Showing results by narrator "Lillian Rachel" in All Categories

She's on the run from her cruel guardian... And Miss Adelaide has found the perfect hiding spot in the home of the formidable Earl of Tolston. But masquerading as a maid comes at a cost. One day she faints on the job, and when she wakes... She's in the arms of the Earl. His eyes are dark as he glowers down at her, but then he says, "What are you hiding, little one?"

“Mr Darcy, I am eager to hear your explanation for the fact that quite a few people believe we are engaged.” It starts with a bit of well-meant advice. Colonel Fitzwilliam suggests to his cousin Darcy that, before he proposes to Elizabeth Bennet in Kent, perhaps he ought to discuss his plans with their families first. What neither man could have predicted however was that Lord Matlock would write the news to his sister, or that Viscount Saye would overhear and tell his friends, or that his friends might slip a little and let their friends know as well.

Eloise flees her wedding to a cruel groom in a moment of sheer panic. She's certain her brother's best friend, the notorious Lord Wycliffe, is already out of town when she sneaks into his home. But the famed rake catches her rifling through his desk in search of coin. Of course his loyalty is to his best friend, and he insists on seeing her home. But really, if Eloise is anything, it's underestimated. So when he leaves her at her doorstep, she feigns a tearful smile as she waves farewell. And then she stows away in his carriage just before he leaves for his journey to the coast.

Plagued by misfortune, Ingrid Norling treks into the woods to clear her head. She emerges a monster-slayer, the shaken executioner of a creature so ferocious that even the king's strongest warriors could not destroy it. In a land that reveres swords and worships strength, this accidental heroism earns Inge an audience at court and an ill-fated prize: King Halvard impulsively adopts her and names her as his heir.

‘Tis no secret that Lizzy Bennet has dreams. The uniquely talented daughter of a woman with a dubious reputation, Lizzy knows she must make her own way in a world that shuns her. Fitzwilliam Darcy carries the stains of his family’s dishonor upon his soul, and only by holding himself to the strictest standards has he reclaimed his place in society. If his 15-year-old sister cannot be found quickly, her scandal could destroy years of perfect behavior.

Miss Prudence has worked diligently to become the perfect wife for the lord she's meant to marry. There's only one flaw left—music. But when her aunt hires the handsome lord next door to help, Prudence's quest for perfection is ruined. How is the dutiful debutante expected to survive music lessons when her tutor is the boy who'd teased her mercilessly as a child? And now he's at it again. Poking fun and provoking her into rash actions.

What really lies beneath the waves? Dive into our magical collection of short stories written by award-winning and up-and-coming authors and follow the ocean’s call. Meet murderous kelpies, hear the mermaid’s song, find a kidnapped prince, and explore the beautiful underwater kingdoms. Befriend selkie royalty, break fearsome curses, and swoon as you fall in love. All profits go to Oceana to support their mission to protect the world’s oceans and promote sustainable fishing.

Everyone knows the headmistress is destined to be a spinster. Well . . . everyone but the Marquess of Ainsley. The Marquess isn't certain why the elegant and resourceful Miss Grayson is so determined to remain unmarried. But he means to change her mind over the holidays. How will he coax the refined beauty out of her shell?

World-famous detective Hercule Poirot has retired to the English village of King's Abbot, determined to dedicate his little grey cells to the growing of vegetable marrows. But when Roger Ackroyd, a local businessman and former acquaintance, is stabbed to death, the man's niece begs Poirot to investigate. Poirot enlists the local doctor to be his assistant and scribe, and the two of them sift through clues to try to discern the ones that will lead them to the killer.

Elizabeth Bennett never imagined her own parents would force her to marry a virtual stranger. But when Mrs. Bennett accuses Fitzwilliam Darcy of compromising her daughter, that is exactly the outcome. Trapped in a seemingly loveless marriage and far from home, she grows suspicious of her new husband's heart and further, suspects he is hiding a great secret. Is there even a chance at love given the happenstance of their hasty marriage?

