new life. Then fate intervenes on an infamous island in the East Indies where a European woman faces degradation and peril. Though saving her may cost Gavin his life, he cannot refuse to help the fierce beauty who touches his heart and soul with her indomitable spirit. Alexandra Warren is returning home from Australia as a widow and mother when a pirate attack condemns her to a life of servitude. A miracle arrives in the form of a steely-eyed Yankee captain, whose reckless courage wins them freedom and a safe passage home to London. Intimate strangers joined by too many secrets, they slowly begin to heal the past with attraction and tenderness—until an old enemy reaches out to threaten the passionate love Gavin has found with his irresistible bartered bride. From the Paperback edition.
The thirteenth novel in the magical alternate history Elemental Masters series continues the reimagined adventures of Sherlock Holmes in a richly-detailed alternate Victorian England. The threat of Moriarty is gone—but so is Sherlock Holmes. Even as they mourn the loss of their colleague, psychic Nan Killian, medium Sarah Lyon-White, and Elemental Masters John and Mary Watson must be vigilant, for members of Moriarty’s network are still at large. And their troubles are far from over: in a matter of weeks, two headless bodies of young brides wash up in major waterways. A couple who fears for their own recently-wedded daughter hires the group to investigate, but with each new body, the mystery only deepens. The more bodies emerge, the more the gang suspects that there is dangerous magic at work, and that Moriarty’s associates are somehow involved. But as they race against the clock to uncover the killer, it will take all their talents, Magic, and Psychic Powers—and perhaps some help from a dearly departed friend—to bring the murderer to justice.
The widowed Lady Diana's brief but disastrous marriage had been arranged to save her family from financial ruin. Diana vowed she would never marry again for money. But now, wealthy Jared Amberly has purchased the gambling debts of Diana's brother in exchange for a chance to make Diana his wife. From the author of A Reluctant Heart.
Contract—one wife! Reid Kennard is a ruthless financier used to buying and selling stocks, shares and priceless artifacts. But now Reid has his eye on a very different acquisition—Francesca Turner. Left destitute by her father's recent death, Francesca had walked into Reid's bank looking to extend her overdraft rather than for a marriage proposal! As Fran needs money and Reid needs a wife, he proposes the perfect barter: he'll rescue her and her family if she'll agree to marry him! But in this marriage of convenience can Fran ever be anything more than a bartered bride? Of A Marriage Has Been Arranged: "Talented writer Anne Weale's…masterful character development and charming scenes create a rich reading experience." —Romantic Times
The bestselling author of A Natural History of the Senses now explores the allure of adultery, the appeal of aphrodisiacs, and the cult of the kiss. Enchantingly written and stunningly informed, this "audaciously brilliant romp through the world of romantic love" (Washington Post Book World) is the next best thing to love itself.
