Regency Romance

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Spotlight on “Maggie’s Wheelbarrow” in Merry Belles

Maggie’s Wheelbarrow, by Jude Knight

Maggie hasn’t heard from her husband Will in more than a year—not since he marched out of Spain with his regiment. When she and the children followed him, the battles were over and his regiment was gone. Letters have brought no answers. With all her worldly goods and her son in a wheelbarrow, and her daughter on her back, Maggie sets off from Portsmouth to walk to the Midlands to find out what has happened to Will.

Will Parker has been invalided out of the army. The scars and the limp he has as souvenirs of the Battle of Toulouse are not the worst of it. He also left behind two years of memories. Back home with his mother, he is building a new life. But what is it he is forgetting? 

Meet Will Parker

Will Parker has nearly recovered from battle injuries received more than a year ago, but a blow to his head left a two-year gap in his memory. Invalided out of the army, he lives quietly with his mother and earns his living as a clerk. Deep inside he is restless, as if he yearns something he doesn’t know he has lost.

Meet Maggie Parker

Maggie Parker is determined to take her baby daughter and her little son to their father’s family, though she is not certain where in the Midlands he lives. She buys a wheelbarrow in Portsmouth, puts into it her baggage and her son, and sets out with her daughter on her back to walk as many hundreds of miles as are needed.

Excerpt from Maggie’s Wheelbarrow

Will has just read a letter from the wife he did not know he had. He has read it out loud, and he is surprised at his mother’s reaction.

While he was reading, he was aware of his mother sinking into another chair, but he had not looked directly at her. He did now.

Her eyes were filled with tears but she was smiling. “Thank God,” she said. “I have been so worried.”

“You knew I had a wife and you didn’t tell me?” Will couldn’t help but feel betrayed.

“What could I say, Will?” his mother asked. “You had forgotten them, and I had no idea what had become of them. Had she deserted you? Had they all died? How would it have helped to tell you what little I knew?”

She scrambled to her feet and pulled out a drawer on the kitchen dresser. She handed him a package tied with ribbon. “Here. Here are your letters. When you’ve read them, you’ll know as much about your wife as I do. Oh, my dear son, perhaps when you see her you will remember everything.”

Or perhaps not. What would he do if he didn’t know this wife of his? A thought occurred to him. “Margaret. Not… No, it couldn’t be… I didn’t marry Maggie Finch, did I? Sergeant Finch’s daughter?”

Ma nodded. “That’s it. Are you remembering, Will?” She sounded hopeful.

He shook his head. “Not from after Ciudad Rodrigo. From before. She… I doubt there was a man in the regiment who was not at least a little in love with Maggie Finch. Not that any of us would risk the sergeant’s reaction if we showed her the least disrespect!”

He could feel his lips spreading in a grin as he remembered the cheerful pretty daughter of the formidable soldier. “I married Maggie Finch!”

“So, I should hope, Will Parker, since you had two children by her,” said Ma, rather sharply. “Go and wash up for dinner, lad. You can read your letters after.”

Will obediently got to his feet. Maggie Finch. Maggie Parker, now, and wandering the Midlands with his two children in tow. Wandering where? He checked the date and location at the top of the letter. It was dated two weeks ago, and she was not here yet. She had included a village name, as well, and he knew it. Not more than thirty miles hence, but he supposed a woman with two children might travel slowly. On the other hand, perhaps she was heading for a different Ashton.

As he washed his hands and face, he pictured her out in the cold and the rain and shuddered. He hoped she had found somewhere safe and warm to wait out the storm. She and the little ones.

He had a powerful urge to race out the door and start searching for them. In the dark and the rain, it would be pointless. Possibly even dangerous. He would leave in the morning, once it was light, riding in the direction of the village she had left weeks ago.

 

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Spotlight on “Forever Hold Your Peace” in Merry Belles

Forever Hold Your Peace, by Rue Allyn

Home from the wars, Captain Prescott Drake is shocked to learn that his fiancée plans to wed someone else. Can he reach her in time to prevent the nuptials? Will she want him, or has their treasured love died the slow death he nearly suffered in a French prison?