How do you know if you're going to heaven? How do you avoid going to hell? Learn what its like in heaven and hell from Emanuel Swedenborg's conversations with angels and spirits as this eighteenth-century Christian mystic explains what happens when we die. A Swedish Enlightenment scientist of extraordinary accomplishment, Swedenborg underwent a spiritual awakening that led to almost daily experiences of heaven, hell, and what he called the world of spirits; a process that lasted twenty-seven years until his death at age 84.

Necromancers infest the land of Alderyth, fueling a dark plague that always kills its victims. For Nell, it’s more than a story told by travelers. The deathmark claimed her family and fated her to a life of servitude. When a battered old hag collapses in her arms, suspicion swirls through her fearful town. Could Nell be a carrier of the plague? She flees rather than submit to prying authorities, but not without trouble.

Miss Charlotte despises the man she's supposed to marry. Of course, she hasn't actually met the Earl's son, but from the letters they've exchanged, he's exactly the sort of overbearing brute she can't stand. Not at all like that handsome, witty, romantic stranger she met at the bookshop. She agrees to meet this intriguing stranger in the garden at midnight, not realizing that the man she's agreed to meet...is the same man she's vowed to hate.

Rejected by her betrothed and banished into the wilderness, Brianna finds herself broken-hearted with nowhere to turn. She wants nothing more than to be left alone. But greater threats loom across the Border, and there are whispers of war on the breeze. The Spirit-Beasts are coming and Brianna might be the only thing that can stand in their way and stop the massacre of a nation.

Madame Pratolungo is a close companion to Lucilla Finch, a young woman who has been blind since birth. Madame Pratolungo records the narrative of Lucilla's trials from falling in love with Oscar Duborg, her wealthy and shy neighbor, to ending up in a romantic entanglement between Oscar and his brother Nugent. When Lucilla temporarily regains her sight thanks to Herr Grosse, mistaken identities and manipulative schemes are there to greet her.

In 1916, Chris returns home from a French hospital to his country estate just outside London. The nature of his injuries at the front has caused him to suffer from amnesia. Awaiting him at home are his devoted wife, whom he does not remember, and his cousin, Jenny, whom he remembers only as a childhood friend. For Chris, the last 15 years have not happened and he believes himself still in love with a woman named Margaret, the poor innkeeper's daughter he courted many years before.

Delilah always knew she'd marry someone rich and powerful, but she never imagined she'd be engaged to the man her friends call 'Lord Evil.' She's certain they're exaggerating the danger she's in...until she slips away during her engagement party and finds herself held captive by a terrifying brute. Trembling in terror in his arms, she tells the stranger to take whatever he wants, just let her go. But the beast growls in her ear, "I'm not here for your jewels, princess. I'm here for you..."

When the Marquess comes to court her sister, Louisa has one job... To stay out of trouble, and remain out of sight. She's failing spectacularly. But Louisa never expects the irritatingly charming Marquess to find her dancing alone in the moonlight, or that he'll be the one to catch her when she falls out of a window attempting to be unseen. And the more the Marquess tries to draw her out of her sister's shadow, the more clear it becomes. It's not just her reputation that's in trouble . . . it's her heart.

Virginia Woolf's 1925 novel takes place over the course of a single June day in the lives of some very different Londoners: wealthy society hostess Clarissa Dalloway, who is preparing for a party; her old friend Peter Walsh, recently returned from India, whose proposal of marriage Clarissa rejected years ago; Septimus Warren Smith, a WWI veteran suffering from shell shock; and his Italian-born wife, Rezia, who is trying to care for him as best she can. Woolf's beautiful prose captures the minds and souls of these vivid characters.

When the dashing spy finds the painfully shy wallflower alone in the library...Miss Lydia has been mistaken for many things. A part of the draperies, for example. And once...a potted fern. But she's never been mistaken for a spy before. Until now. But now a ridiculously handsome Viscount has come in her life, who's as cryptic as he is charming. And he seems intent on wooing the world's most timid wallflower.