Under the Harvest Moon
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.
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(Story blurbs below the cover)
Moonlight Wishes and Midnight Kisses 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?
The Morning Light by Caroline Warfield
A physician, Adam Wagner is meant to save lives, not take them, but war called, and the ones he could not save haunt him. His nightmares after Waterloo won’t stop and have begun to invade the daytime until he wonders if he’s losing his mind. Images of a young girl caught in the crossfire keep him from his daughter. The horror of it keeps him from Meg Barlow. They courted and he was close to proposing before he left. Now he can only protect her by staying away.
Meg lives on the charity of her cousin, Earl Barlow, and serves the community as a midwife. She doesn’t understand how Adam could turn his back on her so thoroughly, but she isn’t about to let him get away with it.
A Harvest Blessing by Rue Allen
What can the son of an English vicar and the daughter of a French Comte possibly have in common?
After Waterloo, Captain Thom Owen is uncertain what to do with himself. Then fate casts Charité du Pessac and her aunt in his path. No gentleman would abandon a damsel as brave and kind as Miss du Pessac, but how can he help her? With no clear solution in mind, Thom escorts the ladies home to his father.
Charité ‘s aunt believes her niece and the Captain are engaged, and Charité fears the Captain’s father will not welcome them. She is French after all, and while the captain might not object to her nationality, others—like his father—might disapprove of a marriage between former enemies.
Coming Home by Mary Lancaster
Old memories, new love
Captain David Buckley comes home from Waterloo at something of a crossroads in his life. Restless yet weary of war, he contemplates settling down near his home town of Reabridge – only it’s full of painful memories of his late wife and the eternal enmity of her family which goes back hundreds of years.
He is not looking for the added complication of love when the mysterious Lady Lorna falls literally into his arms, though he is happy to retrieve her stolen property and scare off rejected suitors. Only with the harvest moon festival does he begin to understand the true meaning of love and home.
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.
A Quiet Heart by Elizabeth Ellen Carter
Widowed in the Napoleonic Wars and traumatized by the horrors she has seen, Veronica Petersham’s road to Reabridge has been paved with tragedy.
Now she is here as bearer of bad news for one of the families in the town.
But she falls ill just short of her goal and finds herself in the care of kind and stoic Martin Bromelton, a local farmer, and his family.
As Veronica recovers, she learns there might be hope for the future after all and the opportunity to find love once more.
A Love Beyond Time by Sherry Ewing
A Family of Worth (Book Three)
Can love at first sight be reborn after heartbreak, proving a second chance is all you need?
Miss Hannah Pownall fell for a young lord years ago, only to see him leave. After no word from him in eight years, he returns to their small town, wounded and broken. Now, Hannah must reconcile her old feelings with the heartbreak he caused, knowing he plans to stay.
Captain Brandon Worthington returns to the town of Reabridge to recover from the war. He never expected to find the girl he once loved still unwed. Now, he must prove to her that he never forgot her.
Hannah and Brandon’s journey is complicated by their respective pasts, but ultimately, they must decide whether second chances are worth taking a risk. Will they be able to navigate the obstacles thrown their way to find the happily ever after they both deserve?
The Widow’s Harvest Hope by Cerise DeLand
The new Earl Barlow returns home from Waterloo, intending to live by his own rules. The woman he loved and lost years ago visits for the Harvest festival—and he plans to offer the Widow Wright what they both want.
Being an obedient female has brought Vicky only sorrow. But with the need to visit Ford’s home to identify a mysterious toddler who may be her deceased sister’s son, she questions if a lady who has lived by the rules can throw them all away to seize her last chance for happiness.
Love In Its Season by Jude Knight
The Battle of Waterloo lost Jack Wrath the use of one arm and ended his career in the cavalry. With nothing better to do and nowhere else to go, he sees his doctor home to Reabridge—and stays because of Gwen, the female farrier he rescues from a lustful lord. After all his years of wandering, Gwen’s cottage feels like home.
Gwen Hughes is taller and stronger than many men, and runs her own business. Perhaps she intimidates the men of the town, but that is fine with her. She doesn’t have time for courtship. She’d be a fool to refuse Jack’s offer to help her father, who is in his second childhood, and even more of a fool to read too much into his kindness.
Under the harvest moon, two people who believe romance has passed them finally reach their season for love.