When the Lady Lies
Can Love Survive…When the Lady Lies?
Lady Victoria Bascombe, Countess of Hadleymere, is broke. Not just the I must sell a few family jewels and spend the season in the country kind of broke, but the I must marry before anyone finds out or pretend I died kind of poverty. She chooses the latter, in a manner of speaking, anyway. She pretends to be a governess, and finds employment in the Highland village of Loch Bana. She is to take charge of the daughter of Laird Haig MacGarron, who also was bestowed with the title of Earl of Kinvarness after the Battle of Waterloo. But he prefers to be called Laird, thank you very much.
Nowhere in his advertisement did he mention he was single…and sinfully handsome. Of course, he also feels duped, because he’d been expecting a matronly, grey-haired termagant who would whip his daughter into shape, and instead, what he meets is a lissome, green-eyed, young(ish) woman. One who will not just tame his unruly daughter, Danielle, but who will transform the lives of both father and child with her joyful exuberance.
If he allows her to. Once he discovers she’s been concealing her real identity, he doesn’t know if he can trust her. Danielle’s mother betrayed him long ago, and it is not an experience he’s willing to undertake again. But when an unknown assailant threatens Victoria’s life, Haig is compelled to protect her. He must decide if forgiveness is possible…
When the Lady Lies
When the Lady is Wicked
Beatrice Kittleridge-Bergeron has accidentally murdered her husband. Though he deserved it, she still feels terrible. What’s worse, the authorities are on her trail, which leads to Loch Bana, Scotland, where she seeks the protection of her dearest friend, Lady Victoria MacGarron, as well as employment. She has always been a genius with the needle, so the latter is easy to find. Safety for herself and her daughter, though—not so much.
Malcolm Podge-MacGarron, brother of Victoria’s husband, decides to remedy that. The lady needs protection, and the fact that she is irresistible has nothing to do with his offer of it…
Will Bea accept his assistance—and his love—before winter closes in, or will their chance at Christmas joy pass them by?
