The Smuggled Heart

On the Sussex coast, Sir Hugh Ruckley lives in a clifftop castle whose caves have long served as a cache for contraband. His sister Leona watches in dismay as her pleasure-loving brother sinks ever deeper into debt to Lew Quayle, a ruthless and dangerous man who runs the smuggling and makes no secret of his intention to one day possess Leona herself. Into this precarious situation comes Lord Chard, dispatched on the orders of King George IV to break the smuggling ring in which Leona knows her brother is fatally entangled. Caught between protecting Hugh and escaping the menacing Quayle, Leona finds herself drawn against her will toward Lord Chard, the very man who could destroy her family. The result is a Regency-era romance of coastal intrigue, danger and divided loyalties, in which a spirited heroine must navigate threats on every side. Told in the chaste, fast-moving style characteristic of its author, the story balances the thrill of smuggling and pursuit with a tender, gradually unfolding love.