Emmaline Martin has gone to India to marry the man whom her
parents have chosen. Their ship is destroyed at seeing
leaving Emmaline the only survivor. This trauma has left
Emmaline in a fragile emotional state. She is working to
find her way through the rigid rules of British India when
she meets Julian Sinclair. The Duke of Auburn is half
English, half Indian and accepted by neither society.
Julian knows that the rebellion that is fomenting amongst
the long repressed Indian people will result in the loss of
thousands of lives. He tries to convince the British but
is unsuccessful. Instead the only person he can save is
Emmaline. He takes her into the deepest parts of India and
leaves her with a friend where she is supposed to be safe.
His promise to return convinces Emmaline to stay where she
is.
When the rebellion reaches Emmaline, she works her way back
to Delhi and from there to England. The horrors she
endured on her journey are expressed in a series of
horrific paintings. Her cousin convinces her to show the
paintings and return to London for showing.
For three long years, Julian has lived a life of despair,
thinking that Emmaline was dead. He learns of her survival
just as he is about to marry another. At the same time,
she considers that he abandoned her and lied to her about
his return. Emmaline is afraid to trust Julian but as
people start dying, she has no one else to turn to.
Julian and Emmaline will have to reconcile as they search
to find the man who is killing to keep a secret.
THE DUKE OF SHADOWS is a dark and disturbing look at British
society and
their belief that they have the right to rule other lands.
Ms. Duran has written a wonderfully compelling look into
the lives of two people and the effect of violence and
rebellion on them. Lots of angst and uusual locations, set
the tone for the novel of passion, greed, and treachery.
In
a debut romance as passionate and sweeping as the British
Empire,
Meredith Duran paints a powerful picture of an aristocrat
torn between
two worlds, an heiress who dares to risk everything...and
the love born
in fire and darkness that nearly destroys them.From exotic sandstone palaces...
Sick
of tragedy, done with rebellion, Emmaline Martin vows to
settle quietly
into British Indian society. But when the pillars of
privilege topple,
her fiancé's betrayal leaves Emma no choice. She must turn
for help to
the one man whom she should not trust, but cannot resist: Julian
Sinclair, the dangerous and dazzling heir to the Duke of
Auburn.
To the marble halls of London...
In
London, they toast Sinclair with champagne. In India, they
call him a
traitor. Cynical and impatient with both worlds, Julian has
never
imagined that the place he might belong is in the embrace of
a woman
with a reluctant laugh and haunted eyes. But in a time of
terrible
darkness, he and Emma will discover that love itself can be
perilous --
and that a single decision can alter one's life
forever.
Destiny follows wherever you run.
A
lifetime of grief later, in a cold London spring, Emma and
Julian must
finally confront the truth: no matter how hard one tries to
deny it,
some pasts cannot be disowned...and some passions never die.