“And none of us will squander it,” Asher said. “Now come, my love, show me the steps to this jig.”
She laughed as he drew her to where Rosalinde and Gray were dancing and swung her into the steps. Her family was complete. Her life was now whole. And she had more happiness than she thought could be possible.
Get ready for the next steamy historical romance series from USA Today Bestselling Author Jess Michaels.
The 1797 Club
Ten men, all destined to be dukes, who have formed a club to help each other. Their friendships are strong, but can they survive betrayal, secrets and the women who will steal their hearts? Are YOU ready to join the Club?
Read the first chapter of The Daring Duke, Book 1 in The 1797 Club, coming March 14!
Excerpt of
The Daring Duke
The 1797 Club Book 1
One of the most exclusive and expensive parties that had ever opened a Season in London was going on around James Rylon, Duke of Abernathe. There was a lively orchestra, entertainers who floated through the halls, performing magic and other feats of fantasy. There were fine partners to be had in dancing and for once the wine wasn’t watered down.
And he was utterly, completely and unbearably bored. Oh, he smiled and chatted and everyone had always called him the life of any gathering.
But he was bored.
He shifted as a group of ladies approached, smiling behind their fans, the Mamas pushing to get a good position for their eligible daughters. He forced a pleasant smile on his face.
“Good evening, ladies,” he drawled, searching his mind for names to go with the faces. He would find them, he had no doubt. Surface politeness and perfection were his specialties. What lay beneath was another story, and one he shared with very few others.
They were all talking at once now, tittering every time he said anything even remotely amusing and he held back a sigh. He only smiled with something close to realness when he saw his best friends, Simon, the Duke of Crestwood and Graham, the Duke of Northfield, approaching through the crowd. Both had an amused expression at finding him so besieged. Expressions that fell when the ladies caught sight of them and they were drawn into the trap just as he had been.
“There are so many dukes in your generation,” cooed one of the young ladies who batted her eyelashes at first James, then the other two. “And you’re all such good friends.”
Simon shrugged. “It is the time of the young duke, I suppose.”
“And yet none of you have chosen to marry,” one of the Mamas said, her lip pushing out in a pout.
“That isn’t true,” James said, grabbing Graham’s arm and all but shoving him into the fray. “Northfield here will marry my sister Margaret. That has been arranged for years.”
He could see his words didn’t appease the small crowd of ladies, even as they offered a round of felicitations nonetheless.
“Perhaps you will excuse us, ladies,” Simon said, his voice suddenly a little tight. “We have a bit of business to discuss before we all begin dancing.”
The carrot of future dances dangled before them, the ladies smiled and backed away, but James could still feel their stares on him from across the room. He let out a long sigh.
“Are you well?” Simon asked, tilting his head and examining James more closely.
James pressed his lips together. Trust Simon and Graham to see through to the truth. But it wasn’t a truth he yet wanted to discuss. “Of course,” he said with a wide smile. “Though I can tell it’s going to be a challenging Season if the first night is already so intense.”
Simon shrugged as he looked off into the crowd, his expression now as serious as James, himself, felt. “We are of an age, I suppose. The expectations are upon us to wed and produce our heirs. It makes us lambs to a slaughter in rooms like these.”
James nodded. Oh yes, he knew of those expectations all too well. They rested heavily on his shoulders, weighing him down even when he was so practiced at pretending to be light and carefree.
“Well, I’ve no plans to be leg shackled any time soon,” he said with a laugh that felt very false. He turned to Graham in the hopes he could change the subject. “I’ll leave it to Graham to do the marrying first.”
Now his smile was real. When his father died eight years ago, his first act as duke was to arrange a union between Graham and his beloved younger sister, Margaret. He did it to solidify her future, but also so that Graham would be his brother in reality, as much as he was in spirit.
He expected Graham to smile at the talk of his future marriage, but both his friends looked strangely grim. Simon, especially, was now pale and almost looked sick.
