Part of Series
For three years, Rede has been searching Canada for those who ordered the murders of his wife and children. Now back in England, he has inherited an Earldom from his cousin George, and is close to finding the investors who ordered the deaths in an attempt to destroy Rede’s fur trading enterprise. He travels to his country estate in Longford, West Gloucestershire, to be close to the investigation. He does not need the distraction of an overwhelming longing for the lovely widow who lives in one of the cottages he owns. A widow, moreover, with a small daughter whose distinctive eyes mark her as George’s child. For six years, from the night Anne blackmailed George at arrow-point for an income and a place to live, she has been in hiding with her sisters and daughter. She hides from the scandal of her daughter’s conception. More importantly, she hides from the Earl of Selby, who has sinister plans for the sisters. He no longer has legal rights as guardian to the older sisters, but the youngest sister is still only 18. He cannot be allowed to find her. The last thing Anne needs is an inconvenient attraction to the local Earl. Rede is everything she has learned not to trust: a man, a peer, a Redepenning. If he finds out who she is, she may lose everything. As their attraction builds against a backdrop of the village Whitsun Week festivities, several accidents make Rede believe his enemies have found him, and leads Anne to wonder whether Selby has found her.
Author
Have you ever wanted something so much you were afraid to even try? That was me ten years ago. For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a novelist. I even started dozens of stories, over the years. But life kept getting in the way. A seriously ill child who required years of therapy; a rising mortgage that led to a full-time job; six children, my own chronic illness… the writing took a back seat. As the years passed, the fear grew. If I didn't put my stories out there in the market, I wouldn't risk making a fool of myself. I could keep the dream alive if I never put it to the test. Then my mother died. That great lady had waited her whole life to read a novel of mine, and now it would never happen. So I faced my fear and changed it—told everyone I knew I was writing a novel. Now I'd make a fool of myself for certain if I didn't finish. My first book came out to excellent reviews in December 2014, and the rest is history. Many books, lots of positive reviews, and a few awards later, I feel foolish for not starting earlier. I write historical fiction with a large helping of romance, a splash of Regency, and a twist of suspense. I then try to figure out how to slot the story into a genre category. I'm mad keen on history, enjoy what happens to people in the crucible of a passionate relationship, and love to use a good mystery and some real danger as mechanisms to torture my characters. Dip your toe into my world with one of my lunch-time reads collections or a novella, or dive into a novel. And let me know what you think.
