A Winter's Knight: A Regency Romance by Elizabeth Cole

said, breathless as he caught up with her.
    “Captain Sterling,” she returned, her spine straight and her voice like ice.
    “Phoebe, I have to talk to you.”
    “We don’t have anything to say to each other. But allow me to congratulate you on your engagement. I believe her name is Miss Donahue?” She felt a desolate sense of pride that she said it without crying.
    Tony watched her anxiously. “Phoebe, I am not engaged to Angela Donahue. Not since I returned to England after being wounded and she broke it off. That was months ago.”
    Phoebe looked at him, her heart suddenly beating hard. But she was uncertain, afraid to trust him. “I was told otherwise.” But, oh how she
wanted
to believe him.
    “Angela had been telling her friends that we were back together. It seems her other choice was not as wealthy as she’d hoped, and a cripple would do after all, now that my inheritance is settled.”
    “She did not call you a cripple!” Phoebe burst out incredulously, completely ignoring the news about his inheritance.
    “Not quite, but her meaning was clear.”
    “How awful!”
    “Yes, it turns out she is a moderately awful person. I’m lucky to have escaped her.”
    “Then you are really not engaged to her?” Phoebe asked, almost hopefully.
    “By the grace of angels, no.” Tony brought his horse closer to hers, so that their legs touched. “There is someone else, however.”
    “Who?” Her eyes darkened again, before she caught the flash of teasing in his own.
    “You, dear heart.” Tony reached into his pocket and withdrew the little box. He opened it and took out the ring. Taking her hand in his own, Tony held it tightly. “Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
    “Oh, Tony,” Phoebe bit her lip, not sure if she was going to cry. Her emotions had been tossed like a bark in a tempest the past few days.
    “Stop that,” Tony ordered. “You’ll damage your lips, and I have strong interest in keeping them perfect.” He slid the ring onto her finger. “Phoebe?”
    “Yes,” was all she said. “Yes, I’d love to be yours.” She stared at the ring, the silver filigree as delicate as a snowflake, surrounding a small but perfect diamond, icy in its brilliance.
    “Then kiss me,” Tony said, leaning over and reaching for his beloved. Phoebe met him eagerly, the heat of the kiss melting them both, and setting their hearts aflame.
    * * * *

A HEARTLESS DESIGN
An excerpt from first novel of the Secrets of the Zodiac series
by Elizabeth Cole
    The heat and bustle of the party had quickly become too much for Cordelia to tolerate. She had left her aunt with their mutual friend Lord Dunham, who was charming enough that her own momentary absence would not be missed. She decided to go outside for a while.
    Pacing through the cool gardens, Cordelia sighed restlessly. She never really cared for the Season, but it usually held enough distractions that it wasn’t boring. This time was different, however. She couldn’t put off the feeling that she was being watched...and not by admirers.
    She found a hidden grotto in the garden, a corner that trysting lovers might want to hide in. But it suited her purposes as well. She desired more than anything else to be alone. The usual crowd of men had clung to her tonight, all polite, but all attentive. Too attentive. 
    She sat on a stone bench, lost in thought. Perversely, as soon as she was truly alone, she felt a sense of melancholy wash over her. Something about the evening reminded her too much of a particular evening in the past. In a flash, she realized what memory had been teasing her all night. She had been nineteen. It had been on a spring night just like this that she had received a proposal that her heart had been aching for, from her childhood sweetheart Vincent Jay. That night was the beginning of an all too brief period of joy, which ended in tragedy when Vincent died at sea. Years later, the pain was still there. She couldn’t forget it. If only