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Synopsis:
These
men are dark, bold, and brave. And there is only one woman who can bring them
to their knees...
Famed and
brilliant, Lady Alexandra Lane has always known how to look out for to herself.
But nobody would ever expect that she has darkness in her past—one that she
pays a blackmailer to keep buried. Now, with her family nearing bankruptcy,
Alexandra strikes upon a solution: Get married to one of the empire’s most
wealthy eligible bachelors. Even if he does have the reputation of a devil.
LOVE
TAKES NO PRISONERS
Piers
Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Redmayne, is seeking revenge and the first step
is securing a bride. Winning a lady’s hand is not so easy, however, for a man
known as the Terror of Torcliff. Then, Alexandra enters his life like a bolt of
lightning. When she proposes marriage, Piers knows that, like
him, trouble haunts her footsteps. But her gentleness, sharp wit, independent
nature, and incredible beauty awakens every fierce desire within him. He will
do whatever it takes to keep her safe in his arms.
Chapter One
Maynemouth, Devonshire,
1890 Ten years later
Alexander,
Accept the invitation to Castle Redmayne. I’m
in danger. I need you.
—Frank
Alexandra
Lane had spent the entire train ride from Lon- don to Devonshire meticulously pondering
those fourteen words for
two separate reasons.
The first, she had been unable to stop fretting
for Fran- cesca, who tended to give more than the appropriate amount of context. The terse, vague note Alexandra now held was more of a warning than the message contained
therein.
The second, she could no longer afford a first-class, pri- vate railcar, and had, for the last several tense hours, been forced to share her vestibule face-to-face with a rough- featured,
stocky man with shoulders made for labor.
Alone.
26 kerrigan byrne
He’d attempted polite conversation at first,
which she’d rebuffed with equal
civility by feigning interest in her cor- respondence. By now, however, they were both painfully
aware she needn’t take four
stops to read two letters.
It was
terribly rude, she knew. Her carpetbag
remained clutched
in her fist the entire time, except when her hand would wander into its depths to palm the tiny pistol she always carried.
The sounds of the other passengers in ad- joining
vestibules didn’t make her
feel safer, per se.
But she
knew they would hear her scream, and that pro- vided
some relief.
For a woman who’d spent a great deal of the last ten years
in the company of men, she’d
thought these painful
moments would have
relented by now.
Alas, she’d become a mistress of manipulating a situa-
tion so, even if she had to endure the company of men without a female companion,
there would be more than one man. In the circles she tended to frequent,
people be- haved
when in company.
It
had worked thus far.
Alexandra braced herself against the slowing of the
train, breathing a silent prayer of relief that they’d finally arrived.
She’d been terrified that if
she’d glanced up once, she’d be forced into conversation with her unwanted com- panion.
Rain wept against the coach window, and the shadows
of the tears painted macabre little serpents on the conflict- ing documents
in her hands. One, a wedding
invitation. The
other, Francesca’s alarming note.
A month past, she’d have wagered her entire inheritance against Francesca Cavendish’s being the first of the Red Rogues to
capitulate to the bonds of matrimony.
A month past, she’d assumed she’d had an inheritance to
wager.
HOW TO LOVE A DUKE IN TEN DAYS 27
Their little society had seemed destined to live up to
the promise they’d once made as young, disenchanted girls to never marry.
Until the invitation to an engagement masquerade— given by the Duke of Redmayne—had arrived the same day of
her friend’s cryptic and startling
note.
The invitation had
been equally as ambiguous, stating that the future duchess of Redmayne
would be unveiled,
as it were, at the ball. Included
in Alexandra’s particular envelope was a request
for her to attend as a bridesmaid.
The subsequent plea for
help from Francesca—Frank— had arrived
in a tiny envelope
with the Red Rogue seal they’d
commissioned some years prior.
Alexandra hadn’t even known Francesca had returned from her romps about the Continent. Last she’d heard, the countess had been in Morocco, doing reconnaissance of some sort. Nothing in her letters had mentioned
a suitor. Not a serious
one, in any case. Certainly
not a duke.
Francesca had a talent for mischief
and a tendency to interpret danger as mere adventure.
So,
what could possibly
frighten her fearless friend?
Marriage, obviously, Alexandra thought with a smirk.
A risky venture, to
be sure.
From How to Love a Duke in Ten Days.
Copyright © 2019 by Kerrigan Byrne and reprinted with
permission from St. Martin’s Paperbacks.
Author Bio:
Whether
she’s writing about Celtic Druids, Victorian bad boys, or brash Irish FBI
Agents, USA Today bestseller Kerrigan Byrne uses her
borderline-obsessive passion for history, her extensive Celtic ancestry, and
her love of Shakespeare in every book. She lives at the base of the Rocky
Mountains with her handsome husband and three lovely teenage girls, but dreams
of settling on the Pacific Coast. Her Victorian Rebels novels include The
Highwayman and The Highlander.
How
to Love a Duke in Ten Days Q&A
Q: What inspired you to write How to Love a Duke in Ten Days?
A: I’ve
always been one of those women who have enjoyed fierce female friendships. I
think that soulmates, even for heterosexual women, can be just as necessary
with other women as with men, and a real hero must not just love and respect
you, but also your tribe. I wanted to write a series where historical heroines
could truly have it all, education, dreams, businesses, wealth, genius,
revenge, hot sex, AND true love. Where the sacrifices were made on their behalf
instead by them, and where their heroes learn to lift them up in all ways, heal
their pains, calm their fears, become their best friends, and protect them with
what I hope is a great balance between alpha hotness and progressive
sensitivity.
