Wanted: Governess able to keep all hours…
Rebellious Julian Fortescue never expected to inherit a dukedom, nor to find himself guardian to three young half-sisters. Now in the market for a governess, he lays eyes on Jane Grey and knows immediately she is qualified-to become his mistress. Yet the alluring woman appears impervious to him. Somehow Julian must find a way to make her succumb to temptation … without losing his heart and revealing the haunting mistakes of his past.
Desired: Duke skilled in the seductive art of conversation…
Lady Jeanne de Falleron didn’t seek a position as a governess simply to fall into bed with the Duke of Denford. Under the alias of Jane Grey, she must learn which of the duke’s relatives is responsible for the death of her family-and take her revenge. She certainly can’t afford the distraction of her darkly irresistible employer, or the smoldering desire he ignites within her.
But as Jane discovers more clues about the villain she seeks, she’s faced with a possibility more disturbing than her growing feelings for Julian: What will she do if the man she loves is also the man she’s sworn to kill?
Bad news always came in threes, while the miserly gods of good fortune meted out their gifts one at a time at long intervals. Though the first to admit that he didn’t deserve much in the way of luck, Julian Fortescue, Duke of Denford, would have liked a little more time to savor his victory.
A week maybe. Would that have been too much to ask? A week to enjoy the fact that two years after becoming a duke, he was now also a rich one?
Not that the arrival of his mother from Ireland was necessarily a bad thing. But he wondered what favor—or three—she was going to claim. Doubtless something vastly inconvenient.
She sailed into the faded grandeur of the first floor saloon at Fortescue House, trailing gauze scarves and a cloud of eau de cologne. “My darling boy! As handsome as ever. You haven’t changed a bit.”
He could say the same of her. Mrs. Osbourne, formerly Mrs. Fortescue, born Julia Hope Gore, had defied the passage of time. Her black hair contained barely a thread of gray and her pale skin, though the youthful glow had long faded, was a fine setting for blue eyes undulled by age. At almost fifty she still possessed the beauty and gaiety that used to provoke the Dublin gallants to poetry. Julian, her cynical son, attributed this eternal youth to always getting her own way and never worrying about anything.
“Neither have you, Mother.” He took her hands and kissed her on both cheeks. “How are the girls?”
“They are well. But I’ve become an old lady in the years since you took the trouble to visit me,” she said, tilting her head coquettishly. One corner of his brain registered that her bonnet, new and adorned with ostrich plumes, had not come cheap.
“I beg your pardon. My affairs kept me from making the journey to Ireland, and now there is no need. As for the rest of your speech, it is too absurd to answer. You know you look ravishing. What are you doing in London?”
“Are you not going to offer your poor mother a seat and a little something to fortify her after her voyage all the way across the Irish Sea?”
“I beg your pardon, my dear. Your toilette is perfection itself so it didn’t occur to me that you were travel-soiled.”
“As it happens I arrived yesterday. I came only from the Pulteney Hotel this morning.”
“The arduous drive from Piccadilly must have worn you out.”
As he led her to the sofa and fetched a glass of madeira, her favorite wine, from the tray on the console table, he wondered at this additional sign of prosperity; the hotel was one of the best in London. No doubt she would, in her own good time, reveal why she hadn’t asked to stay with him at Fortescue House. Then again, given his home’s meager comforts and inadequate staff, perhaps, now that he was rich, he should move into the Pulteney himself.
He raised his glass. “To you, Mother.”
“To us,” she responded. “And the pursuit of happiness.” Julian felt a momentary pang at hearing the old toast again. His father had been impressed by the American Declaration of Independence, claiming to greatly admire a nation founded on such an admirable ambition. Osbourne, his mother’s second husband, hadn’t shared the sentiment.
About the Author:
MIRANDA NEVILLE grew up in England before moving to New York City to work in Sotheby’s rare books department. After many years as a journalist and editor, she decided writing fiction was more fun. She lives in Vermont. She loves hearing from readers and may be reached through her website.
Jennifer’s Review of The Duke of Dark Desires
Review (4.5 Stars): Julian Fortescue is looking for a governess to take care of his three half-sisters that his mother left in his care and soon finds the beautiful Jane Grey to fill the position but he has plans to have Jane become his mistress as well. Jane is looking to find the person responsible for the tragic death of her family and sees this job as the perfect opportunity to get the answers she needs. But soon the relationship between Jane and Julian grows into something more than just being an employer and Jane comes to realize that Julian may be the man that she has been seeking all along.
The Duke of Dark Desires was a delightful novel with the perfect combination of romance and mystery that will keep you entertained until its conclusion. I loved Jane as a character because she was a strong, independent woman yet she was very caring and sweet with Julian’s sisters. I liked how she wouldn’t put up with Julian’s behavior and some of their scenes had me laughing out loud in the beginning. This book has a little bit of everything and the way Jane’s family died was very dark and tragic and I was hoping that she would finally find the answers that she sought so desperately. Great book and I can’t wait to read more from the talented Ms. Neville.
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Thanks for the giveaway and the opportunity to win. I loved the books from Miranda that I’ve read so far.
Carol L
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