One Duke of a Time

She doesn't need an escort. He doesn't want a ward. Aunt Eugenia apparently didn't care. When Miss Lydia Montague inherits a crumbling Devonshire estate, there's a catch: she cannot claim it without Maximilian Ashcombe, Duke of Hasting, escorting her there. Lydia finds the stipulation insulting. Maximilian finds Lydia impossible. They are both correct, and neither can afford to be. The road to Devonshire is longer than it looks. A tampered carriage, a pair of highwaymen, and a series of cryptic warnings from an unknown cousin are bad enough. What Lydia doesn't expect is the duke himself - not the cold, imperious creature London gossip described, but a man who watches starlight from rooftops, keeps his promises to dead women, and holds his composure with the white-knuckled effort of someone who hasn't decided whether to stay or run. She isn't making it easier. The estate holds secrets - a sealed east wing, a duplicitous solicitor, and a rival claimant determined to strip Lydia of everything her aunt chose to give her. But the battle for Rosecroft House may prove simpler than the battle unfolding inside the duke's carriage, where two people who want nothing from each other keep finding they want everything. One Duke of a Time is a Regency road trip romance with sharp banter, slow-burn tension that eventually catches fire, and two stubborn hearts that take the long way to love.