How
to Love a Duke in Ten Days
by
Kerrigan Byrne
These
men are dark, bold, and brave. And there is only one woman who can
bring them to their knees...
Famed
and brilliant, Lady Alexandra Lane has always known how to look out
for to herself. But nobody would ever expect that she has darkness in
her past—one that she pays a blackmailer to keep buried. Now, with
her family nearing bankruptcy, Alexandra strikes upon a solution: Get
married to one of the empire’s most wealthy eligible bachelors.
Even if he does have the reputation of a devil.
LOVE
TAKES NO PRISONERS
Piers
Gedrick Atherton, the Duke of Redmayne, is seeking revenge and the
first step is securing a bride. Winning a lady’s hand is not so
easy, however, for a man known as the Terror of Torcliff. Then,
Alexandra enters his life like a bolt of lightning. When she proposes
marriage, Piers knows that, like him, trouble haunts her footsteps.
But her gentleness, sharp wit, independent nature, and incredible
beauty awakens every fierce desire within him. He will do whatever it
takes to keep her safe in his arms.
Chapter
One
Maynemouth,
Devonshire,
1890
Ten
years
later
Alexander,
Accept
the invitation to Castle Redmayne.
I’m
in danger.
I need you.
—Frank
Alexandra
Lane
had
spent the
entire
train
ride
from
Lon-
don
to Devonshire meticulously pondering
those fourteen
words
for
two
separate reasons.
The
first,
she had
been
unable to stop fretting
for Fran-
cesca,
who
tended
to
give
more
than
the
appropriate
amount
of
context.
The
terse,
vague
note
Alexandra
now
held
was
more
of
a
warning
than
the
message
contained
therein.
The
second, she could no longer afford a
first-class, pri-
vate
railcar, and
had,
for the
last several tense hours, been
forced
to
share
her
vestibule
face-to-face
with
a
rough-
featured, stocky
man
with
shoulders
made for
labor.
Alone.
He’d
attempted
polite conversation at first,
which she’d
rebuffed
with equal
civility by feigning interest in
her cor-
respondence.
By
now,
however,
they
were
both
painfully
aware
she
needn’t take
four
stops
to
read two
letters.
It was
terribly rude,
she knew. Her carpetbag
remained
clutched
in
her
fist
the
entire
time,
except
when
her
hand
would
wander
into
its
depths
to
palm
the
tiny
pistol
she
always
carried.
The
sounds of the
other
passengers in
ad-
joining
vestibules
didn’t make
her
feel
safer,
per se.
But she
knew they would hear
her scream, and that pro-
vided
some
relief.
For
a
woman
who’d
spent
a
great
deal
of
the
last
ten
years
in
the company
of
men,
she’d
thought
these painful
moments
would
have
relented
by
now.
Alas,
she’d become
a
mistress
of manipulating
a
situa-
tion
so,
even
if
she
had
to
endure
the
company
of
men
without
a
female
companion,
there
would
be
more
than
one
man.
In
the
circles she tended
to frequent, people be-
haved
when
in
company.
It
had worked
thus far.
Alexandra
braced
herself
against
the
slowing
of
the
train,
breathing
a
silent
prayer
of
relief
that
they’d
finally
arrived.
She’d been
terrified
that
if
she’d glanced
up once,
she’d
be
forced into conversation with her unwanted com-
panion.
Rain
wept
against
the coach
window,
and the shadows
of
the
tears
painted macabre little serpents on the
conflict-
ing
documents
in
her
hands.
One,
a
wedding
invitation.
The
other,
Francesca’s
alarming
note.
A
month past, she’d have wagered her entire inheritance
against
Francesca
Cavendish’s
being
the
first
of
the
Red
Rogues
to
capitulate
to
the bonds
of
matrimony.
A
month
past,
she’d
assumed
she’d
had
an
inheritance
to
wager.
Their
little society had seemed destined to live up to the
promise
they’d once made
as
young, disenchanted
girls
to
never
marry.
Until
the
invitation
to
an
engagement
masquerade—
given
by
the
Duke
of
Redmayne—had
arrived
the
same
day
of
her
friend’s
cryptic and startling
note.
The
invitation
had
been
equally
as
ambiguous,
stating
that
the
future
duchess
of
Redmayne
would
be
unveiled,
as
it
were,
at
the
ball.
Included
in
Alexandra’s
particular
envelope
was
a request
for
her
to
attend as a bridesmaid.
The
subsequent plea for help from Francesca—Frank—
had
arrived
in
a
tiny
envelope
with
the
Red
Rogue
seal
they’d
commissioned
some
years
prior.
Alexandra
hadn’t
even
known
Francesca
had
returned
from
her romps about the
Continent. Last she’d heard,
the
countess
had
been
in
Morocco,
doing
reconnaissance
of
some
sort.
Nothing
in
her
letters
had
mentioned
a
suitor.
Not
a serious
one,
in
any
case.
Certainly
not
a duke.
Francesca
had
a
talent
for
mischief
and
a
tendency
to
interpret danger
as mere
adventure.
So,
what
could
possibly
frighten her
fearless
friend?
Marriage,
obviously,
Alexandra
thought
with
a
smirk.
A
risky
venture,
to
be sure.
From How
to Love a Duke in Ten Days. Copyright © 2019 by Kerrigan
Byrne and reprinted with permission from St. Martin’s
Paperbacks.
