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TRISHA ASHLEY
Twelve Days of Christmas
Copyright
Published by Avon an imprint of
HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
1 London Bridge Street,
London, SE1 9GF
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers in 2010
This ebook edition published by HarperCollinsPublishers in 2017
Copyright © Trisha Ashley 2010
Cover illustration © Robyn Neild
Cover layout design © Debbie Clements
Trisha Ashley asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Source ISBN: 9781847561152
Ebook Edition © October 2010 ISBN: 9780007412297
Version: 2017-10-26
Dedication
For my good friends and fellow 500 Club members,
Leah Fleming and Elizabeth Gill, with love.
Contents
Prologue - The Ghost of Christmas Past
Chapter 1 - Pregnant Pause
Chapter 2 - Little Mumming
Chapter 3 - Weasel Pot
Chapter 4 - Rose of Sharon
Chapter 5 - Hot Mash
Chapter 6 - Horse Sense
Chapter 7 - The Whole Hog
Chapter 8 - Deep Freeze
Chapter 9 - Daggers
Chapter 10 - Wrung
Chapter 11 - Slightly Tarnished
Chapter 12 - Deeply Fruited
Chapter 13 - Christmas Spirits
Chapter 14 - Toast and Treacle
Chapter 15 - Advent
Chapter 16 - Comfort
Chapter 17 - Rapping
Chapter 18 - Ice Maiden
Chapter 19 - I Should Coco
Chapter 20 - Flickering
Chapter 21 - Loathe at First Sight
Chapter 22 - Outcomes
Chapter 23 - Pieced Together
Chapter 24 - Birkin Mad
Chapter 25 - Christmas Carol
Chapter 26 - Socked
Chapter 27 - Knitting
Chapter 28 - Christmas Present
Chapter 29 - Abominable
Chapter 30 - A Bit of a Poser
Chapter 31 - Fool’s Gold
Chapter 32 - Puzzle Pieces
Chapter 33 - Turning Turkey
Chapter 34 - Slightly Thawed
Chapter 35 - Acted Out
Chapter 36 - Piked
Chapter 37 - Bumps
Chapter 38 - Photo-Finish
Chapter 39 - Signs and Portents
Chapter 40 - Twelfth Night
Acknowledgments
Prologue
The Ghost of Christmas Past
Even though it was barely December, the hospital ward had been decked out with a tiny tree and moulded plastic wall decorations depicting a fat Santa, with bunchy bright scarlet cheeks and dark, almond-shaped eyes. He was offering what looked like a stick of dynamite to Rudolf the very red-nosed reindeer,
