Hunger For Love
Book 1 of The Hunger of the Heart Series
Shannon Farrell

Ireland and Canada, 1847

Emer Nugent and her family are evicted from their home at the height of the Potato Famine in Ireland.  Forced to emigrate to Canada, they endure a harrowing journey on board a coffin ship bound for Grosse Ile in Quebec.

Emer, working as a cabin boy to help her family's financial situation, meets the enigmatic Dalton Randolph, the ship's only gentleman passenger, who is not all that he seems.

They fall in love, but darker forces are at work against them.  Emer's duty to her family forces her to choose between her beloved and her parents and siblings. Yet as hard as she fights to give up the man who stirs her heart, the powerful attraction between she and Dalton cannot be denied. Will they ever be able to overcome the obstacles in their path to a happy future together?

 
"Watch out, it's going to fall!" Emer cried, as she pushed Dalton onto the deck and threw the suitcases aboard.

The gangplank spun violently as the rope gave way. Emer leapt for the ship's deck, landing on her elbows and chest as the wooden board fell twenty feet and crashed down onto the cobblestones below, splintering into fragments.

Her legs kicked as she tried to find a foothold to push herself up to safety, but there was none.  The splinters from the deck tore into her palms, and her nails shredded as she clung on.

Emer couldn't even call for help, for the wind had been knocked out of her by the impact of her fall.

"I've got you, Emer, I've got you," a deep voice reassured her as she felt her hand grasped in one of Dalton's massive ones.

More splinters dug into her forearms and elbows as he dragged her onto the deck to safety.

Then he turned her over on her back and helped her to her feet.

Before she could stop him, he flicked up the bottom of her shirt. "I'm sure you must have broken your ribs with that fall.  Let me have a look."

She shook her head, her eyes widening.

He placed his hands right on her breasts.  Both started back in surprised dismay.

"Good God, you're a woman!" Dalton gasped, deeply shocked and embarrassed.

One of his hands still stayed under the shirt, and moved to clasp her about the waist, while his other hand plucked the sea cap from her head, allowing her cascade of lush burgundy hair, which Emer hadn't had time to plait that morning, to tumble down around her shoulders to below her hips.

"What difference does that make?  Would you have let me to fall to my death if you had known?" Emer wheezed sarcastically in an effort to hid her discomfiture.

She stepped back from Dalton's grasp, and managed to conceal her burning hot cheeks as she bent her head to tie her hair back and bundle it into her cap again.

"No, not at all, I just mean I would never have presumed to.... Oh hell, you know full well what I mean," he barked.

"I've rescued your suitcases, so we can get underway," she said glibly, scooping them off the deck, before making her way below to hide her blush.

She only hoped Dalton would have the sense not to follow her after what had just happened.  Her cheeks flamed, but even worse, she hated to admit how much she had enjoyed the feel of his big strong hand around her waist, touching her hair....

Good Lord, I must be coming down with some sort of disease, she thought to herself with a groan as she went back out for the rest of his boxes.  Hell, I don't even like the man.  A more ill-tempered, smug.... handsome man she had never met in her life, nor was ever likely to again....

Hunger For Love
Book 1 of The Hunger of the Heart Series
Shannon Farrell
Setting: Ireland and Canada, 1847
Word Count: 82,000
Rating: Sensual
    

CHAPTER ONE

"What do you mean, we all have to leave?" Emer Nugent demanded as she stared at the "Notice to Quit" clutched in her hand.

She looked up for confirmation of her worst fears from the bailiff, the aptly named Mr. Penny, to which she always silently added the word 'pinching' for more than one reason.

Mr. Penny sidled nearer, and Emer nearly gagged as the stench of stale whiskey  hit her.

"You know the harvests have been very poor anyway for the last few years, but this here potato famine has been the end of his lordship, as it has been for many other of the gentry hereabouts in County Meath.

"Lord Devlin has been kind enough to pay all your passages.  Rather than have you fight over who gets to go to Canada, the land of milk and honey as everyone says, you're all to be cleared off, and the estate sold."

Mr. Penny leered at her.  "Now of course, if you've a mind to forget all about marrying Garvan Dillon, and come settle in the gatehouse with me, I might consider letting you and the rest of the family stay."

