The Pirate's Yuletide Treasure

Book excerpt: A severe blizzard is on its way, but Captain Ansell Ransome is determined to get to Whitstable to meet his wife, Cassia, before they journey onto Canterbury to spend the Yuletide. However, as a renowned smuggler and barterer of British prisoners of war and contraband, he will have to be nimble and dodge the revenue riders and other smugglers, all of who long to capture him. When Ansell doesn’t arrive in Whitstable, Cassia decides to travel to Canterbury, with his faithful crewman, Dunn, for protection, and hope her beloved husband will turn up safe in time for Christmas Day. But she, too, would be a prize for the coastal riders and lawless, and danger lurks behind every snow-blanketed hedge and tree. When he discovers Cassia gone, Ansell’s heart sinks. The thought that the woman he loves so fiercely may be out on the road and in mortal peril tears at his heart. Although the weather is no longer fit for man nor beast, he will not let her perish, or miss sharing precious time together at Christmas—which will be the best treasure of all.