Love is even sweeter when it's found later in life, and quite by accident. Now that Lavinia Storme's - the Dowager Countess of Hadleigh - family is settled and content, she doesn't need to worry over them anymore, which leaves her a bit lost. When she meets a silver-haired duke and feelings she once thought dead awake, she wonders all the more.Allan Montrosse, 4th Duke of Tattersham has been waylaid on a snowy lane near Hadleigh Hall when his traveling coach breaks an axle. It doesn't matter because his life has been much the same since he became a widower, and perhaps an adventure will liven things up. The moment he sets eyes on the dowager, he is immediately smitten.In the days leading up to a masquerade ball on Christmas Eve, Lavinia and Tattersham are thrown together. An attraction springs between them - as does scandal - but when a contretemps at the ball worthy of Shakespeare himself threatens the budding romance, it will take charm and encouragement - Storme family style - to make certain the Christmastide match takes. Read Free in Kindle Unlimited!( This story was first published as part of the Anthology set titled A Duke in Winter in December 2022.)