Antonia, the dowager Duchess of Warneham, reflects on her
life while awaiting her fate from the new duke. At 26,
she's already buried two husbands. Antonia's first marriage
to a rake shattered her naivety when he ignored her and
their daughter and spent most of his time with his mistress
and their children. After a vicious argument, her husband
and daughter were killed in a horrible carriage accident.
Antonia sank into severe depression. Alarmed by her
behavior, Antonia's father admitted her to a private insane
asylum where she endured barbaric treatment. At the end of
her confinement, Antonia was quickly married to the aging
Duke of Warneham, who desperately needed an heir. Now,
after his suspicious death, she's hoping she can live a
quiet and independent life.
Gareth Lloyd, the new Duke of Warneham, seethes in
resentment that he's inherited the title from his uncle.
This aristocratic family despised his father for marrying a
Jew. Gareth lived between two worlds until his parents'
death when he was sent to the Duke of Warneham's estate.
Gareth lived on the outskirts of the estate until his
cousin died in a tragic accident. In a rage, the duke took
his anger out on 12-year-old Gareth, sending him onto a
ship of horrors where he endured abuse and almost lost his
soul. Fate delivered Gareth into the hands of Neville
Shipping, where he regained his spirit. Circumstances make
Gareth reluctantly accept the title and its
responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is the
beautiful, but fragile, dowager Duchess of Warneham.
Their tragedies have strengthened them, but they're wary of
permanence. Antonia craves a future with Gareth, but she
must battle the suspicions that she poisoned her husband
before they can forge a life together.
Ms. Carlyle delves into daunting issues of mental illness
and child abuse in her new tale. Her complex characters
rise above the bleakness and darkness and re-engage in
life. She successfully uses flashbacks at the beginning of
each chapter that emphasizes the enormous strides the
characters must make. To break the tension and give
unexpected humor, the talented Mr. Kemble (from the
previous novel) makes an appearance and aids Antonia and
Gareth in their endeavors.
With her fragile beauty and regal bearing, the Duchess of
Warneham knows how to keep her admirers at a distance.
Twice wed and twice widowed, Antonia has vowed never again
to marry; never again to surrender her freedom. But when
her husband's death is deemed suspicious, and his long-
lost heir returns to seize control of the dukedom, she
finds that fate has placed her future in yet another man's
hands -- but not just any man.
They call him a cold-hearted bastard...
Deep in London's docklands, Gareth Lloyd runs Neville
Shipping with an iron fist. Unrecognizable as the starving
orphan who was abandoned by his family and sent an ocean
away from home, Gareth has put his troubled past behind
him. That is, until the Duke of Warneham is murdered, and
Gareth turns out to be the dynasty's last living heir.
Wrenched from his solitude, Gareth neither wants nor needs
the honors and obligations of nobility -- especially the
Duke's all-too-tempting widow.... Or does he?
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