She has to defend her castle… with a little help from a handsome stranger! Aspiring archaeologist Catriona McCallister has always been the black sheep of her family. After all, what kind of lady spends her days wandering the moors in search of Viking treasure? Still, it came as a shock when, on the eve of their departure to visit Paris for Christmas, her family forgot her entirely! Catriona finds herself snowed in at the family castle, all alone. Not that she minds. It's nice to have a reprieve from her family's unrelenting criticism. But then, thieves descend on the castle, intent on stealing the Viking artifacts Catriona discovered on the moors! Catriona is determined to defend her treasures, but she's going to need some help.  There's only one person close enough to come to her aid—William Marley, the odd Englishman renting their gamekeeper's cottage. He's rumored to be a viscount. He's also rumored to have killed his betrothed with the shovel he carries with him wherever he goes. But desperate times call for desperate measures. And maybe the man known as the Sussex Shovel Slayer is precisely what Catriona needs. Home Unchaperoned is a holiday novella set in Regency Scotland that may remind you of a certain beloved Christmas movie. It features open-door love scenes. Please note that this story has previously appeared in the anthology How the Belle Stole Christmas.

She has to defend her castle… with a little help from a handsome stranger! Aspiring archaeologist Catriona McCallister has always been the black sheep of her family. After all, what kind of lady spends her days wandering the moors in search of Viking treasure? Still, it came as a shock when, on the eve of their departure to visit Paris for Christmas, her family forgot her entirely! Catriona finds herself snowed in at the family castle, all alone. Not that she minds. It's nice to have a reprieve from her family's unrelenting criticism. But then, thieves descend on the castle, intent on stealing the Viking artifacts Catriona discovered on the moors! Catriona is determined to defend her treasures, but she's going to need some help.  There's only one person close enough to come to her aid—William Marley, the odd Englishman renting their gamekeeper's cottage. He's rumored to be a viscount. He's also rumored to have killed his betrothed with the shovel he carries with him wherever he goes. But desperate times call for desperate measures. And maybe the man known as the Sussex Shovel Slayer is precisely what Catriona needs. Home Unchaperoned is a holiday novella set in Regency Scotland that may remind you of a certain beloved Christmas movie. It features open-door love scenes. Please note that this story has previously appeared in the anthology How the Belle Stole Christmas.

She has to defend her castle… with a little help from a handsome stranger! Aspiring archaeologist Catriona McCallister has always been the black sheep of her family. After all, what kind of lady spends her days wandering the moors in search of Viking treasure? Still, it came as a shock when, on the eve of their departure to visit Paris for Christmas, her family forgot her entirely! Catriona finds herself snowed in at the family castle, all alone. Not that she minds. It's nice to have a reprieve from her family's unrelenting criticism. But then, thieves descend on the castle, intent on stealing the Viking artifacts Catriona discovered on the moors! Catriona is determined to defend her treasures, but she's going to need some help.  There's only one person close enough to come to her aid—William Marley, the odd Englishman renting their gamekeeper's cottage. He's rumored to be a viscount. He's also rumored to have killed his betrothed with the shovel he carries with him wherever he goes. But desperate times call for desperate measures. And maybe the man known as the Sussex Shovel Slayer is precisely what Catriona needs. Home Unchaperoned is a holiday novella set in Regency Scotland that may remind you of a certain beloved Christmas movie. It features open-door love scenes. Please note that this story has previously appeared in the anthology How the Belle Stole Christmas.