The Silver Thaw

When Doctor Oliver Hay-Smythe sees how kindhearted Bertha has been put upon by her family, he decides to sweep her off her feet. 

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....

A marriage to secure true love. Having fallen in love with Sarah at first sight, Litrik ter Breukel vowed to go slowly because of her youth and innocence. But perhaps he simply needed to propose!

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.

Georgina Rodman had been given a special nursing assignement; she was to look after the Van den Berg Eyffert children who were recovering from an accident. Having worked in a casualty ward, Georgina felt she could cope with just about anything life threw at her. That was until she met the children’s guardian, Julius! She realised that even common sense and a practical nature couldn’t stop you from falling in love…with a man who didn’t even know you existed.

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.

It deeply irritated Leonora that she was always being caught in awkward situations with the village's new doctor, James Galbraith - especially since she was engaged to Tony. But James proved a sturdy support as she did her best to keep her parents' decrepit but much loved manor house running smoothly. There was little point in admitting her growing feelings for James, since he showed so little sign of caring for her....

Tiny Paul van Eysink was a very special case to Nurse Hannah Lang, and she had become very fond of his young parents, Corinna and Paul. When they invited her to go back with them to Holland until the baby was completely recovered, Hannah was only too happy to oblige. The problem was Corinna's unbending uncle, Doctor Valentijn van Bertes! He could find no fault with Hannah's nursing skills - but she was only too aware that she meant little to him as a person. Why should she? He had a very lovely fiancée in Nerissa…

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....

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.

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....

When Doctor George Pritchard asked her to marry him, Phoebe hadn’t needed much persuading. After the death of her aunt, she was penniless and without a job. Besides which, she liked him. And she liked his home, and his life as a GP. And if he had made it plain that he wasn’t in love with her - well, at least she knew where she stood. It wasn’t until after the wedding that she began to wonder if liking was going to be enough….

Esmeralda Jones was a very nice girl. It seemed to Esmeralda that she was also invisible to the opposite sex. Perhaps the real reason for this was the impaired foot she had struggled with since childhood. When the brilliant surgeon Thimo Bamstra offered to cure her, Esmeralda was over the moon. Thimo also managed to mend her broken heart. Esmeralda had never imagined marriage as part of her future, but now she could dream of little else.

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…