The Christmas Blend by Veronica Bale

Author:Veronica Bale
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: historical romance, victorian england, a christmas story, an upper class widow falls for a worker from the east end of london, he disregards class distinctions, he is handsome and silver tongued, hes must earn enough to take care of his family, she finds the strength of her convictions, she refuses to settle for societal conventions, she takes over running her husbands brewery
Publisher: Boroughs Publishing Group

Chapter Eleven

Though it made entirely no sense to him, Nat was more nervous about the prospect of taking Isobel to the pub that night than he’d been over the pending meeting with Mr. Tevill. He hadn’t planned on asking her—it had just sort of slipped out. But the more he thought about it, the more sense it made.

Nat liked ale a great deal, as did any other man in London’s East End. More than most men in the East End, to be fair. He was a brewer’s son, after all. That wasn’t to say he “liked the drink.” He was not a slave to it the way some men were. He did not put his love of ale above the wellbeing of his family as too many did in these parts.

It was more about the quality of ale. About all the different kinds that could be brewed. He often visited pubs that were slightly above his social standing, travelling a little farther to find those that catered to men with steady jobs and steady, working-class reputations. In these pubs, the barrels were labeled Stout, Best Bitters, and India Pale. Not Beer, Gin, and Slops.

While he’d always appreciated ale, in his short time at Duckett and Company Nat had also learned to appreciate the process of making ale. He understood why his father enjoyed it now. It was a heady thing indeed to possess the knowledge of what certain grains did to the flavor, the subtlety of what hops and sugar added, and how the conditions of fermentation affected the outcome.

He wanted Isobel to like it as much as he did. Duckett and Company was her brewery, but Nat felt that it was on him to make her truly love the product her business offered. That she could appreciate it, he had no doubt. But could she love it? Could he help her to love it?

That was one reason why he was nervous, but Nat was not fool enough to convince himself it was the only reason. The truth, if he were to admit it, was that he liked Isobel. He liked her more than he did any other woman of his acquaintance. More than any other man of his acquaintance, come to that. She was small and delicate, and if a strong wind were to come up he wasn’t entirely certain she wouldn’t snap in two. But beneath that fragile exterior was a constitution of iron. And it was being tested and strengthened as the days went on. He admired her tenacity, her grit, and he enjoyed watching as she discovered her own strength.

That she was exceptionally pretty certainly threw an inconvenient kink into his new job, but Nat was going to do his damnedest not to let it affect his performance.

He was beginning to suspect that no less than his damnedest was going to be required to ignore the fact that he was attracted to Mrs. Isobel Duckett.

At seven that evening, when the workday was done for Isobel and Mr.

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