A Secret Christmas
Page 17
As she’d dreamed, Chrystabel would be living at Tremayne Castle when Joseph’s Tudor gardens bloomed in the summer. But she hadn’t dared to dream of being just a mile from her siblings. While they’d always treasure fond memories of their old life at Grosmont Grange, Chrystabel knew they’d make even better memories in their new homes. It was a fresh start for all three of them, and one they’d sorely needed.
“…so long as ye both shall live?” the vicar concluded expectantly.
In the hush that followed, Chrystabel drew a deep breath. “I will,” she pledged, her voice ringing clear and true through the sanctuary.
A few more words, a family heirloom ring slid onto her finger, and she was astonished to find she felt married, the new Viscountess Tremayne.
She felt married. Before the wedding breakfast.
It was, quite definitely, the most wonderful feeling ever.
When Joseph lowered his lips to meet hers, Arabel burst into applause. Chrystabel didn’t allow Joseph to kiss her for long, because they were in a church, after all. She wanted to get him alone so they could kiss properly—well, improperly—as husband and wife for the first time, but that would have to wait until they were back at Tremayne.
When he released her, she saw that Matthew and Creath had been kissing as well. And that Arabel was grinning at them like a lunatic, clearly overjoyed for both her siblings.
Chrystabel saw that Lady Trentingham—no, make that Mother—looked thrilled.
And that Lord Trentingham looked perplexed.
He’d been looking perplexed a lot lately.
“I still don’t understand,” he grumbled as they all walked back to Tremayne, looking forward to Chrystabel’s masterpiece of a wedding breakfast. “You all met just three days before Christmas. How can it be that four people fell in love so fast?”
Feeling happier than she’d thought possible, Chrystabel linked arms with her new father-in-law. “Obviously, it was a Christmas miracle.”
THANK YOU!
Thank you for reading A Secret Christmas! I hope you enjoyed it!
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To see more of Chrystabel and Joseph, look for Books 1-3 of Chase Family Series: The Flowers, whichare about their daughters! The first one is Violet. Please read on for an excerpt.
If you’ve already read The Flowers series and The Jewels series, next up is Lost in Temptation, the first of my romances featuring Regency-era descendants of the original Chase and Ashcroft characters. In the following pages, you’ll find an excerpt for that book, too!
If you'd like to learn more about the real people, places, and events in A Secret Christmas, please turn the page for my Author's Note...
BONUS MATERIAL
Author’s Note
Explore the Chase Family World
Excerpt from Violet
Excerpt from Lost in Temptation
Books by Lauren Royal
Free Historical Recipe Book
Contest
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Jewels of Historical Romance
Contact Information
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Dear Reader,
Oliver Cromwell is one of the most controversial figures in British history. Depending upon viewpoint, he’s been described as both a regicidal military dictator and a revolutionary hero of liberty. But few people today would support his decision to ban Christmas.
Following the execution of King Charles I in 1649, England was ruled by Parliament. Prior to the end of the English Civil War in September 1651, three months before this story starts, Cromwell had become the country's de facto leader. He was officially Lord Protector from 1653 until his death in 1658.
Cromwell and his fellow Puritans believed that everyone should lead their lives according to a strict interpretation of the Bible. They felt it was their mission to cleanse the country of decadence, and their decrees affected all aspects of society.
They believed that women and girls should dress in a “proper” manner. Dresses that were too colorful were frowned upon, and those that weren’t modest were banned outright. Makeup was banned: Puritan soldiers actually scrubbed off makeup seen on women in the streets. The theaters were all shut down. Most sports were banned. Swearing was punished by a fine for the first offense, and repeat offenders could be sent to prison.
But most controversial of all, the Puritans regarded Christmas as a wasteful, “popish” festival that threatened core Christian beliefs. Nowhere, they said, did the Bible claim God wanted Christ’s birthday celebrated—and so they set about banning all activities relating to Christmas, including going to church on Christmas Day. Shops and markets were ordered to stay open on December 25, and everyone was expected to go about the day as if Christmas didn’t exist.
The government outlawed every last remnant of Christmas merrymaking. Christmas carols were banned. Christmas puddings were banned. Christmas decorations were banned. In London, soldiers were ordered to patrol the streets and take, by force if necessary, any food being cooked for a Christmas celebration. The smell of a goose roasting could bring wrath down upon a family.
Like Chrystabel’s family, however, many people continued to celebrate in secret. And in not-so-secret, too, especially as the years of Cromwell’s Protectorate went on. Semi-clandestine religious services were held on Christmas Day, and the secular elements of the holiday occurred more and more often. On Christmas Day in 1656, Members of Parliament were unhappy because they’d got little sleep the previous night due to the noise of the neighbors’ “preparations for this foolish day,” and because that morning they had seen “not a shop open, nor a creature stirring” in London. Many writers anonymously argued in print that it was proper to celebrate Christmas and that the government had no right to interfere.
