To Dream of Love Read online




  To Dream of Love

  M. C. Beaton/ Marion Chesney

  Copyright

  To Dream of Love

  Copyright ©1986 by Marion Chesney

  Cover art to the electronic edition copyright © 2011 by RosettaBooks, LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  First electronic edition published 2011 by RosettaBooks LLC, New York.

  ISBN e-Pub edition: 9780795321115

  For Tom and Eileen Kerr

  With love

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter One

  It was a very cold spring one that Harriet Clifton was to remember for the rest of her life. For that spring was to be the turning point in her young life.

  Harriet lived a life of genteel poverty in a large, rambling house on the outskirts of the village of Lower Maxton in the county of Brent. The house was all that was left of the once great Clifton fortune. Her father, Mr. James Clifton. had been an inveterate gambler, and when he had died of typhoid, he had left his wife only a small annuity to go with the great mansion. Mrs. Clifton. always weak and ailing, had followed her husband to the grave two short months later. Harriet and her elder sister, Cordelia, were left in the charge of an elderly spinster aunt, Miss Rebecca Clifton. their late father’s sister.

  At the time of their mother’s death, Cordelia was eighteen and Harriet eleven. Cordelia was a strong-willed beauty, impatient with the new regime of poverty. Cordelia had caught the attention of a rich neighbor, Charles, Lord Bentley. When she announced her engagement to him. Harriet and her aunt had felt sure that life would take a more comfortable turn.

  But Cordelia seemed to forget about them as soon as the ring was on her finger. Her lord died after only six months of marriage, leaving Cordelia everything. She shocked the county by selling the Bentley house and estates, lock, stock, and barrel. She then moved to London and continued to ignore the existence of her younger sister and elderly aunt.

  Harriet was now eighteen and, up until that cold spring of 1811, had philosophically accepted that Cordelia would continue to ignore them.

  The Clifton mansion was called Pringle House, retaining the name of a previous owner who had died the century before.

  Harriet’s aunt did not know how to make ends meet. One by one, the stately rooms were locked up after their contents had been sold.

  One after the other, the servants had been dismissed until there was only Harriet and her aunt living in a small portion of the house while dampness invaded the unheated rooms, and the gardens and grounds outside turned into a wilderness of thorns and weeds.

  Harriet had dug up a strip of the south lawn and planted vegetables and had turned another strip into a hen run. She tried to cheer Aunt Rebecca by pointing out that at least they had fresh eggs and vegetables, but it was hard to be grateful for anything when there was nothing they could do to alleviate the damp cold that seemed to creep into their very bones.

  Her hands were blistered and cracked with sawing and chopping of logs from fallen trees.

  Harriet longed passionately for summer as a cold wind continued to blow from the east, bringing flurries of snow to whiten the tangled mass of what had once been one of the most beautiful gardens in England.

  Pringle House had been badly built. The walls were cracked, and the floors sagged. The kitchen fire smoked abominably, and the drawing-room fire, before it had become blocked with soot, had sent all heat roaring straight up to the roof.

  March the twenty-fifth was a particularly vile day.

  Harriet knew the kitchen fire was almost completely blocked with soot. It was possible to live without the drawing-room fire, but the kitchen was another matter, since this past winter it had served as drawing room and dining room as well as kitchen. Harriet could not afford to pay a sweep, so that morning she scaled the roof and poked various brooms tied together with string down the old chimney. The resultant fall of soot blackened everything in the kitchen. Aunt Rebecca went into strong hysterics and retired to her chilly bedchamber, leaving Harriet to clear up the mess.

  Harriet worked grimly on throughout the morning until the kitchen was sparkling again.

  Looking at herself in the cracked glass on the kitchen wall, she saw to her dismay that she was as black as any sweep.

  The kitchen fire was blazing cheerfully for the first time in years, but the thought of boiling kettle after kettle of water to fill a bath seemed just too much of an effort to the exhausted Harriet. Besides, Aunt Rebecca would be horrified at the very idea of anyone taking a full bath for anything other than medicinal purposes.

  Harriet stared moodily at her soot-streaked face in the glass. Clear gray, heavy-lashed eyes stared back. Her black hair, dull black now with soot, hung in heavy tangled masses almost to her waist. She felt gritty and filthy all over.