Emer's unusual aqua eyes, the colour of the sea, narrowed at once. She tossed her mane of rich burgundy hair as she replied, "I'm sorry. Garvan and I are betrothed.  Under no circumstances could I ever consider breaking that arrangement to marry the likes of you.  You've brought us to this pass, Mr. Penny, skimming as much as you could off the estate funds for your drinking and gambling, while collecting the rents month after month on cottages falling down around our ears.  When my father was so foolish as to finally fix his roof a year or two back, you doubled the rent on his cottage!

"For the past two years the potatoes have failed, yet you've done nothing but squeeze all the tenants even harder for their rent.  You've taken the very food out of their mouths rather than allow them to fall into arrears and trust that they will all pay you back when times get better.

"And now that the English government is demanding higher taxes per head on each estate, you're trying to tell me his lordship is being generous in forcing us to emigrate?  That's nonsense!"

"What else can you call paying your fare over to the New World?" the portly man argued.

She stepped further away from his looming presence.

"It's a death sentence, and nothing more than a cost cutting measure!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" he growled.

"Unlike you, I can understand the newspapers very easily. I know it only costs five pounds a head to send us to Canada on the coffin ships, but twenty pounds in taxes according to the new government regulations.  So Lord Devlin will save himself fifteen pounds per tenant, and gets the chance to fob the problem of Ireland's poor onto another government as well!"

His beady little eyes widened for a moment, but then he shook his head. "Well, Miss High and Mighty, whatever way it adds up, the ship sails noon Sunday from Dublin, so you'd better get your things together and get moving."

"Sunday? But it takes three days to walk to Dublin from here!  And we still have to pack for the journey!" Emer protested.

"It's your choice. Come live with me and save your family from eviction, go on the ship, or starve on the roads here in Ireland like the rest of you bloody Papists," Mr. Penny spat, as if the words were distasteful to him.

'"Tis no matter to me, but you might like to consider your family before you turn up your fine nose at my offer." He stalked away from the door of the cottage without a backward glance, leaving her numbly staring after him.

She grabbed her black woollen shawl off the peg by the door and paced outside her small cottage for a time, wondering why she suddenly felt as though she couldn't breathe.

It simply couldn't be true, could it?  If it were, what were they all to do?

Though Emer had been scathing in her criticism of Mr. Penny and Lord Devlin, she was well aware of the fact that she and her family were the most fortunate people on the Kilbracken estate.

Emer herself was governess to Lord Devlin's two small daughters, and as such not only received a free cottage, but clothes, food and a salary of twenty pounds a year.

Her elder brothers Cormac and Martin also did well compared to many other Irish tenants, for they helped run the racehorse stables on the estate, and were fine trainers and riders of champion hunters.

Yet in spite of their relative prosperity, the potato famine which had raged throughout Ireland for the past two years, ever since that fateful day in October 1845 when the pratai had been taken out of the ground all over the country black and stinking, had caused untold suffering throughout the beleaguered land.

Food had become scarce, prices had risen sharply, people had panicked, and many had already died or emigrated.

Emer had never imagined that her own family would be part of the massive evictions scheme she had read so much about, but now it seemed that even the estate where she had grown up had fallen on hard times.

Ever since the lady of the house had died in childbirth several years ago, Lord Devlin had fallen into dissolute ways, and the corrupt Mr. Penny had helped speed up the estate's decline.

Emer gathered her shawl closely around her shoulders, unable to control her shivering.

After a few more moments of pacing outside in the chill spring air, she knew she couldn't put off speaking to her family any longer.  She hoped she seemed calm enough as she walked to the fourth cottage in the row, where, as she had predicted, the entire Nugent family had gathered to discuss the terrible news.

"I say we should stay in Ireland, find work somewhere!" her youngest brother Cathan, at only twelve, shrieked to be heard.  "So many have been forced out of Ireland already, there are bound to be people looking for good horse trainers!"

"I agree with Cathan," Martin, Emer's second brother, and closest in age to her at twenty-two to her twenty, said quietly.  His wife Nuala nodded also.

"Ireland is full of horse trainers, Brother, as well you know," Cormac, the eldest, at twenty-three, said with a contemptuous snort.

"But Cormac, I don't want to leave our home!  What about our girls, Ailbhe and Blinne?  Can you imagine us having to travel half way around the world with them?" Cormac's wife Ailis protested.

