Left crippled in a wheelchair after an accident that
happened three years earlier, the Marquess of Walfort had
time on his hands to think about his legacy. His wife, Lady
Jayne Seymour, was very devoted to her husband and had
miscarried their first child as a result of the tragedy.
Unable to have more, Walfort demands that his cousin,
Ransom Seymour, the Duke of Ainsley, conceive a child with
his wife to make up for the tragic loss and to ensure his
family bloodline, through his cousin, is continued as his
heir. Walfort wants the resulting child to be claimed as
his own.
After much argument and delay, Ainsley unhappily agrees to
the deal, out of guilty feelings about his involvement in
the earlier accident and his own well hidden love for
Jayne. For her part, Jayne is furious and at first refuses
to break her sacred marriage vows as she had blamed
Ainley's for Walfort's condition; however, Walfort gets her
to finally agree by ensuring her it would only be a
transaction and there would be no gossip.
Alone with Ainsley in his lovely and isolated luxurious
cottage on his Blackmoor estate, except for a few very
discreet servants catering to their needs, Jayne soon
finds that her feelings are changing as she learns more
about the person Ainsley really is and what actually
happened. Finding laughter and passion as she is cherished
by Ainsey, she wonders if she can really continue with
this transaction? For Ainsley, who found such love and joy
with Jayne, will he truly be able to never recognize his
child as his own?
Lorraine Heath is one of my favorite historical romance
authors, especially for her interesting background research
as well as for her portrayals of honest passion and
realistic emotions and this delightful love tryst is no
exception. WAKING UP WITH A DUKE is the third book in
her latest series, London's Greatest Lovers. It reads very
well as a stand-alone romance and it is sure to bring
great reading pleasure to her fans who have eagerly
awaited this latest in the series. I have to admit that at
first I was uncomfortable with the deliberately manipulated
adultery, but as Heath develops her strong storyline, you
are pulled right into the conflicted emotions that Ainsley
and Jayne have over their situation and with each other.
Skillfully intertwined with this love story is the
passionate late life love affair of Ainsley's mother and
her penchant for the occasional scandalous behavior. The
juxtaposition of the two stories also helps explain why
Ainsley is the person he is and how he reacts in the
story. A compelling and emotional love story with
intriguing and dramatic twists of fate!
The Duke of Ainsley, known for his talents in the
bedchamber, is stunned when his long-time friend, the
Marquess of Walfort, asks him to get his wife with child.
During a night of debauchery with Ainsley, Walfort was
paralyzed in an accident. His wife, Jayne, has never
forgiven Ainsley for his role in the debacle that robbed her
husband of feeling from the waist down and robbed her of the
opportunity to have a child. Ainsley owes his friend--and
more--his friend’s wife.
After much reluctance, Jayne agrees to spend one month with
Ainsley, in hopes of getting her with child, but she has
terms: he is never to kiss her, she will take no pleasure
from the act, and she will do nothing to bring him pleasure,
other than what is necessary for him to fulfill his
obligations. But as the days and nights follow, she
discovers a man with the ability to make her feel alive as
she never did, a man who can make her dream again, make her
feel young again. In his arms, she will come to realize a
love far greater than any she has ever known.
© 2003-2024 off-the-edge.net
all rights reserved Privacy Policy