“Excuse me, gentlemen, I need a drink,” Simon muttered, nodding to them both before he left without waiting for a response.
James stared after him. “What is wrong with him?”
“I don’t know,” Graham said softly. “He’s been a bit out of sorts lately. He won’t talk to me about it, though.”
“Yes, I’ve noticed the same,” James mused.
“See if one of the others can get it out of him,” Graham suggested.
James smiled. The others. Graham was referring to the men in their informal 1797 Club. All men destined to be dukes. All who had helped James in so many of his darkest hours. They were the best of men and he was proud to call them friends and allies.
There were Graham and Simon, of course, his very best friends and the ones who had helped him form the group. They had soon asked Baldwin Undercross, now the Duke of Sheffield to be a part of it. He’d brought along his cousin, Matthew Cornwallis, now Duke of Tyndale. From him, they had added Ewan Hoffstead, who had recently become the Duke of Dunborrow. He was also mute, but he had a keen intellect and was a good friend.
Levi Vincent, now Duke of Willowby had joined their set a year later. Now he was no longer in London. Truth be told, no one knew where he was at all, but when he returned James had no doubt he would fall right back into their friendship as if not a day had passed.
Hugh Margolis, Duke of Brighthollow and Robert Smithton, Duke of Roseford had come in after Levi. Their final member was Christopher Collins, currently the Earl of Idlewood. He was their only member who had not yet inherited his dukedom, though there was no disappointment in that fact, for his father, the Duke of Kingsacre, had been a kind influence on all the men over the years.
It was a large group, but incredibly tight. James knew he could depend on any one of them to help if he needed it. And he couldn’t imagine a scenario where anything could tear their longtime friendships apart.
“Why do you ask me to see if someone else could get Simon’s troubles out of him?” he asked.
Graham arched a brow. “Don’t play as if you don’t know you’re the leader of our little group, James.”
James laughed but he appreciated Graham’s informality. When they were alone, Simon and Graham never called him by his title, for they knew Abernathe came with so many negative connotations. Even now, years after his death, when someone called him by that title, James flinched a little inside and thought of his father’s cruelty.
He shook off the thought. “We all have our part, Northfield,” he said.
Graham folded his arms and the two of them looked out over the party once more. He shot James a side glance and said, “Are you really so opposed to marriage this Season?”
James tensed slightly. “I’m only seven and twenty. I feel I have plenty of time to do my…duty.”
“I suppose that’s true,” Graham said softly. “Or even find someone who makes it feel like less than a mere duty. I hear falling in love is coming into great fashion these days.”
It took everything in James not to roll his eyes. Love was a foolish notion, after all. He’d never seen it work out for anyone who attempted it. Certainly, his own parents could hardly stand each other.
No, he had no interest in marrying. Not this Season. And very possibly not any Season at all.
Other Books by
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Jess Michaels
Seasons
An Affair in Winter (Book 1)
A Spring Deception (Book 2)
One Summer of Surrender (Book 3)
The Wicked Woodleys
Forbidden (Book 1)
Deceived (Book 2)
Tempted (Book 3)
Ruined (Book 4)
Seduced (Book 5)
The Notorious Flynns
The Other Duke (Book 1)
The Scoundrel’s Lover (Book 2)
The Widow Wager (Book 3)
No Gentleman for Georgina (Book 4)
A Marquis for Mary (Book 5)
The Ladies Book of Pleasures
A Matter of Sin
A Moment of Passion
A Measure of Deceit
The Pleasure Wars Series
Taken By the Duke
Pleasuring The Lady
Beauty and the Earl
Beautiful Distraction
About the Author
Jess Michaels writes erotic historical romance from her home in Tucson, AZ with her husband and one adorable kitty cat. She has written over 60 books, enjoys long walks in the desert and once wrestled a bear over a piece of pie. One of these things is a lie.
Jess loves to hear from fans! So please feel free to contact her in any of the following ways (or carrier pigeon):
www.AuthorJessMichaels.com
Email: [email protected]
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