It’s Hard Out Here For A Duke
Keeping Up With The Cavendishes, #4
Keeping Up With The Cavendishes, #4
by
Maya Rodale
Publication Date: November 28th
2017
Publisher: Avon Books
Genre: Adult, Historical
Romance
The Book Junkie Reads . . . Review of
. . . IT’S HARD OUT HERE FOR A DUKE (Keeping Up with the Cavendishes, #4) . . .
This series has been fun from beginning
to the end.
BLURB
Some Mistakes…
When American-born James Cavendish
arrives in London tomorrow, he’ll become the Duke of Durham. Some might be
ecstatic at the opportunity. Not James. He’s a simple man, fond of simple
pleasures. And right now, nothing could be more pleasurable than spending his
last night of freedom with a beautiful stranger.
Are Far Too Good…
One wild night, Meredith Green,
companion to the dowager Duchess of Durham, said yes to a man she thought she’d
never see again. Suddenly, they’re living under the same roof, where Meredith
is expected to teach James how to be a duke-while trying not to surrender to
temptation a second time.
To Be Forgotten.
For a duke and a commoner, marriage
would be pure scandal. Yet nothing has ever felt as right as having Meredith in
his arms…and in his bed. Soon he must choose-between a duty he never desired,
and a woman he longs for, body and soul…
About the Series
EXCERPT
Though Miss Meredith
Green lacked birth, or wealth, or many other qualifications one would assume of
a gently bred lady, she had been raised to be one. She could curtsy with the
best of them, expertly arrange both flowers and seating arrangements for dinner
parties, and could recite pages from Debrett’s Book of the Peerage. These were
just a few of her accomplishments.
As such, she should not
be here, in the public room of the Queen’s Head Tavern and Coaching Inn.
Especially not alone and especially not at night, where any old ruffian might
think he could take a liberty with her, to put it nicely.
Which is why she
should not have allowed the barmaid to add a generous splash of whiskey to her
tea.
Which is probably why
she was encouraging the ocular advances of a handsome man with whom she was not
acquainted.
Meredith had noticed
him the moment he walked in, tall and lanky but strong, with unfashionably long
brown hair that fell rakishly in his eyes. What color were they, she wondered?
She didn’t need to know. There was nothing she could do with this information.
There was absolutely no point to her knowing.
She badly wanted to
know.
So she dared one
glance, then another.
Do not look. Do not
look. Do not look.
Her better judgment
was roundly ignored. Before she knew it they were somehow flirting from
opposite sides of the room without even saying a word.
It was the sort of
thing that made a girl’s heart beat giddily and her toes start to tap under her
skirts. Thanks to years of training, she kept her posture poised and her
movements elegant, but under her skirts, her toes were tapping.
This, this was what
she need tonight: a distraction. The past few months had been trying, and the
next few promised to be challenging as well, albeit in a different way. She had
only tonight to live for herself.
She darted another
look in his direction.
He was watching her.
This truth elicited a slight smile from her lips. But she shouldn’t take
pleasure in this.
She ducked her head.
But her heart beat
quickly and she wondered: Would he come over?
He shouldn’t. He
really should not. She absolutely should not encourage him. But life was full
of should-nots, and tonight Meredith wanted to say yes.
It had been a bit of
a day—on top of quite a week, and one hell of a month. Or two or three. Her
visit to her ailing mother in Hampshire revealed a dispiriting truth: the life
choices of Miss Meredith Green were few, and less than thrilling. Nevertheless,
she had made her choice to return to London and live the restrained and
dignified life of a lady’s companion.
Emphasis on
restrained. When one relied on one’s spotless reputation for her very
existence, one comported herself accordingly. One did not give or receive
heated glances across crowded rooms.
But Meredith embarked
on a little whiskey-infused rationalization: until she stepped foot in London,
she could afford to live a little loosely. For one night, she might indulge in
the sort of wicked behavior—and passion—that she’d have to refuse forevermore.
That was just the
splash of whiskey talking, she told herself. It was just the strain of recent
events wreaking havoc with her common sense. It was her mother’s bad influence.
She’d had the great luck to be raised to be A Lady. She oughtn’t forget that.
Do not look. Do not
look. Do not look.
She looked. Oh, she
looked.
His gaze sparkled.
Like he knew what inner turmoil and rationalization his glances inspired. This
time, she didn’t look away.
Oh, goodness, he was
coming over. Her heart beat faster and faster as his long strides brought him
closer and closer until he was standing beside her, leaning casually against
the bar.
Gentlemen did not
lean.
“What is a beautiful
woman like you doing alone in a place like this?”
Author
Info
MAYA RODALE began reading romance
novels in college at her mother’s insistence. She is now the bestselling and
award winning author smart and sassy romances. She lives in New York City with
her darling dog and a rogue of her own.
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