by Rose Pearson
Love and Christmas Wishes
Three Regency Romance Novellas
Rose Pearson
Contents
Novella Descriptions
Sarah’s Magical Christmas
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Katie’s Christmas Wish
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Jane’s Christmas Confusion
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
My Dear Reader
A Sneak Peek of A Rogue’s Flower
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
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© Copyright 2018 by Rose Pearson - All rights reserved.
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Novella Descriptions
Sarah’s Magical Christmas
Sarah Powell is a beautiful but impoverished young woman. She is unlucky in love and trapped in a position she hates. Working for her cruel aunt as a ladies’ companion to her wealthier cousins means she will never find romance or happiness. Stuck in a life of servitude, she has no reason to think her life will ever change until she meets a mysterious gentleman, Mr. Charles Langford of London.
Charles Langford breezes into her life with a charming smile and a disdain for following the rules of Regency Society. Without position or title, he has no prospects but he shows her that sometimes all you need is a little Christmas magic to be happy. Everything seems to be a dream come true, until she discovers all is not perfect in love. He makes no promises for the future and her family disapproves of him. With a future as an old maid looming ahead of her, Sarah Powell faces a lonely holiday. Can she depend on Christmas magic or is she doomed to a life without the man she loves?
Katie’s Christmas Wish
Katie Brookes is beautiful, elegant and quite her mother’s favorite. She has long been friends with Samuel Putnam but cannot understand why he has taken a step back from their acquaintance recently. It is made all the worse by the fact that she has realized that she has a deep affection for him, one that leads to love, not just friendship.
Unfortunately for Katie, Samuel refuses to consider any potential future between them. Telling her to forget him, he pushes Katie away, breaking her heart in the process.
When her mother decides that it is time for Katie to marry, she insists that her daughter tries to attract the attention of Viscount Halifax, who is visiting some friends. Disappointed and broken-hearted by Samuel’s rejection, Katie reluctantly does just as she is told, only to find that the viscount is more than eager to court her.
Will she truly be able to forget her love for Samuel and accept the viscount’s proposal? Or will she be able to discover the truth behind Samuel’s reluctance and finally be granted her very own Christmas wish?
Jane’s Christmas Confusion
Jane Brookes has often been told that she is plain and uninteresting, much too quiet and therefore, will be entirely unable to find a suitable match. She has learned to keep her thoughts to herself, never truly able to share what she feels for fear of bringing down her mother’s wrath on her head. Overlooked by her mother in favor of her younger sister, Jane keeps her broken heart to herself. Having fallen deeply in love with Viscount Halifax, the gentleman courting her sister, she scurries away to London in an attempt to find some sort of healing there.
What she does not expect to find is that Viscount Halifax has also come to London, instead of remaining with her sister.
Sudden meetings, Christmas balls, lies, deceit and a promise of future happiness all tangle up together, leaving Jane with more of a struggle than she’d ever thought she’d face. Can she work her way through it all and find the happiness she thought she might never have? Will Lord Halifax be her precious Christmas gift?
Sarah’s Magical Christmas
Chapter One
“What if I see him again? What shall I do?” Sarah Powell groaned as she hid her face in her hands.
“Sarah, you must steel yourself for the unpleasant truth that you must face Mr. Grainger again. It cannot be helped. If you are to accompany us to his father’s house of Hatherley Hall, then you will see him. What other choice do you have? Are you to remain here at the vicarage, alone, as the staff goes about their duties?” replied a young woman with a slightly dismissive air. “This matter was settled in the summer. Why are you worrying about it now?”
“Jane, can you not see that our dear cousin is mortified?” said a second woman as she rushed to Sarah’s side. With her characteristic grace, Katie Brookes sat on the bed beside Sarah, wrapping her arm around her shoulders.
Sarah peered at her oldest cousin, Jane Brookes, the eldest of two sisters. Jane was standing in front of her in the middle of a modest bedroom that was opulently furnished in shades of ivory and green, whilst her younger sister, Katie, was sitting beside Sarah on the bed. The bedclothes, the chairs, and the curtains were embroidered in the same ivy and flower patterns that matched the shade of green damask covering the walls. The effect was somewhat like a garden, which only added to Sarah’s discomfort as she recalled the summertime.
With crossed arms, Jane Brookes appeared stern. Her plain and unremarkable face was set in a frown as she looked at her sister Katie and her cousin, Sarah.
“Sarah, I understand that you are embarrassed. I am not trying to be unfeeling, but this is hardly the time to make your complaints known. We are leaving for our Christmas visit to Hatherley in an hour. Our trunks have been packed and loaded, and the carriages will be brought around to the front of the house at any moment.”
