The Master Of Michaelmas Hall

by Vanessa Brooks

  The Yule log sat outside the French doors of the main salon, hauled there on a large piece of hessian by gardeners and grooms. It awaited placement inside the huge hearth, where it would be ceremoniously lit in the evening and expected to burn for the whole twelve days of Yule.

  House servants busily strung garlands of evergreens, interwoven with holly and ivy, in the main ground-floor salons. They decorated the mantels with fir cones and red rosehips. Ladders were fetched, and a footman hung a bunch of pearly white and green mistletoe from a hook in the centre of the ceiling in the entrance hall. The household buzzed with excitement as they prepared for the twelve days of festivities. Cook, who had been baking for the past few weeks, baked all that day. The decorating finally finished, the house smelt deliciously tangy and fresh, the scent of Christmas baking mingled enticingly with the smell of greenery.

  Finally the coaches were sighted. Gabriel and Angele excitedly donned winter capes and waited outside for the carriages to arrive. Footmen queued in line to assist the guests and retrieve luggage. Carroll had the honour of opening the carriage doors for the guests.

  Mary was first to step down, followed by her husband. A tumble of children alighted from the second coach, closely followed by Miss Pudding. She called them to order. Greetings were made between sister and brother, brothers-in-law, and the children, but Miss Pudding sensibly encouraged Christopher to step forward first.

  Gabriel drank in the first sight of his son. The sweetly rounded features, sable hair, and expressive brown eyes. Tears blurred his eyes as the boy ran straight into his mother’s open arms.

  “Maman, you are not wearing your witch’s veil!” he cried gleefully.

  She knelt to catch hold of him. She gave a chuckle of delight, and Gabriel smiled to see the ease between these two people who meant the world to him.

  “You have your father to thank for that. Would you like to be introduced to him, mon petit?” Her twinkling blue eyes rose to meet Gabriel’s.

  He swallowed convulsively, suddenly nervous. Suppose the boy took an instant dislike to him?

  Dropping to his haunches beside them, he held out his hand to the handsome child. Leaning into his mother, the boy hesitantly offered his own small hand.

  “How do you do, sir?” he asked formally.

  Gabriel’s throat contracted. He swallowed the lump that lodged there and took the boy’s hand, drawing Christopher towards him. He tousled the boy’s hair then grazed his knuckles gently down his rounded cheek.

  “I do very well, my boy,” he said gruffly, “better now that you and your mother are here with me.” He spread his arms wide about them both, encompassing his family in his embrace.

  They stayed that way for a few moments; spectators watched this tender scene in silence.

  “You smell nice, Papa, but Maman smells much nicer!”

  Laughter rang out at his son’s words. The ice broken, the group moved inside the house, chattering naturally about the journey, the weather, and the coming celebration.

  That afternoon the Yule log was lit using a charred piece from last year’s log, thus carrying their Yule luck onwards for another year. This was a tradition continued for a hundred years or more in an unbroken chain.

  As dusk fell, Gabriel helped his son to hold the long wooden handle of the brass chestnut pan and showed him how to shuffle and toss the nuts around in order to roast them evenly. The children made cones from paper which they filled with cooked chestnuts daubed with knobs of butter, and they handed them around to each of the adults before sitting informally upon the hearthrug to eat their own messy, buttery treats.

  Upon their return from midnight mass, Gabriel and Angele tucked their exhausted son into bed for the first time together. A lump formed in Gabriel’s throat as he watched her place a tender kiss upon Christopher’s cheek, his small arms entwined about his mother’s neck in a hug. He murmured a sleepy, “Goodnight, Papa…” holding his hand out to Gabriel, who went and knelt beside the bed, stroking his son’s hair back from his forehead.

  “Papa, if you and Maman are named for angels, then surely I should change my name to one, too?”

  “Ah, but your name is also very special, Christopher. It means The Anointed One. It has been used in our family for many generations. Your grandfather, and my father, were both called Christopher, and it is also my second name. Sons in our family alternate between being named Christopher, like you, or Gabriel, like me.”

  His son listened to this explanation with the owlish eyes of a child who was overtired yet determined to fight sleep.

  Gabriel glanced outside. Snow had begun to fall again. He scooped his boy into his arms and walked to the window to show him the spectacle. Angele joined him, resting her head against his shoulder, and the three of them watched the hypnotizing swirl of white as a blizzard descended.

  “This is but the first of many Yuletides we shall spend together, my son. Go to sleep, Christopher. Tomorrow we shall make merry and celebrate as a family, brought together at last by the magic of the season.”

  Gabriel noticed that his son’s eyes had closed, his breathing even. He slept safe in his father’s arms for the first but not the last time.

  “Quickly, fetch the puppy and its basket from our chamber,” he said softly. Placing Christopher onto the bed, he covered him, tenderly tucking him in.

  Angele disappeared, returning a moment later with a basket containing a small brown and white puppy curled up asleep in the middle of a woollen blanket.

