The Duke (Knight Miscellany Series #1) [NOOK Book]

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Overview

Driven to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his ladylove, the Duke of Hawkscliffe will go to any lengths to unmask a murderer. Even if it means jeopardizing his reputation by engaging in a scandalous affair with London's most provocative courtesan--the desirable but aloof Belinda Hamilton.

Bel has used her intelligence and wit to charm the city's titled gentlemen, while struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. She needs a protector, so she accepts Hawk's invitation to become his mistress in name only. He asks nothing of her body, but seeks her help in snaring the same man who shattered her virtue. Together they tempt the ...
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Overview

Driven to uncover the truth about the mysterious death of his ladylove, the Duke of Hawkscliffe will go to any lengths to unmask a murderer. Even if it means jeopardizing his reputation by engaging in a scandalous affair with London's most provocative courtesan--the desirable but aloof Belinda Hamilton.

Bel has used her intelligence and wit to charm the city's titled gentlemen, while struggling to put the pieces of her life back together. She needs a protector, so she accepts Hawk's invitation to become his mistress in name only. He asks nothing of her body, but seeks her help in snaring the same man who shattered her virtue. Together they tempt the unforgiving wrath of society--until their risky charade turns into a dangerous attraction, and Bel must make a devastating decision that could ruin her last chance at love. . . .


From the Paperback edition.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780345494146
  • Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
  • Publication date: 4/25/2006
  • Sold by: Random House
  • Format: eBook
  • Sales rank: 20,558
  • Series: Knight Miscellany Series, #1
  • File size: 516 KB
  • Items ship to U.S, APO/FPO and U.S. Protectorate addresses.

Meet the Author

"Romance is the literature of possibility," states award-winning author Gaelen Foley. "Romance celebrates the richness and beauty of living and reaffirms the eternal truth that love is the glue that holds the universe together. And, of course, it's wicked fun!"

After earning her B.A. in literature from the State University of New York at Fredonia, Gaelen moonlighted as a waitress for nearly five years while devoting her daylight hours to honing her craft. Her first book, The Pirate Prince, won the Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award for Best First Historical Romance, and was nominated for the Holt Medallion for Best First Book. She is also the author of Princess and Prince Charming.


From the Paperback edition.

Read an Excerpt

London, 1814

Many years ago, as a curly-headed youth on grand tour,
he had fallen madly in love with beauty and so had stopped
in Florence to take drafting lessons from a bonafide Italian
master. Starry-eyed and romantical, he had followed the
light-winged muses south to the Bay of Sorrento, where he
had first heard the ancient Italian proverb "Revenge is a
dish best served cold." He was an old man now, without illusions,
cold and canny as a scheming pope. Beauty had
betrayed him, but decades later, oddly enough, here on this
gray English day, the Sicilian proverb held true.

A neat, slight-framed man, James Breckinridge, the earl
of Coldfell, gripped the ivory head of his walking stick in
gnarled fingers that ached with the needling April rain. He
permitted his footman to assist him down from his luxurious
black town coach while another held an umbrella
over him.

The slumbrous quiet in this place was like a church, but
for the pattering of the rain. He turned slowly, looked past
the servants' blanked faces, past the jagged wrought-iron
fence, into St. George's Burying Ground on the Uxbridge
Road, just north of Hyde Park. Three weeks ago, he had
buried his young bride here. Under a chilly gray drizzle,
where the hill curved green, her marble monument rose
like an angry needle to the smoke-colored sky. Beneath it,
just where Coldfell had expected to find him, stood the
tall, powerful, brooding silhouette of a man; wind-blown
and lost, the wide shoulders slumped as the gusty rain
blew his black greatcoat around him.

Hawkscliffe.

Coldfell's mouth flattened into a thin line. He took the
umbrella from the footman. "I shan't be long."

"Yes, my lord."

Leaning on his walking stick, he began the slow ascent
up the graveled path.