Desperate and believing the man she loved is dead, Miss Elizabeth Feddleston seeks rescue in the form of marriage to a kind friend. He knows she does not love him now but has hopes that once she has mourned the man who first won her heart that she will turn to him.

Meet Prescott Drake

Ensign Prescott Aelfwyn Drake, only son of an obscure country baron answered his country’s call to arms. What good was the comfortable life of a baron, if Boney ruled the world with his iron fist. Prescott had been on leave before receiving his first orders when a friend invited him to a local assembly. There Prescott met the woman of his dreams. He knew the charming Miss Elizabeth Eloise Feddleston was meant for him. Lacking in fortune, her stellar reputation and innate kindness were far more important to him. On the night before he was to leave to join his regiment he proposed. She accepted and they planned to wed as soon as Boney was defeated and Prescott could resign his commission.

Meet Elizabeth Feddleston

Miss Elizabeth Eloise Feddleston had expected to marry for convenience. Betts was the daughter of a widowed country squire, whose gambling losses had devastated the family. From the age of eight she’d managed the household and raised her twin siblings. The local vicar had helped where he could. Her father passed shortly after she reached her majority. His heir was a self-righteous, penny-pincing bigot who at their first meeting informed her she would marry as he pleased or be thrown from the house. Her siblings would be sent to a school for orphans sponsored by the religious sect he favored. She’d sought refuge with highly placed friends who offered shelter and safety for both her and the twins. Under a duke’s protection she attended her first assembly and fell in love.

An excerpt from Forever Hold Your Peace

A treasured locket open in her hands, Miss Elizabeth Eloise Feddleston sat by the window of the elegant sitting room—part of the suite assigned her at Leigh Chase. She stroked the pad of one thumb across the miniature within.

The handsome soldier depicted stared out at her with an intent moss-green gaze. His square chin framed a generous mouth. The resolute set of his broad shoulders spoke of the strength of his courage and determination. Captain Prescott Aelfwyn Drake had given her the locket as a remembrance on the day she accepted his proposal of marriage. A marriage that would never be, for darling Prescott was dead.

Betts sniffled back a tear. She had cried too much already. ‘Twas past time to lay Prescott and his memory to rest.

Outside the December day was gloomy and drear, entirely too close a match to her thoughts. The wind howled as it battled with the branches of the trees which more often than not fell to the snow, ice and cold of the windy assault. In Betts’ heart, fear and worry did battle with her every attempt at the calm control she relied on to deal with disasters big and small, since the day of her mother’s passing. That had been sixteen years ago. She’d been seven when she’d made her way from the nursery to her father’s study and found him mumbling into a glass, which she later learned was Scotch whisky. Strathnaver’s best—nothing but the best for Squire Feddleston, regardless of what economies were necessary to acquire said best.

“London gentlemen won’t respect a man who wears shoddy clothes, serves second rate whisky, rides ill-bred hacks…” the list went on.”

She pushed painful memories aside and tried to concentrate on the future. Tried to convince herself she was doing the right thing. The only thing. To save her brother and sisters from soul-killing lives planned by their cousin and new guardian, marrying Sir Tellus Leigh was the right thing, the only thing.

In a few short weeks, on Christmas Day, she would be married. Not to Prescott, the man of her dreams, but to a kind, warm, generous man, a friend who deserved better than the half measure of love that had been all she could promise him in exchange for the protection he offered her and her family.

She knuckled away a second tear. It should have been Prescott standing beside her in the church. However, Prescott Drake was dead, as were all of the dreams they had shared. In the wake of the news that he was missing presumed dead had come a string of disasters that had led her to this moment.

It was imperative she marry quickly. Her lips twitched with a failed smile. No, she wasn’t enceinte. It was her siblings’ welfare that necessitated her quick nuptials.

 

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Spotlight on “Single Belles” in Merry Belles

Single Belles, by Elizabeth Donne

For Violet Hughes, this Christmas does not ring in a season of good cheer. One friend betrays her confidence, telling a certain gentleman Violet has feelings for him, while another begins her own bold pursuit of the very same gentleman. Despite being determined to fight for what she wants, Violet is thwarted deliberately at every turn. Someone among the single belles is her secret enemy. Surely it’s not her best friend, her infamous pranks suddenly taking a darker turn? Whomever it is, Violet will have to foil their plot to make her Yuletide wish come true.