  She trailed out to the pump in the yard and began to pump water energetically into a leather bucket.

  Then an idea came to her. There was no one for miles around, and Aunt Rebecca would not quit her room until she was sure the kitchen was clean. Why not strip everything off and scrub down under the pump? It would only take a few freezing minutes, and then she could run indoors and rub herself dry in front of the kitchen fire.

  She went back into the house and into the small maid’s room at the back of the kitchen where she slept—the large bedrooms on the upper floors being too vast to heat. She laid out clean underwear, yellowed and darned, a well-worn woolen round gown, coarse gray stockings, and a clean calico pinafore, then carried the lot into the kitchen and piled them on a chair in front of the fire to warm.

  Then she removed all of her dirty, sooty clothes and placed them in a basket in the corner, ready for washing.

  She took a deep breath. If she stayed much longer in front of the fire, she might lose her courage. Stark naked, clutching a bar of cheap laundry soap, she ran out of the kitchen and into the yard, seized the pump handle, and let out a yell as the first flood of icy water struck her bare skin.

  She soaped and scrubbed furiously until she was sure there was not a single particle of soot left in her hair or on her body.

  It was when she was turning away from the pump to make her dash back to the kitchen that she realized there was a man on horseback watching her.

  Frozen to the spot, not with cold but with shock, she stared up at him.

  He had a hard, high-nosed aristocratic face and a quantity of fashionably cut hair as black as hers. His hazel eyes raked over her body from head to foot, and an appreciative smile curved his lips. He held his hat in one hand, and as she stared at him, eyes wide with shock, he raised it in a salute.

  Harriet gave a little scream and then ran for the kitchen door, hurtling inside and then barring and bolting it behind her.

  She could feel herself turning scarlet with shame and embarrassment, blushing from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. She rubbed herself dry as quickly as possible and scrambled into her clean clothes, then twisted the damp masses of her black hair up into a knot.

  She crept to the kitchen window and looked out. There was no sign of the stranger. She had not heard him ride off, but the thick, shaggy grass was wet and spongy and had probably muffled the sounds of his departure.

  There were shuffling, coughing sounds that heralded the approach of Aunt Rebecca. Harriet decided to tell her nothing about the visit of t
he strange man. Aunt would dissolve into hysterics again, and Harriet felt she could not bear more than one attack of them a day. Besides, the gentleman had probably lost his way and would no doubt think her some servant girl.

  The kitchen door opened and Aunt Rebecca walked in. She was a large, amorphous lump of a woman whose weak, washed-out blue eyes gazed myopically out of a great, moonlike face. Her lank brown hair fell in wisps about her face from under a grayish white cap.

  Harriet was never quite sure which gown her aunt was wearing, because that lady was so set about with brooches and trinkets, shawls and scarves, it was hard to make out what was underneath. She smelled strongly of camphor and woodsmoke. She had an incipient mustache. She was silly, fussy, and complained constantly about the delicate state of her nerves.

  And Harriet loved her dearly.

  Underneath all her spasms and hysterics, Aunt Rebecca was warm and loving. She always declared that Harriet was much prettier than Cordelia, and although Harriet knew that no one could compete with Cordelia’s glorious, golden beauty, she found her aunt’s championship very comforting.

  “How pretty you have made things!” exclaimed Aunt Rebecca, blinking shortsightedly at the well-scrubbed kitchen. “And such a fire! It warms my heart. You are such a resolute girl, Harriet.”

  Harriet gave her a. shaky smile. She was still feeling upset and ashamed.

  Revived by the warmth, Aunt Rebecca picked up the heavy iron kettle, hung it on the idle-back, and swung it over the small, bright fire. The kitchen fire was in the center of a black range. It had an oven on one side, a boiler on the other, and a roasting spit set in front.

  “Do you think,” she asked, “that we might just have a little real tea?”

  “I do not see why we should deprive ourselves,” said Harriet. “We have been saving it for visitors, but no one ever calls now.” Then she remembered the stranger and turned her face away to hide a guilty blush.

  Aunt Rebecca brought down a japanned canister from a shelf and peered inside. “Just enough,” she murmured.

  Harriet and her aunt normally drank tea made from fennel leaves. China tea was kept for visitors. But no one had called for quite some time, and even the vicar seemed to have forgotten about them.

