
Here’s a brief resume of the plots:
Advice to Young Ladies, by Jayne Davis: Kate Ardley and her younger sister Cecy are invited to a house party to meet marriageable heir Ben Paynton. Kate neither needs nor wants a suitable match and is quite happy to stand aside for her pretty but shy sister. Ben’s tired of being chased by marriage-minded mamas and daughters, but the plain-speaking Miss Ardley is more interesting. What can go wrong? Just the eponymous book of advice to young ladies, that’s all. A teeny tiny misunderstanding, speedily resolved in a lovely way.
A Christmas Wish, by Penny Hampson: Jane Mortimer is a long-suffering teacher at a girl’s school in Bath. Colonel Nicholas Anstruther is a retired army officer, not exactly in tip-top condition, who has been given guardianship of a young girl by a fellow soldier who died. When he meets a pretty and intriguing young woman who’s not bothered by his missing eye, he’s delighted when he finds that she’s actually his new ward’s teacher.
A Worthy Alteration, by Judith Hale Everett: Peter, Viscount Windon, is attempting to reach a house party in pursuit of the latest in a long line of desirably pretty females. Stopping at an inn to ask for directions, he’s distracted by a delectably beautiful female in distress and gallantly offers to help her. She turns out to be Prudence Stowe, a cousin to Honoria Tyndall, the original delectable female, and once home, she morphs into a drably dressed governess. Lord Windon is intrigued enough to find excuses to seek her out.
The Viscount’s Christmas Runaway, by Audrey Harrison: Louisa (do we ever hear her family name? Not sure) is living on the streets of London, eking out a miserable existence with two other reluctant gutter rats, Rosie and Billy. But one day, astonishingly, a well-dressed stranger appears who takes all three under his wing. He and his wife take them into their home, and not only feed and clothe them, but also attempt to educate them, as far as that’s possible. Gradually Louisa learns to trust again and reveal her story, while finding herself drawn to the son of her benefactors.
Epiphany Day, by Christina Dudley: Eliza Blinker is a school teacher forced to spend Christmas as companion to an old friend. While there, a participant in the local hunt is injured and brought to the house to recover, and Eliza helps to nurse him. Because his eyes are injured, he’s blindfolded and unable to see her, but he can hear her voice and realises she’s not quite the middle-aged spinster she claims to be, as protection against his roguish reputation.
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, by GL Robinson: Hero James crashes his phaeton on ice on Christmas Eve and is forced to seek shelter at the cottage of Elisabeth Wilberforce and her father. Their life is the very antithesis of his own pampered existence, but as he sheds his aristocratic pomposity, he learns to enjoy the simple life, and appreciate the down-to-earth open-heartedness of Elisabeth.
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