Showing results by narrator "Stevie Zimmerman" in All Categories

Everyone knows Lady Felicity Pierce has been widowed the last three years, except she hasn't been. Lissy escaped the clutches of her dangerous husband but lost any chance for a happy-ever-after in the process. No one can ever know the secret she keeps hidden, the secret she wishes she could forget. Her harrowing escape would be for naught should anyone ever learn the truth. If only her husband had been the man she thought he was.

Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy has his world turned upside down when his character, of which he is particularly proud, is called into question by those whom he trusts. When he discovers a secret which could destroy not only the reputation of his beloved sister but threatens her very life, he can no longer hide behind his mask of social indifference. Dismaying circumstances will test the strength of his personal beliefs and convictions as well as his devotion to family and friends as a rival from his past determines to ruin him and take everything Darcy holds dear.

All is fair in love and war - or is it? What if Mr. Darcy's rival for Elizabeth Bennet's hand and heart is not some inconsequential stranger, but his dearest, closest friend? How is he to reconcile the claims of loyalty and kinship with the urge to pursue his heart's desire?

Captain Xavier Grey's body is back amongst the beau monde, but his mind cannot break free from the horrors of war. His friends try to help him find peace. He knows he doesn't deserve it. Just like he doesn't deserve the attentions of the sultry bluestocking intent on seducing him into bed... Spinster Jane Downing wants off the shelf and into the arms of a hot-blooded man.

When the Duke proposes a clandestine alliance to Lady Catherine, her pragmatic nature sees the wisdom in his scheme. While he may be a rogue, he's also a trusted confidant of her brother. Moreover, she remains steadfast in her conviction to resist any rogue's enchantments. Neither harbors matrimonial intentions, and their hearts bear no inclinations toward each other. Their plan appears impeccable—until fate casts an unexpected twist.

Mr. Darcy arrives at Longbourn, intending to correct the mistakes he made during his disastrous proposal in Hunsford. To his horror, he learns Elizabeth Bennet was killed in a ship’s explosion off the coast of France - in an apparent act of sabotage. Deep in despair, he travels in disguise to wartime France to seek out the spy responsible for her death. But a surprise awaits Darcy in the French town of Saint-Malo: Elizabeth is alive! Recovering from a blow to the head, Elizabeth has no memory of her previous life, and a series of mistakes leads her to believe Darcy is her husband.

Characters from Jane Austen's novels are thrown together by fate, and all manner of unwise decisions are taken at this vulnerable time. But then their past creeps up upon them - and what is there to do but face it, and hope that their convoluted paths will finally lead them to their proper place? Friends, rivals, foes, wrong choices, and a duel - Fitzwilliam Darcy's life is never dull! The Subsequent Proposal - a story that is primarily about him - follows Mr. Darcy in his struggles to decipher the troubling enigma of Elizabeth Bennet's feelings - and to correct the worst misjudgment of his life....

If Lady Arabella Winslett was left to her own devices, she would happily paint each day away and want for nothing else. Unfortunately, her grandfather has other plans for her future, plans that involve marrying her off to her horrid cousin and sending Bella far away. Only a quick betrothal to someone else will save her from that unhappy fate. But with time ticking by, it would take a miracle to bring anyone up to scratch...If only someone could be convinced to play the role of her intended for just a little while.

Miss Jane Fairfax has spent her life—though poor and expecting the eventuality of a governess position—by the side of a colonel’s daughter, living beyond the means she was born into. When she meets the enigmatic and handsome Frank Churchill in Weymouth, she can’t help but fall for him. Mr. Frank Churchill, the heir to his aunt’s fortune and dependent on her goodwill, knows that he cannot marry without Mrs. Churchill’s permission. Desperate to marry Jane, he proposes not only marriage but a plan to hide their engagement until his aunt approves of the match.

Bored stay at home mother, Cathy, finds her predictable routine upturned as she investigates a lipstick-covered love postcard sent to husband, Declan. Who is this mysterious La La? Could Declan really be having an affair? And.... wait. Is Cathy actually being stalked? With all her friends hiding secrets, a sexy admirer igniting long-forgotten sparks, and the stress of organizing the school's Save The Toilets dance, soon it's not only Cathy's marriage that's in jeopardy.

