The Unexpected Duke
- Reads 76
- Votes 3
- Parts 4
Ongoing38m
Last published Tue, Nov 28, 2023
**************************
The Duke of Bridport is frustrated trying to fill the shoes of a title he wasn't prepared to inherit. Pressured to enter the marriage mart, the Duke is less than impressed with his marital options. Enter Miss Lillian Winslow, a blast from his humble past. He dismissed her back then, but what goes around often comes around...
**************************
All Rights Reserved
#214
lilly
Join the largest storytelling communityGet personalized story recommendations, save your favourites to your library, and comment and vote to grow your community.
You may also like
The Wayward Miss Wainwright
Miss Helena Wainwright is determined to see her nieces and nephew well settled with their new guardian, the Duke of Rotherham. After six months of transition, the children are beginning to bond with their uncle, but Helena and the Duke aren’t able to get much past the barest of civilities. Now that the duke is poised to offer for the shy Miss Fanshawe, Helena is horrified to discover an awful secret about the young lady and her scheming mother. What is she going to do--keep the secret or reveal all in her own bid for the duke’s heart? Ready to settle down and provide a stable environment for his wards, Vernon Wroxby, the Duke of Rotherham, has decided the amenable Miss Fanshawe will do, even if he dislikes her outspoken, uncouth mama. If he could just quit wondering what Miss Wainwright is doing (and with whom) he’d be able to appreciate the match a bit more. But as his wards begin to rebel against the idea of this marriage, and he starts to realize that his affections really reside with Miss Wainwright, will one determined marriage-mart mama ruin any chance he might have for true happiness?Complete
Regency Romance: The Lady's Masquerade (A Historical Romance Book) (COMPLETED)
Good girls don't go snooping where they don't belong. But Lady Delia Scarborough never claimed to be a good girl. Lady Delia Scarborough wants her sister back from the grave. Since that can't happen, she'll settle for the next best thing... Making sure her sister's murderer does not go free. Lady Delia's happy to play the part of maid as long as it gets her inside the home of Kieran Dearborne, Duke of Cowanfield. He may be able to fool his young daughter into thinking he's innocent, but he can't fool Delia. She knows a murderer when she sees one. But the attraction that blossoms between them throws her plans into chaos. The more Delia gets to know the Duke, the more she thinks his innocence is no act. But every clue she uncovers points to him, and he acts strangely whenever she's around. Delia will do anything to avenge her sister's death, but that means putting her own life in peril. Can the duke's love pull Delia back from the brink of danger? Or was her fate sealed the moment she stepped into the Duke's home?Complete
Regency Romance: The Earl's Obsession (Historical Romance) (COMPLETED)
(COMPLETED) It's 1817 and there is nothing more a woman wants than to marry a rich man and live a life of comfort. But not Nancy Brooks. Having spent half her life helping her mother run her laundry shop and the other half in the local library, Nancy knows what she wants, and it is not a life spent looking for the perfect suitor. Things take a turn when she delivers clothes to one of the schools she always dreamed of attending and ends up saving the day. Lord Andrew Montgomery rules almost every place he sets foot in-one of the perks of being the son of the most powerful duke of the time-and this includes Oxford. Violent and aggressive, he vows to make the life of every student who dares defy him miserable. However, when he targets the new (and first) girl at Oxford, his obsession becomes a little more than just making her life miserable. It began, he would later speculate, with a shout: the simple sound of someone shouting at him-for the first time in his life. It began, she would later speculate, with a catch: the simple movement of strong arms, breaking her fall, catching her midway. But after that, there would come many more events, and ones not too keen on bringing them together. What will they do when a powerful duchess steps in, when it seems every person is working to keep them apart? This is a story of betrayal and love, because they are not so different after all...Complete
Dearest Duke Of Her Fascination
If the scandal of his inheritance ever got out he'd be ruined forever. Magnus Langmore, the Duke of Yarmouth lives everyday with a secret that could destroy his family line. He was never the true heir to his father's dukedom. Birthed by one of his father's mistresses, he was raised as if he were the Duchess's own child. All the years that she could never bring herself to love him left himself with a void he never wished to fill. Love did not exist in his world. He spent his days hard trained and invested into the work of the Dukedom. He felt he had to work twice as hard because it wasn't in his blood. But, when a pureblood-daughter of a Duke crosses his path on the verges of a scandal, he finds himself utterly engrossed with Lady Ambrosia Somerville. If love does not exist, then why does she make him feel otherwise? When the opportunity finally presents itself for him to ask for her hand, will the fears of his past get in the way of a potentially happy future in their marriage bed? Rated Mature: 🔥 [#1 Regenecyera ] {#1 1800's}Complete
Emily
*Book 2 in the Regency Series- can be read as a standalone.* Nathaniel Whitlock, Duke of Somerhall is used to debutantes who want him for nothing more than his title and the wealth and prestige that comes with it. He has seen the first of his sisters marry for love and knows that it is something he wants for himself. Unfortunately, he can never know whether a girl is interested in him or in his bankbook. Then, in comes Lady Emily Carter, his sister's friend. After being off travelling the world for two years, the young lady is back in society, and visits his estate with his sister, Cassandra. When she arrives, Nate is immediately taken by this fiery lady and it appears that she feels the same. However, there is nothing Emily values more than her independence and Nate does not know what she will choose.Complete
A Season of Masks and Masquerades
𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 1810. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘋𝘶𝘬𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘋𝘶𝘬𝘦'𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴, 𝘴𝘪𝘹 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦. 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘢 𝘋𝘶𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘵. 𝘏𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 a 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘥. 𝘼 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝘽𝙖𝙡𝙡. ____________________________ 𝐄𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞, a rakish Duke who's certain he'll never find 'true' love because he is too rich for any woman to see him beyond his wealth and power. 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞, a woman who wishes to find love in anyone but a man rich in wealth and power. Cruel fate and their unshakeable will has left no space for their entanglement and yet, once they hide behind masks, they seem to forget their own selves in the longing of each other. But what will happen when the masks fall? _______________________________Complete
How To Unlock A Duke's Heart
This story takes place in England, 1760, some years before lady Georgia sadly married Lord Walter Pearson at the young age of sixteen. Four years later, Lord Pearson tragically lost his life in a duel to his former lover's husband. Now, widowed from a marriage that was far from love lady Georgia was only grateful for having her only daughter, Luella. Thankfully, Georgia's Aunt, Lady Willoughby saves her just in time summoning them both to her country seat. After, three long years of mourning all the while avoiding further scandal, she couldn't help the day when she noticed His Grace, the Duke of Richmond. He has seemed to be assuming residence in his country seat in the large vast lands which happened to lie just adjacent to the Willoughby's. The Duke of Richmond never bothered to visit his country seat which was his vast reality of the wife and children that he didn't have to accompany him. He had closed that part off from himself after being scarred and burned long ago... So when it just so happens that he notices a woman he's quite never seen before, and her sweet little angle daughter seemingly residing on the lands that have always been adjacent to his country seat estate, which he never bothered to reside in, he couldn't help but feel something pulling at his heart. . . All along it was the key to unlock it. Rated: Mature🔥 {#1 in COURTSHIP} {#1 REGENCY-ERA} {#1 REGENCY}Complete
A Proper Education (HC #3)
Simon Humphrey has many responsibilities. He has a dukedom to oversee, a wife to find, and a rambunctious family to keep in line, not the least of whom is his youngest sister (and perhaps best friend) Phillipa, who cannot seem to keep a governess. When Mrs Fiona Green appears, references in one hand and her young son Nathaniel clutched in the other, he hopes that at least one of his prayers has been answered, and sets his mind to the important task of finding himself a respectable duchess to share his life. But something - or someone - seems determined to keep Simon from his goal. As inconvenience, danger, and outright sabotage abound, Simon struggles to keep those in his care safe... and to ignore the sparkling green eyes of the sweet, lovely, and married governess now living within his walls. After all, Simon Humphrey has many responsibilities. He's just not sure if that includes following his heart. ** Book 3 of the Humphrey Chronicles ** Completed January 2026, ~ 124K wordsComplete
Drowning In Desire ***COMPLETE***
He saved her from drowning... Who will save her from him. Matthew Weldrick must marry and produce an heir. Giving up his rakish ways is hard enough, but finding a wife who stirs his heart seems impossible-until a visit to his country estate introduces him to a woman he never expected. Orphaned young, Abigail Willhoite has spent her life caring for others. When her adoptive parents die, she is left to raise their children and save the failing farm. After a chance rescue by a handsome duke, she falls for a man she knows she can never have-and loving him may cost her everything. William Tinker believes he is the last heir to the Septhon fortune, until a dying lord sends a message meant for Abigail Willhoite. If she learns the truth, Tinker loses it all. Determined to stop it, he vows she will never discover who she truly is. **First Book in the Desire Series**Complete
A Marriage Most Inconvenient
Forced into marriage by duty and obligation, The Duke and Duchess of Rothbury parted ways a week after saying their vows under the explicit understanding that theirs was a marriage in name only. There would be no expectations of love, fidelity, or romance. The Duke hates the American Heiress who married him only for his title, completely unaffected by the senseless tragedy that had made their marriage necessary in the first place. When an illness forces him to retire to the country, he makes sure to choose the property where his wife wouldn't be. Except that she is, and she is still as insufferable as ever. The Duchess resents the man who killed her youthful dreams of love and abandoned her to live his bachelor life unencumbered. When she is jilted by her lover, and faced with inevitable ridicule, she decides to retire to her beloved estate in Cornwall, where she runs an orphanage. Never once does she expect to run into her cold, selfish, insufferable arse of a husband! Forced into each other's company by circumstance, the couple begin to unravel their individual prejudices. Resentment turns into respect and friendship. Respect and friendship soon turn into attraction and affection. Was love closer than either one of them could ever have imagined? And that begged the question; can the Duke win his wife's favor, or is it far too late to make their marriage a love match? Cover by MuniWilliams.Complete
Miss Helena Wainwright is determined to see her nieces and nephew well settled with their new guardian, the Duke of Rotherham. After six months of transition, the children are beginning to bond with their uncle, but Helena and the Duke aren’t able to get much past the barest of civilities. Now that the duke is poised to offer for the shy Miss Fanshawe, Helena is horrified to discover an awful secret about the young lady and her scheming mother. What is she going to do--keep the secret or reveal all in her own bid for the duke’s heart? Ready to settle down and provide a stable environment for his wards, Vernon Wroxby, the Duke of Rotherham, has decided the amenable Miss Fanshawe will do, even if he dislikes her outspoken, uncouth mama. If he could just quit wondering what Miss Wainwright is doing (and with whom) he’d be able to appreciate the match a bit more. But as his wards begin to rebel against the idea of this marriage, and he starts to realize that his affections really reside with Miss Wainwright, will one determined marriage-mart mama ruin any chance he might have for true happiness?
More detailsContent Guidelines