Lose yourself in four eerie, atmospheric tales of romance…and revenge In a decaying mansion, a ghostly presence refuses to relinquish the artist she’s long haunted to a new lover and muse. In an ancient Cornish castle, an innocent woman may be sacrificed to a family’s legacy of madness. On the fringes of a Welsh estate, a vengeful figure targets the long-lost daughter of a cursed clan. In the Louisiana bayou, a serial killer hunts the one woman who can bring his demonic crimes to light. If you love Gothics by Victoria Holt, Daphne du Maurier and Barbara Michaels, and enjoy dark romance, then delve into the new Shivers Collection. Four beguiling stories, one great price. DARKENING AROUND ME by Barbara J. Hancock LEGACY OF DARKNESS by Jane Godman THE DEVIL’S EYE by Dawn Brown BLACK ROSE by Jenna Ryan Mood, mystery…romance that makes you shiver. Look for more titles coming in April 2014. Dear Readers, Rising out of the mist is a new brand of romance we know you have been looking for. Good thing the editors at Harlequin are experts at building romantic anticipation. These stories are about mood and atmosphere, mystery and fantasy… They’re about romance that makes you shiver. The allure of gothic fiction has long seduced readers with heightened sensation and dark phantoms. Whether you are a fan of the classics by Bronte and DuMaurier, whether you read Victoria Holt and Phyllis A. Whitney, or whether you are a fan of suspenseful stories featuring a brave heroine you will enjoy our modern interpretation of the gothic. Who would ever go out on a cold, dark and scary night to meet destiny? Good thing you can now curl up with a new Shivers collection from Harlequin and experience the excitement of danger and dark romance with one click. Spanning sensual contemporary to historical horror and everything in between, these stories cover the gamut of great gothic romance. We know you’ll enjoy everything Shivers has to offer, but don’t blame us if you feel the need to check under the bed when you finish burning the midnight oil with these books from Barbara J. Hancock, Jane Godman, Dawn Brown and Jenna Ryan. Denise Zaza Senior Editor Harlequin E Shivers PS The next Shivers Box Set will be available in April 2014. Harlequin E Shivers Box Set Contains Darkening Around Me by Barbara J. Hancock Legacy of Darkness by Jane Godman The Devil’s Eye by Dawn Brown Black Rose by Jenna Ryan Harlequin E Shivers Table of Contents Darkening Around Me by Barbara J. Hancock Legacy of Darkness by Jane Godman The Devil’s Eye by Dawn Brown Black Rose by Jenna Ryan Darkening Around Me By Barbara J. Hancock Contents Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten The night is darkening round me, The wild winds coldly blow; But a tyrant spell has bound me, And I cannot, cannot go. The giant trees are bending Their bare boughs weighed with snow; The storm is fast descending, And yet I cannot go. Clouds beyond clouds above me, Wastes beyond wastes below; But nothing drear can move me: I will not, cannot go. —Emily Brontë, “The Night Is Darkening Round Me” Chapter One I rented a convertible as tourists do, though probably not as often in this part of the world. It’s not that I wanted the wind whipping around me and the fresh air following a long flight. It’s that I thought I should. What I got was more frigid than fresh. It was late summer, but September in the Pacific Northwest obviously didn’t mean the same as September in Virginia. My visions of driving along the 101 with big sunglasses and a scarf trailing behind me like the confident woman I pretended to be were put to rest. Oh, it was sunny enough at first, but as I traveled it grew darker. This was wilderness. I’d seen it called “old growth forests” and now I understood why. There was age in the air, a taste of primordial moss and fern blended with surf-dwelling things I couldn’t name. I knew my destination was a piece of privately owned land adjacent to Olympic State Park. Other than that, I followed the GPS directions in completely unfamiliar territory. Even the jagged coastline, while beautiful, set my teeth on edge because it was so alien compared to the sandy shore back home. I closed the convertible’s roof as if I was battening down the hatches. But I drove on. Just as I was beginning to think I should have brought a tent and an adventure guide, the roof of the house came into view. High above the ocean and several roads off the main coastal highway, my destination was so covered by greenery I couldn’t get a good look at it. The car climbed the driveway, but not without a few wheezes that made me wish for a four-wheel drive and that feeling in the pit of my stomach that I used to get as a child on a Ferris wheel. Pacific sea breezes feathered my hair with cold fingers as I stepped from my car to the garden of Thornleigh—three paces, maybe four—and then the wild tangle enveloped me. Just like that I was shut off from the world. At one time it must have been a masterpiece, hundreds of rose bushes laid out in a carefully trimmed maze of an English garden. Now one blossom-heavy bush had grown into another and twined overhead to create a true labyrinth. Its shadowy confines reached out to me with verdant tendrils seeking to draw me in and pull me close. All at once, it was far too much nature to feel usual. Claustrophobia threatened. My heartbeat sped up and my breath quickened even though I could make