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    A Countess for Christmas (Regency Novella)
    A Countess for Christmas (Regency Novella)
    A Countess for Christmas (Regency Novella)
    Ebook60 pages48 minutes

    A Countess for Christmas (Regency Novella)

    By Anthea Lawson

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    About this ebook

    Miss Cecilia Fairfax dreads the upcoming holidays. Between caring for her elderly father and managing a household barely out of mourning, she has no time for the softer things in life.

    Liam Barrett, the Earl of Tarrick, is certain he will not accept Marcus Fairfax’s invitation to spend Christmas at the Fairfax family’s estate – and the man’s tales of a family ghost have nothing to do with his decision.

    Of all the blessings of the season, sometimes the most unexpected is love...

    Heat level: SWEET

    Originally published in the anthology Christmas Ghosts, A Countess for Christmas is a Regency-set short story of 13,000 words (approximately 50 pages).

    “A perfect Regency Christmas Story.” – Award-winning author/editor Kristine Grayson

    “Among the standouts.” – Publisher’s Weekly on Christmas Ghosts

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherFiddlehead Press
    Release dateDec 4, 2013
    ISBN9781310851766
    A Countess for Christmas (Regency Novella)

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      Book preview

      A Countess for Christmas (Regency Novella) - Anthea Lawson

      A Countess for Christmas

      A Countess for Christmas

      A Sweet Regency Holiday Tale

      Anthea Lawson

      Fiddlehead Press

      Copyright © 2013 by Anthea Lawson

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

      For more historical romance, visit the author at www.anthealawson.com ~ Sign up for notice of new releases plus get a bonus story! - http://www.tinyletter.com/AntheaLawson

      QUALITY CONTROL: If you encounter any typos or formatting problems, please contact anthea@anthealawson.com so they may be corrected.

      Cover by Kim Killion

      Don’t miss the NOBLE HOLIDAYS collection for more sweet and heartwarming Christmas tales!

      Contents

      A Countess for Christmas

      Also by Anthea Lawson

      About the Author

      A Countess for Christmas

      November 6, 1814

      Tarrick Hall, Suffolk

      Dear Miss Cecilia Fairfax,

      Do not be unduly alarmed, but I am writing on behalf of your brother, Marcus. He is well, but suffered a hunting accident that has left his eyesight temporarily damaged, and I have agreed to help him navigate his correspondence.

      His first wish was to write to you, and assure you he is (mostly) unharmed. Although he believes your first impulse will be to rush to his side, he would urge most strongly that you remain at home, tending to your father. In addition, Marcus asks that you make no mention of his current infirmity, so as not to lay an additional burden upon the viscount so soon after the loss of your mother.

      As the accident occurred here at my estate, I am taking every measure to provide for your brother and ensure he is receiving the best of medical care. The doctor is confident Marcus will regain his eyesight within the month.

      Marcus would like to assure you he plans to return as usual to Wiltshire for the Christmas season. He sends his love and reminds you that you are a willow in the wind.

      Yours, etc.

      Liam Cahill Barrett, 5th Earl of Tarrick

      Cecilia Fairfax sank back into the tapestry-upholstered chair, the letter trembling slightly in her hand. A hunting accident? Oh, Marcus!

      The fire burning in the parlor grate did little to ward off the chill creeping through her. She supposed she should be grateful her twin brother hadn’t blown his foot off, or shot the Earl of Tarrick in the shoulder, but still—the timing was wretched.

      Forcing her breathing to calm, Cecilia sat forward and re-read the letter, searching for clues to Marcus’s true condition. The mostly was clearly the earl’s addition, as her brother was known to always put things in the rosiest light possible.

      Mostly unharmed. It was small comfort.

      She had known, the previous week, that something had happened to Marcus, through that curious bond they shared as twins. On Tuesday afternoon, while sitting with Father, her eyes had suddenly stung and burned, and her heart thumped like an enormous drum, tuned so tightly the next beat might make it burst. She had gasped aloud, and Father had asked what was the matter.

      She’d made a vague reply, and the episode passed, but anxiety for Marcus had lodged like an iron splinter in her chest.

      And now she knew.

      The splinter still ached and pricked, however. She did want to rush to his side—but he was right. Father was fragile, and there was no reasonable excuse she could make for leaving Wiltshire.

      You are a willow in the wind. How she wished it were so, but ever since Mother’s death—a slow, consuming illness that had claimed her life in early January—Cecilia had felt brittle. A sharp wind could snap her in half.

      If she let it.

      Cecilia refolded the letter into crisp lines. She was strong enough to carry on, despite her idiotic twin rendering himself blind. Despite Father’s recurring cough that left him weak and irritable. Despite the approaching holiday season—drat Marcus for reminding her.

      Last Christmas, Mother had been

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