About this item
A lighthearted tale of Christmas long ago with a grandmother and three of her grandchildren, one lost soul, a lady driven to distraction, a recalcitrant donkey, and a flock of determined geese.Three years after being widowed, Therese, Lady Osbaldestone finally settles into her dower property of Hartington Manor in the village of Little Moseley in Hampshire. She is in two minds as to whether life in the small village will generate sufficient interest to keep her amused over the months when she is not in London or visiting friends around the country. But she will see.It's December, 1810, and Therese is looking forward to her usual Christmas with her family at Winslow Abbey, her youngest daughter, Celia's home. But then a carriage rolls up and disgorges Celia's three oldest children. Their father has contracted mumps, and their mother has sent the three - Jamie, George, and Lottie - to spend this Christmas with their grandmama in Little Moseley.Therese has never had to manage small children, not even her own. She assumes the children will keep themselves amused, but quickly learns that what amuses three inquisitive, curious, and confident youngsters isn't compatible with village peace. Just when it seems she will have to set her mind to inventing something, she and the children learn that with only twelve days to go before Christmas, the village flock of geese has vanished.Every household in the village is now missing the centerpiece of their Christmas feast. But how could an entire flock go missing without the slightest trace? The children are as mystified and as curious as Therese - and she seizes on the mystery as the perfect distraction for the three children as well as herself.But while searching for the geese, she and her three helpers stumble on two locals who, it is clear, are in dire need of assistance in sorting out their lives. Never one to shy from a little matchmaking, Therese undertakes to guide Miss Eugenia Fitzgibbon into the arms of the determinedly reclusive Lord Longfellow. To her considerable surprise, she discovers that her grandchildren have inherited skills and talents from both her late husband as well as herself. And with all the customary village events held in the lead up to Christmas, she and her three helpers have opportunities galore in which to subtly nudge and steer.Yet while their matchmaking appears to be succeeding, neither they nor anyone else have found so much as a feather from the village's geese. Larceny is ruled out; a flock of that size could not have been taken from the area without someone noticing. So where could the birds be? And with the days passing and Christmas inexorably approaching, will they find the blasted birds in time?First in series. A novel of 60,000 words. A Christmas tale of romance and geese.Praise for the works of Stephanie Laurens"Stephanie Laurens' heroines are marvelous tributes to Georgette Heyer: feisty and strong." Cathy Kelly"Stephanie Laurens never fails to entertain and charm her readers with vibrant plots, snappy dialogue, and unforgettable characters." Historical Romance Reviews"Stephanie Laurens plays into readers' fantasies like a master and claims their hearts time and again." Romantic Times MagazinePraise for Lady Osbaldestone's Christmas Goose"Written with a light touch, deep knowledge of the period, and bracing good humor, this book recalls the best ghosts of Christmas past." Kim H., Proofreader, Red Adept Editing"Readers will fall in love with Lady Osbaldestone and her adorable grandchildren as they make village life lively in this tale of mystery and romance." Irene S., Proofreader, Red Adept Editing"Laurens has created an utterly charming holiday tale sure to be viewed as a most welcome gift by her readers!" Angela M., Copy Editor, Red Adept Editing
About the Author
#1 New York Times bestselling author Stephanie Laurens began writing romances as an escape from the dry world of professional science. Her hobby quickly became a career when her first novel was accepted for publication, and with entirely becoming alacrity, she gave up writing about facts in favor of writing fiction.Laurens's novels are set in the time period of the British Regency, and her settings range from Scotland to India. Laurens has published fifty works of historical romance, including 29 New York Times bestsellers. All her works are continuously available in print and digital formats in English worldwide, and have been translated into many other languages. An international bestseller, among other accolades Laurens has received the Romance Writers of America prestigious RITA Award for Best Romance Novella 2008, for The Fall of Rogue Gerrard.Her continuing novels featuring the Cynster family are widely regarded as classics of the genre. Other series include the Bastion Club Novels and the Black Cobra Quartet.Following is a brief autobiography of Stephanie's life before becoming a romance novelist:My early life was not all that ordinary - I was born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) many years ago, at a time when the recently independent British colony still behaved socially very much like an outpost of the British Raj. So I know what "tiffin" is. It was a strange society - one that has now died - but I still remember snippets.At age 5, my family upped stakes and moved permanently to Melbourne, Australia, where they've remained ever since. I did all my schooling in Melbourne, finished university with a Ph.D. in Biochemistry, then moved on, together with my husband, acquired along the way, to London.Of course, we didn't just hop on a plane and fly. No. We took what proved to be one of the last true overland journeys from Katmandu to London - through northern India and the Ganges valley, up into Kashmir to laze on houseboats on the lake at Srinigar, then through Pakistan and on up the Khyber Pass into Afghanistan (pre-destruction) . From Kabul, we continued west, across Iran (then still with the Shah) , down to Isfahan, then up to the Caspian Sea, then all the way across Turkey to the ages-old fascination of Istanbul. I still have the most vivid memories of Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey - the most wonderfully dramatic and lonely scenery - places where Nature really impinged on your consciousness. After wandering across Europe, we eventually reached London, after what will undoubtedly rank as the journey of our lives.In London, I took up a position as a research scientist - and my husband did, too. We lived in a lovely little cottage - a 16th century woodcutter's cottage, complete with 16th century tiles (you can tell by the wooden pegs that hold them on) , built onto an oast house (those places with conical roofs where they used to dry hops) , surrounded on all sides by the lush green fields of rural Kent. Of course
