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A Counterfeit Christmas Summons
A Counterfeit Christmas Summons
A Counterfeit Christmas Summons
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A Counterfeit Christmas Summons

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*Previously found in A SUMMONS FROM YORKSHIRE and LADIES & GENTLEMEN
Lady Emma Whitton has decided its time to take her future in her own hands. She has been in love with Viscount Heathfield since she was in leading strings. Unfortunately, it's been almost that long since she's laid eyes on her brother's old friend and vice versa. Tired of waiting for him to remember her, Emma pens a holiday invitation (in her brother's hand) to Heathfield and waits as patiently as she is able for her one true love to arrive.

Heath isn't quite certain what to make of the very strange summons he received, but his curiosity is most definitely piqued. He heads north to Danby Castle, only to find that his very orderly life is about to be turned upside down.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherAva Stone
Release dateJul 12, 2013
ISBN9781301477821
A Counterfeit Christmas Summons
Author

Ava Stone

Ava Stone is a USA Today bestselling author of Regency historical romance and college age New Adult romance. Whether in the 19th Century or the 21st, her books explore deep themes but with a light touch. A single mother, Ava lives outside Raleigh NC, but she travels extensively, always looking for inspiration for new stories and characters in the various locales she visits.

Read more from Ava Stone

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    Book preview

    A Counterfeit Christmas Summons - Ava Stone

    A Counterfeit Christmas Summons

    A COUNTERFEIT CHRISTMAS SUMMONS

    AVA STONE

    A Counterfeit Christmas Summons

    Copyright © 2013 by Ava Stone

    Cover design by Lily Smith

    All rights reserved.

    No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

    Vellum flower icon Created with Vellum

    THE REGENCY SEASONS SERIES

    A Counterfeit Christmas Summons

    By Any Other Name

    My Lord Hercules

    A Bit of Mistletoe

    The Lady Vanishes

    Prelude to a Haunted Evening

    The Lady Unmasked

    Lady Patience’s Christmas Kitten

    Lady Hope’s Dashing Devil

    Lady Grace’s Husband Hunt

    On the Way to the Castle

    Whitton Family Tree

    DEDICATION

    The Duke of Danby has the power to summon his family to him at Christmas, and I find I am a bit jealous of him in that regard. I'll be on the opposite coast from my family this holiday season and I will miss them desperately. So for my family - Mom, Dad, Jill, Ryan, Nick, Grandma, Matt, Camden, Luke & of course Brandt - this Christmas story is for you.

    ~ Ava

    CONTENTS

    One

    Two

    Three

    Four

    Five

    Six

    Seven

    Eight

    Nine

    Ten

    Epilogue

    By Any Other Name

    One

    About Ava Stone

    Also by Ava Stone

    ONE

    Danby Castle, Yorkshire

    December 1812

    Lady Emma Whitton studied an old correspondence penned by her eldest brother. It was always so difficult to duplicate his E’s just right. Blast the letter E for being the most frequently used letter in the English language. How was she to ever convince Lord Heathfield her summons was from Drew if she couldn’t master her brother’s squatty E’s?

    Practice would have to make perfect. After all, when might she get another opportunity such as this? Emma dipped her quill in her inkpot and wrote E after E, not certain if she was getting better or worse for her efforts. For heaven’s sake! Drew really should have much better penmanship. It would make forging a summons from him so much easier if his scrawl was somewhat legible.

    What are you doing? came an all-too-familiar voice from behind her.

    Emma jumped, nearly breaking her quill and overturning her inkpot in the process. Heavens! she gasped, looking over her shoulder to find her twin, Isabel, standing just a foot away. Izzy! You took five years off my life.

    Isabel grinned unrepentantly. Five whole years of make-believe wedded bliss to Heathfield? I suppose I should be sorry.

    Emma scowled at her sister. Oh, hush. Then she handed Isabel the foolscap she had been so diligently working on. Do you think any of these resemble Drew’s hand at all?

    Isabel glanced over the list of E’s, and she shook her head. "You’re worrying too much. He’s a man, Em. Do you think he’ll notice if Drew’s scrawl looks off? Just don’t sprinkle it with rosewater and he’ll never know the difference. Then her brown eyes lit with amusement. Better yet, roll the letter around in the stables before you send it. At least it will smell like Drew that way."

    Emma couldn’t help but laugh. I hardly think our brother would appreciate that.

    Unconcerned, Isabel shrugged and handed the foolscap back to Emma. I do wish you would wait to lure the estimable Heathfield here some other time, however. The castle will already be overrun by those people.

    Emma laughed again. No matter that they were twins, she and Isabel were as different as night and day. "You mean our cousins?"

    Cousins are people.

    True, Emma conceded. "But it is precisely because those people will be here that my ruse will work. I can’t very well beg Heathfield to come visit me, now can I?"

    But Drew can. Isabel smirked.

    But Drew can, Emma agreed. And how fortunate she was that Grandpapa had summoned her brother home along with everyone else.

    I suppose it’s too bad for you that Drew hasn’t done so, then. It would save you time and effort in trying to duplicate his hand.

    Very true, but one could never count on one’s brother where matters of the heart were concerned. Besides, Emma would rather die than confess to Drew that she was desperately, madly in love with one of his oldest friends, and that she always had been. But at the ripe old age of nineteen, she was tired of waiting for Alden Barrett, Viscount Heathfield, to notice her. No, after spending two fruitless Seasons, it was most definitely time to take matters into her own hands as far as her destiny was concerned.

    Just make certain you address it to ‘Heath’. Anything more formal will catch Lord Heathfield’s notice faster than whether or not Drew’s penmanship is off.

    Alden Barrett, Viscount Heathfield, sank into the overstuffed leather chair behind his desk and frowned at the letter in his hand. He read it, and then he reread it, as something was most definitely strange with the note.

    My dearest Heath,

    I hope this letter finds you well. As I write this, I am on my way to Danby Castle. Grandpapa has summoned me home, as well as each and every one of my cousins. I fear I shall end up in Bedlam simply to recover from this holiday and the hordes that will swarm around and inside the castle.

    As I know you will be alone this Christmas, pray rescue me from the insanity that is my

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