* * *
Drowsiness had begun to claim her, but she blinked it away. “What?”
“Er...did your spymistress happen to mention anything about marriage?” He tightened his arm about her. “Not Lord Westerly’s, but yours.”
“Only that...” She came fully awake again at the sparkle in his dark eyes. “She said marriage might relieve my boredom, and that I could choose my own husband this time.” Within her, something blossomed and grew. “Oh. What did your spymaster say?”
“Much the same—that marriage might be just what I needed—and of course he was right. He always is.”
“So is my spymistress,” Lucie said. “Do you think—Do you think they know everything?”
“Maybe,” he said, “but I for one don’t care. They’ve achieved their goal. Lucie, could you put up with another husband—a permanent one this time? Let’s go away from this tedious party and find a place of our own.”
A fountain of joy overflowed inside her. “I should like that, Val, but...”
“But what?” he demanded. “There are no buts. You’re mine.” Pause. “And I’m yours, and if we value our skins, we’ll obey what are clearly orders from above.”
“Yes, which means we can’t ignore our missions entirely. My spymistress told me that now I could use my magical abilities in peaceful ways. I think the war has damaged Lord Westerly, and a wife—the right wife—is just what he needs. And I have become close to Miss Southern, and I believe we must try to help her, too.”
“Very well,” Val said. “I’m game if you are. Any more buts?”
She smiled at him. “Yes, my darling. You will have to put up with a few Christmas traditions. You may even learn to enjoy them.” She would make certain he did.
“For you, I’ll even do that,” he said. “But you won’t tell our daughter she mayn’t play an evil spirit, will you? My father did that to my sister every year.”
“Of course not,” she said. “We’ll even invite your sister for Christmas so she can play one now.”
He grinned. “And you won’t tell our son he can’t climb on the roof to taunt the wassailers?”
She pulled away. “I can’t promise that, Val.”
He chuckled and drew her close again. “I can’t promise it, either. Will you marry me, Lucie?”
“Yes, Val, I will.” She wrapped herself around him and let out a deep sigh. Once, long ago, she’d thought of him as her harbour, her not very safe but perfect haven, but it seemed that he’d always been as adrift as she. Now she could be his harbour, too.
On earth peace, good will toward men...
The new beginning she’d longed for had come.
* * * * *
Enjoy more passion through the ages with the sensual Harlequin Historical UNDONE titles on sale now:
Dance with the Rancher by Lauri Robinson
Not Just a Seduction by Carole Mortimer
A Lady Seduces by Bronwyn Scott
A Dance with Indecency by Linda Skye
One Night with the Highlander by Ann Lethbridge
How to Seduce a Sheikh by Marguerite Kaye
Bewitched by His Kiss by Barbara Monajem
In Bed with the Highlander by Ann Lethbridge
The Magic of His Touch by Barbara Monajem
Craving something a little longer? Find more historical romantic adventure from Harlequin Historical at
www.Harlequin.com or your local bookstore.
Interested in writing for Harlequin Historical UNDONE? Send your submission to [email protected].
* * *
Connect with us for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!
Subscribe to our newsletter: Harlequin.com/newsletters
Visit Harlequin.com
We like you—why not like us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks
Follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks
Read our blog for all the latest news on our
authors and books: HarlequinBlog.com
ISBN-13: 9781460322178
UNDER A CHRISTMAS SPELL
Copyright © 2013 by Barbara Monajem
All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
www.Harlequin.com
UNDER A CHRISTMAS SPELL Page 6