Historical
At the Duke's Pleasure
By Dottie
Feb 22, 2010 - 7:16:35 PM

At the age of eleven, Edward Byron, Marquis of Hartsfield and future Duke of Clybourne, met his future bride.  While attending Lady Claire’s christening, he discovered that he was betrothed to this baby.  At the time, he could not bear the thought that his whole life was planned for him.  Now, at the age of thirty-three, Edward, now the Duke of Clybourne, could see the merit of his father’s actions.  His two brothers, Cade and Jack have found the loves of their lives and they are happily married. However, Edward has never met a woman he cannot forget.

Lady Claire Marsden, twenty-one, had only seen her betrothed twice in her life since she was a baby.  The last time was five years ago when she was sixteen.  Her two younger sisters are thrilled that she is marrying a duke.  Her father, though wealthy, was tight-fisted when it came to his money.  Since she was already betrothed, her father saw no need to give her a Season in London.  Claire has carried the memory of Edward in her mind.  At a young age, she had fallen in love with him, though she wished she had not.  Edward might want her for his wife, but he did not want her and she feared he never would.  At the age of sixteen, she had a crush on him, which nearly broke her when she overheard him say he did not love her.  She feared falling irrevocably in love with him.  She worried how she would survive knowing he cared for her not one bit; she was simply a duty and a convenience.  No amount of material pleasure could replace the one thing she wanted…his love.

Seeing the benefits of his engagement and figuring it was time, Edward went to see Claire and her father to set the date for the wedding.  Her father was ready to go ahead with the wedding.  However, Edward was shocked when Claire told him she did not want to marry.  She claimed it was not because of him, so he refused to call off the wedding.  He knew Claire would make a good duchess for him and he did not wish to start a search for a new duchess.  Therefore, he agreed to give her the Season she had missed, which would give her time to know him.  Seeing no other way, Claire agreed to marry him.  However, later she did not see how she could risk getting hurt.  Approaching her father, she told him she could not marry the duke.  However, her father was adamant that she would marry the duke unless the duke jilted her.  Knowing Edward would not jilt her unless she gave him a reason she began to plot.  In London, she stayed with Edward and his family.  Her subsequent escapades in an attempt to get Edward to jilt her were so outrageous that they brought her to the point of being ruined.  Edward’s only hope of winning her as a bride is to fall irrevocably in love with her.  Will he grow tired of her escapades and call off the wedding?  On the other hand, will he lose his heart to her?

AT THE DUKE’S PLEASURE, the third book in the BRYONS OF BRAEBURN series, is an outrageously humorous and delightfully sexy historical romance, which you will not be able to put down until you have finished the very last sentence.  This book grabs you from the very first page and doesn’t let go until the end of the book.  Even though Claire is in love with Edward and falling in love daily with his family, she goes to some extreme lengths to get him to call off the wedding.  However, Edward was very clever at dealing with her and her actions.  Filled with lovable characters, an imaginative plot, witty repartee, sizzling hot love scenes, humor and plenty of romance, this book is a joy.  I absolutely loved this story and I look forward to her next book, WICKED DELIGHTS OF A BRIDAL BED, coming out in September.  As I eagerly await the next book, be sure to grab your own copy of AT THE DUKE’S PLEASURE.  You won’t regret it!