SOLVED. Regency romance short story about woman who inherits a fortune from a stranger [s]

[Dakota]

Regency romance short story about woman who inherits a fortune from a stranger. In it she is in a church and a funeral service is being said for a deceased elderly man. No one else is there so she stays and prays for him and signs her name in a book. She then is told she will inherit his fortune and wants to attend her family's annual Christmas party which she hasn't been to since she was a little girl because her parents were poor. She ends up marrying her distant cousin and attending with him. I can't remember who this short story was by, what the title of the book it appeared in was, or the title of the story was. It was in a book with 2-4 other short stories. And I read it a couple of years ago. Any help would be very appreciated.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

How long ago was "a couple of years"? That can mean anything from 2 to 8 or 10. Did you read it as a physical book, ebook, audio or what? Any memories of the cover?

[Dakota]

It was like 2-3 years ago, I don't know what year it was published, but it was not earlier than the 90s. It was in an anthology that had other stories that may have been Christmas themed. I don't remember the cover.

[Dakota]

It was a mass market paperback.

[Kris]

Dakota, are the short stories by the same or different authors?

What else do you remember about the heroine - why is she at the funeral service, her job/background, etc.?

Does the deceased man's family appear in the story?

[Aislinn]

I have a vague feeling that I've read this story. I remember the scene in the church but nothing else. 'Mary Balogh' immediately came to mind. However, I get her and Mary Jo Putney a little confused. So, I think it might be this anthology A Stockingful of Joy

Hopefully the Putney story in there is the correct one.

[Kris]

Aislinn's suggestion of A Stockingful of Joy - with Mary Jo Putney's story "The Best Husband Money Can Buy" - looks promising.

One Amazon reviewer says: "Emma (a governess) inherited a fortune when she prayed for a man she did not know who had died. He didn't have anyone and said that the person who prayed for him and signed his card saying they had prayed would win his fortune. She quit her job as governess and decided she would marry a man she had loved since she was a child. He needed money to save his home and she would provide the money for him to save it and he would marry her."

[Dakota]

Yes! That's it! "The Best Husband Money Can Buy" by Mary Jo Putney is the story I was looking for. Thank you all so much for your help!

[Aislinn]

Dakota wrote: "Yes! That's it! "The Best Husband Money Can Buy" by Mary Jo Putney is the story I was looking for. Thank you all so much for your help!"

You're welcome. :)