  Aunt Rebecca pulled a chair close to the fire and sat down, waiting for the kettle to boil. Harriet lifted the lid of the flour bin and debated whether to make some cakes to celebrate the unusual luxury of having “real” tea.

  The knocker on the front door began to sound loudly. Both stiffened in surprise and looked at each other.

  “Dear me,” said Aunt Rebecca. “Now, who can that be?”

  Harriet thought of the stranger. She carefully replaced the lid of the flour bin. “If we do not answer, Aunt, then whoever it is might go away.”

  “Go away!” exclaimed Aunt Rebecca, heaving her bulk out of the chair. “My precious child, we have not seen anyone these past two months. I will go.”

  “Let it be the vicar,” prayed Harriet aloud as her aunt waddled out of the kitchen. But Harriet had not really much hope that it would prove to be the vicar. The church of St. Edmund lay in the center of Lower Maxton, which was a good ten miles away. Harriet and her aunt had ceased to attend. Their last visit had been the previous year. They had been badly snubbed by the local county as usual, not because of the shabbiness of their clothes but because of their relationship to the wicked Cordelia, Lady Bentley, who had sold the Bentley estate to a Welsh ironmaster. Even old Lady Humphries had said loudly that she was surprised they did not look more prosperous, since they were noted for their success in encouraging the growth of mushrooms in the county, a cutting reference to the parvenu ironmaster.

  The ironmaster himself eagerly emulated the cruelty of the class to which he hoped to aspire and told his wife sharply to “come away” when it looked as if she might speak to Aunt Rebecca. Harriet had felt she could not bear to see any of them again, and Aunt Rebecca had sadly agreed.

  The vicar had dutifully called at Pringle House, but the man of society was obviously having such a struggle with the man of the cloth, and a painful one at that, that Harriet had told him tartly not to put himself out of his way by paying them any visits in the future.

  Harriet could now hear the sound of voices in the hall. She did not want to leave the security of the kitchen, in case she might find herself in the company of the hard-eyed stranger.

  But whoever had called had obviously been invited in. The drawing-room fire would need to be made up, and, alas, their precious little reserve of tea offered to this most unwelcome guest or guests.

  Harriet took off her apron and smoothed down her old gown with nervous fingers.

  Unlike the more modern houses in the county, the kitchen of Pringle House was not in the basement. She walked along a stone-flagged passage and entered the hall, trying not to notice the familiar bareness of it and the still-clean squares on the walls that showed where the pictures had been taken down and sold.

  She pushed open the door of the drawing room. A brooding, morose, Byronic-looking young man was lounging in an armchair. Apart from a colored Belcher neckerchief, he was dressed entirely in black. His hair was worn long and was of an indeterminate shade of brown, and his large brown eyes were sullen. Harriet judged him to be only a little older than she. Aunt Harriet had perched her bulk on a small chair facing him.

  Crouched in front of the fire and in the process of lighting it was a tall man. Harriet could only see the back of his head and his broad shoulders under a well-tailored blue coat.

  “My niece, Miss Harriet Clifton,” said Aunt Rebecca with simple pride. The morose young man jumped to his feet and executed a low bow.

  The man who was lighting the fire stood up and turned about. Mocking hazel eyes fastened on Harriet. She blushed painfully. The stranger from the kitchen garden!

  “Your servant, Miss Clifton,” he said. He raised an inquiring eyebrow at Aunt Rebecca, who was nodding and smiling in agreement, although no one had said anything to agree with.

  A flash of humor lit the hazel eyes. “I see I must make the introductions,” he said. “The tortured gentleman over there with a dark soul is my cousin, Mr. Bertram Hudson. I am Arden.”

  “The Marquess of Arden,” prompted Aunt Rebecca, who knew her peerage inside out.

  “The same, ma’am. Now, if you will excuse me, I will soon have a comfortable blaze.”

  Mr. Hudson slumped back down into his chair. Aunt Rebecca continued to nod and smile like a large clockwork doll, and Harriet stood where she was. nervously pleating a fold in her dress with her work-reddened fingers.

  The fire blazed up and then settled down into a depressingly smoky mass.

  “The fire does not draw very well,” said Harriet, her voice sounding strangely muffled and odd in her own ears.

  “You obviously do not use this room very much,” said the marquess, fastidiously dusting his long white fingers on a cambric handkerchief.

