Excellent second chance love story. Grant, who we first met in Her Gallant Captain at Waterloo as Rhys's best friend, returned to England after the death of his brother. With Rhys as his estate manager, Grant slowly settles into his new role as Viscount Grantwell, including becoming the guardian of two young children, William and Anna. As the book opens, the butler announces a woman there for the governess position. He is shocked to see Lillian, the woman who'd betrayed him years earlier in Portugal.

Lillian is there for sanctuary, not employment. Accused of murdering her Portuguese husband, she is fleeing her vengeful brother-in-law. Out of money and out of options, she desperately hopes Grant will hide her for a short time, despite how they parted.

The intensity of the situation immediately sucked me into the story. Grant's renewed feelings of anger and betrayal, Lillian's feelings of desperation and hope, and the presence of a snowstorm combined into an emotional opening. Seeing Lillian again brought everything back to Grant, and he wanted to toss her right back out of the door. But despite those feelings, he couldn’t bring himself to do that, so he offered to let her stay until the roads cleared. At the same time he remembers her betrayal, he also remembers the good times together, creating an internal struggle. Lillian can't believe that Grant still believes her capable of betraying him and their country. Nothing said then or now convinces him that he's wrong. But she's grateful for refuge from the storm and the chance to evade her pursuers. She'll worry about the next step when the storm is over.

When Lillian encounters the children on her way to her room, they immediately take to each other. Utterly bewildered on what to do with them, Grant willingly turns their care over to Lillian. Grant finds himself drawn into Lillian's attempts to give the children a Christmas as they've never had before. The more time he spends with her, the harder it is to remember her betrayal. I loved seeing Grant's anger start to fade as he saw Lillian's good-hearted attempts to help the children. I enjoyed seeing the return of their former ease with each other, though I wanted to shake Grant every time he reminded himself of the past. Another thing that hadn't changed was the attraction that still burned between them, creating another layer of complications.

The suspense created by Lillian's pursuers hovered in the background throughout the book as she worried about them finding her. Between the question of who really killed Lillian's husband and what actually happened that day back in Portugal, I was anxious to see if the truth would be revealed. While the truth about the murder turned out to be no surprise at all, I didn't see the resolution of the spying charge coming. The final confrontation was a nail-biter, and I loved the children's part in the solution. I would have liked to see a little groveling on Grant's part for his lack of faith in Lillian. The epilogue was fantastic. I loved seeing what a difference a year made in their lives.

One of the things I enjoyed was the inclusion of the era's Christmas traditions. Many of them still exist in one form or another today, and I liked seeing them in context. I loved how the author used those traditions to bring four hurting and lonely people together. I would like to have learned more about the children's background and why they were mistreated by those who should have loved them.

The secondary characters were terrific. From the servants to Rhys and Helene, everyone had unique personalities and roles. I had to laugh at the interplay between the cook and Grant over their memories of him as a boy. I also enjoyed seeing Rhys point out that Grant behaved like a man in love, and Helene reach out in friendship to Lillian. ( )

Years before Waterloo, Captain Grantwell had an affair with widowed Lillian Pearson, while stationed in Portugal. It ended when documents that could possibly benefit Napoleon were stolen and Lillian was accused. Following the war and Grant unexpectedly becoming viscount, Lillian turns up at his door in blizzard, just after two small children, the heretofore unknown offspring of his late sister-in-law have been foisted off on him. Lillian is fleeing her brother-in-law who has accused her of slaying her husband and now she is stranded at Grant's mansion over the Christmas holiday. The two children are terrified of Grant and uncontrolled by the housemaid entrusted with their care. With the roads closed, Lillian temporarily steps into a role as the children's governess. William and Anna had been raised by servants in their grandfather's home and at ages 8 and 6 sent off to boarding schools. They had never even seen their late stepfather, Grant's brother. As Lillian and Grant try to make a nice holiday for the children, the children try to make the holiday joyful for Lillian, Grant, and the staff. The historical details of a regency era Christmas were lovely and the way Grant and Lillian circumvent customs of the day illuminate what children's lives were like at the time. An enjoyable bonus is seeing Helene and Rhys from Her Gallant Captain at Waterloo. It is a great read alike for readers who enjoy the Regency holiday customs found in the three novellas in A Yuletide Kiss by Mary Jo Putney, Madeline Hunter, and Sabrina Jeffries. ( )