Dukes Behaving Badly # 1
By: Megan Frampton
Releasing November 25th, 2014
Avon
All of London knows the Duke of Rutherford has position and wealth. They also whisper that he’s dissolute, devilish, and determinedly unwed. So why, everyone is asking, has he hired a governess?
When Miss Lily Russell crosses the threshold of the Duke of Rutherford’s stylish townhouse, she knows she has come face to face with sensual danger. For this is no doting papa. Rather, his behavior is scandalous, and his reputation rightly earned. And his pursuit of her is nearly irresistible—but resist she must for the sake of her pupil.
As for the duke himself, it was bad enough when his unknown child landed on his doorstep. Now Lily, with her unassuming beauty, has aroused his most wicked fantasies—and, shockingly, his desire to change his wanton ways. He’s determined to become worthy of her, and so he asks for her help in correcting his behavior.
But Lily has a secret, one that, if it becomes known, could change everything . . .
If the duke was pleased with the work, the Agency’s reputation would be made, and she and her partners could find more work for all the unfortunate women who came to them. It was an opportunity the likes of which they could never have dreamed of.
But she couldn’t get ahead of herself.
Lily was not normally a person who took risks--the exact opposite, in fact--but she knew that this was no time to be the precise woman she’d shaped herself into since shedding--forever, she hoped--her own unfortunate circumstances.
Risk-taking when it meant jeopardizing your and your family’s livelihood, well, that was one thing. Something her father had already done, to her family’s detriment. But she couldn’t think about that, or how her sister had suffered, and how her mother had just given up after that, now.
Unlike her father, because of her father, she had to do what needed to be done, and she needed to do it now. The Agency was fresh out of suitable unfortunate women who could governess, and she couldn’t afford to let this chance slip away. She had to take a risk. With her own self.
“I’m to wait for a reply,” the footman said in an aggrieved tone of voice.
Ah, apparently she was ruminating too much. That was something she would likely never be able to shed.
She spun back around, clutching the piece of paper to her chest, as though someone would step in and steal it from her. “You will not have to wait, I have the perfect applicant. She will arrive within half an hour.”
No need to inform the snobbish footman it would be her.
She made sure the door was shut before she ran around the small office in circles, waving the duke’s note and yelping.
Not her most dignified moment. Her precise self was horrified.
But who could blame her? If Annabelle and Caroline were here, they’d be joining her in the yelping. This was why they’d started the Agency, after all (well, not for the chance to yelp, but for the chance to aid unfortunate women), but she hadn’t expected this kind of chance would come so soon.
She grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and outlined a few details about where she was, and who their new client was, addressed it to her partners, grabbed her cloak, locked the door, and headed to her new position.
Author Info: Megan Frampton writes historical romance under her own name and romantic women’s fiction as Megan Caldwell. She likes the color black, gin, dark-haired British men, and huge earrings, not in that order. She lives in Brooklyn, NY, with her husband and son.
The author is giving away a $25 gift card, e-retailer of choice
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This book sounds great! I would love to read it. One thing I would add to the guide: do not swear in every other sentence!
ReplyDeleteThank you for hosting today!
ReplyDelete