Catherine Trotham is the wealthy ward of Viscount Bassingstoke and promised to his younger son. With the Peninsular War over at last, Sebastian is finally coming home. Instead of returning to Bassingstoke to claim Catherine as his wife, however, Sebastian arrives with a bride. Even more devastating is the revelation that Catherine is not the heiress she believed. With no fiancé and no fortune, Catherine cannot hope to attain the future she yearns for: once more having a home and family to which she truly belongs.
Piers Winters has always done everything his father asked of him. He is the heir, after all; he exists to perpetuate House Bassingstoke. But when his father demands he take his brother’s place in the arrangement with Miss Trotham, Piers realizes duty cannot justify every action. He might be able to put Bassingstoke’s good ahead of his own, but he cannot place it before Catherine’s.
Piers agrees to court his father’s ward over the Christmas season. He has twelve days to find a reason to propose besides the family honor—and twelve days to convince Catherine to accept him if he does. Can two old friends possibly find a lifetime of happiness during A CHRISTMASTIDE COURTSHIP?
