INTRIGUE. TENSION. LOVE AFFAIRS: In The Historical Romance series, a set of stand-alone novels, Vivian Stuart builds her compelling narratives around the dramatic lives of sea captains, nurses, surgeons, and members of the aristocracy. Stuart takes us back to the societies of the 20th century, drawing on her own experience of places across Australia, India, East Asia, and the Middle East. Watching her face intently, Paul read the uncertainty there. Roughly, he drew her into his arms. “Fran, love like ours doesn’t die—you know that, don’t you?” His lips found hers and she clung to him, startled to find Paul’s attraction for her as strong as ever. But was it only that? She trembled suddenly, unreasonably afraid. “Yes,” she finally answered, “but—” “There are no ‘buts,’ darling. Not anymore.” The opening of the door startled them both. Dr. Frayle stood there. Then, to Francesca’s astonishment, the older woman entered, her face alight with a strange eagerness. “Francesca, my dear,” she said softly, “does this mean that you and Paul. . . .” It was Paul who answered. “Yes, it does,” he said. “Francesca is going to marry me.” Vivian Stuart was a British writer and during her writing career she had more than 70 books published in Australia, USA and the UK. Born in Berkshire in England, she spent most of her youth in Burma and India, and later lived in Hungary and Australia. At the age of thirty-five she began to write romantic fiction but soon devoted her attention to military and historical novels.