Dear Reader,
This book was a challenge to write, primarily because of Melissa and Dagenham. As they both acknowledge, they are simply too young to continue the romance that has blossomed between them—as Melissa is still in the schoolroom, it would be unlikely Dagenham would be able to even see her in London. But, of course, in breaking up as they have, they’ve set the stage for coming together again, albeit ten years in their future. I already know what happens with them and plan to write and release their love story in a few years’ time.
I should add that, eventually, Jamie, George, and Lottie will also have their stories told—those fell into my mind while writing this book as well.
I had a lot of fun researching what was known, in 1812, of the Roman occupation of England and unearthing the possibilities of what might be lurking buried around Little Moseley. My interest was in part inspired by having lived alongside the Roman villa at Eynsford in Kent for more than four years, albeit decades ago.
Another point to note is that in 1812, pennies were still silver and not the copper of later decades. Also, although the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum, and the Bodleian Library are all entirely real, Brentmore College is not, and the tension discussed between academic colleges and museums is purely hypothetical.
I hope you enjoyed following Therese and her grandchildren through another adventure in Little Moseley in the lead up to Christmas—if you feel inclined to leave a review here, I would greatly appreciate it.
My next release will be the latest in the Cynster Next Generation novels, The Inevitable Fall of Christopher Cynster, scheduled for March 19, 2020.
As ever, I wish you continued happy reading!
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Stephanie.
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COMING NEXT:
THE INEVITABLE FALL OF CHRISTOPHER CYNSTER
Cynster Next Generation Novel #8
To be released March 19, 2020.
Christopher Cynster has finally accepted that he does, indeed, want a wife and family of his own. But before he has a chance to even consider how to go about finding the right lady, the incursion of livestock into his family’s hop fields puts him on a collision course with his aging neighbor’s niece—a young lady who, with her doll-like appearance, is the epitome of the type of silly fashionable flibbertigibbet Christopher abhors. But appearances can be deceptive, and when Drake Varisey involves Christopher in a mission to expose a scheme threatening to destabilize the realm, Christopher discovers that Miss Ellen Martingale possesses qualities that command his respect, just as powerfully as, against his every expectation, she excites his interest in more personal ways.
Pre-orders available by January 1, 2020.
RECENTLY RELEASED:
A CONQUEST IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST
Cynster Next Generation Novel #7
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens returns to the Cynsters’ next generation to bring you a thrilling tale of love, intrigue, and fabulous horses.
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A notorious rakehell with a stable of rare Thoroughbreds and a lady on a quest to locate such horses must negotiate personal minefields to forge a greatly desired alliance—one someone is prepared to murder to prevent.
Prudence Cynster has turned her back on husband hunting in favor of horse hunting. As the head of the breeding program underpinning the success of the Cynster racing stables, she’s on a quest to acquire the necessary horses to refresh the stable’s breeding stock.
On his estranged father’s death, Deaglan Fitzgerald, now Earl of Glengarah, left London and the hedonistic life of a wealthy, wellborn rake and returned to Glengarah Castle determined to rectify the harm caused by his father’s neglect. Driven by guilt that he hadn’t been there to protect his people during the Great Famine, Deaglan holds firm against the lure of his father’s extensive collection of horses and, leaving the stable to the care of his brother, Felix, devotes himself to returning the estate to prosperity.
Deaglan had fallen out with his father and been exiled from Glengarah over his drive to have the horses pay their way. Knowing Deaglan’s wishes and that restoration of the estate is almost complete, Felix writes to the premier Thoroughbred breeding program in the British Isles to test their interest in the Glengarah horses.
On receiving a letter describing exactly the type of horses she’s seeking, Pru overrides her family’s reluctance and sets out for Ireland’s west coast to visit the now-reclusive wicked Earl of Glengarah. Yet her only interest is in his horses, which she cannot wait to see.
When Felix tells Deaglan that a P. H. Cynster is about to arrive to assess the horses with a view to a breeding arrangement, Deaglan can only be grateful. But then P. H. Cynster turns out to be a lady, one utterly unlike any other he’s ever met.
Yet they are who they are, and both understand their world. They battle their instincts and attempt to keep their interactions businesslike, but the sparks are incandescent and inevitably ignite a sexual blaze that consumes them both—and opens their eyes.
But before they can find their way to their now-desired goal, first one accident, then another distracts them. Someone, it seems, doesn’t want them to strike a deal. Who? Why?
They need to find out before whoever it is resorts to the ultimate sanction.