Meet Violet

Violet Hughes, a serious-minded young woman, has tolerated the pranks of her best friend for years until they begin to interfere with Violet’s growing feelings for Victor Blayne.

Meet Victor

Victor Blayne, a sterling fellow and heir to the Blaynes’ estate at Hamptonlea House, has enjoyed the close and comfortable friendship of Violet Hughes since childhood. This Christmas, however, his decision to take a wife might very well change that.

Excerpt from Single Belles

“It’s not too late, you know.” Her brother pressed on. “At present, she is fascinating merely because she brings talk of new adventures. When that novelty wears off, she will become like the rest of us. But if she endears herself to him in these early days, he will never realize how ordinary she is.”

Violet’s mouth fell open. “You think she is ordinary? Come now, Donovan, Pearl is so much more than that. Her beauty, the way she carries herself…”

“Are all learned,” he finished for her. “Do you think a man cares for these things when looking for a wife?”

“Why, certainly I do! You show me a man for whom beauty and poise are not attractive elements. I will not believe it unless I see it with my own eyes.”

“Elements, yes, dear sister, but not the essence of what he looks for. If Pearl had remained here with us, she would have nothing to offer him now. You and Victor, on the other hand, have always been kindred spirits. Take your love of riding, for example. The two of you are like centaurs, at one with your steeds. I cannot imagine Victor happy with a wife who is unable to ride with the same passion he does.”

Violet fell silent at these words. There was so much of her kinship with Victor that she had simply taken for granted. It had formed organically over their entire lives, and she had never questioned it. Their closeness just was. She hadn’t really considered how enviably comfortable they were with each other. It would certainly be a sound foundation for a life together. Goodness, some marriages never reached such solid connection, only enduring years of dull co-existence.

What had she been thinking, handing it all over politely to Pearl Thompson as if she had no claim of her own? She wouldn’t just be losing the chance to be with Victor. She would lose the freedom they had to ride like two spirits unleashed. No more walking on his arm in the garden, talking of constellations, or lying side-by-side on the lawn, watching as clouds drifted by and trying to outdo each other for the most obscure image the floating shapes conjured up.

If he married someone else, he would have to be respectable. The dynamic in the group would shift. Their friendship would become a shadow-version of its former self.

Fear gripped Violet’s heart with fingers that squeezed until she gasped aloud.

“Are you alright?” her brother asked.

“I… I don’t know,” she answered truthfully.

Donovan considered her in silence. Then, as if reaching a conclusion, he nodded his head slowly and smiled with satisfaction. “You understand at last. Good. Now, what are you going to do about it?”

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Spotlight on “Mistletoe and Midnight Wishes” in Merry Belles

Mistletoe & Midnight Wishes

By Sherry Ewing

Can the magic of a midnight wish dispel the dark clouds of the past?

Mr. Joseph Morledge has taken on an almost impossible task. He has purchased the manor house that came to his family in his mother’s dowry. But his father’s deeds have left it haunted with memories best forgotten. Determined to fully renovate the house and reclaim the future, he sets Christmas as his target. But the woman he has long held in his heart has plans of her own.

For more years than she can count, Miss Charlotte Darby has hidden her feelings for Joseph Morledge, her brother’s best friend. Some untold code of honor between men has made him keep her distance. But when the opportunity comes to help him redecorate his house, she won’t take no for an answer.

As Joseph and Charlotte work to remake the manor into the home it should be, Joseph begins to realize that his house will not be a home without Charlotte as his wife. Has he left it too late to declare his love? Or will mistletoe and midnight wishes work their magic?

Preorder for December 20th: https://bluestockingbelles.net/belles-joint-projects/merry-belles/

Meet Charlotte

For more years than she can count, Miss Charlotte Darby has hidden her feelings for Joseph Morledge, her brother’s best friend. Some untold code of honor between men has made him keep her distance. But when the opportunity comes to help him redecorate his house, she won’t take no for an answer.

