A Rare Yuletide Find (Novella)

By Patricia Catacalos

1860 London...Robert Grayson wishes to buy a rare first-edition book as a Christmas gift for his father. Lady Annabelle St. Lawrence is also planning to purchase the same rare volume fo gift her father. Both have searched numerous bookshops and finally found the volume they seek. However, they both reach for the novella and grab the book at the same time. Annabelle stubbornly claims that the book is hers to purchase while Robert is equally adamant that he is entitled to purchase it. Will the giving spirit of Christmas soften each one's heart...and love be the rare find?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Patricia Catacalos
• Release date: Dec 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005158118

Patricia Catacalos

I hold a BA in Theatre from Seton Hill University and a MA in Theatre from the University of Denver. Years ago, when still single, I acted in and directed plays in the Philadelphia area but suffered the fate of many artists, struggling financially. So I entered a career in sales. But, my creative spirit needed to express itself and several years, ago, I started writing historical romances. I discovered that writing historical romances is my passion. I love weaving historical personalities into my plot, interacting with my fictional characters. Recently, I began writing historical mysteries/intrigue and again, love the aspect of interspersing historical fact and personalities into my story line. I am married to a loving and supportive man with a Greek heritage (which influenced a couple of my novels) and we live in southern New Jersey.

Book preview

A Rare Yuletide Find

Patricia Catacalos

License notice: All rights reserved.

Copyright © 2013 by Patricia Catacalos

All characters in this book, with the exception of historical personalities, have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author and all incidents are pure invention. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

London, 1860

The tiny brass bell above the shop door jingled as the door opened, announcing the entrance of yet another patron to the little bookstore. The tinkling sound perfectly complimented the voices of the carolers standing in near proximity to the establishment’s entrance.

Robert Grayson doffed his hat as he entered the tiny shop and held it in his left gloved hand along with his silver-handled walking stick. He nodded a slight greeting to the elderly proprietor seated behind a long wooden counter to the left of the entry. Robert then quickly surveyed his surroundings as the scent of aging leather assailed his senses.

The establishment was far larger than it appeared on the outside but still rather small…and dingy. Only a few scattered gas lights strategically positioned, in wall sconces, offered dim illumination. Yet, it was presumably enough light to read the titles on the shelved books.

Four parallel bookcases stacked with hundreds of books drew the potential customer to the back of the shop. And one long bookshelf, the width of the shop, dominated the rear wall with books of varying sizes occupying the numerous shelves from ceiling to floor. The passageways, between each six-foot high shelving case, were exceedingly narrow and hardly allowed a woman’s floor-length full skirts to pass without brushing the volumes lined on the lowest shelves.

Robert could see the hem of an emerald green day dress, partially covered with a forest green woolen cape, peeking out from one of the rows and he instantly surmised that the woman was most likely a ‘bluestocking.’ He grimaced at the thought. In Robert’s humble opinion, a woman interested in books and confident enough to express her opinion did not necessarily indicate an intelligent woman.

Robert had yet to meet a woman he found intellectually challenging. True, he had met many a beautiful woman but behind their simpering coquettishness, he generally discovered an untrained mind overly concerned with her physical appearance. And so, such a woman inevitably bored Robert.

He had no problem in attracting women who seemed to gravitate to him like the proverbial bee to the honey. His friends attributed his dark good looks, brooding aura and strikingly brilliant smile to the ready attraction females had for him. When Robert graced a lady with one of his rare smiles, she often appeared completely taken aback and reacted as though she were about to swoon. In Robert’s opinion, it was but a feigned response which he found annoying.

Perhaps for this sole reason, Robert rarely smiled. Unless of course he was testing the waters with a specific female and wished to see her reaction to his captivating grin. Invariably, she disappointed him by transforming into an annoying coquette.

Robert sighed as his thoughts returned to the task at hand.

The wooden sign, hanging on wrought iron hooks outside the shop and swaying to and fro in the cold winter wind, had boasted of having a ‘Plethora of Rare and Antique Books’. Robert hoped that the advertisement was accurate and he could find that one singular book for which he sought. The store was situated on a tiny, nearly hidden alley in London proper and was the fifth store he had visited today. He truly hoped that the little first-edition volume he wished to purchase would be gracing one of these dusty bookshelves.

Robert crossed toward the first bookcase and began perusing the titles. It was only then that he noticed a plump woman sitting near the shop’s front mullioned window, dozing. Her head was slumped forward with her double chin resting on her ample bosom. Her attire suggested that she was a maid and Robert instantly assumed she was a companion to the woman dressed in emerald green whose person Robert had yet to see. He assumed that the lady was in the far corner to the rear of the shop and therefore hidden from Robert’s view.

The volumes were loosely categorized according to both subject matter and alphabetized according to author. Robert