At the Restoration in 1661, when King Charles II returned to claim his throne and all legislation from 1642-60 was declared null and void, Christmas was celebrated with much joy and wide popular support. And it’s been that way ever since.
On a much less serious subject: The oldest mulled wine recipes do not have orange or lemon or any other fruit in them. But many modern mulled wine recipes do. I like to think that someone like Joseph might have first tried adding those ingredients!
Most of the homes in my books are modeled on real places you can visit. Tremayne Castle was inspired by Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire, which is twelve miles from the city of Bristol, just where Joseph’s castle is in this story.
Thornbury Castle was built during the reign of Henry VIII, by Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham. But he didn’t get to finish it, and he wasn’t able to enjoy it for long. At the time, Buckingham was one of few peers with substantial Plantagenet blood, and he felt he should be in line for the throne. After a disgruntled servant betrayed him to the king, he was arrested for treason, tried, and executed on Tower Hill. King Henry claimed the castle for himself and spent ten days there while on his honeymoon tour with Anne Boleyn. It remained royal property until the death of his daughter Mary I, when it was returned to the duke’s descendants.
The beautiful Church of St. Mary the Virgin is next door to Thornbury Castle, and there used to be a timber bridge connecting them. Although the bridge itself is long since gone, bits of evidence remain.
Is there a priest hole at Thornbury? No one knows for sure, but there are rumors there’s one to be found—and several secret panels have been discovered at Thornbury, so it doesn’t seem terribly unlikely. On the south side of the castle, part of the outer wall extends in a U-shape that’s divided down the middle into two rooms. Curiously, one room is larger than the other, and the suspicion is that there may be a priest hole in the blocked-off
space. Thornbury also has a tunnel that starts by the former dungeon (now the wine cellar), runs beneath the courtyard, and comes up by the old castle well.
Thornbury Castle is now a luxurious hotel. Castle accommodations aren’t ever inexpensive, but Thornbury’s prices are more reasonable than most. If you’ve ever dreamed of staying at a castle, I highly recommend this one. It is absolutely gorgeous inside, and you might get to stay in Chrystabel’s bedroom with the curved oriel windows like I did!
I hope you enjoyed A Secret Christmas! If you haven’t read the other three Chase Family Series: The Flowers books—which are about Chrystabel and Joseph’s daughters—the first one is Violet. Please read on for an excerpt.
And if you’ve already read The Flowers series and The Jewels series, next up is Lost in Temptation, the first of my romances featuring Regency-era descendants of the original Chase and Ashcroft characters. Please read on for an excerpt as well as more bonus material!
Always,
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MEET CHRYSTABEL & JOSEPH’S DAUGHTERS IN…
Violet
Book One of
Chase Family Series: The Flowers
The Ashcroft family motto is “Question Convention,” and eldest sister Violet agrees with the sentiment completely. For one thing, she's not planning to marry. Plain Violet is smart enough to realize any suitors would be after her large inheritance, or else interested in her beautiful younger sisters—and she'd much rather spend her time improving her mind than risking her tender heart…
After wasting six years wooing a lady who eloped with another man, Ford Chase, the handsome and eccentric Viscount Lakefield, has had it with women. Ford is passionate about his scientific pursuits and doesn't need to find love, thank you very much. When an unwelcome distraction—in the form of his six-year-old niece—is dropped in his lap, he enlists the help of an uncommonly intelligent neighbor named Violet. But Violet's surprising allure proves to be even more distracting, leading to a passion the likes of which he's never even imagined…
Read an excerpt…
England
July 15, 1673
ST. SWITHIN’S DAY. Well, it was fitting.
Viscount Lakefield stared out his carriage window at the miserable, wet landscape. According to St. Swithin’s legend, if it rained on the fifteenth of July, it would continue for forty days and nights. Normally not a man given to superstition, today Ford Chase found such nonsense plausible.
This was shaping up to be the worst day of his life.
The carriage rattled over the drawbridge and into the modest courtyard of Greystone, his older brother’s small castle. Cold raindrops pelted Ford’s head when he shoved open the door and leapt to the circular drive. Drenched gravel crunching beneath his boots, he made his way down a short, covered passageway and banged the knocker on the unassuming oak door.
Benchley cracked open the door, then slipped outside and shut it behind him. “My lord, what brings you here today?”
“I wish to speak with my brother.” Ford frowned down at the small, wiry valet. What was he doing answering the door? “Will you be letting me in?”
“I think not.” Benchley lifted his beak of a nose. “I’ll fetch Lord Greystone.” And with that, he disappeared back into the ancient castle.
Shivering, Ford stood frozen in disbelief before deciding this treatment fit in with the rest of his day. Rain dripped from his long brown hair to sprinkle on the stones at his feet. Wondering why he should need permission to enter his brother’s home, he moved to reach for the latch.