Meet Joseph

Mr. Joseph Morledge has taken on an almost impossible task. He has purchased the manor house that came to his family in his mother’s dowry. But his father’s deeds have left it haunted with memories best forgotten. Determined to fully renovate the house and reclaim the future, he sets Christmas as his target.

Excerpt from Mistletoe and Midnight Wishes

Still… he always kept Charlotte at a distance, since she was his best friend’s sister which by an undeclared gentleman code of honor made Joseph feel she should be off limits. And then there were Michael’s feelings for the lady. He could never act against his brother’s possible happiness even if it cost Joseph his own.

Her hand came to rest on his arm. “You’re lost in thought, Joseph. Are you sure this was a good idea?” she asked softly.

“Everyone keeps asking me that and it’s the same thing I’m beginning to question. But the answer remains the same. The deal is done and the manor is once again with my family,” Joseph stated, as he began ushering her from the house. “I would prefer if you don’t come inside. I’d rather you see the place once the renovations are complete.”

“But we came to help, didn’t we, Garrett,” she replied, as they met her brother outside.

“Any way we can,” Garrett said, slapping Joseph on his back.

“And I appreciate your offer but I’ve got this in hand,” Joseph answered, even as a wagon began making its way up the drive. “Besides, won’t you be busy with your charge this summer?”

Charlotte waved her hand in the air. “Lola and her father the Earl of Stanhope are off on an extended holiday together. Father, daughter time I suppose.”

Garrett chuckled. “The earl will have his hands full without Charlotte as the girl’s governess, and only a nanny to help him manage the child for the summer.”

“Lola won’t need lessons in reading and writing or any of the other academic studies I have planned for her upon their return,” Charlotte answered. “So, you see, Joseph. We have more than ample time to help you in any way we can lend assistance.”

“We can discuss this more at a later date. First, I need to access the manor and voice my plans with the workmen for the refurbishment. Garrett, we can talk later about how you might help. Charlotte will need to abide by my wishes.” Joseph watched as Charlotte took on a look that said an argument was forthcoming.

“Really, Joseph, I am not some delicate flower that cannot withstand a bit of hard work. Why, I’ll have you know—”

“Charlotte!” Michael’s voice called from the doorway as he hurried to reach her side. “How wonderful to see you… and Garrett, too.” Michael beamed staring at the young lady who was of the same age.

The adoration his brother felt for Charlotte was more than evident, and Joseph stepped back as he always did. But he did not miss the brief glance the lady bestowed upon him, causing his heart to flip end over end in his chest. Joseph wasn’t sure if he imagined the whole encounter but he kept the memory in his heart until their paths would cross again.

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“One Good Wager Leads to Another” in Love’s Perilous Road

A young widow escaping her controlling father. A former spy in disguise. And a long-ago but never-forgotten kiss.

Thisbe Rose moves into the haunted cottage she inherited from her soldier husband. She’s not afraid of ghosts, nor is she worried about smugglers and highwaymen—but she’s not so sure about the very odd housekeeper who’s already there.

Gervaise Transom returns from years as a spy with no taste for society, and wagers a friend he can spend six months in disguise without getting caught. When Thisbe moves into the cottage, he knows he should leave, to protect her reputation—but he also must stay to keep her safe.

Not only that, he’s sure he met her once years ago…

Meet Thisbe

Widowed Thisbe Rose leaves her controlling father to live in the cottage she inherited. She’s not afraid of smugglers, highwaymen, or ghosts, and is determined to make it on her own. But something strange is going on in the cottage—which has the oddest housekeeper she has ever met.

Meet Gervaise

Gervaise Transom spied for England, the country of his ancestors, against France, the country of his other ancestors, and now he’s torn up inside. He avoids family and society by accepting a wager with his best friend that he can spend six months disguised as a woman without being caught. 

An excerpt from One Good Wager Deserves Another

Thisbe sat up, heart thumping. She knew where the sound had come from—the squeaky board in the room above her bedchamber. Annoyed, she turned up the lamp, slid out of bed, and donned her robe and slippers. She lit a candle and followed Eddie’s ghost to the door.

The gallery was in darkness, save for a faint light from the windows. She crept toward the staircase. No light showed either below or above. She must have been mistaken. Old houses did creak sometimes in the night, so why was Eddie pestering her?