The thirty-five-year-old Robert Knight, ninth duke of
Hawkscliffe, appeared unaware of his approach, stony and
immobile as the monument. He stood in bleak granite stillness,
the rain plastering his wavy black hair to his forehead,
running in chilly rivulets down the stark planes of his cheeks,
and dripping off his rugged profile as he stared down at the
yellow daffodils that had been planted on her grave.

Coldfell winced at the ungentlemanly intrusion he was
about to make on the other man's grief. Hawkscliffe was,
after all, the only one of the younger generation he respected.
Some of the old-school pigtail Tories found the
young magnate's views alarmingly Whiggish, but none
could deny that Hawkscliffe was twice the man his weak-willed
father had been.

Why, Coldfell reflected as he hobbled up the path, he
had seen Robert become a duke at the age of seventeen,
managing three vast estates and raising four wild younger
brothers and a little sister practically single-handedly.
More recently, he had heard him deliver speeches in the
Lords with a cool force and eloquence that had brought the
whole house to its feet. Hawkscliffe's integrity was unquestioned;
his honor rang true as a bell of finest sterling.

Many of the younger set, like Coldfell's own idiot nephew
and heir, Sir Dolph Breckinridge, considered the so-called
paragon duke a rigid high stickler, but to wiser heads,
Hawkscliffe was, in a word, impeccable.

It was pitiful to see what Lucy's death had done to him.
Ah, well. Men would see in a woman what they wanted
to see.

Coldfell cleared his throat. Startled, Hawkscliffe jerked
at the noise and spun around. Tumultuous emotion blazed
in his dark eyes. Seeing Coldfell, his dazed expression of
pain took on a stab of guilt. With his honorable nature, it
had no doubt tormented the duke to have wanted an old
friend's wife. Himself, he had never been that chivalrous.
James nodded to him. "Hawkscliffe."

"Beg your pardon, my lord, I was just leaving," he
mumbled, lowering his head.

"Stay, Your Grace, by all means," Coldfell answered,
waving off the awkwardness. "Keep an old man company
on this dreary day."

"As you wish, sir." Narrowing his eyes against the rain,
Hawkscliffe looked away uncomfortably, surveying the
jagged horizon of tombstones.

Coldfell hobbled to the brim of the grave, cursing his
aching joints. When the weather was fine, he could hunt all
day without tiring. But he had not been energetic enough
for Lucy, had he?

Well, she had had her fashionable London burial, just as
she would have liked. Having died at his house just outside
London, she had a spot in the most exclusive cemetery in
the city, complete with a Flaxman funerary monument, the
height of good taste, sparing no expense. And well he should
have to pay for this most expensive mistake--an old man's
folly, he thought bitterly. Beauty indeed was his weakness.
With nothing to recommend her but a magnificent mane of
flame-colored hair and the most luscious thighs in Christendom,
the twenty-six-year-old Lucy O'Malley had been an
artist's model in Sheffield before she had bewitched him
into making her his second countess. He had sworn her to
keep quiet about her background, devising a false one for
her. At least she had given that pledge sincerely, eager as
she had been to join the ton.

Coldfell was merely glad he had not been forced to bury
Lucy next to Margaret, his first wife, who was reverently
enshrined at Seven Oaks, the ancestral pile in Leicestershire.
Ah, wise Margaret, his heart's mate, whose only
fault had been her failure to give him a son.

"I am--very sorry for your loss, my lord," Hawkscliffe
said stiffly, avoiding his gaze.

Coldfell slid a furtive glance at the duke, then sighed,
nodding. "It's hard to believe she's really gone. So young.
So full of life."

"What will you do now?"

"I leave for Leicestershire tomorrow. A few weeks in
the country will help, I warrant." A visit to Seven Oaks
would also take him out of the way of suspicion when this
man carried out the deed for him.

"I'm sure you will find it soothing," Hawkscliffe said--
polite, automatic.

They were both silent for a long moment, Hawkscliffe
brooding, Coldfell reflecting on the uneasiness of living
anymore in his elegant villa in South Kensington with its
four pretty acres of sculpted gardens--the site of Lucy's
death.

