NEVER SEDUCE A DUKE

A debutante is determined to have one grand flirtation before retiring to the country to enjoy life as a spinster aunt.

Margaret Stredwick has suffered heartbreak and disappointment in Regency London’s marriage mart. She decides to go on a tour of the Continent before returning to her brother’s home to spoil his children for the rest of her life. Meg's traveling companions are her beloved sister-in-law's elderly aunts, who have an unfortunate habit of pilfering secret recipes everywhere they go. But when the aunts attempt to steal an ancient Arthurian recipe book from Lucien Ambrose, the Duke of Merleton, when they stop for a tour of his home on their way to the Continent, it is Meg who is accused of theft. Lucien pursues the three women to Europe and follows them from inn to inn, trying to coerce Meg into revealing where she has hidden the book. Meg flirts with the duke, wanting just one spicy memory before she gives up on finding love. When she returns to England, Meg is carrying a spicy memory indeed—and a living reminder of her encounter with the duke. She writes to Lucien, but her letters are intercepted by a mysterious adversary. Meg thinks the duke has discarded her and their baby daughter. Lucien thinks Meg has abandoned him and made off with his family heirloom. When they meet up again, the reader follows the tedious and predictable path to their reconciliation. Readers looking for a romance novel that incorporates recipes and food will be disappointed—there is only one recipe in the book and few descriptions of food.

An eccentric duke and a spinster suffer through misunderstandings and minor deceptions, trying the reader’s patience.