The ghost pointed upward and made a shooing motion, urging her to take the stairs.

She balked. Ghosts didn’t understand human fears, since earthly danger didn’t affect them anymore. Who could possibly be up there? And why? Surely for something underhanded and perhaps dangerous!

Eddie rolled his spectral eyes—an unpleasant sight—and made an even more urgent motion with his hand, mouthing, “Hurry!”

She could ignore him, but he might have a good reason for wishing her to investigate that sound. She couldn’t afford to succumb to anxiety. No hesitation, she told herself. This was her house. She had every right to know what was going on.

She picked up another candlestick—the closest she could find to a weapon—and trod firmly up the stairs. Let the intruder hear her approach and tremble.

Unfortunately, there was no response from above, trembling or otherwise. Nothing but a nod and a grin from Eddie.

Thisbe trod gamely upward. Just as she expected, a flicker of light showed beneath the door of the garret above her bedchamber.

She thrust the door open. “What in heaven’s name is—”

A female figure by the window tossed a brief glance at Thisbe and said, “Hush!” Then she opened her mouth wide and let out a wail that would drown out a banshee.

It was Mrs. Wix, the housekeeper, wrapped in a heavy cloak with a hood obscuring most of her face. She proceeded to open and close the shutters of a lantern several times. Eddie’s ghost stood next to her, looking mighty pleased with himself.

“How dare you order me to hush!” Thisbe said, but in a softer voice. “This is my house, my garret, and you have no business being up here pretending to be a ghost!”

“I’ll explain in a minute,” the woman hissed, a finger to her lips, astonishing Thisbe so much that a furious retort died.

So much for respect for one’s betters. Not that Thisbe really believed that some people were better than others merely because of an accident of birth, but surely an employee should be polite to her employer—especially such an understanding one as herself.

Mrs. Wix continued opening and closing the lantern in a strange, rhythmic pattern. The air movement of the shutters, combined with the breeze from outdoors, wafted the scents of night and dead leaves, and closer by, horse and dirt. What had she been doing in the stable? The woman surely needed a bath.

Suddenly, Thisbe knew what was going on. “You’re signaling to smugglers!” 

“I am not.” Mrs. Wix glanced at her again with a wide, mischievous grin. “I’m signaling to the revenue men.”

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A change is as good as a rest in WIP Wednesday

In Maggie’s Wheelbarrow, which is my contribution to Merry Belles, the next Bluestocking Belles Christmas Collection, my heroine takes a job at a house party.

The hope of soon being reunited with Will, or at least reaching his mother, had kept Maggie moving along the winding roads from Portsmouth to the first village of Ashton in the Midlands. When that proved to be the wrong place, she changed her strategy. Winter was coming. Even now, the heat was gone from the long evenings as soon as the sun dipped below the horizon. If she had to find lodgings for herself and the children during the winter, then she must make more than the few coins she had picked up on her way north.

Having made the decision between one village and the next, she put it into practice at the first opportunity, asking at both inns and the three major houses if there was any work available.

One of the inns took her on to clean rooms and empty slop pails. For one week, she told them. After that, she said, she must be off once more on her search. With Eva on her back and Billy tagging behind, she managed the heavy work with ease, and a week later set off the next Ashton with several more shillings in her purse and a warmer coat for each child to keep them comfortable in the sometimes-cold wind.

The second Ashton was as disappointing as the first, but Maggie got two night’s work at the inn, and moved on the third. Thus it went through the autumn and on into early winter. When the snow came, she would have to be settled, but meanwhile, she moved from village to village, stopping to work whenever her money ran low, and at every village called Ashton or something similar, asking for the Parker family. All to no avail.

She was between Ashtons in early December when, on the strength of a stint as a maid at yet another inn, she was offered temporary work at the local great house, where they needed extra servants during a house party. At first, she thought she’d have to turn the job down, though the wages were excellent. But another woman overheard her telling the hiring steward about her children.

“I reckon they could stay with Ma,” she said. “She’s looking after me own young uns, while I earn a few coins, so two more wouldn’t matter to her none, and she could do with the pennies.” The woman introduced herself as Frannie, and offered to take Maggie to visit “Ma” immediately.