  He gazed thoughtfully about the room, from the threadbare brocade curtains to the damp-stained walls, and then at the bare boards of the floor.

  “No, my lord,” said Harriet. “I fear we are sadly short of comfortable rooms in which to entertain anyone.” Her eyes pleaded with him not to mention seeing her under the pump. He studied her thoughtfully and then nodded slightly in answer to her unspoken request.

  “Then where do you warm yourselves?” drawled Mr. Hudson.

  “It is of no consequence,” said Harriet, disliking the lounging young man. “I fear we are unable to offer you hospitality, gentleman. So if you will inform me of the reason for your call, I will do my best to be of assistance.”

  “But the tea,’“ said Aunt Rebecca in a stage whisper. “We have tea.”

  “We lost our way to the London road,” said the marquess. “I tried to pull the bell earlier, and when I did not get any reply, I rode around to the back of the house to see if I could see anyone.” He looked steadily at Harriet. “But there was no one in si
ght. I would have left without trying again, but something happened. I regret to tell you that my cousin, believing the estate to be abandoned, shot two of your hens.”

  Harriet bit her lip. She had been about to cry out in fury. She had only six hens, and the killing of two of them was a sore loss. She said aloud, “But I did not hear any shots. Did you, Aunt Rebecca?”

  “I was asleep, more like,” said Aunt Rebecca.

  “Perhaps you were so busy you did not hear, Miss Harriet,” said the marquess, a smile beginning to curl his lips.

  Harriet remembered how the water had gushed out of the pump, effectively drowning out any sound, and blushed painfully.

  “And so,” went on the marquess, “after I learned of the murder, I returned and tried the door knocker instead, feeling sure the bellpull was broken. Here we are to make amends. We have two hens, dead, I am afraid, and a hamper of delicacies that we beg you to accept to show our true remorse.”

  Mr. Hudson sat up. “But that hamper was a pre—”

  The marquess’s steely voice cut across his. “And you will be paid handsomely for the loss of your birds.”

  “There is no need, no need at all to pay anything,” said Harriet. “Mr. Hudson made an understandable mistake.”

  “I was only having a bit of sport,” grumbled Mr. Hudson. “Thought the place had been deserted this age.”

  “I insist,” said the marquess. “Bertram, go and tell John and Peter to carry in the hamper.”

  Bertram Hudson slouched out with a lowering look.

  “I think if I had some dry logs, I might yet be able to build a blaze,” said the marquess.

  “Certainly,” said Harriet with a quelling look at Aunt Rebecca. “I will tell our butler to arrange the matter.”

  Aunt Rebecca emitted faint noises of distress from among her shawls, but Harriet marched firmly from the room.

  She had used up the inside stock of logs for the kitchen fire. She threw a shawl over her shoulders, tied on the apron that she had removed before going into the drawing room, and went out of the kitchen door. The pump stood there in the chilly light, a mute reminder of her indecency.

 