" 'Lay her in the earth. And from her fair and unpolluted
flesh may violets spring,' " Hawkscliffe quoted barely
audibly.

Coldfell looked at him in pity. "Laertes' speech on
Ophelia's grave."

The duke said nothing, merely stared at the carven letters
on the monument: Lucy's name, her date of birth and
death.

"I never touched her," he choked out abruptly, turning to
Coldfell in impetuous anguish. "You have my word as a
gentleman. She never betrayed you."

Evenly, Coldfell held his gaze, then nodded as though
satisfied, but of course he had already known.

"Ah, Robert," he said heavily after a long moment, "it is
so strange, the way they found her. She went out to our
pond every day to sketch the swans. How could she have
slipped? Perhaps my brain is muddled with grief, but it
makes no sense to me."

"She could never slip," he said vehemently. "She was
graceful . . . so graceful."

Coldfell was taken aback by his ferocity. This was going
to be easier than he'd hoped.

"Did your servants report anything strange that day, my
lord, if I may presume to ask?" pursued the duke.

"Nothing."

"Did anyone see anything? Hear anything? She was in
earshot of the house. Could they not hear her cries for
help?"

"Perhaps she had no time to cry out before she fell beneath
the water."

Hawkscliffe turned away again, his firm mouth grimly
pursed. "My lord, I have the blackest suspicions."

Coldfell paused, watching him. "I wish that I could put
your mind at ease, but I'm afraid that I, too, am haunted by
severe doubts."

Hawkscliffe turned and stared penetratingly at him. His
dark eyes glowed like hellfire. "Go on."

"It doesn't add up. There was no blood on the rock
where they said she . . . struck her head. What am I to do? I
am an old man. These sore limbs are weak. I haven't the
strength," he said slowly, emphatically, "to do what a husband
should."

"I do," vowed Hawkscliffe.


From the Paperback edition.

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews
Average Rating 4.5
( 75 )

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  • Posted September 10, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Wow. Just... wow.

    Okay - so I've read a TON of romance over the last year. I average about 3 to 4 books a week. My favorites are Julia Quinn's Bridgerton Series, S. Laurens' Cynster Series (just the first 6 or so), D. Gabaldon's Outlander Series and so on. I have to say after reading The Pirate Prince, Princess and Prince Charming (my first 3 Gaelen Foley novels), I wasn't expecting a lot from The Duke. But whoa.

    I mean... whoa. I'm not even half way through this book and already I've smiled, grinned, teared-up, frowned in anguish and FELT more for these characters and with these characters than I have for a long time. I felt COMPELLED to write my first ever full review of a book.

    Brava Ms. Foley! Wow. The maturity of writing style and poignancy of the heart-rending, blushing, tripping, dare-we-hope? romance of Robert and Belinda... not to mention the first really spicy scene in Robert's library... *whew* *fans self* I can't wait to finish it!

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted February 23, 2009

    A very romantic story.

    This was my favourite out of all the knight series.It was amazing from beginnig to end.Loved it.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted January 7, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    Pretty Woman set in Regency England

    It was okay. The part I didn't like was how Belinda and Hawkscliffe could be soooo in love and yet he was going to marry someone else just because of his title and position in society. I guess I'm just used to those Highland Lairds who do what the hell they want when the hell they want and screw everyone else's opinion!

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 26, 2006

    A wonderful Story

    I just finsihed reading this book today and I can not say enough good things about it. It was a great story. The duke is a great hero in the story and Bel is a great herione. They are great for eachother. This story was very well written. The scenes are great. The bathtub scene was really good. Go out and read this book you will not be disappointed.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 10, 2012

    What a surprise!

    I really recommend this book. I red about it in Heroes heartbreaking website and bought it. I didn't regret it. It was a beautiful romance!

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  • Posted January 8, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    Gaelen Foley never fails to deliver

    "The Duke" is a wonderful exciting read. You never know what is going to come next.

