A Kiss for Christmas by Caroline Linden

Author:Caroline Linden [Linden, Caroline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Caroline Linden

2

1808

When she was twelve, Grace's mother said she could sit at the lower table at Aunt Sarah's, with the other cousins who were too old for the nursery but not yet adults. Nervous but eager, Grace chose her best dress and brushed her hair one hundred careful strokes. She promised to bring Willa a cracker from the table and went down to eat, hoping she wasn't seated next to Frederick, who liked to tease.

Oliver Ford was there, down from Oxford, tall and lanky at age seventeen. He and his father were regulars at Christmas dinner now. He wasn't the most talkative boy, but he still had a friendly grin and an easy laugh, and Amelia and Daphne seemed to find him far more interesting than ever before. Grace watched her sister and cousin monopolize his attention with a frown. She wanted to talk to him, too. Oliver always talked to her, year after year. He never put snow down her neck or pulled her hair when her braids fell down, like Frederick did.

But her hopes were rewarded when a last-minute ruckus ended with him and Frederick changing seats, putting Oliver beside her. "Happy Christmas, Oliver," she wished him shyly as the servants brought out the roast.

"And to you, Miss Grace." His blue eyes shone. "All grown up now!"

She laughed, pleased. "Not really. Not like you." She glanced at her sister and cousin, who looked annoyed. Frederick was between them now, and he was being obnoxious, tossing spoons back and forth across the table with James in spite of his mother's commands to stop. "But more than Frederick," she couldn't resist adding.

Oliver grinned. "You're far more mature than Frederick." His voice was deeper this year, she realized. It suited him.

"Everyone is," she told him, earning a laugh.

They talked the rest of the meal. It was her favorite Christmas dinner ever.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.