A love that neither can deny…
The Day of the Duchess
Scandal & Scoundrel #3
Sarah MacLean
Releasing June 27, 2017
Avon Books
The
one woman he will never forget…
Malcolm Bevingstoke, Duke of Haven, has lived the last three years in self-imposed solitude, paying the price for a mistake he can never reverse and a love he lost forever. The dukedom does not wait, however, and Haven requires an heir, which means he must find himself a wife by summer’s end. There is only one problem—he already has one.
The one man she will never forgive…
After years in exile, Seraphina, Duchess of Haven, returns to London with a single goal—to reclaim the life she left and find happiness, unencumbered by the man who broke her heart. Haven offers her a deal; Sera can have her freedom, just as soon as she finds her replacement…which requires her to spend the summer in close quarters with the husband she does not want, but somehow cannot resist.
A love that neither can deny…
The duke has a single summer to woo his wife and convince her that, despite their broken past, he can give her forever, making every day...
Malcolm Bevingstoke, Duke of Haven, has lived the last three years in self-imposed solitude, paying the price for a mistake he can never reverse and a love he lost forever. The dukedom does not wait, however, and Haven requires an heir, which means he must find himself a wife by summer’s end. There is only one problem—he already has one.
The one man she will never forgive…
After years in exile, Seraphina, Duchess of Haven, returns to London with a single goal—to reclaim the life she left and find happiness, unencumbered by the man who broke her heart. Haven offers her a deal; Sera can have her freedom, just as soon as she finds her replacement…which requires her to spend the summer in close quarters with the husband she does not want, but somehow cannot resist.
A love that neither can deny…
The duke has a single summer to woo his wife and convince her that, despite their broken past, he can give her forever, making every day...
Chapter 1
DESERTED DUKE DISAVOWED!
August 19, 1836
House of Lords, Parliament
She’d left him two years, seven months ago, exactly.
Malcolm Marcus
Bevingstoke, Duke of Haven looked to the tiny wooden calendar wheels inlaid
into the blotter on his desk in his private office above the House of Lords.
August the nineteenth,
1836. The last day of the parliamentary session, filled with pomp and idle. And lingering
memory. He spun the wheel with the six embossed upon it. Five. Four. He took a
deep breath.
Get out. He heard his own words, cold and angry with betrayal, echoing
with quiet menace. Don’t ever return.
He touched the wheel
again. August became July. May. March.
January the
nineteenth, 1834. The day she left.
His fingers moved
without thought, finding comfort in the familiar click of the wheels.
April the seventeenth,
1833.
The way I feel about
you . . . Her words now—soft and full of
temptation. I’ve never felt anything like this.
He hadn’t, either. As
though light and breath and hope had flooded the room, filling all the dark
spaces. Filling his lungs and heart. And all because of her.
Until he’d discovered the truth. The truth, which had mattered
so much until it hadn’t mattered at all.
Where had she gone?
The clock in the
corner of the room ticked and tocked, counting the seconds until Haven was due
in his seat in the hallowed main chamber of the House of Lords, where men of
higher purpose and passion had sat before him for generations. His fingers played
the little calendar like a virtuoso, as though they’d done this dance a hundred
times before. A thousand.
And they had.
March the first, 1833.
The day they met.
So, they let simply
anyone become a duke, do they? No deference. Teasing
and charm and pure, unadulterated beauty.
If you think dukes are
bad, imagine what they accept from duchesses?
That smile. As though
she’d never met another man. As though she’d never wanted to. He’d been hers
the moment he’d seen that smile. Before that. Imagine, indeed.
And then it had fallen
apart. He’d lost everything, and then lost her. Or perhaps it had been the
reverse. Or perhaps it was all the same.
Would there ever be a
time when he stopped thinking of her? Ever a date that did not remind him of
her? Of the time that had stretched like an eternity since she’d left?
Where had she gone?
The clock struck
eleven, heavy chimes sounding in the room, echoed by a dozen others sounding
down the long, oaken corridor beyond, summoning men of longstanding name to the
duty that had been theirs before they drew breath.
Haven
spun the calendar wheels with force, leaving them as they lay. November the
thirty-seventh, 3842. A fine date—one on which he had absolutely
no chance of thinking of her.
I didn't think I would grow to love Malcolm, but I did with the way he pursued Sera, even when she wasn't aware that he did. Their story broke my heart and I didn't think it was possible for them to find a happy ending with each other. It was clear that they still loved each other and the author did an amazing job at healing their hearts as they each discovered the reasons behind the betrayals and what their lives have been like while they've been apart. Looking forward to many more books from this author!
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.
New York Times, Washington Post & USA Today bestseller Sarah MacLean is the
author of historical romance novels that have been translated into more than
twenty languages, and winner of back-to-back RITA Awards for best historical
romance from the Romance Writers of America.
Sarah is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place at the nexus of gender and cultural studies. She is the author of a monthly column celebrating the best of the genre for the Washington Post. Her work in support of romance and the women who read it earned her a place on Jezebel.com's Sheroes list of 2014 and led Entertainment Weekly to call her "gracefully furious." A graduate of Smith College & Harvard University, Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
Sarah is a leading advocate for the romance genre, speaking widely on its place at the nexus of gender and cultural studies. She is the author of a monthly column celebrating the best of the genre for the Washington Post. Her work in support of romance and the women who read it earned her a place on Jezebel.com's Sheroes list of 2014 and led Entertainment Weekly to call her "gracefully furious." A graduate of Smith College & Harvard University, Sarah now lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.
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