by Stacy Reid
Mischief and Mistletoe
Forever Yours Series
Stacy Reid
MISCHIEF AND MISTLETOE is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 by Stacy Reid. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.
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Copy Edited by Gina Fiserova
Proofread by Monique Daoust and AW Consulting
Book cover designed by AuthorsDesigns
Dusean, always and forever.
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Contents
Praise for novels of Stacy Reid
Other books by Stacy
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Free Offer
Acknowledgments
About Stacy
Praise for novels of Stacy Reid
“Duchess by Day, Mistress by Night is a sensual romance with explosive chemistry between this hero and heroine!"—Fresh Fiction Review
"From the first page, Stacy Reid will captivate you! Smart, sensual, and stunning, you will not want to miss Duchess by Day, Mistress by Night!"—USA Today bestselling author Christi Caldwell
"I would recommend The Duke's Shotgun Wedding to anyone who enjoys passionate, fast-paced historical romance."—Night Owl Reviews
“Accidentally Compromising the Duke—Ms. Reid's story of loss, love, laughter and healing is all that I look for when reading romance and deserving of a 5-star review."—Isha C., Hopeless Romantic
"Wicked in His Arms—Once again Stacy Reid has left me spellbound by her beautifully spun story of romance between two wildly different people."—Meghan L., LadywithaQuill.com
"Wicked in His Arms—I truly adored this story and while it's very hard to quantify, this book has the hallmarks of the great historical romance novels I have read!"—KiltsandSwords.com
“One for the ladies...Sins of a Duke is nothing short of a romance lover's blessing!”—WTF Are You Reading
"THE ROYAL CONQUEST is raw, gritty and powerful, and yet, quite unexpectedly, it is also charming and endearing."—The Romance Reviews
Other books by Stacy
Sinful Wallflowers series
My Darling Duke
Forever Yours series
The Marquess and I
The Duke and I
The Viscount and I
Misadventures with the Duke
When the Earl was Wicked
A Prince of my Own
Sophia and the Duke
The Sins of Viscount Worsley
An Unconventional Affair
Mischief and Mistletoe
The Kincaids
Taming Elijah
Tempting Bethany
Lawless: Noah Kincaid
Rebellious Desires series
Duchess by Day, Mistress by Night
The Earl in my Bed
Wedded by Scandal Series
Accidentally Compromising the Duke
Wicked in His Arms
How to Marry a Marquess
Scandalous House of Calydon Series
The Duke’s Shotgun Wedding
The Irresistible Miss Peppiwell
Sins of a Duke
The Royal Conquest
The Amagarians
Eternal Darkness
Eternal Flames
Eternal Damnation
Eternal Phoenyx
Single Titles
Letters to Emily
Wicked Deeds on a Winter Night
The Scandalous Diary of Lily Layton
Chapter 1
Two weeks before Christmas.
It was a scandalous and audacious plan, which could be fully attributed to last week’s dream, and Miss Callisto Middleton, known as Callie, was quite determined for it to bear fruit. Her mother deserved happiness and with an earl too! Impossible, some would say, but her papa had always impressed upon Callie that her tenacity in the face of adversity was her most admirable quality. And it was that quality, along with her winsome smile, golden-brown eyes, and good-natured charm he had believed would see gentlemen falling over themselves to offer for her at her debut years ago.
Of course, it hadn’t gone as dear Papa had planned. But her failed Seasons and unmarried state were not Callie’s current concern. No, that went to her mother, Viscountess Danby, the unhappiest woman in the countryside. And Callie knew exactly what her mama needed—a beau to call her own.
A hitch found its way in Callie’s heart, and she brushed it aside, having already accepted that it was altogether fine for her mother to remarry only five years after her father had gone on to his rewards. The directions of her current ambitions came from Papa, and whenever she dreamed of him, good tidings always followed.
Only two years ago, she’d dreamed of Papa directing her and Mama to Gloucestershire. Callie had insisted they visited the area where they’d found the most charming and affordable ten-room cottage to be their home. Then six months ago, another dream where she saw her papa floating on clouds at a particular section of the woody forest surrounding their homes. The next day Callie had visited and saved a child from drowning in the river.
Surely the dream of her papa standing from a cliff and smiling down at her mama who had been laughing in the arms of the Earl of Deerwood, their neighbor, was providence. Callie had realized her mother’s tendre for the man a few months now. Why, whenever Mama saw him, the viscountess would blush, and even upon a few occasions, had stammered in her replies. Her mama, blushing as if she were a debutante and not a mature woman of two and forty years!