“If she could put you up at night,” said the steward, “I shall add two shillings a day to the wages, for where I could find you a bed, I do not know. Mind you, you’ll have to be at your post by five in the morning, and will not be home until after the guests have had their dinner.”

Frannie’s mother proved to be a kind woman whom Eva took to straight away, and the other children were twins of Billy’s age, so Maggie went off to work the following morning with a light heart. If she saw out the two weeks of the house party, she would earn the princely sum of eighteen shillings! Four shillings of that would go Frannie’s mother, but fourteen shillings would feed her little family for weeks, if she was careful.

It was hard work, but in some ways, it was also a holiday. No walking for hours with Eva on her back and the wheelbarrow before her. No need to find dry spaces through the day to feed the children or to change a wet clout. And she enjoyed the walks with Frannie in the pre-dawn quiet and the velvet dark of the late evening.

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Spotlight on ‘Falling Into You’ in Love’s Perilous Road

Lord Milton Sutton, Earl of Langley has one regret in life… that he left behind a lady that owned his heart in order to take over his father’s businesses to prevent bankruptcy. One year later, he has a second chance to win her back but is he too late?

Lady Josephine Cranfield is determined to move on with her life after her heart was broken by the love of her life. But her feelings for Milton awaken upon his return and his eagerness to pick up where they left off only makes her resolved to forget him.

Can Milton and Josephine find a way back to one another or will someone else find his way into Josephine’s heart?

Buy Love’s Perilous Road. Preorder price 99c. Published October 31st

Meet Josephine

Lady Josephine Cranfield is determined to move on with her life after her heart was broken by the love of her life. But her feelings for Milton awaken upon his return and his eagerness to pick up where they left off only makes her resolved to forget him.

Meet Milton

Lord Milton Sutton, Earl of Langley has one regret in life… that he left behind a lady that owned his heart in order to take over his father’s businesses to prevent bankruptcy. One year later, he has a second chance to win her back but is he too late?

Excerpt from Falling Into You

“You’re very early, Philip. Is something wrong?” she declared before she came to a sudden halt. She took hold of the doorframe to steady herself, afraid that her knees might buckle when she witnessed the gentleman standing near the window.

He turned to face her with the sun streaming through the glass to make him appear almost angelic. She drank in the sight of him as though she was dying of thirst. The cut of his suit and waistcoat was immaculate. His dark brown hair streaked with lighter shades was neatly combed into place and touched the edges of his coat. His skin appeared tanned from time spent in the sun and he appeared far more muscular than she remembered. His linen shirt seemed to stretch across his muscled chest while his blue eyes seemingly danced in delight to see her. She just might swoon.

“Hello, Josephine” he said giving her a bow. The old memory of his husky baritone branded her heart with sorrow as all the old hurt came rushing back to the surface.

“Milton…” she began, attempting to find her voice. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“I know this is highly irregular but I had to see you,” he said stepping forward.

“Why?” she gasped out as her knees began to shake and she had the overwhelming need to sit down.

The sound of the tea trolley being rolled through the hallway gave her the moment she needed to clear her head and compose herself. She went into the room and sat in a chair near the hearth knowing to sit on the couch would allow him to be far too close. Once the servant put the trolley near at hand, she poured tea into two cups and offered him one as he took the opposite chair. He reached for the one she held out for him, and when their fingers touched, a zing of emotion overcame her. It wasn’t fair that he could still have such an effect on her after all this time. It wasn’t fair at all!

He continued to stare at her, searching her face for some sign of… what? That she was still in love with him? She couldn’t be certain but what did it matter if she still cared for this man? He was her past, and Philip was her future.

“You were one of the first people I wanted to see upon my return,” he confessed, setting down his tea without taking a sip.

“Oh? And who was the first?” she said in a snippy tone.

A slight chuckle left those lips she remembered all too well, having kissed them a dozen times or more. “Your brother,” he finally answered.

“I see. Considering your friendship all your lives, I can see how you might have missed him.”

“And you.”

She raised a brow at his admission. “I don’t see why you’d have missed me, Milton. After all, it was you who ended our association.”

