Lost in Lavender: A Christmas Bouquet, #1

By Patricia Kiyono

Selina Davison once enjoyed life as a countess, but when tragedy struck, she learned to take care of herself. Thanks to her skill creating hats adorned with realistic silk flowers, she's built a successful business as a milliner. When a handsome gentleman stumbles into her shop asking for directions, she remembers and yearns for the joy of having someone to share life's ups and downs.

As the second son of an earl, James Benton could enjoy his social privileges, but the concerns of the gentry hold no interest for him. He's much happier to be outdoors, tending to his plants, which never judge him. His peerage connections help him secure the position as landscape architect for the winter garden in Highgate, but no one warned him of how complicated the personalities involved would make the job.

A sweet, light Regency romance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dingbat Publishing
• Release date: Jun 21, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393714750

Book preview

Lost in Lavender

Patricia Kiyono

A Christmas Bouquet novella

Dingbat Publishing

Humble, Texas

LOST IN LAVENDER

Copyright © 2018 by Patricia Kiyono

Published by Dingbat Publishing

Humble, Texas

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of International Copyright Law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines and/or imprisonment. No part of this book can be reproduced or sold by any person or business without the express permission of the publisher.

Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are entirely the produce of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to persons living or dead, actual locations, events, or organizations is coincidental.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

About the Author

Also by Patricia Kiyono

Dedication

While I love flowers, I know very little about them. I can name perhaps a half-dozen general varieties, and I have absolutely no ability to care for them. So when Dingbat Publishing announced this Christmas Bouquet series, I had to do a lot of research, because both my main characters work with flowers.

My paternal grandmother would have been the perfect resource for this project. She cultivated the most beautiful blossoms in our suburban neighborhood. Every day, she’d spend hours caring for her wide variety of plants, weeding, watering, and talking to them as dear friends.

Grandma came to America from Japan as a young bride in the 1920s and learned to assimilate in an unfamiliar culture, providing for her family as an artist, painting exquisite oriental designs on furniture. During the Great Depression, when she lost her job, she took in laundry and other menial work to provide for her invalid husband and young sons. She made many friends who protected her family from hostility and distrust during wartime. She loved to paint, knit, and sew, and she had a thirst for learning, especially about languages and travel.

I spent many happy hours at her side, learning from her, and I think a lot of my hobbies and interests stem from my time with her.

Miss you, Grandma.

Chapter One

JAMES BENTON PAUSED mid-step, realizing the street he was on came to an end rather than taking him out of the village. Somehow he’d veered off the high street. Or maybe he’d missed it altogether. He did a slow turn, scanning the buildings around him and frowning as if he could somehow browbeat them into telling him which way he needed to go.

His father had allowed him the use of the family’s townhouse in Highgate, but with a limited staff, and he couldn’t afford to hire an additional footman to act as his guide. At least not until he’d managed to find a well-paying commission. If he could secure the position as landscape gardener for the winter garden at Nettlebloom, it would provide a sizable boost to his career — a career at which he was determined to succeed, despite the disapproval of his noble parents.

Today he would present his proposed plan for the garden to Lady Stormont, one of the most influential members of the Royal Horticultural Society. He had an appointment to meet her at Rosebriar, the Stormont estate. When the butler’s directions had failed to get him there, he’d stopped at a bookstore, where the kindly proprietor had drawn a map.

He pulled the sheet out of his pocket once more. The gentleman had told him he’d have no trouble finding it. But for some reason, James had trouble finding anything. Focus on the map. In the center, the man had drawn a square, representing the statue in the center of town. James didn’t remember seeing a statue. Where had he gone wrong?

He inwardly cursed at his inability to follow simple directions. He’d managed to graduate from Oxford, finding his classes with the help of his classmates. Yet he couldn’t wrap his mind around the difference between left and right. He stepped aside to let the people behind him pass, and looked back. Perhaps he should try to find his way back to the bookstore, but he didn’t see the shop’s sign. Had he made a turn or two since leaving the shop? Perhaps the gentleman across the street could help him—

Look out! A shout pierced through his thoughts and he froze, stopping just in time to let a carriage pass him by.

His mother and sister would have chided him endlessly about his near-miss. Fortunately he was alone, though he scolded himself for his carelessness.

He glanced to each side before crossing the busy street. Satisfied he’d be safe this time, he stepped off the walkway. But his eyes refused to focus on the gentleman he’d intended to ask for help. Instead, he spied the most exquisite flowers he’d ever seen. A cluster of roses, so perfect, so life-like, they had to be real. But the flowers were attached to a woman’s bonnet. Flowers as decorations on bonnets weren’t particularly unusual, but these were so flawless he had to take a closer look. If they were real, he had to find out where they’d come from. If they were hand-made, he needed to discover the material and compliment the artist.

And so, being the horticulturist he was, he followed the hat.

The hat’s wearer, however, had no idea she was being followed, and thus didn’t cooperate with his undertaking. She walked as if she were on a mission, her stride taking her quickly down the street. James never took his eyes off the hat, absently bumping people along the way, and probably causing a few to turn their heads in consternation at his rudeness. Not until he’d nearly knocked over a baby carriage did he focus on anything but the hat. When he reluctantly paused to apologize to the distraught nanny, he nearly cursed aloud to discover the hat and its wearer were no longer in sight.

She couldn’t have gone so far in the few seconds he’d turned his head. Perhaps she’d walked into one of the shops on this street. Something inside told him he needed to find her.

The first business was a pipe and tobacco shop. Definitely not a place the wearer of such a fine hat would go. Next to it was a book shop. That was a possibility. He entered and glanced about quickly but saw no flowered bonnet.

When he came to the third shop, his heart leaped for joy. There, in the center of the showroom, was the beautiful white bonnet with the most exquisite cluster of pink and yellow roses. He pulled the door open and strode in.

He longed to reach out and touch the blossoms, but just then, the hat came off, treating him to a view of the most glorious head of hair, the color of gold.

Oh! I didn’t realize you’d followed me in. May I help you?

Help him? He blinked, realizing the owner of the glorious hair had turned around, and he stared into an