    Agatha Raisin 31 - Hot to Trot Read onlineAgatha Raisin 31 - Hot to TrotBeatrice Goes to Brighton Read onlineBeatrice Goes to BrightonDeborah Goes to Dover Read onlineDeborah Goes to DoverDown the Hatch Read onlineDown the HatchHot to Trot Read onlineHot to TrotBeating About the Bush Read onlineBeating About the BushDeath of a Policeman Read onlineDeath of a PolicemanEdwardian Murder Mystery 04; Our Lady of Pain emm-4 Read onlineEdwardian Murder Mystery 04; Our Lady of Pain emm-4The Waverly Women Series (3-Book Bundle) Read onlineThe Waverly Women Series (3-Book Bundle)The French Affair (Endearing Young Charms Book 2) Read onlineThe French Affair (Endearing Young Charms Book 2)Death of a Witch hm-25 Read onlineDeath of a Witch hm-25Summer of Discontent Read onlineSummer of DiscontentPenelope Goes to Portsmouth Read onlinePenelope Goes to PortsmouthThe Day the Floods Came ar-12 Read onlineThe Day the Floods Came ar-12The Quiche of Death Read onlineThe Quiche of DeathDeath of a Dentist hm-13 Read onlineDeath of a Dentist hm-13Edwardian Murder Mystery 03; Sick of Shadows emm-3 Read onlineEdwardian Murder Mystery 03; Sick of Shadows emm-3Agatha Raisin The Deadly Dance ar-15 Read onlineAgatha Raisin The Deadly Dance ar-15Agatha Raisin & the Vicious Vet ar-2 Read onlineAgatha Raisin & the Vicious Vet ar-2Lessons in Love (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 3) Read onlineLessons in Love (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 3)Those Endearing Young Charms Read onlineThose Endearing Young CharmsAgatha Raisin and The Wellspring of Death ar-7 Read onlineAgatha Raisin and The Wellspring of Death ar-7Death of a Macho Man hm-12 Read onlineDeath of a Macho Man hm-12Lady Fortescue Steps Out Read onlineLady Fortescue Steps OutThe Wicked Godmother Read onlineThe Wicked GodmotherAgatha Raisin 18 (2007) - Kissing Christmas Goodbye Read onlineAgatha Raisin 18 (2007) - Kissing Christmas GoodbyeAgatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death ar-1 Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death ar-1Agatha's First Case Read onlineAgatha's First CaseLady Fortescue Steps Out (The Poor Relation Series, Vol. 1) Read onlineLady Fortescue Steps Out (The Poor Relation Series, Vol. 1)There Goes The Bride Read onlineThere Goes The BrideAgatha Raisin and the Terrible Tourist Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Terrible TouristThe Folly Read onlineThe FollyThe Chocolate Debutante Read onlineThe Chocolate DebutanteHiss and Hers: An Agatha Raisin Mystery Read onlineHiss and Hers: An Agatha Raisin MysteryThe Education of Miss Paterson Read onlineThe Education of Miss PatersonAgatha Raisin Love, Lies and Liquor ar-17 Read onlineAgatha Raisin Love, Lies and Liquor ar-17Molly Read onlineMollyDeath of a Poison Pen hm-20 Read onlineDeath of a Poison Pen hm-20Hamish MacBeth 15 (1999) - Death of an Addict Read onlineHamish MacBeth 15 (1999) - Death of an AddictDeath of a Witch Read onlineDeath of a WitchHamish Macbeth 24 (2008) - Death of a Gentle Lady Read onlineHamish Macbeth 24 (2008) - Death of a Gentle LadyDeath of Yesterday Read onlineDeath of YesterdayMrs. Budley Falls from Grace Read onlineMrs. Budley Falls from GraceThe Daring Debutantes Bundle Read onlineThe Daring Debutantes BundleBusy Body: An Agatha Raisin Mystery Read onlineBusy Body: An Agatha Raisin MysteryPretty Polly Read onlinePretty PollyThe Case of the Curious Curate ar-13 Read onlineThe Case of the Curious Curate ar-13Death of a Travelling Man hm-9 Read onlineDeath of a Travelling Man hm-9Death of a Bore hm-21 Read onlineDeath of a Bore hm-21Rake's Progress: HFTS4 Read onlineRake's Progress: HFTS4Miss Fiona's Fancy (The Royal Ambition Series Book 3) Read onlineMiss Fiona's Fancy (The Royal Ambition Series Book 3)Hamish Macbeth 19 (2003) - Death of a Village Read onlineHamish Macbeth 19 (2003) - Death of a VillageLady Lucy's Lover Read onlineLady Lucy's LoverMilady in Love (The Changing Fortunes Series, Vol. 5) Read onlineMilady in Love (The Changing Fortunes Series, Vol. 