Twelve Days of Christmas Past — Multiple Authors

Twelve Days of Christmas Past by Rebecca Thomas, Emily Larkin and Susanna FraserThe Countess's Groom by Emily LarkinRose, the Countess Malmstoke, is trapped in a marriage from hell. Escape seems impossible-until her horse groom Will Fenmore offers to help her find a way out. Will has loved Rose since she was brought to Creed Hall as a new bride, but their relationship has only ever been that of mistress and servant. Born worlds apart, Will knows he could never be her husband, but maybe he can be her salvation. As they plan her escape to the American colonies, Rose learns to trust Will with her life and her heart, but trusting him with her body is another matter. Can she conquer her fear of the marriage bed? Is the future she dreams of-being Will's wife-possible?The Blacksmith's Son by Rebecca ThomasCaptain Quentin Drake returns home after his Naval commission ends to find a young groom being beaten in the village stables. Weary from his travels, Quentin only wants a good night's sleep, but refuses to turn a blind eye to the lad's mistreatment. He intervenes, taking the lad to his room, only to discover a woman masquerading as a boy. After Ally Lockwood's family dies, she supports herself by assisting the local blacksmith with his horses. She's not allowed to do the work as a woman, so she dresses as a boy, but her ruse is up when, due to injury, she's disrobed by a handsome stranger. What starts as a shared supper, leads to so much more. The Earl's Christmas Colt by Rebecca ThomasLady Arabella Sutton is stunned to learn her brother has betrothed her to a stranger. Although she is the first to admit no man would suit, since she a marriage of convenience, the last thing she wants is to become a brood mare to a stuffy old earl. In her anger, she rides into the countryside but her mare is injured, forcing her to seek shelter at a nearby coaching inn. Oliver Westwyck, the Earl of Marsdale, canother better. But she claims noblemen are egotistical, conceited, and arrogant an