  “Are you certain that this is a good idea?” she whispered, positioning the basket on the floor opposite the bed.

  “All boys should grow up with a dog as a companion. He will be so excited when he awakes on Christmas morn to find his new friend, you shall see.”

  Angele squeezed his arm. He looked down, returning her smile. Perhaps his son had a point about their names being blessed, who knew? Silently he promised to light a candle in chapel tomorrow and on every Yuletide in the future, to give thanks for this year’s special gift, the return of his beloved wife and son.

  The End.

  From the Author

  If you enjoyed this book please take the time out of your busy day to leave a review, thank you!

  Also by Vanessa Brooks

  Masterful Husbands Tame their Wives

  Dominant Lords of the aristocracy. Gentlemen who decide to take a wife.

  Naughty ladies getting up to wicked deeds, each lady pays the price across their new husbands' sturdy thighs.

  Does this daunt their womanly ardour or their zest for life? Never!

  Be warned - these steamy tales include sex and doses of old fashioned discipline!

  Includes all five books in this popular series:

  His Colonial Rose, Sir Thomas's Bride, The Colonel's Bride, Viscount Weston's Bride and The Smuggler's Bride.

  Amazon reviewer *****

  I loved each and every one of these books. They all involve young ladies who marry gentlemen who have no problem spanking their wives when they misbehave. The books are full of humor in that the wives get themselves into situations that are comical and ultimately lead to discipline that sometimes is quite harsh but at the end of each discipline the husbands are loving and caring toward their wives. There are no cliff-hangers at the end of any of these books but they are best if read in the correct sequence. There is so much more to these books than just spankings, and that is what makes each and every book worth reading. I highly recommend this book!

  Buy from Amazon

  Thorolf

  An exciting and romantic Viking romance.

  Ailsa, a woman scarred by the brutality of men, knowing peace only in the depths of the forest. Thorolf, a cunning warrior, as fierce as the wolves Ailsa adores. Enemies bound by marriage, their attraction is undeniable. But can her Viking husband mend Ailsa’s wounded heart?

  A horde of battle-hardened, ferocious Nordic warriors.

  A Pictish village at the mercy of its enemies.

  A bar
gain struck for nine fearful and reluctant brides.

  Delivered into Viking hands, claimed and conquered, each bride must accept that she belongs to her new master. But, as wedding nights bring surrender to duty, will fierce lovers also surrender their hearts?

  The Highland wilderness is savage, life is perilous, and the future uncertain, but each Viking has sworn protection, and there are no lengths to which a man will not go to safeguard the woman he loves.

  Begin the journey here...

  Enter a world of suspense, seduction and adventure, told against the forbidding backdrop of medieval Scotland.

  Journey together with indomitable heroes and intrepid heroines, as they discover that the raging storms of fear and passion can transform into enduring devotion.

  'Thorolf' is number six of nine powerfully seductive romances in the 'Viking Surrender' series.

  Kat Ryker Amazon top 500 Reviewer *****

  “Wow and holy hot Kindle. Vanessa Brooks definitely wrote a winner here!!!”

  Publisher’s note: Thorolf includes spankings, and sexual scenes. If such material offends you please do not buy this book!

  Buy from Amazon

  Claimed by Daddy

  Penny didn’t know she needed a daddy...until he claimed her!

  After experiencing violent turbulence during her flight home, Penny West suddenly finds herself in a strange new reality, one in which she has a husband... and he expects her to call him daddy!

  When his wife claims not to know him and a swat to her backside doesn't put a stop to what he assumes is merely bratting, David Forrester realizes something out of the ordinary is happening. But as different as she may be from the woman he remembers, one thing hasn't changed about this new Penny. She still needs her bare bottom spanked by a firm but loving daddy, especially when she's naughty.

  Seeing no way to return to the world as she remembers it, Penny decides there are worse things than having a distractingly handsome husband who knows how to make her scream his name in bed. But when David starts to take her in hand more thoroughly, will she resist being claimed by daddy?

  TOP 500 REVIEWER

  5.0 out of 5 stars - Author knows how to handle a subject

  Reviewed in the United States on June 6, 2020:

  I read an Advanced Reading Copy of the book and I was a little hesitant since Daddy/Little books aren’t my thing. But because I love the way the author writes, I wanted to give it a fair shot and an honest assessment when I was done.

  The way this author handled the indecision and the hesitancy of the heroine in the story was amazing! She picked up on all the nuances of being a Little and how an adult female would feel if thrown into that situation, with no previous experience. She handled the problems as well as the high points with aplomb (and I've always wanted to use that word in a review-yea me!). That word sums the book up well.

  Vanessa Brooks writes very well, but more important than her writing skill is her ability to bring out the emotions that are attached to both the hero and heroine when writing about a story line such as this.

  This book could have been a disaster if Ms. Brooks had not been able to put into words how a young woman would feel in the situation Penny finds herself in.

  Publisher's Note: Claimed by Daddy includes spankings, sexual scenes. If such material offends you please do not buy this book!

  Buy from Amazon