5)Colonel Sandhurst to the Rescue Read onlineColonel Sandhurst to the Rescue(17/30 Love, Lies and Liquor Read online(17/30 Love, Lies and LiquorHasty Death Read onlineHasty DeathDeath of a Nurse Read onlineDeath of a NurseDeath of a Scriptwriter hm-14 Read onlineDeath of a Scriptwriter hm-14The Chocolate Debutante (The Royal Ambition Series Book 5) Read onlineThe Chocolate Debutante (The Royal Ambition Series Book 5)Sally Read onlineSallyTilly Read onlineTillyDeath of a Dreamer hm-22 Read onlineDeath of a Dreamer hm-22Miss Davenport's Christmas (The Love and Temptation Series Book 6) Read onlineMiss Davenport's Christmas (The Love and Temptation Series Book 6)Death of a Dreamer Read onlineDeath of a DreamerDuke's Diamonds (Endearing Young Charms Book 1) Read onlineDuke's Diamonds (Endearing Young Charms Book 1)Agatha Raisin and the Christmas Crumble (short story) Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Christmas Crumble (short story)Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden ar-9 Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden ar-9His Lordship's Pleasure (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 5) Read onlineHis Lordship's Pleasure (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 5)The Homecoming Read onlineThe HomecomingHamish Macbeth 02; Death of a Cad hm-2 Read onlineHamish Macbeth 02; Death of a Cad hm-2Agatha Raisin and The Potted Gardener ar-3 Read onlineAgatha Raisin and The Potted Gardener ar-3Death of a Glutton Read onlineDeath of a GluttonHamish Macbeth 02 (1987) - Death of a Cad Read onlineHamish Macbeth 02 (1987) - Death of a CadThe Wicked Godmother: HFTS3 Read onlineThe Wicked Godmother: HFTS3The Glitter and the Gold (Endearing Young Charms Book 7) Read onlineThe Glitter and the Gold (Endearing Young Charms Book 7)The Viscount's Revenge (The Royal Ambition Series Book 4) Read onlineThe Viscount's Revenge (The Royal Ambition Series Book 4)Her Grace's Passion Read onlineHer Grace's PassionHenrietta Read onlineHenriettaAt the Sign of the Golden Pineapple Read onlineAt the Sign of the Golden PineappleThe Blood of an Englishman Read onlineThe Blood of an EnglishmanSomething Borrowed, Someone Dead: An Agatha Raisin Mystery (Agatha Raisin Mysteries) Read onlineSomething Borrowed, Someone Dead: An Agatha Raisin Mystery (Agatha Raisin Mysteries)Emily Goes to Exeter Read onlineEmily Goes to ExeterDeath of a Cad Read onlineDeath of a CadAgatha Raisin and the Wellspring of Death Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Wellspring of DeathDancing on the Wind (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 8) Read onlineDancing on the Wind (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 8)A Marriage of Inconvenience (Endearing Young Charms Book 5) Read onlineA Marriage of Inconvenience (Endearing Young Charms Book 5)The Ghost and Lady Alice (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 6) Read onlineThe Ghost and Lady Alice (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 6)Hamish Macbeth 04; Death of a Perfect Wife hm-4 Read onlineHamish Macbeth 04; Death of a Perfect Wife hm-4My Dear Duchess Read onlineMy Dear DuchessMrs. Budley Falls From Grace (The Poor Relation Series Book 3) Read onlineMrs. Budley Falls From Grace (The Poor Relation Series Book 3)Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Haunted HouseThe Education of Miss Patterson (The Love and Temptation Series Book 3) Read onlineThe Education of Miss Patterson (The Love and Temptation Series Book 3)Agatha Raisin and The Walkers of Dembley ar-4 Read onlineAgatha Raisin and The Walkers of Dembley ar-4The Original Miss Honeyford Read onlineThe Original Miss HoneyfordA Spoonful of Poison Read onlineA Spoonful of PoisonHamish Macbeth Omnibus Read onlineHamish Macbeth OmnibusAgatha Raisin and the Busy Body ar-21 Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Busy Body ar-21Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wyckhadden Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Witch of WyckhaddenHamish