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  • Posted March 21, 2011

    Really good story

    This was a relatively quick read. Characters were well developed, although some questions were never answered. (Perhaps in other books in the series?) Overall, I would recommend for those who like romance novels.

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  • Posted January 13, 2011

    wonderful

    Gaelen Foley really surprised me! I'm a huge fan of Judith McNaught and Julie Garwood but haven't been able to find another author that I really enjoy until now! I finished this book in two days, I had a hard time putting it down! Can't wait to start the next.

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  • Posted August 21, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    I Also Recommend:

    A great start to the Knight series

    I actually read the other books and this was the only one left for me to read. I love gaelen and the whole series, this wasn't the exception although i felt the end was a little rushed and left me thinking what happened to the some of the other characters in the story.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 27, 2008

    In a Word: 'Beautiful'

    Belinda Hamilton's father has been thrown into debtor's prison and the man responsible for her family's ruin now pursues an unhealthy obsession with Bel. She is living on the streets, making her way in the world by selling oranges and fending on the nearly violent affections of Dolph Beckinridge, the man responsible for her desperate situation. One day, after visiting her father in prison, Bel is brutally attacked and raped. Dazed and traumatized by her ordeal Bel somehow ends up in a halfway house for prostitutes. Following her attack Bel is determined to better her situation and leave the dangerous streets of London by any means necessary. She goes to Harriette Wilson, a legendary courtesan, and it is there that she learns the ways of the Cyprians. Suddenly Bel is the most sought after demirep in the entire city. She is determined to find a kind and decent protector to keep her safe from the dangers of the world. But she cannot be kept safe from her own heart. Robert Knight has just endured the death of the woman he loved from afar. The wife of a close friend, Lucy was everything Robert thought he could have wanted in a woman. Robert suspects the woman's relative, Dolph Beckinridge, of her murder and so he sets out to ruin the man. He starts off by procuring Belinda Hamilton, Dolph's obsession, as his new mistress. Little does he know that this seemingly professional courtesan is not what she appears to be. Initially someone might think that Bel's decision to whore herself for a high price is completely disgusting, but I could reallly see her reasoning behind her choice. After suffering such humiliations for so long I understood that it was a choice to gain control of her life, not necessarily to submit. Robert does not respect Bel at first, he has no desire to dally with a courtesan but to seek revenge on Dolph. But Bel soon proves that she is no hardened and common prostitute, but rather a woman of substance and intelligence. Robert begins to understand that he loves her, regardless of her choice of profession. Please don't mistake Robert's initial low opinion of Bel for misogyny, he was raised his entire life to look down on absolutely everyone, especially courtesans. Eventually he learns to see Bel for the woman she is and not the whore London society has deemed her. The romance that ensues is beautiful. Belinda's vulnerability and determination warm Robert's cold and stoic demeanor slowly, but with such perfection. This is the first book in the Knight Miscellany and I highly recommend the entire series. Although it is not necessary to read the books in order I suggest that you do, starting with The Duke. You'll fall in love with Robert and Bel's story almost immediately.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 5, 2005

    A Royal Joy to Read...

