Lady Osbaldestone's Plum Puddings: 3 (Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Chronicles)

#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens brings you the delights of a long-ago country-village Christmas featuring a grandmother her grandchildren an artifact hunter the lady who catches his eye and three ancient coins that draw them all together in a Christmas treasure hunt.Therese Lady Osbaldestone and her household again welcome her younger daughters children Jamie George and Lottie plus their cousins Melissa and Mandy all of whom have insisted on spending the three weeks prior to Christmas at Thereses house Hartington Manor in the village of Little Moseley.The children are looking forward to the villages traditional events and this year Therese has arranged a new distraction--the plum puddings she and her staff are making for the entire village. But while cleaning the coins donated as the puddings good-luck tokens the children discover that three arent coins of the realm. When consulted Reverend Colebatch summons a friend an archeological scholar from Oxford who confirms the coins are Roman raising the possibility of a Roman treasure buried somewhere near. Unfortunately Professor Webster is facing a deadline and cannot assist in the search but along with his niece Honor he will stay in the village writing remaining available for consultation should the children and their helpers uncover more treasure.It soon becomes clear that discovering the source of the coins--or even which villager donated them--isnt a straightforward matter. Then the children come across a personable gentleman who knows a great deal about Roman antiquities. He introduces himself as Callum Harris and they agree to allow him to help and he gets their search back on track.But while the manor five assisted by the gentlemen from Fulsom Hall scour the village for who had the coins and search the countryside for signs of excavation and Harris combs through the villages country-house libraries amassing evidence of a Roman compound somewhere near the site from which the coins actually came remains a frustrating mystery.Then Therese recognizes Harris who is more than hes pretending to be. She also notes the romance burgeoning between Harris and Honor Webster and given the girl doesnt know Harriss full name let alone his fraught relationship with her uncle Therese steps in. But while she can engineer a successful resolution to one romance-of-the-season as well as a reconciliation long overdue another romance that strikes much closer to home is beyond her ability to manipulate.Meanwhile the search for the source of the coins goes on but time is running out. Will Thereses grandchildren and their Fulsom Hall helpers locate the Roman merchants villa Harris is sure lies near before they all must leave the village for Christmas with their families?Third in series. A novel of 70000 words. A Christmas tale of antiquities reconciliation romance and requited love.