by Jenna Jaxon
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Married by Christmas by Jenna Jaxon
Married by Christmas Blurb
Other Works by Jenna Jaxon
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Epilogue
About the Author- Jenna Jaxon
Sneak Peek at The Widows’ Club: To Woo a Wicked Widow
What a Widow Wants
The Christmas Wager by Angelina Jameson
The Christmas Wager Blurb
Other Titles by Angelina Jameson
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue
Sneak Peek at The Marquess’s Christmas Lily
About the Author- Angelina Jameson
His Yuletide Bride by Nadine Millard
His Yuletide Bride Blurb
Other Titles by Nadine Millard
Dedication
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
Epilogue
Sneak Peek at Beauty & The Duke
About the Author- Nadine Millard
Twelve Gifts by Christmas by Tabetha Waite
Twelve Gifts by Christmas Blurb
Other Titles by Tabetha Waite
Dedication
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7
Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
Day 11
Day 12
Epilogue
Sneak Peek at the Ways of Love Series
About the Author- Tabetha Waite
Hell Hath Frozen Over by Annabelle Anders
Hell Hath Frozen Over Blurb
Other Titles by Annabelle Anders
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Sneak Peek at the Devilish Debutante’s Series
About the Author- Annabelle Anders
Boughs of Folly by Anna Bradley
Boughs of Folly Blurb
Other Titles by Anna Bradley
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
Sneak Peek at More or Less a Temptress
About the Author- Anna Bradley
Authors’ Note….
Yuletide Happily Ever Afters
A Merry Little Set of Regency Romances
Jenna Jaxon
Angelina Jameson
Nadine Millard
Tabetha Waite
Annabelle Anders
Anna Bradley
The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, places, or events is coincidental and not intended by the author.
If you purchase this book without a cover you should be aware that this book may have been stolen property and reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher. In such case the author has not received any payment for this “stripped book.”
Yuletide Happily Ever Afters
Copyright © 2018 Jenna Jaxon, Angelina Jameson, Nadine Millard, Tabetha Waite, Annabelle Anders, Anna Bradley
All rights reserved.
Cover art by: Jena Brignola
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission. The copying, scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic or print editions, and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Married by Christmas
Jenna Jaxon
MARRIED BY CHRISTMAS
After two miserable Seasons, Miss Marianne Covington is determined not to have a third and enlists the help of longtime friend William Stanley to assist her. Will wagers he can find her a husband before Christmas. But when none of the suitors suit, he is ready to do something drastic for the woman who’s become more than just a friend.
More Works by this Author
The House of Pleasure series
Only Scandal Will Do
Only Marriage Will Do
Only A Mistress Will Do
Only Seduction Will Do (Summer 2018)
Time Enough to Love series
Betrothal
Betrayal
Beleaguered
Beloveds
Seduction at the Christmas Court
Handful of Hearts series
Hearts Beneath the Mistletoe
Heart of Desire
Heart of Delight
Hearts at All Hallows’ Eve
The Widows’ Club series
To Woo A Wicked Widow
Wedding the Widow
What A Widow Wants (December 2018)
All Wrapped Up
(an anthology of short Christmas tales)
Married by Christmas
Copyright © 2018 Jenna Jaxon
All rights reserved
DEDICATION
For Patti and Ken
With much love and thanks for your friendship and all the wonderful times at the cabin, where this book was penned
CHAPTER 1
London November, 1816
“Another Season over, and what do I have to show for it, William?” Miss Marianne Covington was settled heavily as a lump—a very disgruntled lump—of coal in the swift curricle as her friend and neighbor, Mr. William Stanley, expertly sent his cattle through their paces in the sharp breeze. Tufts of dead grass were scattered over the usually lush green lawn of Hyde Park and the bare, skeletal branches rose over them, stark against the pale gray sky. November was not the prettiest month in which to take a curricle ride.
