A secret baby puts a wrench in holiday plans in this charming, snowbound Regency romance from Annabelle Greene Come to me. I need you. It’s a matter of life-and-death. Infamous poet Sherborne Clarke is a scholar, a lover—but not a father. When he finds a baby abandoned on the steps of his crumbling castle, he knows he must get her to London and an orphanage. It’s the perfect excuse to contact the one person he trusts…the man whose love he stills yearns for, and whose heart he broke years before. Richard Ashbrook was groomed from birth to become the Earl of Portland, until Sherborne betrayed him, exposing his sexuality to the papers and forcing him into exile. But as much as he hates Sherborne, Richard has never managed to break their link or let his confusing sentiments concerning him subside. When he receives a missive implying that Sherborne's life is at risk, he knows it is time to return home. Richard undergoes the perilous journey from Sicily only to find the other man untouched. Furious, he agrees to transport the baby to London—whatever gets him out of Sherborne’s life once and for all. But when a snowstorm leaves them stranded, they’re forced to confront the past—and deal with the love between them that’s all too present.

Miss Ada Quicksilver, a student of London’s Lovelace Academy for Promising Young Women, is spending her holiday in Ireland to pursue her anthropological study of fairies. She visits Dublin’s absinthe bars to investigate a supposed association between the bittersweet spirit and fairy sightings. One night a handsome Irishman approaches her, introducing himself as Edward Donoghue. Edward takes absinthe to relieve his sleepwalking, and she is eager to hear whether he has experience with fairies. Instead, she discovers that he’s the earl of Meath, and that he will soon visit a mysterious ruin at Newgrange on the orders of his cousin, the beautiful, half-mad Queen Isolde. On learning about Ada’s area of study, he invites her to accompany him. Ada is torn between a sensible fear of becoming entangled with the clearly troubled gentleman and her compelling desire to ease his suffering. Finally she accepts his invitation, and they arrive in time for the winter solstice. That night, the secret of Edward’s affliction is revealed: he is, in fact, a lord in two worlds and can no longer suppress his shadow self. Little does either of them realize that their blossoming friendship—and slowly kindling passion—will lead to discoveries that wrench open a door sealed for centuries, throwing them into a war that will change Ireland forever.

How does an earl teach his four meddling sisters a lesson about interfering in his affairs? A fake courtship ought to do nicely. The Earl of Evans knew from the first moment that the invitation arrived that the Christmastide house party his sisters were hosting was a ruse. They’d done it before…they’d already found the recipe. Take an eligible lord and a marriageable lady, add a sleigh ride, some mistletoe, and few candlelit evenings with Christmastide carols and boom, he’d go from one of England’s most eligible bachelors to a happily married man. Only he has no interest in marriage, and even better, neither does the lady they’ve chosen for his prospective bride. Together, they concoct the perfect foil to his sister’s schemes: they’ll pretend that his sisters’ plans have worked. The problem? His sisters managed to get some things right after all. Because sleigh rides and mistletoe kisses might make a man wonder. And the more times he spends with Lady Duxbury, the more he questions who is playing who and which feelings are part of the act and which ones are coming directly from his heart?

"[With] lithographed key to the picture, and fac-simile of the autograph of Burns on the Bible presented to Highland Mary, now in the Burns Monument, Banks o' Doon. The inauguration of Burns was made the subject of a fine painting by Stewart Watson, R.S.A. The minutes of the Canongate Kilwinning Lodge record the initiation which is represented in the Picture, along with the names of many celebrated characters of that day, some of whom were present on the occasion. Burns is represented as about to be crowned with the poetic wreath by the master of the Lodge, and the interior is painted with consummate ability. The picture was afterwards engraved, and a limited number thrown off for subscribers. A few copies, coloured by the artist, are rare. This little work was compiled as a guide to the painting, with a sketch of Burns in connexion with the order of Masonry, and biographical notices of the characters represented in the painting. The appendix closes with 'Lines on seeing Mr. Stewart Watson's picture of Burns,' supposed to written by W. Pringle"--Gibson.

Alone in a gentleman's bedchamber, rummaging through his clothing--governess Leah Vance risks social ruin. Only by selling political information can she pay for her sister's care. And the letter she found in Julian DeChambelle's coat could be valuable--if the ex-sea captain himself had not just walked in. As a navy officer, Julian knew his purpose. As a new earl, he's plagued by trivialities and marriage-obsessed females. Miss Vance's independence is intriguing--and useful. In return for relaying false information, he will pay her handsomely. But trusting her, even caring for her? That would be pure folly. Yet when he sees the danger that surrounds her, it may be too late to stop himself....

An isolate, protracted surrealism attaches languidly to objects, animals, and emotion in Michael E. Craig's poems of semi-rural outlandishness. Profundity takes its rightful place in the shallow arena: "You can't step out of your tragedy, it wouldn't be a tragedy./ Neither can I./ Together we walk/ and think thoughts in a cornfield. . . ./ A thing cries out from the interior of corn." The reader is embroiled in textural exposition, encountering dark recessions of realism against the relief of interior truth: "Today you strike me as needing something./ So take my ten-thousand-pound typewriter . . . / . . . For here is an older,/ other world, taking almost forty sheep to make one sock./ A serious mist fills my eye. You/ have made me cry." Winsome, ominous vapors arise from the combustion of "dreamish, autobiographical thoughts" with their counterpart, the cosmic laughter provoked by close observation. "A man had been out walking with a very long cigar./ As he passed by me, closely, I could see it/ was actually an eight-inch-long ash/ that he had, perched beautifully between his/ fingers. And that he had passed away./ And that his eyes were gone from his head."

A short tale of love, loss, and redemption you'll not soon forget... It's the winter season of 1746 and the Highlands are snowy. In the village of Calvine, north of Tay Forest along a road that leads straight into Inverness, the only tavern in town is packed to the rafters with travelers. Eight months after the disastrous defeat at Culloden, the people haven't recovered, nor has the land, and it's a bad winter. When James de Lohr, Earl of Worcester, shows up looking for clues to his brother's fate on the Culloden Moor, he gets more than he bargained for. On a night when angels walk the earth, James comes face to face with a unique young woman... and the truth about his relationship with his brother. Love isn't always shown in the most obvious way. Nor is falling in love always conventional. A blustery innkeeper, his sensitive daughter, and a cast of unique characters passing through the careworn tavern will become the setting for a tale that is as sweet and poignant as the very spirit of the holidays.