But it was more than that…the earl made her mother laugh, reducing the shadows of grief and melancholy which had lived with her since losing her husband, and replaced it with something sweet, hopeful, and tender. She was still an exquisite woman, beautiful, and elegant. With her pale blonde hair and glistening green eyes, she looked many years younger than her actual age. Callie was convinced she deserved another chance at happiness in a loving marriage. Then the earl had invited them as a family to a house party in his home, and after much anxious indecision from their mother, they had arrived yesterday and had settled in nicely. There were at least thirty guests, including the earl’s son and his daughter.
“I must get them together,” she said, nibbling on a piece of lemon cake.
“Get who together?” Letitia demanded, popping a tart in her mouth and crunching.
Callie scowled at her sister, who, despite stuffing her face with confectionary, looked so pretty. “You should try to eat in a more ladylike manner. All of Mama’s efforts at teaching you proper etiquette are being wasted.”
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Letty rolled her eyes and tossed her ebony curls. “We are alone, Callie.”
“Still—”
Letty waved her hand in a frustrated gesture. “There is no still about it! You are trying to distract me. Who must you get together?”
Callie glanced around the tastefully furnished private parlor, knowing very well they were alone, but a lady could not be too careful. It was also one of the few rooms not decorated with holly and mistletoe. “I aim to play matchmaker.”
Letty gasped, a glint of mischief appearing in her light brown eyes. “Good heavens! With someone here at Lord Deerwood’s house party? How fun that would be. Nothing amusing ever happens to us! Playing matchmaker is vastly more entertaining than strolling about the damp lawns and playing parlor games.”
“Yes, it is someone here,” Callie said, laughing at her sister’s exuberance.
“You are far braver than I credited you for,” Letty said with an approving nod. “Is it Vinnette you are helping along? She is so painfully enamored with Viscount Sherbrooke! I was heading to the library for a book late last night, and I saw her sneaking into his room, and she was only in her night rail!”
Callie gasped, lowering the fork with a piece of cake on it to her plate. “Why, I never! Are you certain, Letty?” Another of their neighbors, Vinnette, was the daughter of Squire Brampton, the second-largest landowner in the area. They had become wonderful friends in the two years Callie’s family had settled in the area.
An image of the shockingly handsome viscount floated in her thoughts—midnight black hair, magnificent blue eyes, sharp cheekbones, and an arrogant yet sensually curved mouth. Her stomach did a frightening little flip. The heat of a blush rose in her cheeks, and she fought to suppress her reaction. It had bothered Callie very much that she found Lord Deerwood’s son so appealing.
“Did…did the viscount allow her inside?” she queried tentatively, wondering at his intentions. The viscount did not live at his father’s estate, but his visits were frequent. Vinnette had not told Callie they had an attachment. Oh, Vinnette, what are you thinking?
Her sister nodded, a pink blush staining her cheeks. “I was awfully shocked at such a wanton display of improper behavior. But she is our friend, and we must help them to the altar considering what we must assume had happened in his room last night.”
Callie cleared her throat. “Well, we know the purpose of a well-intended house party is to indulge in wickedness!”
Letty wrinkled her nose. “I am not entirely certain Mama would have brought us here if that were common knowledge. Nor do I think that is his lordship’s intentions.”
That was an astute observation, but Callie had pleaded with her mother to attend the earl’s annual Christmas house party after receiving the invitation. Perhaps her mother’s reluctance had been rooted in all the possible scandals on attending a house party! Though Lord Deerwood’s December parties had no salacious rumors attached to them to her knowledge. It was a tradition which his countess had started, but he had continued even though she had gone onto her rewards a little over ten years ago. It seemed the earl and his family had gotten the news of her passing on Christmas Eve while the family had awaited the doctor’s report.
For the last few years, the earl and his daughter had hosted a lavish house party which lasted for two weeks leading up to a Christmas day feast, which surely rivaled the table of the Queen Victoria. Despite the coldness of the season and the occasional falling snow, the earl’s guests would spend their two weeks of holidays hunting, riding, and even playing indoor games. In the evening, formal dinners would take place followed by music, some impromptu dancing, charades, whist, and games of billiards for the men where they could smoke indoors without fear of censure.
Many whispers suggested the earl held the house party to distract himself from the painful memories surrounding the yuletide season. For those invited, who did not care to spend Christmas alone or with intolerable family or wanted to be there for the earl, made their way to his palatial country home for the festivities. “It is not Vinnette I wish to help snag her beau. Though I will certainly speak with her to find out what it is that she wants.”
