Read Online A Timeless Romance Anthology: European Collection by Annette Lyon, G. G. Vandagriff, Michele Paige Holmes, Sarah M. Eden, Heather B. Moore, Nancy Campbell Allen - Free Book Online
Authors: Annette Lyon, G. G. Vandagriff, Michele Paige Holmes, Sarah M. Eden, Heather B. Moore, Nancy Campbell Allen
Tags: Romance, Historical, Historical Romance, Short Stories, Anthologies, Novellas, sweet romance, clean romance
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Nations kicked out the Soviet Union, and the world’s attention turned to cheering on plucky little Finland battling Soviet Goliath. The Finns held on, refusing to surrender as they waited for promised aid from many countries. No significant aid ever arrived.
The Finns paid a high price for resisting Stalin. Under the terms of the ceasefire, they lost hundreds of square miles, which to this day are under Russian control. But even Stalin couldn’t call the result a victory. First and foremost, he lost the respect of the world at the expense of his people. Khrushchev later quipped that Russia got just enough land to bury their dead, and he estimated their losses at a million soldiers over the 105-day conflict.
Thanks to their sisu , Finland became the only country bordering the Soviet Union to retain its freedom and never fall to communist rule.
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by G.G. Vandagriff
Chapter One
England—1817
Lady Melissa Burroughs, Countess of Oaksey, repeated her new name to herself as her husband’s carriage bowled through the countryside on its way back to London from Gretna Green.
“Happy?” he asked, his gloved hand over hers, his luminous dark eyes warm with their new intimacy.
“Blissfully,” she assured him, putting her other hand on top of his.
“You do not regret that you have not had a grand wedding in Town, but only an uneducated blacksmith’s service over the anvil?”
Melissa thought about this before replying. “I think not, Thomas. If you knew my mother, you would understand why I have always dreamed of eloping.” She smiled and teased his irresistible dimple with her fingertip. “Our marriage concerns the two of us, not yards of satin, Mama’s megrims, or Papa’s bombast. Besides, I am very put out with him for having tried to marry me off to Lord Trowbridge, who did not love me in the least. It will take me a long time to forgive Papa for that.”
“Now he must forgive you for marrying me.”
“That will not be a problem,” she teased him merrily.
“Even though I am virtually a pauper?”
Melissa was startled. How could she not have known this fact? Probably because she had not spent time with the earl above three or four times before he suggested they elope, thus escaping her forced engagement to the man who wanted to marry her best friend. Lord Trowbridge had supposedly compromised her, but it had all been a misunderstanding, and Melissa could not bear to stand between him and Sophie.
All she had thought about was how vastly pleasant it would be to marry this man. His mere presence made her heart glad; his slightest touch enflamed her.
Now a horrible thought assailed Melissa. It surely should have occurred to her before now! Did Thomas elope with me to secure my fortune?
No. He could not have. Her father had kept the amount of her dowry a secret. There was no way Thomas or anyone among the ton could have known she had thirty thousand pounds.
Melissa released the breath she had been holding. “Papa sets a great store by rank. He pushed for a marriage to Viscount Trowbridge even before my supposed indiscretion. He will be thrilled that his daughter is a countess. I suppose it is too much to expect that you are a fire-breathing Whig?”
“I am afraid so. My family have been Tories for eons.”
It seemed very odd to Melissa that she did not know such basic things about him, even though the night before had provided her with intimate knowledge of another sort. She began to feel uneasy. Had she been so elated to find a way out of the engagement her father had forced upon her that she had made a mistake? Taking another deep breath, she put the thought firmly behind her.
“Do you take an active role in Parliament?” she asked.
“I have not yet taken up my seat in the Lords, but that does not mean that I will not.”
“Are you aware of my father’s position in the Whig party? He is one of the leading
The Finns paid a high price for resisting Stalin. Under the terms of the ceasefire, they lost hundreds of square miles, which to this day are under Russian control. But even Stalin couldn’t call the result a victory. First and foremost, he lost the respect of the world at the expense of his people. Khrushchev later quipped that Russia got just enough land to bury their dead, and he estimated their losses at a million soldiers over the 105-day conflict.
Thanks to their sisu , Finland became the only country bordering the Soviet Union to retain its freedom and never fall to communist rule.
Click on the covers to visit Amazon’s purchase site :
by G.G. Vandagriff
Chapter One
England—1817
Lady Melissa Burroughs, Countess of Oaksey, repeated her new name to herself as her husband’s carriage bowled through the countryside on its way back to London from Gretna Green.
“Happy?” he asked, his gloved hand over hers, his luminous dark eyes warm with their new intimacy.
“Blissfully,” she assured him, putting her other hand on top of his.
“You do not regret that you have not had a grand wedding in Town, but only an uneducated blacksmith’s service over the anvil?”
Melissa thought about this before replying. “I think not, Thomas. If you knew my mother, you would understand why I have always dreamed of eloping.” She smiled and teased his irresistible dimple with her fingertip. “Our marriage concerns the two of us, not yards of satin, Mama’s megrims, or Papa’s bombast. Besides, I am very put out with him for having tried to marry me off to Lord Trowbridge, who did not love me in the least. It will take me a long time to forgive Papa for that.”
“Now he must forgive you for marrying me.”
“That will not be a problem,” she teased him merrily.
“Even though I am virtually a pauper?”
Melissa was startled. How could she not have known this fact? Probably because she had not spent time with the earl above three or four times before he suggested they elope, thus escaping her forced engagement to the man who wanted to marry her best friend. Lord Trowbridge had supposedly compromised her, but it had all been a misunderstanding, and Melissa could not bear to stand between him and Sophie.
All she had thought about was how vastly pleasant it would be to marry this man. His mere presence made her heart glad; his slightest touch enflamed her.
Now a horrible thought assailed Melissa. It surely should have occurred to her before now! Did Thomas elope with me to secure my fortune?
No. He could not have. Her father had kept the amount of her dowry a secret. There was no way Thomas or anyone among the ton could have known she had thirty thousand pounds.
Melissa released the breath she had been holding. “Papa sets a great store by rank. He pushed for a marriage to Viscount Trowbridge even before my supposed indiscretion. He will be thrilled that his daughter is a countess. I suppose it is too much to expect that you are a fire-breathing Whig?”
“I am afraid so. My family have been Tories for eons.”
It seemed very odd to Melissa that she did not know such basic things about him, even though the night before had provided her with intimate knowledge of another sort. She began to feel uneasy. Had she been so elated to find a way out of the engagement her father had forced upon her that she had made a mistake? Taking another deep breath, she put the thought firmly behind her.
“Do you take an active role in Parliament?” she asked.
“I have not yet taken up my seat in the Lords, but that does not mean that I will not.”
“Are you aware of my father’s position in the Whig party? He is one of the leading
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