Showing results by author "Julia Brannan" in All Categories

Britain moves ever closer to the 1745 rebellion and the impending attempt to restore the Stuarts to the British throne. With no other options available to her, Beth marries the effete and tedious social butterfly Sir Anthony Peters. She resigns herself to a future of formal parties and dismal social gatherings whilst accompanying a husband who is both tiresome and physically repellent to her. But she consoles herself with the thought that if she is not to know love, then, at least she will have a secure and comfortable life.

It is 1745 and the rebellion that the Jacobites have worked towards for so many years is finally under way. Prince Charles is in Scotland gathering the clans and they are rising, ready to fight and if necessary, die for him. At his prince’s command, Alex, trapped by his own success as a spy, reluctantly remains in London with Beth. His clansmen, meanwhile, head north to join the rebels.

Following the death of their father, Beth's brother, Richard, returns from the army to claim his share of the family estate. However, Beth's hopes of a quiet life are dashed when Richard, dissatisfied with his meager inheritance and desperate for promotion, decides to force her into a marriage for his military gain. He will stop at nothing to get his way.  

The year is 1744 and Prince Charles Edward Stuart is stranded in France, his hopes temporarily frustrated, as the planned French invasion to restore his father to the British throne has had to be abandoned. The prince, frustrated beyond endurance, makes an impulsive decision that will change not only the lives of the MacGregor family but the history of Britain forever. Meanwhile in London, Beth, bored to distraction by the inanity of society life, hatches a plot with her friend Caroline to free the timid Anne Maynard from the clutches of her domineering guardians.