An Uncommon Duke

An Uncommon Duke
Laurie Benson

Confessions of a Regency duke…When the Duke of Winterbourne proposed to Olivia, she felt like the luckiest girl alive. Their happy marriage was the envy of the Ton. But all that changed when Gabriel wasn’t there the night Olivia gave birth to their son…Gabriel’s life is rooted in darkness and he’s learnt the hard way not to trust anyone with the truth. Yet, now, his wife wants to try for another child… and Gabriel must bare his secrets in order to bring Olivia back into his bed, and by his side for ever!

Confessions of a Regency duke...

When the Duke of Winterbourne proposed to Olivia, she felt like the luckiest girl alive. Their happy marriage was the envy of the ton. But all that changed when Gabriel wasn’t there the night Olivia gave birth to their son...

Gabriel’s life is rooted in darkness, and he’s learned the hard way not to trust anyone with the truth. Yet, now his wife wants to try for another child...and Gabriel must bare his secrets in order to bring Olivia back into his bed, and by his side, forever!

Secret Lives of the Ton

What Society doesn’t know...

Meet Julian Carlisle, the Duke of Lyonsdale, Gabriel Pearce, the Duke of Winterbourne, and Phineas Attwood, the Earl of Hartwick.

In the eyes of the ton, these three gentlemen are handsome, upstanding men who—mostly!—play by the rules. But what Society doesn’t know is that, behind closed doors, these three men are living scandalous lives and hiding scandalous secrets!

Read Julian’s story in

An Unsuitable Duchess

Already available

Read Gabriel’s story in

An Uncommon Duke

Available now

And read Hart’s story in

The Unexpected Countess

Coming soon!

Author Note (#ulink_e9b736e1-dc6f-5a21-b537-8d53fe92b9f0)

The idea for this story came to me after I learned about the possible assassination attempt of the Prince Regent that occurred on January 28, 1817, when he was returning from the opening of Parliament. Thinking about that event led me to imagine a second assassination attempt, taking place a year later, with other motives behind it. I know this isn’t a very romantic thing to think about when you’re beginning to write a romance novel, but that is where it all began.

Thank you for choosing to spend some time with An Uncommon Duke. I hope you enjoy Gabriel and Olivia’s story. For more information about my next book in the Secret Lives of the Ton mini-series, which features the Earl of Hartwick, please visit my website at lauriebenson.net (http://www.lauriebenson.net) for details. While you’re there, you can also find information about some of the other interesting historical titbits I uncovered while doing research for this book.

An Uncommon Duke

Laurie Benson

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

LAURIE BENSON is an award-winning historical romance author and Golden Heart® Award finalist. She began her writing career as an advertising copywriter, where she learned more than anyone could ever want to know about hot dogs and credit score reports. When she isn’t at her laptop avoiding laundry, Laurie can be found browsing museums or taking ridiculously long hikes with her husband and two sons. You can visit her at lauriebenson.net (http://www.lauriebenson.net).

Books by Laurie Benson

Mills & Boon Historical Romance

Secret Lives of the Ton

An Unsuitable Duchess

An Uncommon Duke

Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk. (http://millsandboon.co.uk).

Many thanks to my editor Kathryn Cheshire for your insightful input and encouraging words. And to Linda Fildew, Nic Caws, Krista Oliver and the rest of the Mills & Boon Historical team, thanks for all you’ve done to help bring Gabriel and Olivia’s story into the world.

To my agent, Courtney Miller-Callihan with Handspun Literary Agency, your generous spirit is a gift. Some day both of us will sleep past six in the morning. In the meantime, I toast you with my coffee.

Jen, Mia, Lori and Lisa, thank you for being such wonderful critique partners, beta readers and friends. For Marnee, Terry and Gareth, thanks for being there on those days when chocolate and coffee were of no help.

To my family, I’m sorry to say there are no unicorns, aliens or vampires in this book. Someday I’ll write a story about an alien vampire unicorn just for the three of you. In the meantime, know that your love and support mean the world to me.

For the kind people who helped me with my research, thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. And to those of you who shared unusual Regency era titbits and antiques with me because you thought I’d find them interesting, thank you. I hope you have fun seeing how I used those items in this story.

Contents

Cover (#u68667ff4-d22e-58ef-82c2-0a898b65d073)

Back Cover Text (#u42f47d88-ae44-5c2b-8419-9d038caef82f)

Introduction (#u3cf06961-6e56-511c-a1a6-3ab41ba26b27)

Author Note (#ulink_e73bf6ad-5c9b-5dfe-81d7-f83cfdd65959)

Title Page (#u5e27bf43-c295-5df7-88df-8ff9f5837a2c)

About the Author (#u24711155-92d5-51a6-800a-11f93eed6f01)

Dedication (#u92a73750-53b0-5123-8537-6e12a1200f67)

Chapter One (#ue67a91f3-1e14-5f0a-bca0-98da33ffc420)

Chapter Two (#u383830ce-00a5-51ba-9591-079d3c64765c)

Chapter Three (#ud8668098-2b21-509a-8379-5fbef909919b)

Chapter Four (#udb25dd45-a66f-52da-8858-05e25e9c7545)

Chapter Five (#u9467594b-65ba-5bac-b39a-659b177e30ad)

Chapter Six (#u5963fc57-2210-5879-b630-b0879a22d9ca)