Letty paused in taking a sip of her tea, holding the cup in midair inches away from her lips. “Not Vinnette?”
“No.”
Letty frowned, wariness settling on her lovely face. “Then, who? We barely know anyone here, and I am still in disbelief that they invited us. The earl is well known, and only those in good standing are welcome. I cannot credit anyone from Society should recall us to their minds, though I am pleased we got asked to come this year.”
“It is Mama,” Callie whispered, clasping her fingers tightly over her teacup.
Letty stiffened, lowering the tart to her plate and brushing the crumbs from mouth. “Our mama?”
“Yes,” Callie replied, meeting her sister’s startled gaze. “I suspect she is in love with Lord Deerwood.”
Letty appeared dazed. “There is a rumor that he is an arrogant sort of man, very haughty and concerned with rules and propriety.”
“We didn’t see any evidence of such a disposition when he welcomed us yesterday.” The earl had almost appeared nervous, and his eyes had strayed to her rosy-cheeked mother often in the few minutes he’d made introductions to his other guests. At dinner, he had paid particular attention to their mother, who had seemed a trifle flustered with his attentions.
“Well, we hardly know him!”
“Exactly, Letty,” Callie replied with a wave of her hand. “We absolutely cannot believe in any gossip about the earl. We could, however, trust in Mama’s judgment. It is wholly unlikely she would admire anyone so haughty and prideful as the rumor suggests.”
Letty sighed. “He is also a man in his prime and is considered a most eligible parti. He is only seven and forty and still so handsome and dashing. Why would he ever consider our mother? You go too far with your ambitions, Callie!”
She stood and made her way over to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking a section of the palatial estate. The light snow they had received this year had already started to thaw, and despite the chill in the air, the earl’s guests were enjoying the outdoors.
A group of well-wrapped guests played croquet on a lawn swept free of snow, and others practiced archery in good humor, laughing at each other’s hits and misses. Even in the distance, she saw a few people rowing on the lake which had not frozen this year. Merriment danced in the air. Despite being several days away, Christmas—its feel and scent—surrounded the earl’s country home. Holly, garlands of ivy, pinecones, and sprigs of mistletoe attached with bright-colored satin bows seemed to decorate every room. Fresh-cut red and white roses which must have been grown in glasshouses to bloom at this time of year had been artfully arranged, and in the evenings, the gardens and surrounding parklands were festooned with hundreds of decorative lanterns and candlelight, which cast an ethereal glow on the remaining patches of snow and the reflecting lake.
“’Tis the season to be hopeful,” she said, staring at their mother, who sat under a gazebo near the pruned rose gardens, a book in her hand. The earl in question strolled with a lady along the edge of the lake, and at times her mother risked glancing at them. It was painful and almost embarrassing to watch her mother’s evident tendre for the earl.
Lord Deerwood, in turn, seemed aloof as he strolled with the animated Miss Penelope Barrows. That lady was eight and twenty, and Callie had heard her only yesterday state her determination to marry by next year. It seemed Miss Barrows had decided on catching the earl. It was hard for Callie to determine if his affections were engaged. He seemed to be politely listening, but was careful not to stroll too close beside Miss Barrows. In truth, his manner suggested an indifferent listener.
“Mama has little to recommend her to become the wife of such a man,” Letty put forth, coming to stand beside Callie. “I cannot credit you would be so bold as to even contemplate it.”
“Mama is the daughter of a
baron and was the wife of a viscount. Even if we are not wealthy, we have respectable connections!”
Letty worried at her bottom lip with her teeth. “Still, Lord Deerwood is—”
“Oh!” An unidentified emotion squeezed at Callie’s heart. “Look at the earl, Letty!”
Her sister leaned forward, and commented with wonderment in her voice, “He…he is staring at Mama when he thinks no one is observing. Oh, Callie, I daresay he likes Mama too!”
The expression on the earl’s face was one of acute longing. Unfamiliar emotions twisted through Callie, and she pressed a hand against the cool glass of the windows. A few light snowflakes danced in the air before settling on the thick verdant grass where a large peacock, with its iridescent tail spread preening, lingered.
“I daresay he admires Mama most ardently,” Callie stated, an unexpected hunger crawling through her veins. Many days she too had wondered what it would be like to be courted, to be sent flowers, to be taken on lengthy walks in the park, to be on a bench with her beau reading whilst he listened with rapt and sincere attention. She was four and twenty and had never experienced such delights. What would it be like to dance the waltz, and to be kissed? She closed her eyes, pushing aside those dreams which seemed so unattainable, given the family’s dire circumstances for the past five years.