“I’d say at least four rather fetching bonnets.” Slowing the pair of matched grays to allow a large carriage, filled with three giggling young ladies and their chaperone, to pass in front of them, William turned to her with a raised eyebrow. “Certainly no woman needs more than that.”
“Little you know, dunderhead.” She elbowed him, just as she used to do when they played together back at Bramblewood Manor, his family’s estate in Shropshire. Ostensibly, she’d gone t
o play with his sisters; however, William always seemed to be underfoot whenever they engaged in running games or sports, like bowls or archery. “I had six hats bespoke before we left for London in April and have acquired at least five more since arriving in Town. After attending three sisters and me during the past two Seasons, I’m amazed you do not know more about fashion necessities.”
Laughing as he turned the team toward the gate that led home, William shook his head. “The less gentlemen know about ladies’ fashion, the better off they are. That’s the soundest wisdom I can think of regarding the matter.” He looked her up and down. “All gentlemen need to ascertain is that a young lady looks well in what she wears. The rest of the details can wait until they are married.”
“With that attitude, Will, you’d best hope the lady you marry has little interest in fashions, else you’ll never have a feather to fly with. While you’re not looking, your wife will fill her dressing room with gowns and hats and all manner of folderols.” Marianne tucked the lap robe firmly beneath her chin, covering her pelisse, which matched the elegant blue wool carriage dress with the bright gold trim. She’d dressed in the first stare of fashion all Season long, and what good had it done her?
Now finished with two London Seasons, she had nothing to show for it, save a trio of proposals from men she’d rather die than marry, and four flowers, carefully pressed as keepsakes, from the bouquets her friends had carried at their weddings. All her best friends had married by the end of the past Season. Even Lady Libby Francet, who could barely speak two sentences to a gentleman without turning red as a rose, had managed to bring Mr. Henry Brunson up to scratch. Not the most stellar match, perhaps, but she’d gotten a husband, by Jove, and that was more than Marianne could say.
“I’ll do all right. I daresay Father will take care of the settlements, make sure of things like her pin money and expenses and such, so I won’t have to be bothered about the monetary arrangements. Besides, a wife is years off at any rate.” He chuckled as he tooled the curricle along at a fast pace. “And I certainly can’t be bothered with courting ladies at the moment. I’m off to the last races at Melton tomorrow. I’ll be heading there in the morning.” A grin split his face. “What a thrill to watch, Marianne. You have no idea.” He ducked his head and looked abashed. “I’m sorry, Mari. Of course you don’t. I do wish you could come.”
“If wishes were horses, Will.” She sniffed. The fact that she couldn’t accompany him to the races irked her. Will always seemed to be taking himself off for a good time. How unfair could life be? Not only was her friend a gentleman and therefore allowed to go to racetracks and all sorts of frightfully interesting places, he was a popular and rather handsome man into the bargain. All her friends had swooned over him when he appeared to help escort her this past Season, citing his dark brown hair and intriguing amber eyes, as well as his broad shoulders and lithe frame, as the model physique for a husband.
At first she’d been flattered, though she’d told them straight off that he wasn’t a suitor, simply a friend from home. As the weeks wore on, however, the teasing remarks had grown thin. In fact, during the Little Season, she’d had to speak sharply to Lady Charlotte Nolan, who kept asking if Will had proposed.
However, that wasn’t the problem foremost on her mind at the moment. “If I had a wish, I’d ask for a husband for myself. I’m tired of being the odd one out in our circle now. Julia is betrothed, and your other two sisters are married, as are two more of my closest friends.” She pursed her lips and sighed, trying to blink back tears. “And I simply cannot go through a third Season. Especially without any of my friends there for support. I’ll be all alone.” It wasn’t fair at all. “Why can I not find one gentlemen to marry in the entire ton? All the truly good ones have been taken.”
“No gentlemen to marry?” Scowling, Will neatly turned the corner into the square. “What do you mean you cannot find one to marry? I know tons of chaps who’d make excellent husbands.”