Q: Is there one thing you would like readers
to take away from this story?
A: That’s tough because I packed a lot in
there! I would say the one thing from this book, specifically, is that
happiness is attainable against the odds, even when overcoming the worst that
people can do to one another. Even though I’m a grown up and a cynic, I still
like to write books that remind me that true love conquers all, because that
love can come from so many people.
Q: Can you describe your typical day writing
this book?
A: This book was especially difficult for me
to write, so I spent a great deal of time in my bathrobe. I would get up, my
fantastic husband would make me coffee, I’d call my critique partner and we’d
do a bit of brainstorming, and I’d write and rewrite for hours, stress, cry,
throw things, walk the dog, eat, snack, eat some more, facebook way too much,
and then finish under word count, binge a tv show or a book until I stared at
the ceiling into the wee hours. Oh, and there was drinking in there at regular
intervals.
Glamorous, I know!
Q: Describe the hero and heroine of How to Love a Duke in Ten Days in three
words each.
A: The Duke of Redmayne: Wary. Wounded. Wicked.
Lady
Alexandra Lane: Brave.
Brilliant. Beautiful.
Q: What is the one thing that the heroine,
Alexandra, can’t live without?
A: She cannot live without her two dearest
friends in the entire world, Miss Cecelia Teague, and Lady Francesca Cavendish.
They literally buried a body for her, and would defend her to the death.
Q: What was your hardest scene to write in How to Love a Duke in Ten Days? Your
favorite?
A: As with many (most) of my novels, the
prologues are the hardest to write, and read, I suspect. Usually I take the
characters to the very edge of their breaking point, often times pushing them
over so they have what seems like insurmountable conflicts to overcome both
internally and externally. So, for this book, Alexandra’s assault was the most
difficult thing to get through, and boy did I enjoy being able to help Piers
put her back together, because he was just the perfect hero for her. Tender,
empathetic, a good sense of humor, and a large dose of protective alphaness.
Q: Why do you write historical romance?
A: I’ve
always romanticized the past. I can’t help it. I love the pace and the
aesthetic, the gowns and the suits and the manners and the manors. I love to do
historical research and it’s so fun to see how much we are influenced by the
past and how, even though so much has changed through the centuries, people
really haven’t. Also, it’s fun to play with language, mystery, and sex in a
time when a scandal was still possible. *wink.
Q: Is there another particular author that
inspires you or that you enjoy reading?
A: There is a LIST! I would say in historical
romance, though, it’s always always Lisa Kleypas. She has a grasp on the
characterization of historical folks that I can never hope to attain. I’m just
in awe of her every word.
Q: Where do you go or what resources do you
use to make sure your novels are historically correct?
A: I love to find books about a time period at
B&N or my local bookshops. I go to Harper’s Bazaar for fashion, and a slew
of Victorian references for the time period. I do read blogs and sometimes
consult with historians and experts.
Q: Did you learn anything surprising while
researching for this novel?
A: Many things! I learned how truly difficult
it was to attain an education as a woman as little as a hundred years ago. It’s
really incredible how far we’ve come in a century.
Q: What do you do when faced with writer’s
block, if you ever are?
A: Oh man. I often am. I usually try to shake
it loose with a brainstorming conversation with a few friends I have who always
seem to be able to unstick me. I rely heavily on the creativity of others as
well as my own.
Q: How did you feel the first time you
realized one of your books was a big success?
A: I didn’t believe it. It seems surreal every
time I truly realize that a story I wrote entertained another human. Let alone
more than one. I’m like… they paid to read it? WHAT?
Q: What’s next for the Devil You Know series?
A: I’m especially excited for the next book
ALL SCOT AND BOTHERED because it’s about Alexandra’s best friend the curvy
vicar’s daughter, Cecelia Teague. She inherits London’s most infamous and
successful brothel, and one imposing, surly Scottish enemy along with it. She
and Lord Ramsay, the Lord Chief Justice with an axe to grind against her
establishment, can’t be in a room together without the sparks flying. I can’t
think about this book without smiling.
Q: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
A: I hope you enjoy this trio of roguish
redheads as much as I enjoyed writing them!
My Review
5 Stars
How
To Love A Duke in Ten Days by Kerrigan Byrne is the First book in the
Devil You Know Series. This is the story of Piers Gedrick Atherton, the
Duke of Redmayne and Alexandra Lane.
Alexandra, Francesca Cavendish
and Cecelia Teague are friends from a early age that created The Red
Rogues Society when they were attending the Ecole de Chardonne for
girls. All have secrets that they have shared between themselves and
have formed a bond to help protect each other and support each other. In
addition they had all been unhappy of the limitation of education for
girls which they have sneak their education in to become more
knowledgeable when in their time they shouldn't be. Alexandra has her
secret that she has been paying a blackmailer to keep but now her family
is in about bankrupt so she comes up with a plan for a marriage of
convenience to one of the empire’s most wealthy eligible bachelors.
Piers is known as the Terror of Torcliff. Piers has no heirs except for a
cousin, Patrick Atherton who he does not want him to inherit the title.
So seeking to take that option away he plans on going through a
marriage of convenience which was set in motion early on but then he
meets Alexandra who shake things up and starts to make him want another
option.
Loved their story and Ms.Byrne's writing.
To Catch an Earl by Kate Bateman