Macbeth 08 (1993) - Death of a Glutton Read onlineHamish Macbeth 08 (1993) - Death of a GluttonDeath of a Gentle Lady hm-24 Read onlineDeath of a Gentle Lady hm-24Ms. Davenport's Christmas Read onlineMs. Davenport's ChristmasAgatha Raisin Kissing Christmas Goodbye ar-18 Read onlineAgatha Raisin Kissing Christmas Goodbye ar-18Lady Anne's Deception Read onlineLady Anne's DeceptionAgatha Raisin The Perfect Paragon ar-16 Read onlineAgatha Raisin The Perfect Paragon ar-16Edwardian Murder Mystery 02; Hasty Death emm-2 Read onlineEdwardian Murder Mystery 02; Hasty Death emm-2The Constant Companion Read onlineThe Constant CompanionHamish Macbeth 14 (1999) - Death of a Scriptwriter Read onlineHamish Macbeth 14 (1999) - Death of a ScriptwriterGinny Read onlineGinnyHamish Macbeth 10 (1994) - Death of a Charming Man Read onlineHamish Macbeth 10 (1994) - Death of a Charming ManHamish Macbeth 03; Death of an Outsider hm-3 Read onlineHamish Macbeth 03; Death of an Outsider hm-3The Love from Hell ar-11 Read onlineThe Love from Hell ar-11The Scandalous Lady Wright (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 4) Read onlineThe Scandalous Lady Wright (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 4)Hamish Macbeth 17 (2001) - Death of a Dustman Read onlineHamish Macbeth 17 (2001) - Death of a DustmanHamish Macbeth 13 (1997) - Death of a Dentist Read onlineHamish Macbeth 13 (1997) - Death of a DentistThe Paper Princess (The Royal Ambition Series Book 7) Read onlineThe Paper Princess (The Royal Ambition Series Book 7)Rainbird's Revenge: HFTS6 Read onlineRainbird's Revenge: HFTS6The Perfect Gentleman (The Love and Temptation Series Book 7) Read onlineThe Perfect Gentleman (The Love and Temptation Series Book 7)Sir Philip's Folly (The Poor Relation Series Book 4) Read onlineSir Philip's Folly (The Poor Relation Series Book 4)The Witches' Tree--An Agatha Raisin Mystery Read onlineThe Witches' Tree--An Agatha Raisin MysteryDeath of an Outsider Read onlineDeath of an OutsiderHamish MacBeth 03 (1988) - Death of an Outsider Read onlineHamish MacBeth 03 (1988) - Death of an OutsiderAgatha Raisin and the Perfect Paragon Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Perfect ParagonDeath of a Chimney Sweep Read onlineDeath of a Chimney SweepThe Dreadful Debutante (The Royal Ambition Series Book 1) Read onlineThe Dreadful Debutante (The Royal Ambition Series Book 1)Something Borrowed, Someone Dead Read onlineSomething Borrowed, Someone DeadAgatha Raisin and The Murderous Marriage ar-5 Read onlineAgatha Raisin and The Murderous Marriage ar-5The Highland Countess Read onlineThe Highland CountessDeath of a Chimney Sweep hm-1 Read onlineDeath of a Chimney Sweep hm-1The Skeleton in the Closet Read onlineThe Skeleton in the ClosetSusie Read onlineSusieAgatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas Goodbye Read onlineAgatha Raisin and Kissing Christmas GoodbyeRegency Gold (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 2) Read onlineRegency Gold (The Regency Intrigue Series Book 2)The Marquis Takes a Bride Read onlineThe Marquis Takes a BrideHamish Macbeth 16 (1999) - A Highland Christmas Read onlineHamish Macbeth 16 (1999) - A Highland ChristmasDeath of a Liar Read onlineDeath of a LiarHamish Macbeth 01; Death of a Gossip hm-1 Read onlineHamish Macbeth 01; Death of a Gossip hm-1Love and Lady Lovelace (The Changing Fortunes Series, Vol. 8) Read onlineLove and Lady Lovelace (The Changing Fortunes Series, Vol. 8)Death of an Honest Man Read onlineDeath of an Honest ManThe Desirable Duchess Read onlineThe Desirable DuchessDeception (Daughters of Mannerling 3) Read onlineDeception (Daughters of Mannerling 3)A Highland Christmas hm-16 Read onlineA Highland Christmas hm-16Polly Read onlinePollyThe Savage Marquess Read onlineThe Savage MarquessAgatha Raisin 03 (1994) - The Potted Gardener Read onlineAgatha Raisin 03 (1994) - The Potted GardenerPushing Up Daisies Read onlinePushing Up DaisiesDeath Of An Addict Read onlineDeath Of An AddictBanishment (Daughters of Mannerling 