Bedded Under The Christmastide Moon – Christina McKnight (1)

The seat was too hard, the back too straight, and the location too far from Mellie. But again, he’d spent the last five years keeping his distance from her…a simple few minute’s ride by horse was far closer than London—or the wilds of Scotland. He glanced at the empty hearth, debating the merits of starting a fire to ward off the early morning chill. There was no doubt he’d be at the steward’s office for some time as he was finding it difficult to rein in his thoughts long enough to study the accounts.

There was something else…someone else he’d much prefer to study. Instead, he was in Briars’ office, and Mellie was likely still abed, gaining her final hour of restful sleep. Tenant dues. Crop rotation schedules. Staff allowances. Kitchen receipts from the market. It was all a haze. Turning another page in the accounting ledger for the crop sharing land nearest the village, Brigham attempted to concentrate on the columns neatly scripted on the paper.

Corn was in high demand, while wheat and barley had seen a decrease since last winter. The oat crop had suffered a major catastrophe when an unidentified insect contaminated the fields closest to the manor. The livestock had been kept clear of the land and moved to the east for grazing before being herded inland toward Oxford and away from the coastal breezes that still managed to make their way to Hertfordshire. Briars was a shrewd asset to Hockcliffe Manor and the Whitmore family as a whole.

His detailed accounting made it possible for Brigham to surmise how his estate was doing in just a glance. For many years, that was all the time Brigham could allot to the scrutiny of his ledgers. However, if Brigham were to make a smooth transition to his country seat, he must needs better educate himself in the ways of his property. It was no different than collecting data, compiling research, and proposing a reform bill. He only need apply himself to the task at hand. Yet his thoughts continued to return to another task that was much overdue and should demand his attention over all else.

Mellie. Her happiness. Her comfort. Her well-being in every form. It had taken every ounce of strength he possessed to keep from seeking her out the night before—at her meal or later in her private chambers.

Copyright © 2018 by Christina McKnight Cover Image by Period Images Cover Design by Sweet n’ Spicy Designs All rights reserved. ISBN-13: 978-1-945089-42-8 La Loma Elite Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

For permission requests, write to the author, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below. [email protected] 1kitap1.com/en D ED I CATI O N For those who believe love is everlasting… 1kitap1.com/en O M P RO LO G U E ctober 1828 Hertfordshire, England iss Melloria Steele, only daughter of the Baron and Baroness Montfort, stood before the small gathering in the gardens of her soon-to-be new home at Hockcliffe Manor.

Her hands were damp with nerves as she clutched her bouquet of blue flowers to her chest. The light blue ribbon tied about their long stems matched the morning sky overhead. Mellie thought it fitting the hues were aligned in such a manner, as if the person collecting the blossoms and ribbon—likely Mrs. Gregston, the Hockcliffe housekeeper—had known the day would dawn without a cloud overhead.

The tiny pin used to keep the bouquet tightly bound pricked the palm of her hand, and it was a welcome pain that helped to remind her this was not a dream. She was fully awake. After this morning, nothing in her life would be as it was. No longer would she simply be the lowly daughter of an impoverished baron, but something far more—yet also much less. She glanced over her shoulder, the long waves of her cherished hair falling to cascade down her back as she spied her mother sitting tall and proud though forced, a weak smile upon her lined face as she attempted to keep her agony at bay until after the ceremony was complete.

The woman’s looks were nearly identical to her only daughter’s with her blond hair tinted with hints of red and her almond-shaped green eyes; however, the Dowager Lady Montfort appeared twenty years older than her mere forty years of age. The sickness did that to a person—and with rapid speed.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 7cadf06e62df72b1
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 487,765 bytes (0.465 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781945089428
• Pages: 72
• Language: English (en)

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• Estimated Reading Time: 108.78 minutes
• Total Words: 21,756
• Total Characters: 122,263
• Average Words per Page: 302.17
• Average Characters per Page: 1698.1

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