After years of abuse at the hands of her mother, Cordelia Avery knows the only way out is marriage to the perfect man. A man who will allow her all the freedom she has ever craved. And she has the perfect man picked out. The scandalous Marquess of Haversham might not be perfect to anyone else, but taking the man's black reputation under consideration, Cordie believes she'll enjoy all the freedom she's always wished for in his disreputable arms.

When betrayal is the only path open and passion is the only enemy he never anticipated...The shy soldier and self-appointed guardian of the Jaded, Michael Rutherford, is faced with the ultimate test of his loyalty and honor when he meets the woman who is at once his perfect match and the worst choice he could ever make. The final battle with the Jaded's greatest enemy will force him to choose between the brotherhood he has vowed to protect and shielding the innocent lady he comes to love. For Michael, it is a dance with the devil for a chance to taste the kisses of an angel. Grace Porter is no ordinary wallflower or shy spinster hiding in the shadows of her brother's London home. She is a quiet rebel with secrets of her own and a woman who dreams of an independent life, free to pursue her dreams as a writer. Her imagination holds the key to her survival, but it fuels her retreat from the colorless world around her.

Eli Hunter needs a woman who can act her way onto any Covent Garden stage. He needs a woman with steely determination and a cunning mind. A woman who can help him recover a stolen artifact owned by a secret society. But he encounters a problem. The only detective available stirs a passion that could soften the hardest heart - a terrifying prospect for a man who’s survived the worst kind of betrayal. Can Rachel and Eli work together and suppress their obvious attraction? When thrown in the midst of danger, will they find something infinitely more precious than a stolen artifact?

As the daughter of a famed courtesan, Julianna de Lacy had seen more than her share of heartbreak. As a child, her own heart was broken the night her mother dragged her from the Marquess Devereaux’s mansion and forced her into a stranger’s carriage. It was not the fear of meeting her mother’s new lover that had Julianna sobbing, but the fact she was leaving Bennet Devereaux - the marquess’ young son and Julianna’s only friend. Their parting words became a mantra she recited every night before bed.

The Netherfield ball brings about many changes for the population of Meryton, and more so for the female residents of Longbourn. Mr. Bingley’s departure leaves the eldest Jane Bennet heartbroken, whilst Mr. Collins’s proposal induces Miss Elizabeth to make a hasty escape. During her flight, she happens upon Mr. Darcy, a gentleman she despises.

Accidentally mistaking Mr. Darcy for someone else, Elizabeth Bennet determines to have nothing to do with him, until she learns that her first impression might have been a mistake. Where she expected arrogance, he was kind.

Miss Anne de Bourgh might be a girl, but that doesn’t stop her from hunting, shooting, riding, and fencing as well as her cousins, and when her cousin Richard is about to make a life-ruining mistake, Anne hatches a plot to put things right. But in order to do so, she’ll need to team up with her personal nemesis. That’s right, this time Anne must collude not against, but with, her least favorite cousin . . . Henry, heir to the Earl of Matlock.

Oliver York returns from war to find his father dead, his finances in arrears, and himself the new Earl of Carlisle. If he doesn't marry an heiress—and fast!—he and his tenants are going to be pitching tents down by the Thames. He definitely shouldn't be trading kisses with a penniless debutante... no matter how captivating she is!

After almost a year spent playing chaperone to Mr Daventry’s female enquiry agents, Miss Trimble knows she must find a new position. All his agents are married, and so what other reason could he have for calling her to his office late at night? Except her employer is a master matchmaker, a man who has discovered her true identity, knows her real name, and her darkest secret. A man who leaves her no choice but to confront her past and work alongside his client—the illegitimate son of an earl.

There was no money, the family was scattered, and Lucille, who had mothered them all since she was 16, was going to be married. So the house must be sold; Lucille knew that was the only sensible things to do, but the family had other ideas. Home they came by whatever way they could, penniless and bedraggled but with certain newfound friends who were to help them to upset Lucille's plans - all her plans for a calm, settled, and sensible life.