Soldier-turned-spy Adam Drummond is undercover at the Duke of Marsley's estate, acting as the majordomo, keeping things running since the Duke's death. He's actually there on behalf of the Silent Service, a dark branch of the war office tasked with difficult missions. It is believed that the Duke betrayed troops in India, and his betrayal resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians. Adam is painstakingly going through the Duke's meticulous journals, but when he encounters the grieving duchess, Adam's dangerously close to exposing his true identity and ruining the mission...
Duchess Suzanne Whitcomb is going through the motions of life. Losing both her husband and her young son in the same accident, and dealing with her overbearing father, Suzanne finds it easier to simply comply with what is expected of her. But when she begins interacting with the ducal estate's majordomo, Suzanne starts to feel emotions she hasn't felt in years. With her maid possibly reporting her every move to her father, and the intriguing Adam igniting a passion she thought long buried, Suzanne has to decide what terms she wants to live her life...
TO LOVE A DUCHESS was an interesting historical. The first in the All for Love series by prolific author Karen Ranney, Adam and Suzanne have numerous obstacles in front of them: their different stations, the fact that he technically works for her, his secret mission, her ostentatious father, and societal expectations for them both. On top of all of that, both Adam and Suzanne are still grieving major losses in their lives, and it has been a long time since either of them have felt anything for another person. While watching them both let their walls down was sweet, there was almost too much angst and too many secrets to really enjoy their love story. Adam keeps his true motives from Suzanne for a very long time, well after they start an intimate relationship. Suzanne's attraction to Adam awakens a vigor in her that is refreshing to see, but it was hard to read about how far her father's manipulation of her really ended up going, along with the questionable true motives behind that. Finally, the mystery surrounding the Duke's possible traitorous behavior falls a little flat by the time of the resolution.
Undercover as a majordomo, spy Adam Drummond
has infiltrated Marsley House with one purpose onlyโto
plunder its mysteries and gather proof that the late Duke of
Marsley was an unforgivable traitor to his country. At the
same time, Adam is drawn to a more beguiling puzzle: the
young and still-grieving duchessโa beauty with impenetrable
secrets of her own. For Drummond, uncovering them without
exposing his masquerade will require the most challenging
and tender moves of his career.
That a servant can
arouse such passion in her is too shocking for Suzanne
Whitcomb, Duchess of Marsley, to consider. Yet nothing
quickens her pulse like Drummondโs touch. Itโs been two
years since the duke lost his life in a tragic accidentโand
even longer since sheโs been treated like a woman. But when
Drummondโs real mission is revealed, and the truth behind
Suzanneโs grief comes to light, every secret conspired to
tear them apart is nothing compared to the love that can
hold them together.
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