Resisting Mr Rochester

by Sharon Booth

Acknowledgements

  My thanks, first and foremost, must go to you, the reader who has purchased this book. I'm very grateful to everyone who has ever taken the time to read any of my stories, and I hope you have enjoyed Resisting Mr Rochester.

  I'd like to say a big thank you to my husband, Steve, who drove me to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, one rainy day, so that I could soak up the atmosphere and draw inspiration from the house. At least, that's what I told him. I just really love that place! Walking around the very house, where the Brontë sisters wrote their most famous works, is an awesome experience. I have to confess, as I gazed at Charlotte's glasses, her tiny shoes, her spectacle case, the quotations from Jane Eyre on the walls, I was in tears more than once. Thanks, Steve, not only for taking me, but for plodding patiently around the Parsonage, waiting for me to recover my composure, understanding my rather pathetic fangirl attitude, and not complaining when I spent yet more money in the gift shop. Thanks, also, for the endless cups of Yorkshire tea you always provide me with as I write. Your patience is very much appreciated.

  Thanks, as always, to J B Editing Services for their sterling work with my manuscript. Any mistakes that remain are mine. Also, a huge thanks to Berni Stevens, who designed the gorgeous cover, and remained patient while I made up my mind what it was, exactly, that I wanted.

  Finally, thanks to Alex Weston and Julie Heslington, who read an early draft of Resisting Mr Rochester, and came up with some amazing suggestions and very useful insights, enabling me to pull the novel into better shape. You both have a wonderful knack of seeing right into the core of my writing and knowing just what to do to improve it. Thank you both!

  Other books by Sharon Booth

  There Must Be an Angel (Kearton Bay 1)

  When Eliza Jarvis discovers her property show presenter husband, Harry, has been expanding his portfolio with tabloid darling Melody Bird, her perfect life crumbles around her ears.

  Before you can say Pensioner Barbie she’s in a stolen car, heading to the North Yorkshire coastal village of Kearton Bay in search of the father she never knew, with only her three-year-old daughter and a family-sized bag of Maltesers for company.

  Ignoring the pleas of her uncle, chat show presenter Joe Hollingsworth, Eliza determines to find the man who abandoned her mother and discover the reason he left them to their fate. All she has to go on is his name – Raphael – but in such a small place there can’t be more than one angel, can there?

  Gabriel Bailey may have the name of an angel but he’s not feeling very blessed. In fact, the way his life’s been going he doesn’t see how things can get much worse. Then Eliza arrives with her flash car and designer clothes, reminding him of things he’d rather forget, and he realises that if he’s to have any kind of peace she’s one person he must avoid at all costs.

  But with the help of beautiful Wiccan landlady, Rhiannon, and quirky pink-haired café owner, Rose, Eliza is soon on the trail of her missing angel, and her investigations lead her straight into Gabriel’s path. As her search takes her deeper into the heart of his family, Eliza begins to realise that she’s in danger of hurting those she cares about deeply. Is her quest worth it?

  And is the angel she’s seeking really the one she’s meant to find?

  A Kiss from a Rose (Kearton Bay 2)

  One kiss can change your life…

  Rose Maclean's new beginning in Kearton Bay didn't go quite as expected, but now she has a new career and things finally seem to be improving.

  But Rose's life never runs smoothly for long. With money tight, space in her tiny flat at a premium, and her eldest daughter, Fuschia, behaving even more strangely than usual, the last thing she needs is to spend more time with her mother. Mrs Maclean is straight-talking and hard to please, but when she becomes the unexpected victim of a crime, Rose has no choice but to take her into her already cramped home.

  Reduced to sleeping on the sofa, dealing with her mother's barbed comments, and worrying endlessly about her teenage daughters, Rose is desperately in need of something good to happen.

  Flynn Pennington-Rhys is the quiet man of Kearton Bay. He lives alone in a large, elegant house, and works as a GP in the village. Thoughtful, reliable, but a bit of a loner, Flynn is the last person Rose expected to fall for. Then a drunken kiss at a wedding sets them on a path that neither could have predicted.

  But Flynn has his own issues to deal with, and when events take an unexpected turn, it seems Rose may not be able to rely on him, after all.

  Will the quiet man come through for her? Will her daughters ever sort themselves out? And will Rose ever get her bedroom back from her mother, or is she destined to spend the rest of her life on the sofa?

  Once Upon a Long Ago (Kearton Bay 3)

  Lexi Bailey doesn’t do love. Having seen the war zone that was her parents’ marriage, she has no interest in venturing into a relationship, and thinks romance is for fairy tales. As far as she’s concerned, there’s no such thing as happy ever after, and she’s not looking for a handsome prince.

  For Will Boden-Kean, that’s probably a good thing. He hardly qualifies as a handsome prince, after all. He may be the son of a baronet, and live in a stately home, but he’s not known for his good looks. What he is known for, among the residents of Kearton Bay, is his kind heart, his determination to fund Kearton Hall — and his unrequited love for Lexi.

