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To sample any of the stories included in this bundle, click on the links below:
The Seduction of A Duchess by Shana Galen
One Kiss for Christmas by Vanessa Kelly
His Christmas Cinderella by Anna Campbell
The Last First Kiss by Kate Noble
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Grosvenor Square Christmas Prologue
The Seduction of A Duchess by Shana Galen
One Kiss for Christmas by Vanessa Kelly
His Christmas Cinderella by Anna Campbell
The Last First Kiss by Kate Noble
Prologue
There is very little about the gray stone house that makes it different from the houses to the right or left of it. Indeed, the entire street, the entire square is remarkably the same. The same stone. The same windows. The same incredible wealth on display.
Well, it is Grosvenor Square, after all. It has to have some grandeur.
But for all the elevated sameness, No. 3 Grosvenor Square stands out.
Perhaps it is the owner. After all, Lucy Frost, the widowed Countess of Winterson is a reigning doyen of the ton. (How could she not be with a name like that?) It has been said, not proven, that she has a trail of discarded lovers the length of Pall Mall. Said too, yet not proven, that her husband died happily, after a fit of laughter brought on by her marvelous wit. Possibly in bed. But that is merely delicious speculation.
What has been proven is that she throws a fabulous party. Lady Winterson’s eccentricity and popularity would certainly add to No. 3’s allure.
Then again, perhaps it is the butler. Philbert was procured by Lady Winterson when she purchased the house, and found she needed someone tall enough to hang holiday garland. He has been standing at the door of No. 3 for decades. Curious, since he doesn’t look any older than a man half his (unknown) age.
Philbert is an institution, and knows the secrets of everyone who passes through No. 3’s door, as well as how they take their tea. Surely, he can account for the way the house draws the eye of everyone who promenades past.
Or perhaps, it is something in the house itself. Something hidden in its stones, that glitters and glows and stores itself up until it cannot help but burst forth, shining on those darkest nights in the depths of winter. On those special nights, when Lady Winterson throws her annual Christmas Ball, people flood No. 3, bringing all their hopes, their excitement and the merriment of the season with them.
But be it the house, the hostess, or her butler, it is during the Christmas Ball every year, for one special couple, that No. 3 Grosvenor Square truly is magic.