Chapter 1
Christmas Day, 1819
Near Porthleven, Cornwall
“Wake up, sleepyhead! Everyone’s already gathered downstairs for breakfast.”
Linette Easton shook the inert lump beneath the covers, but her fifteen-year-old sister, Estelle, didn’t budge an inch. Linette knew she was awake, though, when Estelle’s hand emerged to draw the blanket even more tightly over her head. Undeterred,Linette shook her again.
“Whatever is the matter, Estelle? This isn’t like you at all! You’ve always been the first one to jump out of bed on Christmas morning, shouting and whooping and Luther barking enough to awaken the entire house…”
Linette fell silent as Luther, Estelle’s beloved dog, popped his scruffy head from beneath the covers and looked at Linette expectantly with his bright browneyes. She bent down to pet him, smiling when he flicked at her fingers with his pink tongue.
“Hmm, Luther looks hungry to me, Estelle. You know how he loves Cook’s pork sausages. Very well, then, poor little fellow. I guess he’ll just have to wait until dinner to eat—”
“No, you take him! I’m going to stay in bed.”
Linette gaped at the lump that seemed to be quaking now, Estelle’s outburst assurprising as that her younger sister had begun to sob beneath the covers. Luther whimpered at his mistress’s distress and dove back under the blanket, while Linette sank onto the side of the bed.
“Whatever is the matter, sweet?” Three years older than Estelle, Linette had never heard her ask anyone to tend to Luther; her sister and the little gray dog were inseparable. Linette tugged at theblanket no matter Estelle held on tightly, and managed to pull the covers down from Estelle’s tousled head. At once Estelle rolled onto her side with her back to Linette, even as she continued to sob and Luther began to bark in a high-pitched cry of alarm.
“Estelle, please, you must tell me what’s distressing you so!” Linette stroked her sister’s auburn tresses that shone a deeper red than hers,not knowing what to do. She thought to run downstairs for Corie, their eldest sister, who no doubt was wondering about their delay, but she was loath to leave Estelle’s side. To her relief, Estelle rolled over and looked at her with moist brown eyes that so matched the color of her own.
“Everything’s changing, Linette! Now that Donovan’s a duke and he and Corie are moving to Arundale Hall, we’llnever have another Christmas in this house again!”
Broken sobs filled the air, while Linette pulled Estelle into her arms. Luther barked even louder, but when Linette gently shushed him, he sank onto the bedspread and dropped his shaggy head onto his front paws.
The little dog looked so sad, echoing his mistress’s distress, while Linette tried to soothe her.
“Oh, Estelle, it’s not so terriblea thing. Arundale Hall will be lovely at Christmastime.”
“How do you know? You won’t be there. Come spring, you’ll finally have your Season in London and meet the man of your dreams and then you’ll be gone, too. Marguerite and Walker in Devonshire, Lindsay and Jared in West Sussex, Corie and Donovan in Hampshire—”
“But right now Corie and Donovan and the children arehereand waiting for usdownstairs,” Linette tried to soothe her though her cheeks burned at the thought she might be married by next Christmas. “It is true that life is changing but that’s the way of things, Estelle. You and Papa and I will be together in Porthleven for the next three months, back in the parsonage. You’ll like that, won’t you?”
A small nod encouraged Linette, Estelle’s sobs subsiding, which made herrush on. “You know Papa won’t live with us in this big house, no, not even when Corie and Donovan move away. He wants to stay close to where he was happy with Mama in the parsonage. So we’ll go live with him and keep him company—”
“I’llalwayskeep Papa company! I’mneverleaving Cornwall, no, not even for a duke like Marguerite and Corie. You’ll probably marry a duke, too, won’t you?”
Estellehad disengaged herself from Linette’s embrace and fallen back onto her sodden pillow, while Linette felt her cheeks burning again. She stared at her sister, nonplussed for a moment.
Estelle stared right back at her, her lovely face flushed from crying, her chin jutting stubbornly. As headstrong as the day was long, yes, even more so than their infamously outspoken Corie, Estelle was always oneto surprise a body by what popped out of her mouth.
“I…I don’t know. It’s so rare a thing for both of our sisters to have become duchesses—not so much for Marguerite, perhaps, though Walker’s circumstances were miraculous enough. No one could have thought that Donovan’s brother, Nigel, would fall from his horse two weeks past and not survive it…”
Linette sighed heavily, thinking of Nigel’s poorwidow, Charlotte, with no children to comfort her. No son to inherit his father’s wealth and title.
That had left Donovan as the only remaining heir to the dukedom, he and Corie returning to Porthleven a few days ago after attending the funeral and setting affairs in order. And they were waiting downstairs still, no doubt wondering what might be keeping her and Estelle…
“Let’s speak of thislater, Estelle, please. Let’s have a happy Christmas. There’s been enough sorrow of late—oh!”
Estelle had sat up suddenly and thrown her arms around Linette’s neck to hug her fiercely, while Luther jumped up and wagged his bony tail as if sensing all might be well again. Then he threw back his head and crowed his delight in a half bark, half croon, which made Estelle laugh as she released Linetteand gathered a wriggling Luther into her arms.
“Poor sweet boy, you must be starving!”
Linette had barely risen before Estelle jumped out of bed and dashed across the room toward the wardrobe in a swirl of white nightgown. A young serving maid who had been waiting patiently by the door stepped forward to assist her, but Estelle waved her away and deposited Luther upon a tufted chair.
“Go on,Linette, tell them Luther and I will be right down!”
