Amorous Redemption

Phoebe Porter had run away from her family...from her fiancé...from her life.Upon arriving in the dusty mining town of Ravenswood, Queensland, Australia, Phoebe was certain she was finally safe from all who wanted to rob her of everything she had...including her life. That was until she felt herself being swept up in the strong arms of a stranger...a stranger she would soon be surrendering her body and heart too.This was to be the last job for bounty hunter, Duncan MacAllester. All he had to do was retrieve Phoebe Porter from Ravenswood and return her to her home of Inkerman Downs Station and to the fiancé awaiting her. If he could survive this last hunt for this woman then he would finally have the money he needed to reclaim his cattle station and retrieve his life.When Duncan pulled Phoebe safely from the midst of a bar brawl, never could he have imagined this would be the beginning of one of the most dangerous journeys he had ever made...or the most passionate.Together... Paul Rumsfeld, a lonely, rich, widower, seeks Evangeline's hand in marriage. He is her first real marital prospect, as the entire village considers her damaged goods. Rumors abound about the way Evangeline and her sister Rose Red, serviced the Black Bear who resided at their hearth during one particularly hard, bitter winter. Evangeline did no such thing, but no man pays her court. She accepts Paul's offer to marry him, while trying to ignore the vile gossipmongers' talk in the village that Paul's last four wives died under bizarre-and troubling-circumstances. Is Paul a Bluebeard, or is he an innocent man? Evangeline trusts her husband implicitly, but the rumors are hard to ignore. They marry and she travels with him to his marvelous villa on the sea. Once there, she is introduced to the household servants, including the grim and reproving Mathilda. Mathilda is a formidable opponent, and it takes all of Evangeline's guile and resources to outmaneuver the imperious maidservant. Evangeline soon finds herself with child, and with the support of the midwife, she begins to exert her will. Out with the restricting corsets and stays! Evangeline has no desire to confine her body to the dictates of fashion. She wants her baby to be healthy and strong, and the only way to do that is to ensure her own comfort. Mathilda is horrified, but cannot bend Evangeline to her will. At the same time, Evangeline is attempting to breach the citadel that is her husband's broken heart. Paul honestly cannot say how it has come to pass that he is the widower of four deceased wives, each one expiring under odd and distressing circumstances. As a result, he has locked down his heart to any further intimacy. He is half-convinced that Evangeline shall also die, and it would be unbearable if he were to allow her into his heart.