Whether
she’s writing about Celtic Druids, Victorian bad boys, or brash
Irish FBI Agents, USA Today bestseller Kerrigan
Byrne uses her borderline-obsessive passion for history, her
extensive Celtic ancestry, and her love of Shakespeare in every book.
She lives at the base of the Rocky Mountains with her handsome
husband and three lovely teenage girls, but dreams of settling on the
Pacific Coast. Her Victorian Rebels novels include The
Highwayman and The Highlander.
Q:
What inspired you to write How
to Love a Duke in Ten Days?
A:
I’ve always been one of those women who have enjoyed fierce female
friendships. I think that soulmates, even for heterosexual women, can
be just as necessary with other women as with men, and a real hero
must not just love and respect you, but also your tribe. I wanted to
write a series where historical heroines could truly have it all,
education, dreams, businesses, wealth, genius, revenge, hot sex, AND
true love. Where the sacrifices were made on their behalf instead by
them, and where their heroes learn to lift them up in all ways, heal
their pains, calm their fears, become their best friends, and protect
them with what I hope is a great balance between alpha hotness and
progressive sensitivity.
Q:
Is there one thing you would like readers to take away from this
story?
A:
That’s tough because I packed a lot in there! I would say the one
thing from this book, specifically, is that happiness is attainable
against the odds, even when overcoming the worst that people can do
to one another. Even though I’m a grown up and a cynic, I still
like to write books that remind me that true love conquers all,
because that love can come from so many people.
Q:
Can you describe your typical day writing this book?
A:
This book was especially difficult for me to write, so I spent a
great deal of time in my bathrobe. I would get up, my fantastic
husband would make me coffee, I’d call my critique partner and we’d
do a bit of brainstorming, and I’d write and rewrite for hours,
stress, cry, throw things, walk the dog, eat, snack, eat some more,
facebook way too much, and then finish under word count, binge a tv
show or a book until I stared at the ceiling into the wee hours. Oh,
and there was drinking in there at regular intervals.
Glamorous,
I know!
Q:
Describe the hero and heroine of How
to Love a Duke in Ten Days in
three words each.
A:
The Duke of Redmayne: Wary. Wounded. Wicked.
Lady
Alexandra Lane: Brave. Brilliant. Beautiful.
Q:
What is the one thing that the heroine, Alexandra, can’t live
without?
A:
She cannot live without her two dearest friends in the entire world,
Miss Cecelia Teague, and Lady Francesca Cavendish. They literally
buried a body for her, and would defend her to the death.
Q:
What was your hardest scene to write in How
to Love a Duke in Ten Days?
Your favorite?
A:
As with many (most) of my novels, the prologues are the hardest to
write, and read, I suspect. Usually I take the characters to the very
edge of their breaking point, often times pushing them over so they
have what seems like insurmountable conflicts to overcome both
internally and externally. So, for this book, Alexandra’s assault
was the most difficult thing to get through, and boy did I enjoy
being able to help Piers put her back together, because he was just
the perfect hero for her. Tender, empathetic, a good sense of humor,
and a large dose of protective alphaness.
Q:
Why do you write historical romance?
A:
I’ve always romanticized the past. I can’t help it. I love the
pace and the aesthetic, the gowns and the suits and the manners and
the manors. I love to do historical research and it’s so fun to see
how much we are influenced by the past and how, even though so much
has changed through the centuries, people really haven’t. Also,
it’s fun to play with language, mystery, and sex in a time when a
scandal was still possible. *wink.
Q:
Is there another particular author that inspires you or that you
enjoy reading?
A:
There is a LIST! I would say in historical romance, though, it’s
always always Lisa Kleypas. She has a grasp on the characterization
of historical folks that I can never hope to attain. I’m just in
awe of her every word.
Q:
Where do you go or what resources do you use to make sure your novels
are historically correct?
A:
I love to find books about a time period at B&N or my local
bookshops. I go to Harper’s Bazaar for fashion, and a slew of
Victorian references for the time period. I do read blogs and
sometimes consult with historians and experts.
Q:
Did you learn anything surprising while researching for this novel?
A:
Many things! I learned how truly difficult it was to attain an
education as a woman as little as a hundred years ago. It’s really
incredible how far we’ve come in a century.
Q:
What do you do when faced with writer’s block, if you ever are?
A:
Oh man. I often am. I usually try to shake it loose with a
brainstorming conversation with a few friends I have who always seem
to be able to unstick me. I rely heavily on the creativity of others
as well as my own.
Q:
How did you feel the first time you realized one of your books was a
big success?
A:
I didn’t believe it. It seems surreal every time I truly realize
that a story I wrote entertained another human. Let alone more than
one. I’m like… they paid to read it? WHAT?
Q:
What’s next for the Devil
You Know series?
A:
I’m especially excited for the next book ALL SCOT AND BOTHERED
because it’s about Alexandra’s best friend the curvy vicar’s
daughter, Cecelia Teague. She inherits London’s most infamous and
successful brothel, and one imposing, surly Scottish enemy along with
it. She and Lord Ramsay, the Lord Chief Justice with an axe to grind
against her establishment, can’t be in a room together without the
sparks flying. I can’t think about this book without smiling.
Q:
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
A:
I hope you enjoy this trio of roguish redheads as much as I enjoyed
writing them!
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