A Risqué Regency Romance from best selling Historical author Sahara Kelly “Should I ever pen my memoirs, I shall call them How to Befuddle the French with a Bucket of Slops.” - Edmund, Baron Ridlington, 1814 Inheriting the baronetcy is a burden Captain Edmund Holbury could well have done without. But he has no choice other than to say farewell to the sea and accept the title of Baron Ridlington—which includes the almost-ruined estate, and his five resident siblings. He is going to need some help, and soon. It comes in the unexpected form of a nasty crack on the head, a ministering hand and a woman who has hidden herself away in the countryside. Rosaline Henry finds the unconscious Baron strangely appealing, and when he makes an unexpected but practical suggestion - she agrees, as much for him as for herself. Thus begins a voyage of discovery which takes them to new heights of familial creativity, private passion and risky adventure. The sea is in Edmund’s veins, so of course there are ships, spies, fogs and storms, not to mention flirtatious Hussars, a mustache of unsurpassed magnificence, a chicken with unusual preferences…and a fortuitous attack of mal-de-mer! Can Edmund take the helm of a different kind of ship and steer Ridlington back into the calmer waters of the countryside? Of course, but he needs the right woman’s hand on the wheel…

“There’s nothing like a parishioner sitting down and breaking a pew to revise the entire congregation’s view of attending Sunday services.” Simon, Vicar of Ridlington, The Church of St. Simon's, 1814. Simon Ridlington enjoys the position of Vicar in Ridlington’s ancient church, St. Simon’s. It’s full of scandalous legends, wobbly pews—and woodworm. With a dwindling congregation and rising expenses, the last thing he needs is an accounting audit. Even worse? It is to be conducted by Lady Ellsmere. In her youth she was Tabitha Worsley, the one girl who was Simon’s weakness. Fate, he assumes, is having a good laugh at his expense. Tabby never forgot the tall young neighbor who taught her about desire in a sunlit field. Her life since then has taken her down a variety of interesting and often dangerous roads, but now she has returned to Ridlington—and Simon. Is that fire of passion still simmering? It takes a broken arm, a pretend engagement, a secret hiding place and an unexpected threat to get this couple over their differences. Perhaps it’s time for St. Simon to lend a…toe? (There are references to Book One and many overlapping character appearances, although this may be read as a stand alone story.)

”I learned something this morning. If you want to divert a man’s attention away from his baser desires, just ask him about himself. Then listen with an appearance of interest while he discourses at length on numerous boring self-deceptions.” Miss Letitia Ridlington in conversation, Autumn, 1814 Ridlington Village inn doesn’t seem like the place for Fate to linger and meddle in the affairs of mortals. Letitia Ridlington certainly doesn’t think so; she’s there to meet a publisher who has expressed interest in her first—rather scandalous—novel. But before she can sign the contract, she encounters a lady in distress, and by lunchtime she has an almost complete promise of publication, along with a new maid, Harriet Selkirk. Sir James FitzArden patiently accepts his growing affection for Letitia, but feels no rush to declare himself. Until the revelations within a certain manuscript open his eyes to surprises hidden beneath her demure façade. It’s time for him to claim her, and he begins his campaign, but the lady herself has a very strong will, along with ideas that don’t exactly match his. Nobody seems to notice that others are also keeping a close eye on Letitia and her new companion. An importunate duck will offer his opinions, some shocking interludes will raise more than a few genteel eyebrows, and there will be flirtatious stable hands, as well as an outrageous suggestion or two. Letitia is about to lead James into a frustrating dance, and it isn’t the quadrille...

”I am rather tired of the mundane, Mr. Seton-Mowbray. I have no expectations, and I’m much older than an Almacks debutante. I am not husband-hunting, since I intend never to marry. So yes, I’m ready to be a little bit more than just the delightful Miss Ridlington. I believe it might be entertaining were I to be known as the scandalous Miss Ridlington.” “Then I hope you’ll allow me to assist you in achieving that goal, Ma’am.” Kitty Ridlington in conversation with Max Seton-Mowbray, a musicale, London 1815. She’s fascinating and unattached, but is she ready for the kind of attention Max Seton-Mowbray would like to lavish on her? A shocking wager might have the desired result, but Fate intervenes with the unexpected, and everything changes. Kitty and Max embark on an adventure that neither could have anticipated, but both embrace without hesitation. It will lead from London to the countryside, and force them both to reconsider their goals. And they’ll discover the sparks they strike off each other might be igniting an all-consuming kind of fire…

“Attend me, sir. You are safe now. Warm and dry. You must rest, but not let go. Do you hear me? I shall not let you drift away from me…” Even as she spoke the words, she felt something unusual…a tremor passed from his skin to her palm. And in that moment, she knew. He was the one. Hecate Ridlington, Doireann Vale, late August 1816 The last Ridlington sibling is ready to strike out on her own. With her trusty companions Dal and Beelzebub, she finds herself called to a small estate not too far from her brother Richard’s, in Devon. It takes some repair work, but when done, she’s content to settle down to a quiet life and avoid the terrible weather beating across the country. Until she takes a walk near the forest and hears a faint cry for help… The man she rescues turns out to have more connections to Hecate than she could imagine, and together they embark on a voyage of discovery into his memories and her past. Given her strange talents and unfortunate history, she’s hesitant to risk her heart, but sometimes there is no choice. She will have to make a decision that might require the ultimate sacrifice – but where love has bloomed, miraculous things can happen. Hecate’s heart has been in hiding for far too long… (This is a stand-alone novel, but does include characters from the first five books in the series. Your reading experience might be enriched by a knowledge of those folks.)