  While Lexi gazes at the portrait of the Third Earl Kearton, and dreams of finding the treasure that is reputed to be hidden somewhere in the house, Will is working hard to ensure that his home survives. When he goes against Lexi’s wishes and employs the most unpopular man in the village, she begins to wonder if he’s under a spell. Will would never upset her. What could possibly have happened to him?

  As plans take shape for a grand ball, Lexi’s life is in turmoil. With a secret from Will’s past revealed, a witch who is far too beautiful for Lexi’s peace of mind, and a new enchantress on the scene, things are changing rapidly at Kearton Hall. Add to that a big, bad wolf of a work colleague, a stepmother in denial, and a father who is most definitely up to no good, and it’s no wonder she decides to make a new start somewhere else.

  Then she makes a discovery that changes everything — but time is running out for her. Is it too late to find her happy ending? Will Lexi make it to the ball? Will Buttons save the day? And where on earth did that handsome prince come from?

  This Other Eden (Skimmerdale 1)

  Eden wants to keep her job, and, as that means spending the summer caring for three young children in the wilds of the Yorkshire Dales, she has no choice but to go along with it. Her consolation prize is that their father is unexpectedly gorgeous. Sadly for Eden, she’s not quite herself any longer…

  Honey wants to spend the summer with her married politician lover. The only problem is, there are quite a few people determined to put obstacles in her path. But what Honey wants, Honey usually gets…

  Cain wants a knighthood and is willing to sacrifice almost anything for it. If his daughter is putting that goal in jeopardy, it’s time to get tough…

  Lavinia wants to keep her marriage intact, and if that means turning a blind eye to her husband’s philandering, she’ll do it. But that doesn’t mean she can’t have someone else spying for her…

  Eliot wants to care for his children, and to be left in peace to heal. When he gets an unexpected guest, he wonders if it’s time to start living again. But is this sheep farmer having the wool pulled over his eyes?

  Cake baking, jam making, gymkhana games and sheep showing. Blackmail, deception, spying and cheating. Laughter, forgiveness, redemption and falling in love. A lot can happen during one summer in Skimmerdale…

  Other novels you may enjoy from Fabrian Books

  A Highland Practice by Jo Bartlett

  Dr Evie Daniels has recently lost her mother. Unable to save the person she loved most in the world, she considers giving up medicine altogether; especially when her fiancé is unable to understand her grief. Ins
tead she decides to leave her life in London and fulfil her promise to her mother to see as much of the world as possible. Her first stop is to escape to the wilds of the Scottish highlands and a job as a locum in the remote town of Balloch Pass. It’s only ever meant to be the first step on her journey, though, a temporary job she has no intention of sticking with. There’s a whole world to see and a promise to fulfil, after all.

  But she doesn’t expect to be working with someone like Dr Alasdair James – a hometown hero – whose own life changes beyond all recognition when his best friend dies and leaves him guardian to two young children. With enough drama in their personal and professional lives to fill a medical encyclopaedia, they soon develop a close friendship. Can it ever go beyond that when Evie’s determined to see the world and Alasdair has commitments at home he just can’t break? Or are they destined to be forever in the wrong place at the wrong time?

  Air Guitar and Caviar by Jackie Ladbury

  Busker Dylan spends his days pulling pints in the local pub and singing on the high street, waiting for fame to call. That suits him fine, until beautiful, but frosty, air stewardess, Scarlett, tosses some coins into his hat but ignores his killer smile and his offer of pizza.

  He sets out to get the girl, but Scarlett isn’t in the right frame of mind to date anyone, let alone a penniless, if charming, busker boy.

  Dylan’s desperate for his big break, but will it bring him the happiness he longs for? And with Scarlett’s past threatening to ruin her future, will Dylan be left to make sweet music all on his own?

  Beltane by Alys West

  When Zoe Rose stays at Anam Cara – a guest house in Glastonbury, a town steeped in magic and myth – she dreams of a handsome stranger. The next day she meets him.

  Tall with untidy brown hair and grey eyes, Finn is funny and intelligent but doesn’t open up easily. Instantly drawn to him, Zoe doesn’t initially recognise him as the man from her dream. When Finn finds out where Zoe is staying he warns her not to trust Maeve, the healer who owns Anam Cara.

  His enigmatic comments fuel Zoe’s growing unease about what’s happening at Anam Cara. What power does Maeve have over the minds of the other guests? Is it coincidence that they become ill after she’s given them healing? Why does the stone table in the garden provoke memories of blood and terror? And how did the Green Man, carved on a tree in the garden, disappear during a thunderstorm?

  Finn’s torn between wanting to protect Zoe from his world and a strong desire to be with her. And the more time they spend together the harder it is for him to keep his secrets from her. As they uncover the dark, supernatural secrets of Anam Cara, they grow closer and Zoe’s forced to accept that her dreams reveal the future and Finn is not all he seems.

  For Finn is a druid, connected by magic to the earth, and the old scores between Finn and Maeve are about to put Zoe’s life in danger.