Mary Beckwith is trying to renovate Whitefriars castle, her childhood home. It’s a huge undertaking and she is trying to do it on her own with occasional advice and yearly allowance from American businessman Everett Wooten. The funding never seems to be enough and Mary plans to rent out rooms to earn extra money. She is working hard to get the rooms ready for the paying guests. Going through mail, she discovers that Mr Wooten is in York, an hour’s carriage ride from the castle, waiting to speak to her about a possible breach of contract with his luxury food supply company. He considers the taking in of paying guests to be destroying his company’s exclusive food label named Whitefriars.
In the running up to Christmas, Mary and her brother Colin Beckwith, goes to York to meet with Mr. Wooten. She finds it very challenging to go anywhere outside the castle grounds because of her anxiety disorder. Surprisingly she finds Mr. Wooten to be very understanding and supportive as she has an anxiety attack in the York hotel lobby. After the meeting, she invites him to Whitefriars to look at his investment and the state of the castle after nine years of renovation. He is unimpressed with his first impression of the castle and totally opposed to taking in paying guests.
Christmas is Mary’s favorite time of year because this is when her family comes from America for their once-a-year holiday. I am thrilled to be back in the Beckwith and Drake family universe which I got to know in The Empire State Series. I get to learn more about what has happened to them all since my last read. I enjoy the Christmas theme and the development of relationships, especially between Mary and Everett Wooten, but also between secondary characters.
Christmas at Whitefriars is highly recommended for fans of Elizabeth Camden’s works, especially for readers of The Empire State series. This story is also highly recommended for readers who enjoy historical fiction.
(All opinions in this review are my own)