Hampshire, 1816

Garrick, Lord Westerly, has forbidden the hanging of mistletoe, yet the holiday house party at his country estate sizzles with sensual desire. And though Theodora Southern decided long ago never to marry, she has been enjoying the erotic fantasies that haunt her each night—fantasies featuring her handsome, brooding host….

Since returning from the war, Garrick has been in no mood to celebrate. But suddenly the nightmares that plague him are making way for much more pleasant dreams—dreams in which his childhood friend Theodora is very much a grown woman. The question is, has he fallen in love—or fallen under a wicked spell?

A Festive duet from Barbara Monajem

Wicked Christmas Wishes

Under a New Year’s

Enchantment

Barbara Monajem

www.millsandboon.co.uk

AUTHOR NOTE

When I was a child, our whole family stayed up late on New Year’s Eve, and at the stroke of midnight, we all went onto the front porch and banged pots and pans. While staying up late was in itself a real treat, getting to make a huge racket in the middle of the night was fabulous. I never questioned why. It was fun and therefore good.

It turns out we were driving away evil spirits, whether or not we knew it or believed in such things. I learned this while researching English Christmas customs, and since I enjoyed this event so much as a child, I put it in both stories of my current duet. In Under a Christmas Spell, the evil spirits are driven out of the house on New Year’s Eve, just as in my childhood. In Under a New Year’s Enchantment, the pots and pans (and a volley of gunfire) are part of the custom of wassailing the apple trees on Twelfth Night—giving thanks for the current crop and driving the evil spirits away so the trees will produce well again in the coming year. The tradition of wassailing the apple trees is still alive and well in parts of England today.

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Dedication

Many thanks to Kathy Payne for discussing Roman hoards and ruins in Britain with me, and for directing me to websites where I spent a great deal of time puttering happily. What better friend than one who gives one cause to putter?

Contents

Under a New Year's Enchantment

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