A child of the slums, Kate's choices are limited. She could
become a common prostitute or, with her breathtaking
beauty, a courtesan. When a rich merchant offers to educate
her in speech, reading and more importantly, lessons from a
famous courtesan, Kate accepts. She learns to harden her
heart to slights and slurs, and takes pleasures in the
simple joys of music, art and cooking. When she catches the
eye of the Prince Regent, Kate's merchant sells her
services to him. The Prince, who is involved in a messy
divorce, manipulates the Duke of Darlington to act as
Kate's escort.
As the head of a powerful and influential family, Grayson,
the Duke of Darlington, resents the ruse the Prince has
thrust upon him. He prides himself on his spotless
reputation and the idea of squiring around that "woman" is
distasteful. However, due to the Prince's threat of
withholding his influence on an upcoming bill his family is
pushing, Grayson has no choice in the matter.
At his initial meeting with Kate, Grayson is struck by her
beauty and the curious mixture of innocence and sin that
surrounds her. Grayson and Kate succumb to forbidden
passion and love knowing there is no future, only
heartache, awaiting them.
Ms. London's newest novel is exceptional! Her characters
elicit heartfelt sympathy for their plight as they struggle
with society and family expectations. She balances the
tenderness of newfound love with their passionate embraces
as Kate and Grayson blindly rush toward heartbreak and
disaster.
Kate Bergeron is the beautiful and mysterious former
mistress of a cloth merchant...and the latest beauty to
capture the interest of the Prince of Wales. Mired in a
disastrous divorce, the Prince attempts to distract
attention from his next amorous pursuit by ordering
Grayson Christopher, the eligible Duke of Darlington, to
pretend to London society that he is having the affair
with Kate.
When Grayson reluctantly agrees to his Prince's demand, he
finds the lady no more willing than he is. Kate will
grudgingly act the part in public, but her favors are not
for sale to any man.
As Grayson and Kate mimic ardor for the world to see, they
find what started as a deception becoming all too real.
And when passion flames into love, their predicament
becomes extreme. For while marriage between a duke and a
courtesan could never happen, Kate knows in her heart that
she is willing to accept nothing less...
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