The Wallflower's Mistletoe Wedding. Amanda McCabeЧитать онлайн книгу.

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A country Christmas at Barton Park

Plain, sensible Rose Parker is a self-proclaimed wallflower, but she’s always dreamed of dancing with Captain Harry St George...

Once, Harry wouldn’t even have noticed Rose. But now, after a hard war, Harry knows he’s a different man. Shy, sweet Rose intrigues him more than any gregarious young lady—but he must marry a rich bride to save his mortgaged estates...and Rose is no heiress. Now, more than ever, Harry needs the magic of a mistletoe kiss...

‘You need an heiress,’ Harry heard his brother say in his mind. An heiress would indeed be an answer for Hilltop. And he himself would admit that companionship, a partner, would be most welcome.

Harry looked down at Helen—at her brilliant smile, the flash of jewels in her hair—and for an instant felt the tug of temptation towards a life that had never been his. A life of carefree glitter.

And then, over the swirl of the dancers, he glimpsed Rose Parker, laughing with the other musicians as her slender fingers skipped lightly over the keys. And he was drawn towards her soft warmth that was like a fire on a cold day, sustaining and sweet.

But Rose deserved far more than he had to offer—a wounded soldier whose house was falling down around him. That was one thing he did know for sure

Author Note

When I was a child, my grandmother loved Christmas! I loved visiting her house at that time of year, because she had a huge tree covered with sparkling glass ornaments, dishes full of candy and a pair of beautiful antique Santa and Mrs Santa dolls, which sat high on a shelf because I was allowed to look but not to play with them. Now they belong to me I still don’t play with them, afraid she might be watching from on high! I think she inherited this love of Christmas from her own grandmother, who grew up at the end of that heyday of Christmas: the Victorian Age.

The people of the Regency era weren’t quite as elaborate in their celebration of Christmas as those of the Victorian age, but they did have a fun-filled family holiday. Even though there weren’t large evergreen trees there was greenery: holly, ivy, rosemary, and mistletoe boughs that are very useful for romance authors. On Christmas Day, there might be small gifts—books, handkerchiefs, maybe toys for the children—a walk to church and then a large, merry dinner, with roasted goose, mincemeat pies and puddings, followed by games like Bob Apple and Snapdragon. On Boxing Day the servants would be given their gifts and maybe some time off to visit their own families.

I loved getting to spend time in a Regency Christmas, and to remember some of my own childhood traditions, too! If you’d like more of a peek behind the history, please visit my website at ammandamccabe.com.

The Wallflower’s Mistletoe Wedding

Amanda McCabe

www.millsandboon.co.uk

AMANDA McCABE wrote her first romance at the age of sixteen—a vast epic, starring all her friends as the characters, written secretly during algebra class. She’s never since used algebra, but her books have been nominated for many awards, including the RITA®, Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the Booksellers’ Best, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Holt Medallion. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband, one dog and one cat.

Books by Amanda McCabe

Mills & Boon Historical Romance

and Mills & Boon Historical Undone! eBooks

Bancrofts of Barton Park

The Runaway Countess

Running from Scandal Running into Temptation (Undone!)

Tudor Queens

The Winter Queen

Tarnished Rose of the Court

Linked by Character

A Notorious Woman

A Sinful Alliance High Seas Stowaway Shipwrecked and Seduced (Undone!)