Showing results by narrator "Anne Cater" in All Categories

It is 1919 and poverty in the mining village where 16-year-old Megan Williams lives, forces her to leave her loving family to work as a kitchen maid in Bristol. Her sly cousin Lizzie, already a parlour maid at Redcliffe House, is determined to make things difficult for Megan. It was never going to be easy, for both upstairs and downstairs it is a maelstrom of feuds.

When obscure crime writer Ethelred Tressider vanishes, his dogged literary agent, Elsie Thirkettle, is soon on his trail. Finding him (in a ramshackle hotel in the French Loire) proves surprisingly easy. Bringing him home proves more difficult than expected - but (as Elsie observes) who would have predicted that, in a hotel full of stamp collectors, the guests would suddenly start murdering each other? One guest is found fatally stabbed, apparently the victim of an intruder.

It was Mrs Croyden who had been taken by the idea of digging up the history of the family. It seemed to be the kind of thing that everyone was doing nowadays. And once started she became more and more enchanted by the project. Even her husband, George, having seen the ancient photograph of a most attractive girl, long since dead, was taken by the project. The snag was that even Great Aunt Maud, the owner of the photograph, had no idea what had happened to the beautiful girl named Isabella. Apparently she had completely vanished and to the rest of the family had simply become “The Unknown”. Would the mystery ever be solved?

When Rauwerd van Kempler proposed to Tilly, he made it clear their marriage would be a convenient arrangement, one which brought him a wife who would run his home and partner him on social occasions. And Tilly would have the security of a roof over her head and a man who could be depended upon not to make passionate love to her. But suddenly Tilly wasn’t so sure that was all she wanted from him....

Dictatorial, overbearing and downright rude! Dr Valentine Seymour might be an excellent paediatrician, but however good he was with his small patients he needed to develop more of a bedside manner with adults. Daisy disliked him from the first time they met and he certainly didn’t improve on further acquaintance. But somehow fate decided that she had a lot to thank him for – her new job among other things. Had she perhaps misjudged him after all?

For Olivia Harding, the offer of employment at a small private school came as something of a godsend. With no qualifications, she hadn’t expected to find a job so easily, let alone one that still brought her into contact with the eminent surgeon Haso van der Eisler. Of course, his frequent visits to the school had more to do with his small goddaughter, Nel. That Haso should marry the child’s glamorous mother seemed obvious to all but Olivia’s stubborn heart.

Tiny Paul van Eysink was a very special case to Nurse Hannah Lang, and she had become very fond of his young parents, Corinna and Paul. When they invited her to go back with them to Holland until the baby was completely recovered, Hannah was only too happy to oblige. The problem was Corinna's unbending uncle, Doctor Valentijn van Bertes! He could find no fault with Hannah's nursing skills - but she was only too aware that she meant little to him as a person. Why should she? He had a very lovely fiancée in Nerissa…

Megan thought she had it all - a good job, a caring family and a fiancé whom everyone agreed would make her a wonderful husband. But then her perfectly constructed world fell apart, and she found that her one hope was Professor Jake van Belfeld. He seemed determined to rebuild her life - but why was he taking such a personal interest in her? He couldn't think that her heart needed his attention, too, could he?

She was not going to exchange one dull life for another! Far from being brokenhearted when her long-standing and rather dull engagement to Tony came to an end, Prudence welcomed it as an opportunity to break out of her comfortable shell, to make a new and exciting life for herself. So the job that Benedict van Vinke offered - acting as his secretary and looking after his little daughter - had come just at the right time. It would also give Prudence a chance to visit Holland. But would she have such an exciting life, after all, if she accepted Benedict’s cold-blooded proposal?

Sister Maggy MacFergus was tall and she discovered most men found this offputting. When Dr Paul Doelsma offered Maggy a nursing job in Holland, she took it. There was something special about Dr Doelsma and it wasn’t just that he was taller than her. She was sensible enough to realise that he would never love her back, after all, Paul said he had already chosen himself a wonderful wife. But who was the lucky girl?

She swore she would never marry a rich man! As a private nurse to wealthy spoiled people, Constantia had seen the misery too much money could bring. Jeroen van der Giessen, though, was only a poor overworked GP, so when she found herself stranded without money or passport, and Jeroen offered marriage, Constantia accepted.

Amelia and Tom had been engaged a long time. Too long - and she had begun to worry about why he should be so reluctant to set a date. So when her father first suggested that the three of them should have a holiday in Norway, Amelia thought that in such relaxed surroundings, she would be able to discuss things once and for all with Tom. Instead, Amelia found Gideon van der Tolck often at her side, and his company became increasingly appealing.…

Eleanor and Beatrice dream of lovematches but the Dowager insists romantic love is for housemaids, not for the Graceover women. Beatrice, despatched to London to look over the current crop of bachelors, is unimpressed by the frivolities of the Season. Disturbed by the languid charm of Lord Serle and appalled by the mercenary attitudes to marriage displayed by Society, Beatrice’s country innocence and unconventional behaviour lead her into some alarming situations.

Staff nurse Samantha Fielding had one golden rule: never get involved. The attractive Giles ter Ossel made it difficult to keep. Samantha was determined not to let her feelings for Giles affect the way she treated the girl she thought was his fiancée. So, she agreed to return to Holland to nurse Antonia through her recovery. Samantha’s calm and professional exterior hid a breaking heart. Meanwhile, Giles was determined to be happily married - to the right girl.

How could she fall asleep during his lecture? It wasn't the best way for Nurse Lucy Prendergast to attract the attention of distinguished consultant Fraam der Linssen, especially when the attractive Dutch doctor kept appearing in her life - at the hospital, at her home and in Holland when she went on holiday. If only he were equally aware of her! But it wasn't likely, for far prettier girls were obviously his for the asking

Esmeralda Jones was a very nice girl. It seemed to Esmeralda that she was also invisible to the opposite sex. Perhaps the real reason for this was the impaired foot she had struggled with since childhood. When the brilliant surgeon Thimo Bamstra offered to cure her, Esmeralda was over the moon. Thimo also managed to mend her broken heart. Esmeralda had never imagined marriage as part of her future, but now she could dream of little else.

Titus Taverner was a busy and successful medical man who lacked a wife. Arabella had applied for the job of caretaker at his consulting rooms but was happy to accept this new position Titus was offering -until she complicated matters by falling in love with him....

Serena gave up all hope of getting married when her fiancé jilted her. She was determined to be sensible about the whole thing, that was, until Gijs suggested that she marry him instead. She liked Gjis very much, and knew he was fond of her – that seemed as good a basis as any for a marriage. But it turned out that Gjis was in love, and Serena couldn’t work out who the lucky woman was.

Rebecca Saunders isn't Baron Tiele Raukema van den Eck's type - she's already heard him describe her as a thin mouse! But he's been very kind, rescuing her from an intolerable home life and giving her a job nursing his mother. As Tiele's got a gorgeous girlfriend, Becky knows it's useless to love him - but it's already too late....

When Doctor George Pritchard asked her to marry him, Phoebe hadn’t needed much persuading. After the death of her aunt, she was penniless and without a job. Besides which, she liked him. And she liked his home, and his life as a GP. And if he had made it plain that he wasn’t in love with her - well, at least she knew where she stood. It wasn’t until after the wedding that she began to wonder if liking was going to be enough….