The Christmas of a Countess: 1 (Holidays of the Aristocracy)

The Year with No Summer is drawing to a close bleeding into a harsh winter that promises snow ice and continued hardship. London so rich with life and bustle is quiet beneath the ice buried in a cold few can ever truly recall happening before. Many of the ton are taking their leave for the Christmas holiday abandoning the soggy streets of London for even chillier country roads. Milton Grandby Earl of Torrington believes that now is the perfect time to introduce his new bride Adele to his ancestral hunting lodge and seat of his Earldom in Northumberland. A private getaway nestled in glistening snow can lead to all sorts of enjoyment... and hopefully an heir. With excitement in the air and Christmas fast approaching the newlyweds make plans to travel north. While no family will be invited to the Torrington lodge the Earl will bring his valet Alonyius Banks and Adele will be accompanied by Alice Simpkins her rather grumpy ladys maid. When The Lord and His Lady arrive at Torrington Park but their servants coach is stuck at a coaching inn things take a decided turn and quickly become intimately awkward. While Milton is more than happy to play ladys maid to his bride the close confines and frigid air bring secrets to the front--and mistrust to the surface. As the duo learns more about each others pasts they discover struggles and misunderstandings abound. Can they look beyond their flaws and allow the spirit of the season and the gift of giving to thaw the sudden ice between them? Or will their first holiday away doom their new-found devotion? The budding romance of their servants may provide the answer in The Christmas of a Countess.