A historical romance with neo-Gothic overtones, set in the west of Ireland. A Cynster Next Generation novel—a full-length historical romance of 125,000 words.
Click here to read an excerpt.
Pre-order/Buy & Read A CONQUEST IMPOSSIBLE TO RESIST
ALSO RECENTLY RELEASED:
The third volume in the Cavanaughs
THE BEGUILEMENT OF LADY EUSTACIA CAVANAUGH
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens continues the bold tales of the Cavanaugh siblings as the sole Cavanaugh sister discovers that love truly does conquer all.
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A lady with a passion for music and the maestro she challenges in pursuit of a worthy cause find themselves battling villains both past and present as they fight to secure life’s greatest rewards—love, marriage, and family.
Stacie—Lady Eustacia Cavanaugh—is adamant marriage is not for her. Haunted by her parents’ unhappy union, Stacie believes that, for her, marriage is an unacceptable risk. Wealthy and well-born, she needs for nothing, and with marriage off the table, to give her life purpose, she embarks on a plan to further the careers of emerging local musicians by introducing them to the ton via a series of musical evenings.
Yet despite her noble status, Stacie requires a musical lure to tempt the haut ton to her events, and in the elevated circles she inhabits, only one musician commands sufficient cachet—the reclusive and notoriously reluctant Marquess of Albury.
Frederick, Marquess of Albury, has fashioned a life for himself as a musical scholar, one he pursues largely out of sight of the ton. He might be renowned as a virtuoso on the pianoforte, yet he sees no reason to endure the smothering over-attentiveness of society. Then his mother inveigles him into meeting Stacie, and the challenge she lays before him is…tempting. On a number
of fronts. Enough for him not to immediately refuse her.
A dance of subtle persuasion ensues, and step by step, Frederick finds himself convinced that Stacie’s plan has real merit and that it behooves him to support her. At least for one event.
Stacie’s first musical evening, featuring Frederick as the principal performer, is a massive success—until Fate takes a hand and lands them in a situation that forces them both to reassess.
Does Frederick want more than the sterile, academic life he’d thought was for him?
Can Stacie overcome her deepest fears and own to and reach for her girlhood dreams?
Impulsive, arrogant, and used to getting his own way, Frederick finds his answer easily enough, but his new direction puts him on a collision course with Stacie’s fears. Luckily, he thrives on challenges—which is just as well, because in addition to convincing Stacie that love can, indeed, conquer all, he and she must unravel the mystery of who is behind a spate of murderous attacks before the villain succeeds in eliminating all hope of a happy ending.
A classical historical romance set in London and Surrey, in the heart of the ton. Third novel in The Cavanaughs—a full-length historical romance of 122,000 words.
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Click here to read an excerpt.
Buy and Read THE BEGUILEMENT OF LADY EUSTACIA CAVANAUGH
And if you haven’t already indulged:
PREVIOUS VOLUMES IN LADY OSBALDESTONE’S CHRISTMAS CHRONICLES
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The first volume in Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Chronicles
LADY OSBALDESTONE’S CHRISTMAS GOOSE
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens brings you a lighthearted tale of Christmas long ago with a grandmother and three of her grandchildren, one lost soul, a lady driven to distraction, a recalcitrant donkey, and a flock of determined geese.
Three years after being widowed, Therese, Lady Osbaldestone finally settles into her dower property of Hartington Manor in the village of Little Moseley in Hampshire. She is in two minds as to whether life in the small village will generate sufficient interest to keep her amused over the months when she is not in London or visiting friends around the country. But she will see.
It’s December, 1810, and Therese is looking forward to her usual Christmas with her family at Winslow Abbey, her youngest daughter, Celia’s home. But then a carriage rolls up and disgorges Celia’s three oldest children. Their father has contracted mumps, and their mother has sent the three—Jamie, George, and Lottie—to spend this Christmas with their grandmama in Little Moseley.
Therese has never had to manage small children, not even her own. She assumes the children will keep themselves amused, but quickly learns that what amuses three inquisitive, curious, and confident youngsters isn’t compatible with village peace. Just when it seems she will have to set her mind to inventing something, she and the children learn that with only twelve days to go before Christmas, the village flock of geese has vanished.
Every household in the village is now missing the centerpiece of their Christmas feast. But how could an entire flock go missing without the slightest trace? The children are as mystified and as curious as Therese—and she seizes on the mystery as the perfect distraction for the three children as well as herself.
