A spying debutante, a duke, and a
conspiracy. Can love be found despite their feud?
Miss Rosamund Smythe, the only daughter of
a baron diplomat, is finding the Season to be a dead bore. After her stint at spying while in Vienna
with her father, she wants a higher purpose in life than “just” being a wife.
His Grace, Alexander Milton, the Duke of
Wrentham, wants a quiet life with a “proper” lady as his wife after the
tumultuous childhood he had. His parents
had fought viciously, lied often, and Alex secretly wonders if he was even his
father’s son.
Rose and Alex grew up on neighboring
estates and have been best friends since she was four years old but a family
feud has torn their friendship apart.
At a Society event Rose overhears a plot to
entrap Alex into a marriage of convenience.
Her loyalty to their old friendship as well as her knowledge of the
conspirator, Sir Jason Broderick, causes Rose to overcome her aversion to
Wrentham in order to warn him of his danger.
Alex’s complicated childhood has caused him to despise all forms of
deception so Rose avoids telling him how she knows so much about Sir Broderick.
When Rose is abducted by Sir Broderick to
prevent her interference, Alex must deal with his own conflicted feelings to
help her rescue herself. Can they claim their happily ever after despite the
turmoil?
Excerpt:
Alex
gazed at his old friend in admiration. If anyone had ever told him he would be
standing in Burlington House surrounded by Elgin’s Marbles debating with Miss
Rosamund Smythe about who might be conspiring to entrap him into marriage, he
would never have believed such a claim. But here they were. And she looked
mighty fetching as she gazed up at him expectantly. He had to make an effort to
remember what she had said. Oh yes, something about ideas to investigate. He
wondered absently what she could possibly know about investigations and clues
and all that. But she was right. They needed to have a direction. The only
trouble was he was drawing a blank about any possible ideas.
All he
could do was shrug helplessly. “I am so sorry, Rose, but I have absolutely no
idea where to start. To the best of my knowledge I have never had any dealings
with Broderick. I developed an instant dislike of the man upon first making his
acquaintance, but I cannot even tell you why, as we have barely conversed.”
The
duke was clearly flabbergasted over this development and was even slightly
ashamed to not have a ready solution. Rose must have realized this. She
hastened to reassure him. “Never mind about that. We both agreed earlier that
the best place for us to start is with Lady Anne. That will have to be my job,
as you will just be walking straight into their plot if you try to do anything
about it. Now, I really must be going, so we must hurry and establish another
appointment to meet up to discuss any of our findings. In the meantime, you
should speak to your solicitors or man of affairs or whatever you might have
along those lines and see if they are aware of any issues Broderick might have
with you. Those gentlemen might know more on the subject than you.”
“How
did you get so smart about such things?”
Alex
was intrigued by the blush that spread over her face at this unanswerable
question. The only thing she could offer was “My father is a diplomat,” with as
much dignity as possible.
Alex
allowed the moment to pass and was rewarded by the look of relief on her face.
He hurried to make an appointment as they saw her maid approaching. “Would it
be remarked upon if you come here again tomorrow or the next day?”
“Probably
not,” Rose answered. “My mother never rises before noon and is really only
concerned with how I spend my evenings. But you had best give me at least one
day to try to make the acquaintance of Lady Anne, so let us say the day after
tomorrow. That gives me a day and a half to gather as much information as
possible. I shall start with my friend Lady Elizabeth. She is a font of
knowledge about the ton, as well as
being friendly with Lady Anne.” While she was speaking she fumbled with her
drawing supplies, finally tucking them under her arm. “Wish me luck,” she
concluded as she once more faced the duke.
The duke watched a myriad of emotions
chase themselves across his companion’s face. He was unable to identify most of
them, but he thought she looked rather wistful as she offered him a brief
curtsy before she hurried away without another word.
Alex stood in the same spot for several
moments, watching her retreating figure, wondering if she would look back
before exiting the building. He was unprepared for the profound disappointment
that swept over him as she strode away with purpose, never once glancing back
in his direction. Slowly bringing his focus back to the statue she had been
sketching, the duke allowed the entire interlude to play itself out in his
mind. Giving his head a shake to rid himself of the melancholy that had
befallen him, he followed in her footsteps and strode from the hall.
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About
the Author:
Wendy May Andrews has been reading whatever
she could get her hands on since the age of five. She has been writing for
almost as long but hasn’t been sharing those stories with anyone but her mother
until recently. Wendy lives in Toronto with her own real-life hero. When not
writing or reading, they love to travel wherever the mood takes them.
Website:
Social
Media:
Twitter:
@WendyMayAndrews
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