The Daughter of the Manor

When Rauwerd van Kempler proposed to Tilly, he made it clear their marriage would be a convenient arrangement, one which brought him a wife who would run his home and partner him on social occasions. And Tilly would have the security of a roof over her head and a man who could be depended upon not to make passionate love to her. But suddenly Tilly wasn’t so sure that was all she wanted from him....

After the hurly-burly of the big London hospital where she had been working, Judith found it a very pleasant change to be offered a private job looking after a charming patient, Lady Cresswell, in the Lake District. Her patient gave her no trouble at all - which was more than could be said for her patient’s son, the disagreeable Professor Charles Cresswell. He seemed to have taken a dislike to Judith on sight - a dislike which, it must be confessed, Judith returned with interest. And now he was turning up to spoil their pleasant holiday in Portugal as well!

Everyone in her family had agreed that Mary Pagett would one day make some man a perfect wife. The problem was that the only man Mary had even thought about marrying was eminent heart specialist Roel van Rakesma. But it had been clear from the start that his only interest was in curing frail hearts, not broken ones!

When Matilda's father retires through ill health, the family's new life in Much Winterlow is forced into reduced circumstances. To make ends meet, Matilda applies to be Dr. Henry Lovell's receptionist. She does her best to ignore the strong attraction she feels for him - dreaming of white weddings and a happy marriage is not for her, and, after all, Henry is engaged to Lucilla.

Was love out of the question? Charity thought she had it all - marriage to respected consultant Tyco van der Brons and being a mother to his two children. So why did her heart yearn for his love, too? She had known from the start that theirs was a marriage of convenience - so it would be foolish to wish for anything more...wouldn’t it?

Sarah Dunn had worked with Hugo van Elven for a long time, and she was astounded when he suddenly proposed to her. Both of them were still smarting from previous unhappy love affairs, which was why Sarah decided to accept; surely neither of them would wish to get emotionally involved again for a very long time. But she had not considered what would happen if her feelings for Hugo underwent a change while his remained the same....

Facing bankruptcy, Celine's family were forced to turn their home into a guesthouse to make ends meet. Celine found her new life hard work but great fun. She met a young man, Nicky, who seemed very taken with her. If only Nicky's masterful cousin, Oliver, wouldn't keep interfering. But when she discovered that Nicky was married, Celine was only too grateful for Oliver's comforting presence. Gratitude wasn't exactly what Oliver had in mind, but it was a start.

Serena gave up all hope of getting married when her fiancé jilted her. She was determined to be sensible about the whole thing, that was, until Gijs suggested that she marry him instead. She liked Gjis very much, and knew he was fond of her – that seemed as good a basis as any for a marriage. But it turned out that Gjis was in love, and Serena couldn’t work out who the lucky woman was.

She was not going to exchange one dull life for another! Far from being brokenhearted when her long-standing and rather dull engagement to Tony came to an end, Prudence welcomed it as an opportunity to break out of her comfortable shell, to make a new and exciting life for herself. So the job that Benedict van Vinke offered - acting as his secretary and looking after his little daughter - had come just at the right time. It would also give Prudence a chance to visit Holland. But would she have such an exciting life, after all, if she accepted Benedict’s cold-blooded proposal?

Alone in the world, without a job. That was Suzannah Lightfoot’s uneviable position when Guy Bowers-Bentinck rescued her. She had to accept his help – though she didn’t want to be beholden to such an infuriatingly arrogant man. “He’s so tiresome and ill-tempered and impatient and he must hate the sight of me,” Suzannah reflected as fate kept throwing them together. So it was just as well, she told herself, that she wasn’t prepared to join the queue of females wanting to marry him…

Dictatorial, overbearing and downright rude! Dr Valentine Seymour might be an excellent paediatrician, but however good he was with his small patients he needed to develop more of a bedside manner with adults. Daisy disliked him from the first time they met and he certainly didn’t improve on further acquaintance. But somehow fate decided that she had a lot to thank him for – her new job among other things. Had she perhaps misjudged him after all?

Rebecca Saunders isn't Baron Tiele Raukema van den Eck's type - she's already heard him describe her as a thin mouse! But he's been very kind, rescuing her from an intolerable home life and giving her a job nursing his mother. As Tiele's got a gorgeous girlfriend, Becky knows it's useless to love him - but it's already too late....

Staff nurse Samantha Fielding had one golden rule: never get involved. The attractive Giles ter Ossel made it difficult to keep. Samantha was determined not to let her feelings for Giles affect the way she treated the girl she thought was his fiancée. So, she agreed to return to Holland to nurse Antonia through her recovery. Samantha’s calm and professional exterior hid a breaking heart. Meanwhile, Giles was determined to be happily married - to the right girl.

How could she fall asleep during his lecture? It wasn't the best way for Nurse Lucy Prendergast to attract the attention of distinguished consultant Fraam der Linssen, especially when the attractive Dutch doctor kept appearing in her life - at the hospital, at her home and in Holland when she went on holiday. If only he were equally aware of her! But it wasn't likely, for far prettier girls were obviously his for the asking

For Olivia Harding, the offer of employment at a small private school came as something of a godsend. With no qualifications, she hadn’t expected to find a job so easily, let alone one that still brought her into contact with the eminent surgeon Haso van der Eisler. Of course, his frequent visits to the school had more to do with his small goddaughter, Nel. That Haso should marry the child’s glamorous mother seemed obvious to all but Olivia’s stubborn heart.