Naming a Duke!
About a Rogue (Desperately Seeking Duke #1) by Caroline Linden
The heir to the Duke of Carlyle, his younger son is dead. His heir, his eldest son is brain damaged and unable to take up the dukedom reins. Now the hunt for who might succeed is on. The Duchess of Carlyle's agent has found three men who are eligible due to their family ranking. They are as the Duchess laments to herself, “an army man, a cardsharp, or a Frenchman. ” She's plainly not enamoured with any of them.
Still she decides to give the first two men some support to ensure that if they did inherit they'd have some knowledge of their responsibilities. The Frenchman is not to be considered.( Hmm! That bodes well for an interesting development in the future!)
As for the cardsharp and the captain, "either of them is preferable to a Frenchman, of all people...The gambler is most likely a hopeless case. Once a gamester, always a gamester. It’s like an infection in the blood. As for the Frenchman . . .”
Cardsharp! Gambler! Maximilian St. James has been that and more! Now he decides to turn the windfall from the Duchess into more concrete success.
He becomes engaged to the elder daughter of Samuel Tate, the owner of a very successful pottery works. With a keen intellect behind his calm presence he looks to put down roots and develop business interests that will strengthen his financial security to a point where it matters not if he's ever declared the Duke’s heir.
Things work out somewhat differently when the Tate sisters are informed about the eldest, Cathy’s upcoming marriage to Max. Cathy is already in love with another party.
Bianca Tate, the younger daughter, is intensely involved with the family pottery business, cleverly inventing new glazes, and working with porcelain. Feisty and determined to the point of thoughtless, she's forever throwing down the gauntlet heedless to where her temper flash might land her. Her shock when her father declared that Max as her sister's fiancé would be given a quarter percentage of the business fuelled her fury beyond incendiary. Which left her in a place of no return when, in a rush of that famous temper, she accepts marriage to Max in place of her beloved older sister.
A different type of read, set against the background of the ton, with characters much further down the social ladder, being involved as they are in 'trade'. A very pleasing read with a slight twist to the 'marriage of convenience' trope that really was only convenient for one person--until it became more!
A HarperCollins ARC via NetGalley
****
Still she decides to give the first two men some support to ensure that if they did inherit they'd have some knowledge of their responsibilities. The Frenchman is not to be considered.( Hmm! That bodes well for an interesting development in the future!)
As for the cardsharp and the captain, "either of them is preferable to a Frenchman, of all people...The gambler is most likely a hopeless case. Once a gamester, always a gamester. It’s like an infection in the blood. As for the Frenchman . . .”
Cardsharp! Gambler! Maximilian St. James has been that and more! Now he decides to turn the windfall from the Duchess into more concrete success.
He becomes engaged to the elder daughter of Samuel Tate, the owner of a very successful pottery works. With a keen intellect behind his calm presence he looks to put down roots and develop business interests that will strengthen his financial security to a point where it matters not if he's ever declared the Duke’s heir.
Things work out somewhat differently when the Tate sisters are informed about the eldest, Cathy’s upcoming marriage to Max. Cathy is already in love with another party.
Bianca Tate, the younger daughter, is intensely involved with the family pottery business, cleverly inventing new glazes, and working with porcelain. Feisty and determined to the point of thoughtless, she's forever throwing down the gauntlet heedless to where her temper flash might land her. Her shock when her father declared that Max as her sister's fiancé would be given a quarter percentage of the business fuelled her fury beyond incendiary. Which left her in a place of no return when, in a rush of that famous temper, she accepts marriage to Max in place of her beloved older sister.
A different type of read, set against the background of the ton, with characters much further down the social ladder, being involved as they are in 'trade'. A very pleasing read with a slight twist to the 'marriage of convenience' trope that really was only convenient for one person--until it became more!
A HarperCollins ARC via NetGalley
****
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