Hilda Pressley

Was it really love... or just a holiday romance? When Jane Barclay joined the coach tour of romantic Italy, she wanted only escape. The last thing she expected to find was love. Yet she did--and how easily and quickly! But who could blame her? Benito, the tour guide, was handsome and fun loving, and he seemed to fall as readily for Jane as she did for him. But would it last, Jane wondered, or was it only a holiday fling--as the withering looks from Hugh Atkinson seemed to imply?

Another child's toy, another girl's boy, it was all the same to Elvira. Whatever Alison had, Elvira had to try and snatch it from her, even to the extent of becoming a nurse in Alison's hospital. And Alison never realized how much she minded Elvira until Steven Hartley joined the hospital staff.

Matt Windbourne's arrival as the new Head Forester set the cat among the pigeons with one strike against him. For a start, he had been appinted in place of local men, and the local men resented his appointment. To make matters worse, the medical doctor Rosemary, one of the local girls - whom a local man had already visualized as his future wife - was interested in him. The effect can be imagined...

Caring for an invalid mother and keeping house for her father and a family of boys had given Lucy a sense of responsibility far above her years. Small wonder then, that during her final term of night duty in her training for a nurse took Joan under her wing, who seemed you need shielding. But Lucy had to learn that protecting Joan was no way to help her to face life. It seemed that Lucy's sense of responsibility might result in her losing the man she loved. Joan had been caring for her mother who has now dead so she had gone back to complete her training at the same hospital as her friend Mark Kennedy.

When Staff Nurses Philippa Day and Brenda Lewis took a flat together, Brenda saw it as an opportunity to get to know the R.S.O., Hugh Rossing, better - but Hugh unfortunately only had eyes for Philippa. Then the Deputy Superintendent, Lawrence Kendal, also began to show an interest in Philippa. Would the girls' friendship stand such a test?

When Julie inherited a small cottage in the country, everybody advised her to give in to the local farmer's determination to buy it. Julie was equally determined not to sell, a decision which was to have greater repercussions than she expected.

Sara Seymour was a career girl, a London sparrow, never happy unless she was near the bright lights. And then, under the terms of an eccentric will, she found herself obliged to live for three months in an old mill miles from anywhere, in the heart of Norfolk. She needed that legacy - but could she possibly hold out for long enough to get it?

A secret tragedy had marred Sister Marthe Adamson's life a few years earlier, and now she thought only of her work. But love has a habit of intruding when unexpected, and there were unlooked -- for emotional complications when two new surgeons arrived at the hospital.

April McBride has suffered a broken engagement once before and fully intends to guard her heart when she travels to Lewistown, Montana, to attend her brother's wedding. One look around the small mining town convinces April that this won't be difficult—just a bunch of dusty shops, bad service, and ill-bred cowboys. But a run-in with a horse trainer named Wes Owen opens up vast possibilities for frustration, embarrassment, friendship, and . . . love? Can April and Wes see past their differences in order to envision a future together?Readers will love going on this adventurous, spark-filled ride through turn-of-the-century Montana.Praise for Maggie Brendan:"Brendan's gentle style of prairie romance is reminiscent of Janette Oke . . . capturing the heart of the old West with romance that will make you sigh."—Julie Lessman, author of the Daughters of Boston series"Brendan blends colorful characters, lively dialogue, and intriguing historical details."—Amanda Cabot, author of Paper Roses and Scattered Petals

The Guarded Gates The assignment in Spain was a challenge and Dionis was assured by her sister that her new fiance had the authority to make changes on behalf of the owner. But Don Juan Vicente de Velez y Stebelo knew nothing of the plans to redecorate his villa, as Dionis discovered at their first, eventful meeting. Pay Me Tomorrow Ismay had gone to see Keith Otterbury on a matter pertaining to her sister when he made his preposterous offer. The little she had heard of him hadn't been good, so his offer of marriage to save her family from financial disaster had to be regarded with suspicion. But did she really have any choice in the matter? The Darling Pirate Escaping the unwanted attentions of a suitor, Maggie Jefferson left London for a position in Jersey, in one of the island's luxury hotels. The first person she met was Alain Hautger, who enjoyed a vagabond existence in spite of the earnest efforts of others to reform him. But was he really as carefree as he seemed?

Everything seemed set fair for Christine. Now that she was proudly wearing her staff nurse's bonnet and badge, there was nothing to stand in the way of her marriage to Medical Doctor Robert Marston. But the arrival at the hospital of a glamorous patient, Sandra Dutton, brought many changes with it - not the least of them Rob's attitude to Christine, for in a very short time she had been supplanted by Sandra in his interest and affections. Then when their engagement came to an end, John Taylor, the new surgeon arrived on the scene, and showed an interest in Christine. It was not until she began to be attracted to him, that Rob started to realise what he might be losing. But this time, Christine was no longer sure of her feelings for Rob - but was she any more certain how she felt about John?

Sister Beth Anderson was something of an enigma to the staff of the Royal Hospital. Attractive though she was, there was a certain coolness in her manner which froze any attempts at friendliness. Only the kindly consultant Owen Hastings knew that Beth was still trying to recover from the deep hurt of having been deceived by her fiance and her best friend. But to the new R.S.O., Andrew Longford, she was merely a cold, sour disciplinarian, and the dislike he felt for her was only equalled by disdain of him and of his growing reputation as a flirt. So Beth was somewhat dismayed to find herself feeling jealous of Andrew's romance with one of the younger nurses. Was she, she wondered, in danger of becoming embittered? Should she then turn to Owen and his gentle, undemanding affection in an attempt to sort herself out?

When Doctor Sara Martindale moved from Yorkshire to Norfolk to assist her Uncle John in his county practice, she was beset with more than her share of problems while settling down to her new life. Doctor Jim Crombie in particular had seemed to dislike her on sight - but why?

Caring for an invalid mother and keeping house for her father and a family of boys had given Lucy a sense of responsibility far above her years. Small wonder then, that during her final term of night duty in her training for a nurse took Joan under her wing, who seemed you need shielding. But Lucy had to learn that protecting Joan was no way to help her to face life. It seemed that Lucy's sense of responsibility might result in her losing the man she loved. Joan had been caring for her mother who has now dead so she had gone back to complete her training at the same hospital as her friend Mark Kennedy.

Catherine Manton was angry and hurt. She was also beautiful and efficient and her operating theatre was perfectly run. Why then, did the new RSO declare that he couldn't work with her -- even if it meant he had to leave. Why did Peter Wingat, the attractive new surgeon, take an instant dislike to his theatre sister, Catherine Manton? Obviously he had no time for glamour in the operating theatre, but Sister Manton was too efficient for her looks to be the sole reason. After attending some lectures at the surgeon's old hospital, she discovered some clues to his mysterious antagonism, but this discovery seemed to make matters worse -- not better. And the consolation she found in the arms of her colleague, Raymond White, served only to inflame Peter Wingat further.