The Duke of Alban, close friends of the King and Queen, is devastated to witness His Majesty losing his mind plus hanging out with the aimless Prinny has become such a bore. In need of a change of scenery, he decides to visit his Hunting Box in Swaledale and reconnect with his beloved Aunt Eliza who has a home on his Yorkshire property. The last time he had been with his aunt was to find comfort and heal after the betrayal of his wife who had not only run off with a courtier but drowned in a freak accident off the coast of Italy shortly thereafter.
Since Autumn was a good time for hunting, Alban decides to invite along the down-in-the-dumps Bartholomew Norton, a close boyhood friend who could also use some time away. Suddenly the group grows to four with the pushy Earl of Orkenay and the unfamiliar Sir John Fitzhenry, a young baronet, tagging along ready for a house party.
The Duke is in for a surprise when his discovers his aunt has become blind and Kitty Douglas, her companion, is not some old biddy, but a lovely young widow whose deceased husband had gambled away their funds forcing her to seek gentile employment. There’s an instant attraction, but the class barriers get in the way of any meaningful relationship. That doesn’t mean there can’t be a flirtation. Luckily, the forward thinking Lady Rebecca DeVere Severn and reticent Hannah Billings, two of Kitty’s friends, both widows, are also visiting, which is an extra inducement for the men to spend time at his aunt’s house.
Everyone pairs up, with Kitty having the attention of both the Duke and the Earl. While their compliments are flattering, the Earl’s attempts at seduction leave her cold, but an accidental touch from the Duke gets her juices flowing. From his letters to Aunt Eliza, Kitty has imagined the man of her dreams, but in person the two are at constant odds despite their mutual attraction. Neither gentleman has marriage in mind, but Kitty is not interested in a transient relationship. Misunderstandings and hurt feelings are inevitable before true love is revealed.
The Dukes Secret Seduction by Donna Lea Simpson was originally published in 2004 as The Duke and Mrs Douglas. Too bad the author didn’t take this opportunity to review her work and do some editing. While the story seemed interesting at first, it dragged on too long with too much repetition. There just wasn’t enough plot to sustain a full length novel, but it would have made an excellent novella. This is one your grandmother could read since a deep kiss is as graphic as it gets, although, for a Regency Romance, some of the language used in polite company would have been shocking. While Kitty was a naive, albeit likable character, the Duke was an obnoxious, self absorbed man who, in my mind, never quite earned redemption. His only saving grace was his love and solicitude towards his Aunt Eliza, especially since I wasn’t feeling the romance between him and Kitty. I wish the characters had been fleshed out a bit more to make their intentions (since everyone seemed to have an angle) more relatable. The mystery of their actions is briefly revealed towards the end of the book, almost as a throwaway thought. Too many lost opportunities!
Three stars (barely) and a thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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