1) Read onlineBanishment (Daughters of Mannerling 1)Amaryllis Read onlineAmaryllisHamish MacBeth 06 (1991) - Death of a Snob Read onlineHamish MacBeth 06 (1991) - Death of a SnobThe Paper Princess Read onlineThe Paper PrincessHamish Macbeth 06; Death of a Snob hm-6 Read onlineHamish Macbeth 06; Death of a Snob hm-6The Dreadful Debutante Read onlineThe Dreadful DebutanteAgatha Raisin and the Fairies of Fryfam Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Fairies of FryfamHamish Macbeth 22 (2006) - Death of a Dreamer Read onlineHamish Macbeth 22 (2006) - Death of a DreamerDishing the Dirt Read onlineDishing the DirtMinerva Read onlineMinervaDeath of a Nag hm-11 Read onlineDeath of a Nag hm-11Hamish Macbeth 18 (2002) - Death of a Celebrity Read onlineHamish Macbeth 18 (2002) - Death of a CelebrityQuadrille (The Love and Temptation Series Book 5) Read onlineQuadrille (The Love and Temptation Series Book 5)Death of a Glutton hm-8 Read onlineDeath of a Glutton hm-8The Westerby Sisters (Changing Fortunes Series) Read onlineThe Westerby Sisters (Changing Fortunes Series)The Scandalous Marriage (The Dukes and Desires Series Book 7) Read onlineThe Scandalous Marriage (The Dukes and Desires Series Book 7)The Adventuress: HFTS5 Read onlineThe Adventuress: HFTS5Death of a Valentine Read onlineDeath of a ValentineDeath of a Nag Read onlineDeath of a NagDeath of a Dustman hm-17 Read onlineDeath of a Dustman hm-17Hamish Macbeth 09 (1993) - Death of a Travelling Man Read onlineHamish Macbeth 09 (1993) - Death of a Travelling ManThe Loves of Lord Granton (The Changing Fortunes Series, Vol. 2) Read onlineThe Loves of Lord Granton (The Changing Fortunes Series, Vol. 2)Agatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison ar-19 Read onlineAgatha Raisin and a Spoonful of Poison ar-19To Dream of Love Read onlineTo Dream of LoveAgatha Raisin 04 (1995) - The Walkers of Dembley Read onlineAgatha Raisin 04 (1995) - The Walkers of DembleyHamish MacBeth 01 (1985) - Death of a Gossip Read onlineHamish MacBeth 01 (1985) - Death of a GossipDeath of a Maid hm-23 Read onlineDeath of a Maid hm-23Belinda Goes to Bath Read onlineBelinda Goes to BathDeath of a Kingfisher Read onlineDeath of a KingfisherDeath of a Charming Man hm-10 Read onlineDeath of a Charming Man hm-10Death of a Prankster hm-7 Read onlineDeath of a Prankster hm-7The Miser of Mayfair: HFTS1 Read onlineThe Miser of Mayfair: HFTS1Hamish Macbeth 05; Death of a Hussy hm-5 Read onlineHamish Macbeth 05; Death of a Hussy hm-5A Governess of Distinction (Endearing Young Charms Book 6) Read onlineA Governess of Distinction (Endearing Young Charms Book 6)The Westerby Inheritance Read onlineThe Westerby InheritanceDeath of a Hussy Read onlineDeath of a HussyHamish MacBeth 07 (1998) - Death of a Prankster Read onlineHamish MacBeth 07 (1998) - Death of a PranksterHamish Macbeth 20 (2004) - Death of a Poison Pen Read onlineHamish Macbeth 20 (2004) - Death of a Poison PenMiss Tonks Turns to Crime Read onlineMiss Tonks Turns to CrimeEdwardian Murder Mystery 01; Snobbery with Violence emm-1 Read onlineEdwardian Murder Mystery 01; Snobbery with Violence emm-1Agatha Raisin and the Wizard of Evesham Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Wizard of EveshamHamish Macbeth 12 (1996) - Death of a Macho Man Read onlineHamish Macbeth 12 (1996) - Death of a Macho ManYvonne Goes to York Read onlineYvonne Goes to YorkA Highland Christmas Read onlineA Highland ChristmasSweet Masquerade (The Love and Temptation Series Book 4) Read onlineSweet Masquerade (The Love and Temptation Series Book 4)Agatha Raisin and the Witch of Wykhadden Read onlineAgatha Raisin and the Witch of WykhaddenThe Dead Ringer Read onlineThe Dead RingerAgatha Raisin 05 (1996) - The Murderous Marriage Read onlineAgatha Raisin 05 (1996) - The Murderous MarriageAgatha Raisin 07 (1998) - The Wellspring of Death Read onlineAgatha Raisin 07 (1998) - The Wellspring of DeathAgatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns ar-22 Read onlineAgatha Raisin: As the Pig Turns ar-22