*Now published as a full ebook and paperback novel. Buy now on www.authoranhorton.com* How far would you go to keep a promise? When twelve-year-old Oliver Ainsworth promised his life to Avery Hastings, she never believed him. After years apart, through war and tragedy, it seems even more likely that he's forgotten her entirely. And she's moved on as well. Haunted by their parents' gruesome murder and the overbearing debt they'd left behind, Avery and her sister both sell themselves into different trades to make their livings, to pay back the murderer before he comes for them too. As for Oliver? The war came for him just like it came for every other young boy in their village. Or so Avery thinks. Until her employment with a wealthy family in France forces their two worlds to collide once more and she learns there's far more to the boy she knew than she could have ever imagined. Bound by a contract neither of them ever signed, they must come together again after years apart, after being worlds away, after becoming different people. A contract which states that they are overdue for their own wedding. But, after a lengthy engagement, when Oliver gives Avery the chance to opt out... will she even want to?

A FEATURED STORY IN HISTORICAL FICTION HIGHEST RANKING #7 in HISTORICAL FICTION --- Ellie had been undercover for most of her life. She had been a pickpocket for as far as she can remember, under the guise of Elliot. Any memory before the age of ten was blank in her head, with no recollection of how she had ended up under the charge of a gang of street rats as a child. Her life was meant to be mundane, as long as she remained under her secret identity. Until she tried to steal from the wrong pockets that is. --- Fabian Rothesay, the new Duke of Avondale, had spent the last 2 years rebuilding the coffers of his father, in order to ensure that the Avondale estate was not about to crumble around their feet. Taking over his father's spot as the Duke had not been an easy task, but in his doing so for the past 2 years, he has raised as one of the most eligible bachelors of the ton. What the ton doesn't know is that Fabian is biting to return to his previous life. What people believed to be a holiday around the continent, was actually Fabian's cover as he worked as an Agent of the Crown. His new status as a Duke however, did not make him want to step down as an Agent just yet, especially with a recent case that specifically embroils a series of planned heists within the ton. --- As the two are thrown together in a series of circumstances that was mostly chance, sometimes fate, and with a dash of secrecy, how would the turmoil change their lives?

To save her family from scandal, Emily Collicott must marry. Ruined in her first season in London, she is given no choice but to wed her father's pick for a husband, or be cast out from her home. Emily agrees to marry William Hazlitt, a man she hardly knows. But William remembers her. Growing up as a tenant on her father's estate, he admired her from afar, their lives kept separate first by class, and then by loss. Emily seeks to begin a new life with this quiet man to whom she finds herself wedded. But the scandal she escaped in London soon finds her again, the very man who destroyed her reputation threatening to tear down the happiness she's found with her new husband. To keep from losing everything, she must either make a deal with a devil... or learn how to destroy one.

Lady Imogen Wilde has lived her life in a body that does not work as it should. As she was born not breathing, Imogen has spent her life as the small and weak daughter of the Duke of Ascot. Nobody could ever understand, could they? Colonel Simon Spencer is a highly decorated, recently retired, soldier, who has made his fortune through various gallant and successful military campaigns. But the military has altered him, both mentally and physically, leaving him a changed man from the one his brother remembers, one who carries many burdens. But what if they met? Could it be, that after years of indifference, Imogen and Simon might finally find someone who understands? Or could there be other obstacles in their way, secrets that threaten to boil over?

Seven years have passed since Regan lost the love of her life. During that time, she found solace raising her three children, sequestering herself in the country and away from the talk and bustle of society. But now her eldest daughter is beginning her own search for a husband, and Regan finds herself drawn back into the public eye after so many - too many - years away. She meets Thomas Cranmer, a young - too young - and handsome gentleman who should have his attentions focused on other women, women lacking the age and grief she earned as a widow and mother. Yet he seeks her out, winning her over with his smiles and wit, reminding her of what it is to be a woman, and a desirable one at that. But when secrets are revealed and her respectability threatened, Regan discovers there is life beyond grief, and that perhaps it is possible to find love a second time...

Charlotte Claridge lives a life dictated by her stepmother's whims. Sent to live with one family member after another, she finally arrives in Scotland, on the doorstep of a crumbling estate abandoned by its owner. With her aunt, she spends her days mending curtains and peeling potatoes, a quiet existence that changes with the appearance of a carriage bearing a coat of arms. From out of the carriage falls Lord Hartley Cowden, Baron Aldburgh. Drunk, unconscious, and bleeding, Charlotte and her aunt carry him into his ancestral home. As he recovers in Charlotte's care, Hartley confesses to a crime that nearly sent him spiralling towards his grave. But can she entrust him with her own secrets while coaxing him back from the dead?

Lady Eliza Turner has no interest in finding herself a wealthy husband, she has her books, her best friend Charlotte, and plenty of opinions on what society expects from her. When her curiosity gets the better of her, and she ends up in a compromising position with the desirable Duke Harrington she must use all her wits and charm to survive the scandal she has created. Jasper Harrington doesn't enjoy attending social occasions especially when opinionated women think that it is acceptable to criticise him, but there is something about Eliza that he can't quite bear to part with. Are this odd couple going to find a happy ever after together or apart?

Complete (First Draft) The year is 1815, sixteen year old Margaret Woodbridge thinks her world is ending as she watches the youngest of her three brothers whisk away her best friend from Somerset as they leave on their honeymoon. The feeling of loneliness is almost as suffocating as when she found out she was orphaned and left in the care of her eldest brother and his wife almost four years ago. With the sudden realization that marriage is a fact of life and she has no prospects, the uncertainty of her future weighs heavily on her. After a little nudging from her guardians soon there are plans to make for London for the Season with the hopes that Margaret will find a suitable match. Is this the adventure that her best friend alluded to as she left? Follow Margaret as she navigates the sea of Society as she attempts to find true love. My Beautiful Cover by Frappell

Emmeline Somers is the only daughter of the only apothecary in Abbotshire, England. After her father is left bedridden, she takes over his duties as the town's healer. It is a quiet life in the country until one patient arrives in the village and changes her life forever.

"The Riley twins were born in the spring of 1797 during a ferocious storm that battered the Salisbury Plain for three days together. Isabel entered the world with a flash of lightning, her shrieking drowned out by a grand clap of thunder. Thirteen minutes later the storm abated, clouds parted, and Miranda was handed to her father, blinking in rays of sun that poured through the window." Isabel loves the comfort of home and the company of her family and few close friends. She doesn't care for the drama of the season or dream of gothic adventures as her sister does. She is wild and carefree in her own right, mischievous if need be, and the fun she has with her sister and closest friend is enough to satisfy her fancies. If only life took pleasure in forcing adventure on those who wished for it, instead of those who did not. Miranda is a playful romantic, she looks forward to her first season with a desperation which rivals that of a starving man on his way to a feast. She can't wait to dress in beautiful gowns and dance the nights away with the height of the Ton. More than anything, she dreams of finding her prince charming and falling in love; but love is a game, and some play it far too well. What readers are saying: "What a wonderful read!! Your writing style is so delightful and immersed me in the time period :) I also enjoyed the romance and the characters you developed! Thank you for sharing your work :))" - @Purplejeans "Absolutely beautiful story. Great content, descriptive, enthralling, and such romance. Very well done to you. Hope to read many more of your works👌🏼🙌🏼" - @JeanetteSim4 "This has to become a movie!! I need to watch this!!!" - Anonymous