Books by Patricia Rice

Can an impoverished earl find treasure with the aid of a runaway bride and a ghost? Refusing to fill her drunken stepfather's coffers by marrying a wealthy American, Lady Iona Malcolm Ross flees her Highland estate for Wystan castle, a home for stray Malcolm females. She's quite content to tend her precious queen bee and hives there-until the day the castle's owner returns. Unless Gerard, Earl of Ives and Wystan, can squeeze more income out of his estate, he'll have to close the family's deteriorating castle and evict the tenants. The sharp-tongued beekeeper who nearly kills him with her bees is simply another good reason. But lately, an artifact in his pocket weirdly whispers of treasure at Wystan, in the knowledgeable voice of a Roman soldier. A busy man with interests in law and archeology, Gerard isn't much inclined to believe that he's one of his family's psychic eccentrics. Until news of a ten-thousand pound reward for the return of Lady Iona, a runaway bride, introduces a whole new perspective to the word treasure. Even if he weren't allergic to Iona's bees, he needs to marry money, and she is penniless. But surely, between them, they can claim the reward and still turn her wicked stepfather's plot on its head-without endangering their lives or hearts.

The daughter of an earl, Lady Phoebe Malcolm Duncan has the ability to talk to animals. She longs to be a veterinarian, but education requires more coin than she possesses. When the walls of her home come tumbling down, she has to take two steps back—to servitude.Inventor Andrew Blair keeps his nose to the grindstone, knowing his friends and family depend on his talent for turning machines into money. He is about to embark on his biggest investment yet—rebuilding crumbling tenements in Old Town Edinburgh— until his beleaguered cousin begs him to hide his precocious children from a killer.When the School of Malcolms sends Lady Phoebe as governess for his wards, Drew’s well-ordered beliefs are upended. Ladies don’t live in slum housing like the one he’s about to tear down, nor do they command ravens or encourage children to talk to dead mothers.  It might take a vengeful ghost to show the disparate pair how to join forces, fight their fears and their enemies, and reveal a path to love.

Lady Olivia Malcolm Hargreaves is a viscountess, a widow, a governess, the adoptive mother of a disabled toddler-but above all else, she is a survivor. When the father of the young children she''s been caring for arrives on Christmas Eve, drunk and ranting, his aura and her own sad experience tell her he''s dangerous.Heart hardened after the murder of his beloved wife, Simon Blair is an industrialist who has no use for another psychic Malcolm. His late wife''s weird family is more than enough interference. But his twin daughters are talking to their mother''s ghost, his son and heir is floating objects that shouldn''t float, and he''s beleaguered by aristocrats who refuse to acknowledge his plebeian existence.When Simon learns that Lady Olivia is in a position to help him obtain the land he needs for his business, and she recognizes that by helping him, she might regain the home she''s lost, they must fight their respective prejudices and forge an uneasy alliance. It might take a ghost, an army of children, and a criminal gang to force them to recognize that they want far more than real estate.

Can a timid librarian and a bold engineer save a castle''s toppling tower of books?The stereotypical reserved librarian, Lydia Wystan has only one true love, the books that whisper to her. But unless she can understand the whispers, she cannot become what she wants to be more than anything-the Malcolm Librarian.Maxwell Ives has a disastrous gift for attracting women, a trait that has resulted in three sons and a desire for solitude. Returning to England to find a school for one of his boys, Max seeks privacy in the isolated Malcolm library. But to Max''s dismay, the old librarian dies, leaving Miss Wystan, a female, in charge. Before he can run far, far away, he learns the library tower is in danger of toppling, and his cousin is stealing from his mother''s School of Malcolms.To save the library and Max''s family funds, Lydia must claim to be what she is not-a real librarian. Fascinated that his magnetism doesn''t affect the one woman who can help him, Max must choose between his freedom and his family. In the process of helping others, Max and Lydia just might learn that sometimes, love is the secret that makes magic happen.

Succumb to temptation and follow the call to Hillvale- population 325 - a cozy little mountain town filled with love, mystery, and ghosts... Award-winning author Patricia Rice presents three romantic novellas from her celebrated Crystal Magic series—together for the first time in one collection.The Wedding Gift—Having overcome the obstacles of their past, Samantha Moon and Chen Ling Walker are ready to walk down Hillvale’s eccentric version of a wedding aisle. Can they also conquer the complications of the present—a mysterious doll that won’t stay in one place and the dubious assistance of a feng shui master who moves in with them?The Wedding Question—While juggling the demands of their busy lives, Theodosia Devine-Baker and Kurt Kennedy find that love and living together require just as much work. Halloween always brings out Hillvale’s spooks, but when Teddy declares a ceramic dragon is sending smoke signals, Kurt wonders if it’s time for him to flee the eccentric community to look for a more normal life.The Wedding Surprise—With Christmas excitement raising Hillvale’s spirits—both literal and figurative—Keegan Ives and Mariah are setting out on new careers and a new relationship. As the town’s future draws them in different directions, can their love survive an unanticipated bundle of joy?Crystal Magic Series:Book One: Sapphire NightsBook Two: Topaz DreamsBook Three: Crystal Vision

Change and Conflict is part of the Irish History in Perspective series. The series has been specially commissioned to meet the requirements of the Northern Ireland history curriculum. The books allow pupils to understand how developments at a local, national and international level have helped to shape the economy, culture and political structure of Ireland.