"And what about the girls in our family?" their father Liam Nugent demanded angrily.  "Four girls, sixteen and younger, off to Canada to find work!  What are they fit for except farm labour and a few household duties in the scullery of a big house?"

"I can cook and sew as well, Da, we all can.  Emer's taught us," Brona sniffed, offended. "And as for being too young to look after myself, sure, weren't you and Mammy married at the same age I am now?"

"No dear, we were a bit older than sixteen, but near enough," her mother Breda reminded them all.

"Can we stop the family gossip for a moment here, please!" Cormac roared as they all tried to talk at once.

All of them subsided into silence as they fixed their eyes on the powerful figure, tall and blonde, blue-eyed, as handsome as a young god, Emer had always thought admiringly.

But he was also far too fond of getting his own way, she reflected.  What Fate did he wish to lead them all into?

Cormac stood in the centre of the room and looked from one to the other, making sure they were all listening to him.

"We must be calm, and practical.  It's not the end of the world.  Others before us have lost their homes.  We have several days until the boat leaves.  If we have to go to Dublin to board the ship, then I suggest that rather than waiting around until they smash the walls and roofs down around all our ears, that the oldest of us all go the city to look for work.

"If some of us do manage to find positions, then we can all think about staying here in Ireland.  If not, well, we will just have to take our chances and get on the Pegasus bound for Quebec," Cormac proposed.

The Nugents all looked from one to the other, and Emer was the first one to speak.

"I agree with Cormac.  I'm not saying it will be easy, with so many to feed in a big city, and needing a roof over our heads as well, but it's better than being forced to go on one of those dreadful ships I've heard about from the papers.  I'll pack up my things and be ready to leave at sunrise."

"I knew you would be game for anything, a thaisce," her father Liam said, using his pet name for her, 'my treasure.'

"I'll go with Cormac and Emer.  Who else will come?"  Martin asked.

His wife Nuala offered, "If the younger girls or Cathan were willing to look after the children, then Ailis and I could go with the three of you looking for work.  I'm sure I could find someone who wanted my embroidery and knitting and weaving skills, and no one makes finer gowns than Ailis."

"I'll look after your lads Oisin and Daig, Nuala, if Maeve will look after Ailis' daughters," Cathan agreed.

"But I want to go with Emer.  I'm thirteen, old enough to work at a job cleaning or cooking somewhere!" Maeve protested.

"No, pet, you have to stay and help Da and Mammy get their things together.  It will be a much harder journey for them and will take longer.  You and Cathan should stay, and Roisin also, since she is the next youngest.  You'll all have to take turns carrying things and helping each other," Emer  coaxed.

"Right, that's settled then," Cormac said with an air of finality.  "We shall all go tomorrow except the youngest and oldest, and we'll meet up at the docks on Sunday at noon.  Or, if we find work and lodgings, we shall send a message to the others saying where we are."

"I don't like this.  It's going to split up the family either way if we all have to go into service," Cara, Emer's fifteen-year old sister, complained.

"I know how you feel, dear, but is it better to be all together in a foreign land, or see each other only sometimes, but in our own country?" Cormac asked.

"I don't know.  We've never been separated before.  The Nugent family has lived and died on this estate for generations, yet overnight it's being taken from us," Cara sighed as she turned back to her knitting.

"Now let's not be so pessimistic," their father Liam scolded.  "I think we should try to stay in Ireland, find work in Dublin, or the lads can find jobs with the more horsey set over in England.

"But Cara is right.  If it is going to cause undue hardship and suffering, then I think we should seriously consider Canada as a fresh start, all together as a family."

"I'm going to go over to see Garvan, Da, to tell him of our decision, and see what arrangements he and Oran are going to make," Emer said quietly.

Her father smiled gently, and nodded.  "Off you go then, Emer, and enjoy yourself, you two lovebirds."

Emer heaved a mighty sigh. "Hard to enjoy anything now that we're losing our homes, Da, but thanks all the same for the good wishes."

She left the house and started to walk up the path to the last cottage in the row.