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Corn Dollies: a guest post from Alina K. Field

In researching British harvest festivals for Under the Harvest Moon, we came across the tradition of weaving corn dollies.

Corn, for American readers, refers to cereal grains such as wheat or barley, and though spirits are involved, the dolly is not a human-shaped creation like a voodoo doll!

When the harvest was almost finished, the last of the sheaves were taken and made into a corn dolly. Corn dollies are created by weaving stalks of grain, often into hollow spirals, a place where the Corn Spirit, perhaps the goddess Ceres, could stay during the winter months.

When ploughing started, a farmer would place the dolly hosting the Corn Spirit into the first furrow to be ploughed back into the earth to ensure a good growing season.

In the fictional Cheshire town of Reabridge, the harvest festival includes a corn doll contest. I can only imagine the beautiful woven designs that adorned the town’s homes and hearths!

Link to a video about making traditional corn dolls: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYpcfzd4ov0

Also, Wikipedia has a good article on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_dolly

Under the Harvest Moon, A Bluestocking Belles with Friends Collection

By Caroline Warfield, Jude Knight, Sherry Ewing, Cerise DeLand, Elizabeth Ellen Carter, Collette Cameron, Mary Lancaster, Alina K. Field, and Rue Allyn

As the village of Reabridge in Cheshire prepares for the first Harvest Festival following Waterloo, families are overjoyed to welcome back their loved ones from the war.

But excitement quickly turns to mystery when mere weeks before the festival, an orphaned child turns up in the town—a toddler born near Toulouse to an English mother who left clues that tie her to Reabridge.

With two prominent families feuding for generations and the central event of the Harvest Moon festival looming, tensions rise, and secrets begin to surface.

Nine award winning and bestselling authors have combined their talents to create this engaging and enchanting collection of interrelated tales. Under the Harvest Moon promises an unforgettable read for fans of Regency romance.

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/UnderHarvestMoon

Under the Champagne Moon by Alina K Field

Orphaned by the French Revolution and rescued by a British family, Fleur Hardouin was a solemn and often sullen child. She didn’t—or wouldn’t—speak, until the jolly young Gareth Ardleigh crossed her path one summer and saved her from bullies.

Fifteen years later, Fleur’s life takes another twist when she and the beloved lady she serves lose their home and return to the town of Reabridge. Determined to rescue them both through an advantageous marriage, Fleur tries to brush off the attention she receives from Captain Gareth Ardleigh, who’s home from the wars and as handsome as ever. Her heart longs for him, but her head knows he can’t provide the security she needs.

Gareth’s excuse for visiting Reabridge is to deliver the personal effects of his best friend who perished at Quatre Bras. But his real purpose is finding the little French girl he met years ago, for marriage—not to him, but to the Frenchman who helped save his life. Little does Fleur know that she’s heir to a wealthy French vintner who’s demanded Gareth’s help finding Fleur as repayment of his rescue from Napoleon’s army.

Astonished to find that Fleur has grown into a beautiful—and still intriguing—young woman, it soon becomes clear he must choose between honoring a promise or trying to win the hand of the woman he loves.

Author Biography:

USA Today bestselling author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature but prefers the happier world of romance fiction. Her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., but after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California where she shares a midcentury home with a golden-eyed terrier and a feisty chihuahua and only occasionally misses snow.

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Website: https://alinakfield.com/

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Spotlight on “Moonlight Wishes and Midnight Kisses” in Under the Harvest Moon

by Collette Cameron

Chronicles of the Westbrook Brides

Time can heal most wounds. Only love can heal what remains…

A wounded veteran with no future…

There was a time when Cortland Marlow-Westbrook wanted little more than to marry the Scottish lass who stole his heart and build a life with her. But that was before the war left its mark on his body and soul. Now, scarred and disabled, all he wants is to be left alone. Unfortunately, fate—and the only woman he ever loved—have another plan in mind…

An heiress who mourns the past…

Avery Levingtone was heartbroken when Cortland went off to war and never responded to a single letter she sent. But now he’s back, and she refuses to waste the second chance they’ve been given. She’ll do whatever it takes to win back her wounded warrior’s heart and prove they were meant to be together—or she’ll remain a spinster forever. On this there can be no compromise…

Can Cortland overcome the pain of his past and embrace a loving future with Avery? Or will he deny his happily ever after…and hers?