The door opened, and his brother stepped out. He looked haggard, his face a pasty gray, his green eyes and black hair dull.
“Colin? What the devil’s going on?”
“Illness. Measles, we think. Thank God you’re here.”
Ford pulled his surcoat tighter around himself. “Come again?”
“Amy is ill, along with little Hugh and the baby. And half of the servants. One of them died yesterday,” Colin added grimly.
“Died?” Ford’s gut twisted as he thought of Amy—Colin’s beautiful, raven-haired wife—and their bright four-year-old son, Hugh, and the baby, Aidan…all dead.
“It’s not so bad as all that,” Colin rushed to assure him, evidently reading the concern on his face. “The poor maid was eighty if she were a day, and the disease went straight to her lungs. I’m not expecting my family to perish.”
“At least you won’t be getting it. If you’ll remember, all four of us had it while in exile on the Continent.”
“I could hardly forget.” Appearing as though he could barely hold himself up, Colin leaned against the doorpost. “But what does that have to do with now?”
“At a Royal Society lecture, I learned one cannot fall ill with the same disease twice,” Ford explained.
“I’ve had measles more than once.”
“Not true measles, the one with the high fever. Spotted skin is a symptom of many different conditions.”
“Trust you to know something like that.” Although Colin looked relieved, his smile was bleak. “Still, the fever is savage, and Jewel has yet to suffer measles. True measles, as you put it. Will you take her from here before she succumbs as well? It would relieve my mind, and Amy’s too, I’m sure. The worry is doing her recovery no good.”
Alarm bells went off in Ford’s head. Take his niece? Where? What would he do with a young girl? “Well, I only stopped by to let you know I’ve left London and will be at Lakefield for the foreseeable future—”
“Perfect.”
“—working on my new watch design. I…I just wanted to be alone for a while. Lady Tabitha has eloped.”
“With the rest of the family off in Scotland, I was at my wit’s end deciding what to do. I was about to settle Jewel in the village. But this will be much better—”
“Tabitha eloped,” Ford repeated, wondering why his brother hadn’t reacted to this astonishing news. After all, Tabitha had just upset his entire life plan.
“She eloped?” Colin blinked, then shook his head. “Come now, Ford. What did you expect? After six years of suffering your attentions whenever you deigned to show up in London, and sharing your bed, I assume—”
She had. So what of it? No one in King Charles II’s circle was virtuous. Colin hadn’t been a monk before meeting his wife, and neither had their oldest brother Jason. The three Chase brothers were all titled and intimates of the king, which naturally meant they were popular with the ladies at court—and none of them had hesitated to take advantage in their day.
“—a lady,” Colin continued, “would expect a proposal.”
“I told her we’d marry someday. In two or three years.” Tabitha had seemed the ideal woman for Ford—stunningly beautiful, always ready to attend a ball or an evening at court. They matched well in bed, and when they weren’t together she busied herself with whatever women liked to do, leaving him plenty of time for his work. “For heaven’s sake, she’s only twenty-one, and I’m just twenty-eight. Jason married at thirty-two, and no one was on his back.”
“I married at twenty-eight.”
“You were in a hurry to have children.”
“While I’m sure you would as soon do without them altogether.” Colin rubbed his eyes. “You really have no idea why Tabitha gave up on you, do you? I hate to tell you this, little brother, but it’s time you grew up and realized there’s more to life than science and seduction. As the baby of the fami
ly, maybe Jason and I coddled you too much.”
From beyond the passageway, the patter of rain filled their sudden silence. Colin was obviously weary, so Ford thought it best not to argue. Doubtless Colin had spent sleepless nights watching over his wife and sons—exactly why Ford wasn’t ready for a family of his own.
“You look tired,” he said. “You’d best get some rest.”
His brother heaved a sigh. “I’d rest easier if I knew you had Jewel. You’ll take her, won’t you?”
What the devil would he do with a girl who wasn’t yet six? He loved her, of course. She shared his blood. But that didn’t mean he had a clue how to care for her. Bouncing her on his knee or playing a simple card game with her was one thing. A few minutes of fun before returning her to her parents. But to be responsible for a child…
He shoved a hand through his wet hair. “For how long?”
“A week or two. Maybe three. Until the illness has run its course.” Colin twisted the signet ring on his finger, narrowing his gaze. “Why are you hesitating? I need you.”
“I’m not hesitating,” Ford protested. “I just…”
His brother’s eyes opened wide. “Did you think I’d expect you to care for her on your own? Heaven forbid.” His lips quirked as though he might laugh, but he coughed instead. On purpose, Ford was sure. “I’ll send Lydia along with her.”
Despite his annoyance at being read so easily—not to mention distrusted—the tension left Ford’s shoulders. With Lydia, Jewel’s very competent nurse, on the premises, he wouldn’t have to care for the girl, wouldn’t have to struggle to interpret her mystifying female language and needs. He could just poke his head into her room and say hello every once in a while.