She turned her head, suddenly more absorbed in what went on outside the curricle than in it. The foot traffic on the pavement had picked up this late in the afternoon, thick with shop clerks hurrying home with a meal or to a meal. Carriages rolled briskly along. The lamplighter had just begun his rounds, leaving a cheery glow wherever he stopped.
She caught a glimpse of a gentleman assisting his lady from their carriage, escorting her up the steps of their townhouse. In April, at the beginning of the Season, she’d believed that would be her, accompanied by a husband, riding about the city, talking and laughing. That she’d quickly find a particular companion with whom to share her life. Her tastes in gentlemen weren’t unusual. She’d no requirement that he not drink or wager or must have blue eyes and a small nose. Truly, some of the constraints her friends had imposed on the type of men they wished to marry were idiotic. As long as the gentleman was tolerably handsome, of good character and sufficient income, and possessed of a crisp wit, she would likely say yes. Unfortunately, no gentleman fitting that description had yet to propose to her.
So here she sat, next to William, not one whit closer to finding a husband than she’d been six months before. “Well, I wish you would introduce me to them then. I am all but out of options. Father’s going to start hinting that he’ll find a husband for me, and at that I will put my foot down.”
“I say, have you met Lord Cranmont? Tall, thin chap. Curly blond hair? He’s a friend of mine from White’s. Sits a horse splendidly.” Will pulled his team to a stop in front of Covington House.
“Yes, we danced several times this Season.” Marianne gathered her reticule and sighed. “I thought for a time he might suit. As you say, he does sit a horse excellently. But before I could make my affections known, Lady Catherine Armstrong swooped in like a crow after a kernel of corn.” She hadn’t had a true tendre for Lord Cranmont, but she quite likely could’ve been reasonably comfortable married to him. If not for his and Lady Catherine’s scandalous kiss in the garden at Lady Wilmot’s musical evening. “Didn’t you hear? Their betrothal was announced the very next day after they…came to an understanding at Lady Wilmot’s. The marriage was performed a scant two weeks later, on the day the last of the banns were read.”
Settling the horses, who tossed their heads and seemed to want another turn in the park, Will’s mouth curved downward, giving him the expression of a mischievous cherub. “No, I hadn’t heard that.” The frown continued while he seemed to rummage through the names of all the eligible partis in London. “What about Lord Eastbourne? Capital fellow with a cricket bat at school, so the legends had it.”
“I’ve met the gentleman, briefly. However, I have no interest whatsoever in cricket or other sports of that sort, Will,” she said crisply. “Does he have anything else to recommend him as a husband?”
“Uh, he’s very well set up.”
“Money is not a major point with me, although it may be with Father.” Scowling, Marianne shook out the carriage blanket. What did she want in a husband? “Is he interested in literature or music? Does he ride well? That, I fear, may be a sticking point.”
With a shrug, Will turned away from her and fussed with the ribbons. “I seriously doubt he has any interests of an artistic nature. He does ride. However, he prefers a carriage to a horse.”
“There it is.” How could Will think for a moment she’d marry a man she could outride? “I certainly will not place my future in the hands of a gentleman who has so little to recommend him. You know that well enough. I want to at least have interests in common with the man I marry. Otherwise, how would we get along together?” She’d been introduced to Lord Eastbourne last Season and met him this year as well. A trifle overeager, in her estimation, and with good reason, for the man was in his late thirties, so her mother said, and in dire need of a wife and heir. Why he’d remained eligible for so long also made him suspect in her eyes. Marianne had informed her father she’d rather remain a spinster all her life than marry such a man. She’d not be sold into marriage m
erely as a brood mare. “Lord Eastbourne is not the man for me, I fear.”
“Well, if you’re going to be picky, I doubt I can help you.”
“If your prospective suitors are so lackluster, I doubt you can as well.”
Throwing her an exasperated glance, Will wrapped the ribbons around the whip socket and jumped to the ground. “I know plenty of splendid fellows you would find acceptable.” He rounded the curricle and took her hand, assisting her from the carriage. “If you give me leave, I’ll wager I can make the match by…by Christmas Day.”