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“Moonlight Wishes and Midnight Kisses” is the first story in Under the Harvest Moon, now on preorder at the special pre-release price of 99c.

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Spotlight on Before I Found You

I have followed Miranda de Courtenay’s quest for a title since she first appeared in her sister Grace’s story, in the Bluestocking Belles collection Holly & Hopeful Hearts. I wondered how Sherry Ewing was going to redeem her, for she was, beyond question, a brat. But Sherry did it, in this lovely story, where Miranda at last faces the reality that she has been seeking the wrong goal. I adore the man who taught her to want more, and I love the woman Miranda becomes. Read this book!

Before I Found You

A de Courtenay Novella (Book Three)

By Sherry Ewing

Miss Miranda de Courtenay has only one goal in life: to find a rich husband who can change her status from Miss to My Lady. But when a handsome stranger crosses her path at a Valentine’s Day ball, her obsession with titles dims. Might love be enough?

Captain Jasper Rousseau has no plans to become infatuated during a chance encounter at a ball. He has a new ship to run, passengers to book, and cargo to deliver. But one look into a young lady’s beautiful hazel eyes, and he becomes lost. Does love at first sight really exist?

Their paths continue to cross until they are both stranded in Fenwick on Sea. Their growing connection is hard to dismiss, despite Miranda’s childish quest for a title at all cost. But what if the cost includes love?

Released on 21 April. Preorder now through Books2Read: https://books2read.com/u/4XDrva

Excerpt

She was not sure what to expect. Being outside alone with a man she did not know was a bold move. If she needed reinforcements, she could easily call out for help, but that would hardly do her reputation any good. It had barely recovered from her last scheme. Society’s memory was short, remembering scandals only until something new came along for them to gossip about—or until something happened to remind them. She couldn’t afford to give them new fodder to chew on.

She could not resist. Miranda took the remaining few steps until she stood next to him, and he rose to his full height, his hair tousled by the evening breeze. She suppressed the urge to push back the lock of hair across his brow that refused to stay in place. Oh my, but the man was tall!

Miranda did not even realize she offered him her hand until he leaned down and kissed the air between her knuckles. His fingers were warm even through the silk of her gloves. How would they feel if her hand was bare? Good heavens! What was coming over her?

“Mademoiselle,” he whispered in a husky French accent, causing goose bumps to rise on her arms. His voice was utterly divine!

“Miranda,” she said offering only her first name. It was hardly appropriate, but she did not wish to see his disinterest when he learned she was a “Miss” and not a “Lady”.

Although it might not matter. Many gentlemen present this evening were on the lookout for a well-dowered heiress to enrich their estate. The man before her could be one of them. Even though she could not attach “lady” to her name, she was still wealthy in her own right… or would be when she finally wed.

Love had nothing to do with what really mattered in life—marriage to a husband within the nobility, one with enough wealth to keep her and her children in luxury. Not for her a boring life as a country matron, with nothing to do or to talk about beyond counting sheets and breeding children. She wanted a glittering life as a Society hostess! It would be an adventure. Or so she had always thought, and she would not allow her heart to rule her head.

She bit her bottom lip before she realized she had done so. The man before her could not know it was an automatic reaction when she was worried. She watched his brow arch in surprise before a grin turned up at the corner of his lips.

“Jasper,” he finally replied in return, examining her reaction to his touch. “The evening has become brighter now that you have joined me for a breath of fresh air. Look how the stars above beam in approval that they may gaze down upon you.”

Miranda’s lips twitched at the compliment. Very nice, though she sensed that he used this phrase often. She realized he still held her fingertips and she reluctantly pulled them away before waving her hand towards the crowd inside.

About Sherry Ewing:

Sherry Ewing picked up her first historical romance when she was a teenager and has been hooked ever since. A bestselling author, she writes historical and time travel romances to awaken the soul one heart at a time. When not writing, she can be found in the San Francisco area at her day job as an Information Technology Specialist. You can learn more about Sherry and her books on her website where a new adventure awaits you on every page!

 

Website & Books: www.SherryEwing.com

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