Hunger For Love
Book 1 of The Hunger of the Heart Series
Shannon Farrell
Setting: Ireland and Canada, 1847
Word Count: 82,000
Rating: Sensual
    

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Reviews:
Beautifully written
Romance Reviews Today
Ireland and Canada - 1847
During the Potato Famine Emer Nugent and her family have just been evicted from the Irish farm where the Nugents have lived for generations. The English lord who owns the land has gone bankrupt. Preferring to stay with her family on the sea voyage to Canada, Emer turns down the offer to remain as governess to the owner's children. She and her extended family board the 'Pegasus' in Dublin, where she persuades the captain to let them work as crew.

 Emer takes the position of cabin boy for the only gentleman passenger, Dalton Randolph. They are immediately at odds with each other over the famine situation, but that eases as they come to the realization they are attracted to each other.

Bold, intelligent and outspoken, Emer emerges as a leader on the harrowing voyage to Canada. Her organizational skills and fearless actions give strength to her family during some very difficult situations.

When she overhears Dalton quizzing the captain about his hiring Irish to work as crew, Emer begins to wonder if Mr. Randolph is really only a passenger. The two end up having to work together to deal with tragedy on board, and Dalton's past comes crashing to the forefront, forcing both to face their emotions. Will the growing love they feel for each other be enough to span the differences in their lives?

When the love affair on board ship took hold, the story really moved at a compelling pace-I didn't want to put it down. Historical accuracy was preserved, and the description of one of the infamous 'coffin ships' was detailed and emotional. The fact that landowners found it cheaper to pay for the transportation of entire families to Canada and the United States instead of feeding them in Ireland, is heartrending.

All the steamy love scenes are well-orchestrated without being gratuitous. While there are many secondary characters, few are memorable due to the powerful presences of Emer and Dalton.

A realistic saga set during a tragic period in history, HUNGER FOR LOVE is a must-read for those who want to know more about the harrowing travails of the Irish migration to North America. The author writes a gritty tale that is well-researched and beautifully written." Romance Reviews Today

Very Highly Recommended
Under the Covers Reviews
"Thrilling from first to last.  The novel is wonderfully historically accurate, with the most compellling characters.  I felt as though I was really there every step of the way with Emer and her family, and the book certainly was an eye-opener about some of the lesser-known details of what really went on during the Famine.

Well-researched, with great romance and suspense, it is also a moving tribute to the courage of the Irish spirit, which refused to be cowed by such tragedies.  A joyous read from first to last, and a winner for anyone interested in all things Irish. Sheer brilliance from a masterful storyteller." Very Highly Recommended, Under the Covers Reviews

A magnificent epic romance
Emer Nugent and her large family are forced to leave their estate in Ireland, and are paid to emigrate to Canada on one of what would later become the infamous 'coffin ships' of the period. The resourceful young woman secures jobs for herself and her brothers on board ship, and soon locks horns with the enigmatic Dalton Randolph.

Son of the ship's owner, he has come on board the Pegasus to investigate the captain, and finds himself embroiled in the affairs of the Nugent family as he is irrevocably drawn the the lovely young Emer.

But their love affair seems doomed from the start, for Dalton has deceived everyone, and Emer knows any relationship between two people from such unequal stations in life will be frowned upon by his family and friends.

What fate will await them all on the shores of Canada? The author weaves a spellbinding tale of love and loss, in this unforgettable novel."  Evelyn Trimborn, Harlequin Hearts

A breathtaking historical romance, beautifully written
"Emer is a remarkable heroine, smart, resourceful, and passionate.  Dalton, though rich, feels he has a miserable life, with a selfish father and no career of his own.

When he meets Emer, he comes to recognize that he can choose a different path than the one his manipulative father has mapped out for him.

The love the couple share is all-consuming, but circumstances overtake them as starvation and disease rage out of control on board ship. Emer is determined to help those suffering no matter what the cost, even the cost of giving up the only man she has ever loved.

"Hunger for Love is an unforgettable novel of love and courage from one of Ireland's finest historical novelists." Jacinta Carey, The Wildest Heart

Brilliant
I loved every word of this one. Having read several of her other novels, I couldn't wait for this one, and it certainly did not disappoint. The only problem is, I can't wait for her next book!" Amazon review

Fantastic!
"A brilliant read. I have read several other novels by this author, and so really look forward to this one, and I am happy to say it did not disappoint. This is what historical and romance writing is all about!" Amazon.com review

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