The Kindness of Mrs. Sweetbriar
Enjoy this excerpt from my Christmas book for children, Fairhaven Christmas Eve ,* available as an e-book and in paperback and hardcover versions. * This blog is reader-supported. If you buy through my links, I may earn a small commission. It was the late afternoon of Christmas Eve, and everyone in the city of Fairhaven was hurrying to finish their business before the evening's festivities. Shoppers were in more of a hurry than before, and became a little sharp with it. Apothecaries hastily prepared packets of nutmeg and cloves, bay leaves and peppercorns, and the coffee roaster ground more fresh beans for his impatient customers. The watchmaker urged platinum fobs and enameled chatelaines on indecisive purchasers, while across the street, stationers sold beaded greeting cards and bright wrapping papers to last-minute gift-givers. Brand had finally finished chopping wood for old Mrs. Witherspoon, and she had given him four eggs, a jar of stewed apricots, and three copper pennies