“Maybe I should remain here at the vicarage where I will be no trouble to anyone,” Sarah sighed.
Katie, the beauty of the sisters, looked at her cousin Sarah with big blue eyes filled with kindness as she said, “Please, do not worry, Sarah. How dreadful to think of you all alone here when we are away at the ball. It would be terrible, and I would not enjoy myself in the least. You must come with us, you must! I know that Hatherley Hall is only a few miles away, but we are residing with the family for a few days, and I simply cannot be without you. Say that you will attend?”
“I want to go, I do. Believe me, I do not want to be here all by myself. After what happened between Mr. Grainger and I, I cannot bear to see him again. How foolish I was to think he wanted to marry me,” Sarah said quietly, “How can I face him when I have been so ridiculous?”
With her hands on her hips, Jane let out a heavy sigh, “That inc
ident was not your fault. I have spoken with Mr. Grainger about it. He agrees that he never intended for your acquaintance to become romantic. He has apologized for his lapse of judgment.”
“Jane, I cannot disagree with you regarding his conduct. He has apologized. I have forgiven him, but it does not change how badly I misjudged his feelings. How will I ever find the courage to look him in the eye?”
“You will face him, and you will see that you and he can, at the very least, become friends. It was all a terrible blunder. I know those words do not lessen the hardship you may feel, but you must confess that he has behaved as a gentleman,” Jane explained.
“So he has, I cannot fault him for his behavior in the slightest. I wish he had told me that he had no interest in marrying me at the start. I know I seem to be very silly indeed, but I truly thought he held me in the same high regard as I held him.”
Jane sat on the other side of Sarah, “Do not think of my statements as being evidence that I am uncaring towards your feelings, I am not. Mr. Grainger is one of my dearest friends. I have known him and his sister for many years. I do not believe he ever meant to embarrass you. When you see him again, when he treats you as amicably as he does me or Katie, you will soon discover that he does not think less of you.”
“Did I misunderstand him?” Sarah asked Jane.
“No,” Jane answered, “You did not misunderstand him. It is not your fault that his father is the Baron Carmody.”
“Sarah, be cheerful. You may not have any money of your own, but you are accomplished,” Katie suggested in her melodic bright voice. “Your countenance is pleasing as any woman in Cheltham. Mr. Grainger may have slipped out of your grasp, but you will find a gentleman who may not mind that you only possess a modest dowry.”
“Is that supposed to cheer her?” Jane asked as she patted Sarah on the hand.
“Yes, it is. Besides, I will let you borrow my second favorite gown for the ball. With your light hair and your eyes such a striking shade of green, you will look so delightful that Mr. Grainger will regret not asking you to marry him!”
Katie’s attempts at kindness stung Sarah even though she knew her cousin did not mean to inflict any insult or offense. It was true that she did not have the money for any new gowns or even a pair of new kid gloves. Looking down at her plain cream-colored afternoon dress reminded her of her status as a companion to her two wealthy cousins, although Katie was the one who was always given more than her sister. In their beautiful, colorful gowns, they appeared as exotic as tropical birds compared to Sarah. Jane was wearing a long sleeve carriage dress in a crimson hue, while her sister Katie, the acknowledged pale beauty, was wearing an exquisite frock of light blue. Of course, Katie’s gown was a good deal finer than her sister’s, given that their mother favored one daughter over the other.
“Thank you, Katie,” Sarah replied as she took a deep breath, “I do appreciate your kindness, both of you. I am sorry to be so much trouble. I cannot think what came over me. I have not thought of Mr. Grainger very much these past few months but when the prospect of seeing him again came near, I was overwhelmed by embarrassment.”
“Think nothing of it. I am certain that what you feel is due entirely to lack of rest. You have been occupied by the preparations for the holiday, have you not?” Jane said with a smile, obviously trying to put the thought of Mr. Grainger from Sarah’s mind
Sarah nodded, “I have been preoccupied as of late. Katie’s new gowns had to be fitted and ready to be packed. Then there was the matter of the new pelisses, spencers and matching afternoon dresses.”
Katie nodded, although Sarah noticed that she looked rather awkward over the fact that her sister had not been given as many new gowns as she. “You are not as anxious about Mr. Grainger as you thought,” Katie said, turning her attention back to Sarah. “Smile and forget that you were ever concerned about seeing him again. I shall not remember it, and neither shall Jane,” she suggested.