But while searching for the geese, she and her three helpers stumble on two locals who, it is clear, are in dire need of assistance in sorting out their lives. Never one to shy from a little matchmaking, Therese undertakes to guide Miss Eugenia Fitzgibbon into the arms of the determinedly reclusive Lord Longfellow. To her considerable surprise, she discovers that her grandchildren have inherited skills and talents from both her late husband as well as herself. And with all the customary village events held in the lead up to Christmas, she and her three helpers have opportunities galore in which to subtly nudge and steer.
Yet while their matchmaking appears to be succeeding, neither they nor anyone else have found so much as a feather from the village’s geese. Larceny is ruled out; a flock of that size could not have been taken from the area without someone noticing. So where could the birds be? And with the days passing and Christmas inexorably approaching, will they find the blasted birds in time?
First in series. A novel of 60,000 words. A Christmas tale of romance and geese.
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Click here to read an excerpt.
Buy & Read LADY OSBALDESTONE’S CHRISTMAS GOOSE
The second volume in Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Chronicles
LADY OSBALDESTONE AND THE MISSING CHRISTMAS CAROLS
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#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens brings you a heart-warming tale of a long-ago country-village Christmas, a grandmother, three eager grandchildren, one moody teenage granddaughter, an earnest young lady, a gentleman in hiding, and an elusive book of Christmas carols.
Therese, Lady Osbaldestone, and her household are quietly delighted when her younger daughter’s three children, Jamie, George, and Lottie, insist on returning to Therese’s house, Hartington Manor in the village Little Moseley, to spend the three weeks leading up to Christmas participating in the village’s traditional events.
Then out of the blue, one of Therese’s older granddaughters, Melissa, arrives on the doorstep. Her mother, Therese’s older daughter, begs Therese to take Melissa in until the family gathering at Christmas—otherwise, Melissa has nowhere else to go.
Despite having no experience dealing with moody, reticent teenagers like Melissa, Therese welcomes Melissa warmly. The younger children are happy to include their cousin in their plans—and despite her initial aloofness, Melissa discovers she’s not too old to enjoy the simple delights of a village Christmas.
The previous year, Therese learned the trick to keeping her unexpected guests out of mischief. She casts around and discovers that the new organist, who plays superbly, has a strange failing. He requires the written music in front of him before he can play a piece, and the church’s book of Christmas carols has gone missing.
Therese immediately volunteers the services of her grandchildren, who are only too happy to fling themselves into the search to find the missing book of carols. Its disappearance threatens one of the village’s most-valued Christmas traditions—the Carol Service—yet as the book has always been freely loaned within the village, no one imagines that it won’t be found with a little application.
But as Therese’s intrepid four follow the trail of the book from house to house, the mystery of where the book has vanished to only deepens. Then the organist hears the children singing and invites them to form a special guest choir. The children love singing, and provided they find the book in time, they’ll be able to put on an extra-special service for the village.
While the urgency and their desire to finding the missing book escalates, the children—being Therese’s grandchildren—get distracted by the potential for romance that buds, burgeons, and blooms before them.
Yet as Christmas nears, the questions remain: Will the four unravel the twisted trail of the missing book in time to save the village’s Carol Service? And will they succeed in nudging the organist and the harpist they’ve found to play alongside him into seizing the happy-ever-after that hovers before the pair’s noses?
Second in series. A novel of 62,000 words. A Christmas tale full of music and romance.
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Click here to read an excerpt.
Buy & Read LADY OSBALDESTONE AND THE MISSING CHRISTMAS CAROLS
Also by Stephanie Laurens
Cynster Novels
Devil’s Bride
A Rake’s Vow
Scandal’s Bride
A Rogue’s Proposal
A Secret Love
All About Love
All About Passion
On A Wild Night
On A Wicked Dawn
The Perfect Lover
The Ideal Bride
The Truth About Love
What Price Love?
The Taste of Innocence
Temptation and Surrender
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Cynster Sisters Trilogy
Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue
In Pursuit of Eliza Cynster
The Capture of the Earl of Glencrae
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Cynster Sisters Duo
And Then She Fell
The Taming of Ryder Cavanaugh
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Cynster Special
The Promise in a Kiss
By Winter’s Light
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Cynster Next Generation Novels
The Tempting of Thomas Carrick
A Match for Marcus Cynster
The Lady By His Side
An Irresistible Alliance
The Greatest Challenge of Them All
A Conquest Impossible To Resist
The Inevitable Fall of Christopher Cynster (March 19, 2020)
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Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Chronicles
Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Goose
Lady Osbaldestone’s Plum Puddings: Lady Osbaldestone’s Christmas Chronicles Volume 3 Page 24
