The Dastardly Duke

Julian LeFevre, Duke of Claridge, found being a reformed rake terribly dull. So he wagered a friend that he could make any pretty trollop in London pass for a lady of the ton. But when his friend presented him with Miss Hannah Gregory, Julian felt a stirring of doubt...and desire. Indeed, far from the typical light-skirt, Hannah had a ready wit, a wicked tongue and the most wondrous gray eyes. And although she concealed her real past, she couldn't disguise her unbending pride or her attraction to the scoundrel who offered a small fortune to transform her into the season's newest Original. The charade could break her heart...if Hannah forgets that this is merely a masquerade.
--"A highly talented writer of daring originality, Ms. Putman brilliantly crafts a remarkable romance featuring one of the most memorable rakes Regency fans will ever encounter." Romantic Times

A highly talented writer of daring originality, Ms. Putman brilliantly crafts a remarkable romance featuring one of the most memorable rakes Regency fans will ever encounter. Yummy, yummy, yummy. --Romantic Times, Jan. 98

A contemptible, conniving, depraved peer of the realm who takes advantage of a destitute young deaf woman is nothing if not dastardly.

Julian LeFevre was the perfect villain--cold, cruel, an inveterate seducer. He deserved to lose, and lose he did--his woman, his self-respect, and very nearly his life--in my October `97 release, The Perfect Bride. Making this dangerous rake into the hero of The Dastardly Duke was the kind of challenge that keeps a writer up at night.

In love, the darkest heroes fall the hardest. They take us with them, for there is something compelling about watching a man who believes in nothing discover that life's greatest gift is waiting for him to take it, if he can.

Tormented by his secret belief that he was a bastard, Julian knew he was not entitled to his wealth and title. He was living a lie, and it was killing him. With the dukedom and perhaps his very soul hanging in the balance, he vows to mend his ways but cannot resist a wicked wager to fool the ton by making a trollop pass for a lady. Would the woman be his salvation--or his downfall?

Both, of course.

Far from the biddable miss he thought he hired for the job, Hannah Gregory possesses a sharp tongue, rebellious ways, and the most wondrous gray eyes. She is deaf, the result of an accident that occurred when she had the temerity to climb a tree at the ripe old age of seventeen.

In those times, the deaf faced great pressures to develop oral skills like speech and lipreading. Because she was not born deaf, Hannah had little difficulty making her way in a hearing world. But she had not yet come to terms with the silence in her life and, especially, the loss of her beloved music. Reduced to desperate circumstances, Hannah needs money to pay for an operation that may restore her hearing. She certainly doesn't need this disturbing duke with the devil's own eyes.

There are all kinds of music in this world, from the music of Beethoven to the music of the heart. As Julian and Hannah struggled to find their own special song of love, I swear I heard the angels sing. I hope you do too.