BOOK  #1

It's the Christmastide season of 1816 and more than the weather is
uncertain. When Barrington (Barr) Combes-Mead, Duke of
Scarborough does some renovations to his London townhouse
and unearths a book of erotic, Egyptian prose, he immediately
wishes to have it translated. If the book proves valuable, he will
certainly sell it, yet part of him hopes the book might inspire him
to reclaim the excitement he's missing in his life... somehow. Miss Catherine
Pickwick used to make her living as a governess, but after whispers
of scandals, she changed her focus to that of a librarian, because
research and study made her happy. As the daughter of a university
professor, she is no stranger to ancient cultures and literature.
When a duke of some consequence visits her lending library with
the request to have an interesting and quite indecent book
translated, she can't wait to take up the challenge. Knowledge was
power... wasn't it? Perhaps it is the words within the book or a
natural attraction, but as the duke and Catherine spend long hours
together because of the text or impromptu Christmas preparations, desire
bedevils them. Acting upon it only ramps that delicious thrill, but when a series
of troubling incidents arise, they assume the book is cursed. When silly antics
on Christmas Eve end in assumed disaster, they each must face truths they've
been avoiding, and perhaps they might find everything they want... if they're
fortunate.