Showing results by publisher "Soundings" in Romance

Barbie France has known Edward Steyne all her life - indeed they were childhood sweethearts. Charming, spirited, debonair, he is the ideal companion. Everyone, especially Edward, assumes they will marry one day. But Barbie is uneasy. Edward sometimes behaves very oddly. There are his sudden, huge winnings on the racecourse and the strange affair of Aunt Amalie's emerald ring. And last, but not least, Barbie is puzzled by his reaction to the handsome stranger she meets at a wedding; for suddenly easy-going Edward becomes hostile and unfriendly . . . Can Barbie discover the truth?

As Christmas 1938 approaches, the staff at the Nightingale Hospital have their own wishes for the festive season. Ward sister Frannie Wallace is hoping she won't have to live through another war like the one that claimed her fiance. Staff Nurse Helen Dawson wants to find happiness again after the death of her husband Charlie. But is she looking for love in the wrong place? Matron Kathleen Fox struggles to keep up morale.

Dora and her old enemy Lucy are paired up on the children's ward for the final three months of their training. The two nurses couldn't seem more different, but they may have more in common than they think, as each hides a secret heartache. And there are new faces. Jess is the feisty eldest daughter of a notorious East End family and determined to prove herself as a ward maid. New trainee nurse Effie can't wait to escape her small Irish village, and make her way as a nurse in London.

When Alice Verinder’s beloved sister Lydia goes missing, Alice boards the Orient Express bound for Topkapi Palace in Constantinople, determined to find her. Lydia was governess to the Sultan’s young children and though her letters spoke of exotic delights and welcoming hosts, the reception Alice receives is decidedly cold. Now, as Alice digs deeper into the secrets of a land foreign to her, she has only Englishman Harry Frome to help her. But as their search uncovers unforeseen dangers and exposes an unexpected ardour, is Alice ready for the truths they’ll uncover?

The tangled destinies of an unusual family are played out against the backdrop of the English countryside where two pretty sisters and a beautiful widow take centre stage in a drama of dangerous flirtation and backstairs gossip. Esther Musgrave, an attractive widow, has her hands full trying to keep her energetic family together – and on speaking terms! Her three daughters, prickly Delia, sensible Meg and carefree Rose, mean everything to her, especially since the death of her husband, Charles.

The Honourable Catherine Elford - Kitty - is presented with an awful choice. Either she is cast off, penniless, by her stepbrother, or she marries the handsome Earl of Ledbury, who would be perfect were he not a serial womaniser. Ledbury has only ever courted other men’s wives and does not want a wife of his own. However, Kitty’s generous dowry, which will keep him from selling his beloved racehorses, proves too tempting.

Shortly before Bel's marriage to Ellis Brownlee, her friend, Louise Armstrong, goes house hunting for them and discovers a charming but neglected old stone cottage in the Cotswolds. Bel adores the house, called Fletchers End. Ellis buys the place from the absentee-owner, Lieutenant Commander Lestrange, and, after a picture-book wedding, the happy couple move in. As she embarks on her new life as a devoted wife, Bel loyally guides Louise through her own romantic tribulations.

Emily Dennistoun lives alone with her elderly tyrannical father at Borriston Hall on the Scottish coast. Her mother died many years before, and her younger brother is at Oxford, presented with opportunities that Emily can only dream of. She has few friends and lives through her writing. Then she meets Francis, and despite vicissitudes of fortune, despite uncertainties, loneliness, and unhappiness, Emily holds steadfast to a love she knows is true.

When Will Hastie finally decides to retire from the military and return home to Scotland, he intends to settle down on his family estate and learn to become a farmer. But back home, the death of his best friend and neighbour, Rae, during World War II is still strongly felt. In particular, Rae's sister, Patty, has been brooding for the past 10 years over Rae's final letter home from France. When she decides to share the letter with Will, it sends him off to France to discover for himself the circumstances of Rae's death. His discovery there changes the lives of all those left behind.

Jane Fortune causes a stir when she arrives in the small community of Dingleford. She has bought an old cottage and plans to open a tearoom. Old friends Charles Weatherby and Harold Prestcott both fall for the newcomer, but her behaviour seems to vary wildly – she encourages first one then the other and at other times barely recognises them. Is there more to the fair Miss Fortune than meets the eye?

