Georgian Regency Victorian

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A love that begins where the story of The Nutcracker ends.

Enigmatic, mysterious, a man outside of his time -- Herr Drosselmeyer has always stood from the outside looking in, creating and tinkering with his skillful hands. The Christmas of 1815 is a time for celebration. When he brings his yearly gifts to the Stahlbaum home, including a clever new nutcracker disguised as a homely soldier, he anticipates nothing but pleasure.

Augusta Stahlbaum has been happy in her life. The mother of three children, wife to a distinguished physician, she cannot ask for more. Tragedy strikes and the joy of Christmas swiftly fades. Fate takes another turn, and she finds herself at the mercy of the one man whose presence has always disconcerted her. Her husband’s best friend and the godfather of her children, she can’t imagine a comfortable life with a man like Christian Drosselmeyer, but her options are few, and she feels an irresistible compulsion to take what he offers.

Herr Drosselmeyer can finally grasp his heart’s deepest desire -- if only he has the fortitude to take it. Too bad his conscience cannot rest, no matter how much he wishes to bury the ghosts of the past. A locked laboratory, a scandalous secret, and the promise of a new Christmas -- Augusta and Christian may find an unlooked for happiness, but love cannot flourish in the dark.

And it all begins with a dance...