Chasing the Tale

Escape into another place and time just long enough for a lunch or coffee break in eleven short stories... from the imagination of award-winning author Jude Knight. Nine Regency plus one colonial New Zealand and one medieval Scotland. Multiple tropes, catastrophes and barriers on the way to a happy ending.An Angel, UnawaresIn colonial New Zealand, Molly faces Christmas without her husband. A passing drifter helps her keep her three children happy, but when will Rick be home?Anne Under SiegeCan this year get worse? Anne has been robbed, the frosts have killed the vegetable seedlings, and now the new earl wants to evict them. It doesn’t help that she once had a youthful infatuation with the man!The Fifth RaceIf she wins this one last race, Rhi will be free to choose her own future. Lose, and she must marry the winner. Cen, returning from a decade at war, is determined to be that winner, for he has always loved her. But he is not the only challenger, and someone is prepared to cheat and even kill in order to take the prize.Found in ScotlandNed Broderick wakes in an inn far from home, cared for by a stranger who claims to be his wife. Is she a cunning schemer, or the woman of his dreams?Home is the sailor; home from the seaStephen Fletcher has one final task for the navy; presenting his commiserations to his best friend’s sister. Fletch never could resist a damsel in distress, especially one he has been writing to for years.Look into my eyesTwo strangers watch one another across a crowded ballroom. What does the rake called Lord Charming have to do with the duchess known as the Paragon? Only the two of them know.The Marquis ReturnsA forced wedding, the feud between their families, and a seven-year separation. Their marriage did not get off to a good start. Hal and Willa will be lucky to get out of it with their dignity intact. They’d be fools to hope for more, even if miracles do happen at Christmas.The Mouse Fights BackTiberius has promised to keep Claudia safe from his grasping relatives and also from her own. His Mouse, he calls his little wife, tenderly. But when Tiberius is in danger, Mouse must find her courage and her teeth.The Path that Brings Us HomeGwen returns to the home she hasn’t seen in ten years, uncertain of her reception. Her brothers’ war with another local family destroyed her lover, her dearest friend, and her own life. Will she be forgiven? Can she find a measure of happiness?The Rain DogWhen Jake saves a dog from a flooded river, he has no idea that the dog will more than return the favour, saving him and bringing him his lost love.The Veiled BrideJonetta Macintosh and Uilleam Cameron were parted by treachery on their betrothal day, and treachery stalks them still, a decade later. In medieval Scotland, where the clans put their feuds ahead of the King and the welfare of the kingdom, can our two star-crossed lovers find a path to peace and happiness?