Wetherby Brides Short Stories (Regency Historical Romance) by Jerrica Knight-Catania

Author:Jerrica Knight-Catania
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: historical romance, regency romance, christmas romance, regency series, historical short story, christmas short story, regency short story, wetherby brides, valentine short story, historical series, valentine romance
Publisher: Jerrica Knight-Catania

~*~

By the time Wesley Hart arrived at the ducal seat in the Lake District, he had had it with snow and travel and blasted Christmas cheer. For Christmas to be cheery, he would have to be spending it with his friends in London. But his brother, William, had insisted he be present for the famous Hart Christmas Ball this year; the first that his new duchess would throw.

While Wesley wanted to support his sister-in-law, he did not care to be reminded of why she was throwing the party this year. He missed his mother. It seemed juvenile and ridiculous for a grown man to pine for his mother, especially after he’d had sufficient time to mourn her. But he couldn’t help it. And Christmas, no matter how wonderful Katherine’s party might be, would never be the same again.

Wesley had done a fine job of avoiding his brother and sister-in-law upon his arrival. It was nigh on one in the morning, so it wasn’t that hard to do. But regardless of the hour, he still ordered a late night repast be delivered to his room, along with a copper tub and hot water. He’d not go to bed with a chill.

Once he had eaten, bathed and donned his nightclothes, he lay awake, staring at the canopy above his bed. Blast it, why couldn’t he sleep? He had set out practically in the middle of the night and traveled straight through without stopping to reach his brother’s home. Exhausted didn’t even begin to describe how his body felt just then. However, his brain refused to settle down and allow him to sleep.

Brandy. That’s what he needed. A nightcap would be just the thing to help him sleep. With new determination, he eased his achy body from the bed and slid his feet into the warm slippers, while stuffing his arms into his robe.

Armed with a candle, Wesley made his way through the house until he reached the library. But apparently he wasn’t the first to have gone on a late night hunt for spirits. With her own candle, a young woman stood over the drink cart, clearly toiling over which bottle to choose.

“Does my brother allow his servants to dip into his prized brandies now?” he asked, startling the woman to jump away from the cart.

“You frightened me.” Hand on her heart, she spoke with belabored breaths.

“Yes, well, that was actually the point.” Wesley moved into the room and shut the door behind him. “If you leave now and promise never to steal from my brother again, I won’t have you dismissed in the morning.”

“Dismissed!” The woman, who he now saw was actually quite pretty, stood to her full height and sucked in a sharp breath through her nose. “I am not a servant, sir, and I most certainly was not stealing. I just . . . couldn’t sleep, is all. I only wanted a sip.”

Not a servant? Damn and blast, who was she then? Another of Kat’s attempts at finding him a match? Her overbearing mother was probably asleep directly above them.

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