Showing results by narrator "Virginia Ferguson" in All Categories

It’s the Christmastide season, and the Hawkins family is at their country estate in Kent. Emmaline, the Countess of Archewyne, is excited, for it’s her first Christmas with her little family, as well as one of the few she’s spent in England. Passing his leisure time with his loved ones gives Miles Lawrence Hawkins, the fifth Earl of Archewyne, great pleasure, as does anticipating their faces when they open his gifts.

Fainting in the notorious nobleman’s arms is the smartest move the self-proclaimed spazz ever made. Now her picture decorates every gossip rag in Britain, and the public wants to know who the Devil Duke’s new squeeze is. Offered a sizable sum, Izzy De Luca travels to England where she will pose as the Duke of Devoy’s new bride. It seems the rake’s reputation needs some rehabilitation, and the fresh-faced orphan is just the girl to brighten his tarnished image.

Cordelia Honeyfield has been sent to the seaside "for her health" - and the last thing she wants is the meddling nonsense of a country doctor. Her wild spirit is frowned upon by the town, and familial embarrassment now means she's stuck at the beach in a brisk March wind, waiting to meet this doctor as she promised her father. Dr. Timothy Walsingham is about to meet a new elderly patient - a Miss Honeyfield whose letters have had him in stitches. As he waits by the sand, a beautiful woman catches his eye.

Snuffy Cod is the sole caregiver for her dying husband... okay... stop. He does die, but sometime in the future—a future she visits on and off through popovers to past and present. Snuffy’s visits occur in fits and starts via some perceived time travel portal. She embarks on these excursions several times throughout the day, hour, minute, second—sometimes simply during a thought.

Playwright and historian Rustem Valayev presents two poignant, dramatic, and thought-provoking episodes from our not-so-distant past. Despite having been written many decades ago, these two novellas hold up surprisingly well in the modern context.

In one of the first crime novels ever set behind the scenes of big-time television, Clarence Budington Kelland has plotted a thrilling adventure of danger and death which climaxes in a series of fast-moving surprises. Peter Mortain, one of the youngest directors in this very young medium, was beleaguered enough, directing the first episode of the most expensive variety show ever produced. He had a cast whose first appearance on television made them skittish, a thousand technical details to handle, and a star…who was also his boss!

Ever since she created a scandal at a Christmas ball, Charlotte Moore has dreaded the return of the holiday. This year, at a small Christmas party, Charlotte is tasked with proving to her family that she can behave within society's expectations or be permanently exiled to her aunt's rural manor. Charlotte is determined to stifle her unladylike urges and act the perfect debutante. But then the very cause of her past scandal comes knocking at the door, and it has, in tow, the daring, dashing, devil-may-care Henry Simmons.

Who came up with the idea that if a man is a prince, he must always marry a princess? Things come to a head when one rebellious royal decides to dispute this rule.

Three Brides, all alike in tragedy, from death's embrace make bold return. One driven quite mad, One sorrowfully sad, and One set aside and spurned. Imbued with weird powers, these transplanted flowers into a new world bloom. With virtue and charm they come fully armed to bring evil unmerciful doom! If you thirst for adventure, this book is a quencher. Let doubtful hearts abide, suspend disbelief for the heroic mischief of the beautiful Broken Brides. If you crave mystery in a fanciful history, then turn to the very first minute!

Only a few months earlier, the young woman now known as Jane Smith had lived a life of luxury and privilege as the ruler of a small Balkan kingdom. She lived a life of glittering balls, the finest furnishings, the most handsome men, the most exquisite of foods. Her only friends were four bearded old men who served as her cabinet, and worshiped the ground she walked on. Then the Germans had marched in, and she and her four councilors barely escaped with their lives.

Bethany Simmons takes a shortcut on a stormy night and ends up in a place where one man is both sustained by the ghosts of his past and held captive by them.

There are many versions of the Cinderella story. Not one of them, however, points out that one does not have to wear the glass slipper—even if it fits.

After a three-year absence mired in anxiety and trapped by her lack of speech, portrait miniaturist Susannah Gresham gathers her courage and returns to Whitehall Palace and her godfather, the king. Encountering Florentine jeweler Raphael Rossi, who appears to her just another court libertine, she is surprised when he finds his way unbidden into her thoughts. With help from the Duchess of Richmond, Raphael has set out to win her heart.

After being rescued from the greedy mole by her faithful swallow and brought to the tropical kingdom populated by elves, Thumbelina finds herself thrust into the intricacies of elvish court politics and facing yet another marriage no one had asked her about.

A lush, romantic, and intense tale of first lust, first love, and the difference between the two.

Heart on Her Sleeve is the story of a patriotic American college girl who steps up to run her father’s war plant when he is hospitalized by saboteurs. Not long after the bombing of Pearl Harbor and US entry into the Second World War, the government realized the draft would seriously deplete the country’s entire workforce, including entry-level labor, skilled trades, office staff, and management. The only possible replacement was to be found in the ranks of the nation’s women. But for women to join the workforce, major changes would have to occur.

Columbine Pepper Drugget's background wasn't one that equipped a young woman to manage a motel worth a million dollars, or cope with rude guests, jewel thieves, an unscrupulous competitor - or even the attentions of a brassy but oddly attractive lawyer. She had spent her life so far as an assistant to her aunt at Miss Cordwainer’s School for Girls from 5-to-10. What she knew about the world was limited to the novels of Jane Austen and such bits of knowledge as the pupils possessed.

What if the Little Mermaid took a moment to reconsider her deal with the sea witch, and decided to change the course of her life her own way, on her own terms? Listen to this charming, alternative story!

A defense secretary shooting. The collapse of the Home Office secretary. London’s high-ranking civil servants are being targeted, and DCI Jack Austin is drawn out of retirement. When his wife is kidnapped, inept savant DCI Austin leads the rescue mission while trying to solve the recent mystery, and discovers the motives of the master conspirator.

Will Jolene’s admirer captivate her heart and spark a flame of love? If he does, will she even notice, or will her desire to return to her hometown cloud her vision and cause her to miss out on love? If Jolene's life wasn't filled with enough drama, then there's Payton. Payton is happily married, a mother to a lovely stepdaughter with twins on the way, and the owner of a thriving photography shop. At 43 years of age, she's accomplished more than she could ever dream of. But even with all the bliss, there's still an unresolved matter that keeps lingering in the back of her mind.