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Another Essex sister falls for a wickedly handsome – and entirely unsuitable man in this third book of Eloisa’s tantalising series, preceded by Much Ado about You and Kiss Me, Annabel. Imogen, Lady Maitland, has decided to dance on the wild side. After all, she's in the delicious position of being able to take a lover. A discreet male who knows just when to leave in the morning.
But Lady Maitland is still under the watchful eye of her former guardian, the wildly untamed Rafe, the Duke of Holbrook. He believes she is still in need of a "watchdog." She laughs at the idea that someone so insufferably lazy and devoted to drink can demand that she behave with propriety.
It's Rafe's long-lost brother, a man who looks precisely like the duke but with none of his degenerate edge, who interests Imogen. To Imogen, he's the shadow duke - the man who really should hold the title. But when Imogen agrees to accompany Gabe to a masquerade, whose masked eyes watch her with that intense look of desire? Who exactly is she dancing with? The duke or the shadow duke? Rafe or Gabe?
Here’s a taste:
"I wish I were a queen," Miss Josephine Essex said to two of her elder sisters. "I would simply command an appropriate man to marry me by special license."
"What if he refused?" Imogen, sometimes known as Lady Maitland, asked.
"I'd remove his head from his body," Josie said with dignity.
"Given that men make slim use of their heads," Annabel, the Countess of Ardmore said, "you don't have to threaten decapitation; simply allow the fellow to believe that he made up his own mind about marriage." She was tucked in Imogen's bed and appeared little more than a tousle of curls peeking from under the bedcovers.
"That is precisely the kind of advice I need." Josie snapped open a small book and poised her quill. "I am making a study of the skills required to succeed in the marriage market and since you two are both married, you are my primary sources of information."
Now this is advice not to be missed:
"I was in London for the better part of April," Imogen said, "and I saw plenty of young ladies in your situation, Josie. It seemed to me that the primary requirement for a debutante is a smirk. An innocent simper," she clarified.
"Smirk," Josie noted in her book.
"And listen to everything your suitor says as if God himself is speaking. Of course, sometimes it's difficult to stay awake."
"Men can be very boring," Annabel agreed. "They have such a penchant for discussing themselves. You have to learn to endure, which is not one of your best qualities, Josie."
"To this point, you have shown no ability to suffer fools gladly," Imogen said. "Fools have the deepest pockets. It's a proven fact that lack of brains and a large estate go hand-in-hand."
Josie had been writing busily in her book but she looked up at this. "So I smirk at the fool as he talks about himself? Essentially, toe-curling boredom buys a spouse?" |
| Book Format: Paperback |
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