“Perhaps you are right, Katie,” Sarah offered, although she did not believe it. She knew very well that she wished she would never see him again, not after she made the mistake of presuming he felt more for her than he declared. If she could only return to the summer when she last visited Hatherley Hall, she would never act so ridiculously.
“You are simply fatigued from the added responsibilities mother has heaped upon your shoulders. It really seems unfair when we have the maid to see to our wardrobes. Why mother demands that you oversee the ordering of new clothes for the holiday is a mystery and wholly unnecessary,” clucked Jane.
“I do not mind. Your family has been generous to take me in and give me a position. If I must do an additional task to earn my keep, I am prepared to do all that your mother would ask of me,” Sarah replied, as she tried to smile.
A sudden rapping at the door announced the entrance of Mrs. Brookes, Jane and Katie’s mother. She was as unremarkable in her appearance as Jane, but her face had thinned over the years. Lines crept around her eyes and her mouth, leaving her expression practically a permanent frown, most likely the result of scowling at servants and her family. As she bustled into the room, she turned her attention to Sarah, her expression as dour as ever as she demanded, “Sarah, are the trunks packed and loaded? Have you made every effort to ensure that we have included all of the gloves we will need? What of the jewelry?”
Sarah was quick to jump to her feet. In her despair, she had forgotten her duties as a companion. As she thought of an answer, her cousin Jane replied in her stead, “Mother, we have everything we require, packed and on the carriages. It is not as though we are going for a prolonged stay! There is no need to question Sarah about it, it is already done.”
Mrs. Brookes glared at her eldest daughter, “I will bother her as much I choose, who are you to answer for her after all I have done for her? Sarah, why are you here in Katie’s room? If the trunks are loaded, you should be downstairs seeing that the cook and the maid understand their duties while we are away.”
Sarah bristled at her Aunt’s reminder that it was her generosity which sustained her and kept her living under the roof of the Brookes house in Cheltham. Despite the urge to reply that she would do well without anyone’s charity, she recalled that she did rely on their kindness. Resigned to her status as poor cousin and companion, she answered, “Yes, Aunt, I will see to it this instant.”
“I hope so, slovenly behavior will not be accepted. I doubt that this laziness was addressed at your last position,” Mrs. Brookes remarked.
As Sarah left the bedroom, she overheard her cousin Jane defend her as Mrs. Brookes dismissed her objections to fawn over her youngest daughter. The door closed behind her. She was alone in the hallway of the vicarage, as she was alone in life. She was a woman who had no prospects other than to be a companion or a governess. With her head hung low, she made her way down the narrow corridor of the vicarage, descending the stairs to the kitchen.
Chapter Two
Aside from the usual amount of jostling and shimmying along the snowy roads leading from Cheltham out into the countryside, the carriage ride from the vicarage to Hatherley was pleasant. The interior of the carriage was reasonably warm despite the cold of mid-December. In her hand-me-down pelisse lined with fur, her gloved hands in the matching second-hand fur muff, Sarah found the journey not altogether uncomfortable. She rode in the second carriage with Jane and the maid that would attend her cousins, as Katie rode with her parents at her mother’s insistence in the first carriage. There was no question in Sarah’s mind that Katie was her mother’s favorite of all three of her children, an observation that she did not share with Jane whom, she was sure, was all too aware of it.
“I hope Henry arrives tonight. He said he was coming to Hatherley.” Jane murmured, half to herself, as she spoke of her brother, the eldest of the Brookes children and the only son.
“That would be wonderful. How are his classes? Is he doing well?”
“He has not written otherwise, so I can presume that he
is first in his studies and examinations. If he was having trouble, I have no doubt he would have written to tell me about it.”
“What will he do after he finishes university? Does he still wish to enter the clergy?” Sarah asked, even though she knew that was the plan for her cousin, Henry Brookes.
“Will father give him any other choice?” Jane asked, with a tired air, “He is the son of a vicar, He will follow suit, as is expected, else I shall be greatly astonished.”
“As will I. He seems suited for the role as vicar. He has your father’s compassion and charm.”
“I have often thought that as well. If only our Mother was not disappointed in his interest in pursuing an honorable profession. She was hoping he would become a solicitor or find an heiress to marry for her money.”
Sarah did not say anything in response to Jane’s comments about her mother. How well Sarah recalled her aunt’s invitation for her to come live at the vicarage as a companion. It was the single gesture of sisterly affection Mrs. Brookes showed Sarah’s mother and one that she never permitted Sarah to forget. Sarah pushed that unpleasant thought away as she replied, “Henry knows his own mind. If he wants to join the church, he will not be dissuaded.”