Rhoda, an artist from London, and her childhood sweetheart, James, finally wed, following a lot of deliberation - particularly on Rhoda's side. Her love for James outbalances her career, and she takes the plunge into living the life of a farmer's wife at Boscath farm in Scotland. Arriving at Boscath, they employ a cook, Miss Flockie, who is exceptional in her duties and, more importantly, a friend to Rhoda. Their new home, although quaint, is isolated, and Rhoda misses her life in London.

Katherine Wentworth has married her hero, Alec Macfarlane. On their honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands, she can scarcely believe that the four previous lonely years can have been replaced by so much joy. But her unclouded happiness does not last long. The return to Edinburgh brings her into conflict with her old school friend, Alec’s sister Zilla. A beautiful woman who had expected Alec to remain a lifelong companion, devoted only to her.

Antonia and her sister Louise grow up as thick as thieves, in a world apart from their detached parents. Tonia is a dreamer, slipping away into her "listening place" when life is becoming too much for her. When the more adventurous Lou elopes, Tonia is left on her own. Hope comes in the form of Mr Norman, a caring older man who teaches Tonia how to live for herself. They marry and move to London, but when tragedy strikes Tonia is left to build her own life. She returns to Scotland, in search of a new happiness - although there are some obstacles in her way....

Bel, an orphan daughter of an Army colonel, is brought up in an English village and flung into the whirl of London life to earn a hard living as a secretary while attempting to navigate romance, unexpected friendships and urban life. Shy and sensitive, she is unaware of the pitfalls that surround her. When Bel is offered a chance to leave London and venture to a fishing hotel in Scotland for a much needed holiday with an old school friend, things begin to change. There she learns that you cannot escape from your troubles by running away from them....

With the help of her old diaries, Sarah Morris recounts her life story. The daughter of an English vicar, she begins by telling of her happy childhood with her brothers and sister in their country village. As a teenager, Sarah’s brother brings home a friend - Charles, a charming Austrian to whom she quickly becomes close. Over the years they fall in love, but when war breaks out Charles must return to Austria. While she awaits his return, Sarah quietly continues working hard and caring for her family. But she can’t stop wondering if she will ever see her sweetheart again…

With her husband, Nick, away fighting, Dora struggles to keep the home fires burning but finds herself in a difficult position when she is put in charge of a ward of injured German POWs. Can she find it in her heart to care for her enemies? Fellow nurse Kitty faces a similar struggle looking after the men who killed her beloved brother. But her life becomes even more complicated when she falls for one of the prisoners. And Helen Denton returns from nursing in Europe with a secret. She has her own reasons for hating the Germans.

Since being widowed, Caroline Dering has been content to live her life solely for her children. Then the mysterious Robert Shepperton arrives in the village. At first, Caroline's gentle heart is simply touched by his obvious unhappiness; until gradually she finds her sympathy turning into love. But the visit of her lovely younger sister, Harriet, to Vittoria Cottage, throws Caroline into a turmoil - because Harriet also falls for Mr. Shepperton....

When Dinah was 19, Gilbert was a sort of fairy prince. She had loved him madly but gradually she had begun to realise that he was not quite so wonderful. Despite keeping her eyes firmly shut, her heart had known there was something wrong. When Gilbert is killed in a flying accident, she is left with four children to raise. Life is hard, fighting back loneliness and eking out a meagre pension. But when her brother, Dan, newly demobbed from the Navy, arrives to whisk them away to the seaside, Dinah can at last find peace.

Married at 19, Katherine had four years of happiness with her beloved Gerald. When he dies, she is left on her own to bring up a stepson, Simon, and her own little twins. She has known what it is to be loved and cherished, and without Gerald, all she wants is independence, and the freedom to bring up his children as he would have liked. When an unexpected letter arrives for Simon, offering him a very different life, Katherine is concerned that he makes the right choice.

When Ellie Roberts inherits a cottage on a remote Scilly Isle, she's shocked. She's never heard of the previous owner, Patience Ellis, so why did she leave Ellie her legacy? Overwhelmed with unanswered questions, Ellie travels to the isolated island. The house feels strangely familiar, and she has a memory of her beloved mother in the window seat overlooking the sea. The mother she lost when she was only a child. Determined to find out more, Ellie meets enigmatic local Branok Shore.