In her dazzling first Season, Lady Meredith Hargreaves gave her heart to Alistair Wakefield, the Marquess of Chetwyn, only to have it shattered when he proposed to another. And now that he’s free to pursue her? It matters little, because she’s on her way to the altar, heartbreak be damned.
Chetwyn once set aside his dreams in favor of duty and honor. But as Christmas approaches, he is determined to put his own desires first and lure Lady Meredith back into his arms, where she’s always belonged.
First he steals a dance; then he steals a kiss. But when they find themselves alone in an abandoned castle during a snowstorm, reignited passion consumes them both. And Chetwyn will have one last chance to steal back Meredith’s heart, once and for all.
After his brother’s death Chetwyn was in despair. Even after his mourning period had ended he was only living a half life. Going to balls seemed ridiculous but he went anyway, knowing he couldn’t hole up in his home forever. The first night he is out he meets the woman of his dreams, Lady Meredith Hargreaves. He begins courting her with a fervor and Meredith is as taken with Chetwyn as he is with her.
Then Chetwyn gets a letter from his dead brother that asks him to make sure that his fiancé is happy. Chetwyn takes that to mean that he needs to marry Anne and breaks it off with Meredith.
Now Meredith is betrothed to someone else, Anne has married someone other than Chetwyn, and Chetwyn is miserable. He wants Meredith back but he’s not sure he can convince her of his feelings before she gets married.
Chetwyn is an honorable guy. I have to say that how he went about things wasn’t the smartest but he was doing what he thought was right. Securing Anne’s happiness for his deceased brother didn’t necessarily mean marrying her but Chetwyn didn’t know how else to go about it. He did truly love Meredith and was devastated at the thought of losing her.
Meredith thinks that her marriage to Lord Litton will be fine. Maybe not the passionate love that she always dreamed about but since her father and brothers caught her in the garden sharing a kiss with him she didn’t have a choice. sigh I truly hate the fact that women back then had to marry over a kiss. I mean if the couple was found in a incredibly compromising position – with maybe body parts being exposed – then I could understand. But a kiss? And not even a very good one from what Meredith said. My heart hurt for her and her situation.
I loved seeing Chetwyn’s feelings come to life with Meredith. He went after her but even when he could have taken advantage of getting her all to himself he still thought about her feelings. This was a great novella and one I would recommend whether you’ve read the Lost Lords of Pembrook novels or not.
Rating: 4 out of 5
I think I was expecting a bit more from this book. Having seen Chetwyn in Lord of Temptation… I don't know. Plus, I thought it would deal a little bit more about his personal life, such as his relationship with his mother. Ah well.
Nath – I think because of the length of the book she just couldn't get all of that in. I thought it was a nice little taste of Christmas wrapped in a sweet romance. Sorry it didn't work as well for you.