    This is the 2nd novel by Gaelen Foley¿s that I bought via B & N. I also read ¿Prince Charming¿ (pretty good) and now this one, ¿The Duke¿. This was one of the most complete and enjoyable novels I have read in a very long time! Reason¿it had it all. Interesting and likeable main hero and heroine, pleasing and detailed story line and memorable ending. Although I did not like that Bel was violated by an evil prison warden very early on and thought that might turn me off to the story instead¿it allowed Bel to have a well rounded character. A woman who had a simple but, good life before she was harmed and then¿one who can stand on her own after she is no longer innocent. I liked that Bel took the cards life dealt her and made the best of everything ¿ whether she had to sell oranges to stay alive or become a well known courtesan for money, food and a home. She was nobody¿s victim. Thus¿her warm character, gentle, sensuous ways and hearty soul made her loved by all. In turn, the Duke, Robert¿was handsome, intelligent and so very honest and loving. Although he was taken in by some people ¿ so much that he almost appeared a simpleton ¿ it really showed how he believed deeply in people until they showed otherwise. Bel & Robert meet and interact as she needs a protector and he needs her help to solve a crime. He was so very gentle and warm and giving with Bel that he became a one of a kind hero. I liked how multi dimensional these chacaters were - they did things for their friends, family and those in need. They weren't stuck on themselves or what money could buy. They experienced life to the fullest. The love scenes in this book were close to perfect ¿ it took time for the attraction to properly build to a high level, then Robert got pleased, then Bel got pleased and then eventually they found pleasure as one. This book will make you wish for your very own Duke. The love scenes are what many women fantasize about. It¿s steamy and sexy while still being very tasteful. Robert was so strict with himself on his career, friends, lifestyle and more that I wasn¿t sure how he was going to get out of marrying the right socialite for his career and keep Bel on the side as his mistress and love. Bel clearly wasn¿t about to be second to anyone. Robert found that out the hard way. Know that the ending was a beauty ¿ it involved the theatre, a white horse and a red rose for love. Robert and Bel¿s love is why we all dream. I sure appreciate when I can smile from ear to ear in pleasure when I am through with a novel and did I ever smile with this one! Buy The Duke, read it, keep it in your library and know that this author and story will stay with you long after you turn the final page. This book was five stars and then some!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 5, 2005

    Pure Gold, from cover to cover...

    No other author has brought Regency England (Jane Austen's era), with ALL of its intricacies, so alive for me. Gaelen Foley's masterful prose (never purple) conjure vivid images of high-stepping horses, glittering balls, sumptuous town manses, and even the country's tempermental weather... and she does it without long, hard-to-follow descriptions. To readers of intelligent and lively historical romance: Ms. Foley's writing corners like a Formula 1 Grand Prix race car. The story is as intriguing and exciting as the duke himself. However, as sumptuous as he his, and his surroundings, the story does not always leave the reader full of breathless sighs (although there is plenty of that). We also get glimpses of London's dark side (which is as black as coal) through the compassionate eyes of the brave heroine. The lady in question (and she is quite questionable) is passionate and endearing a survivor. I am not a reviewer that likes to re-tell a story, as it's never my story to tell. What I look for in Historical Romance Fiction is: #1 Well written ROMANCE #2 Adventure/Movement #3 Richly drawn characters - those you love and those you hate That's all here, and then some. There are some dark scenes, which are handled very well. Tragic events shape all of our lives, but in comparison make the precious moments all the more joyous. Ms. Foley takes this basic truth of huminity and tells a beautiful love story. The ending is heart-throbbingly satisfying. The love scenes? Well, let me say that I have never read a more sexy scene wherein the hero performs..., and the one where the heroine gives... Oh! and then there's the bathtub scene! I do not mind - no, not in the least - being the voyeur to this pair. In fact, I rather enjoyed it. Catherine Scott (who is putting on her reading glasses to start the next in the series)

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  • Anonymous

    Posted June 23, 2003

    I love her novels!

    The first one that I've read by her was 'Lord of Ice' Then going backwards they just got better. I recommend all of the Knight family novels. You will truly fall in love with Robert, Damian, and Lucien.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 29, 2002

    Definitely Worthy of all the Hype!!!

    This was perhaps the best romance book I have ever read. The plot was engaging, the characters were intricate, and I was drawn into Foley's prose like I couldn't believe. I cannot run out of good things to say about this book. Read it now!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 26, 2001

    SHE WENT AND DID IT AGAIN!!!

    I was afraid that Ms.Foley would never be able to top Prince Charming, but she proved that she could. The Duke is a story that proves that love comes from where you least expect it and that once it appears there is nothing that you can do to stop it. The fall of Belinda Hamilton is a heartbreaking one, but she is brought out by the newfound love she found in the Duke of Hawkscliffe. However, life could not be a happily ever after if Robert married Belinda, because how could a rising politician marry a lady of ill repute. In order to not ruin the story I must stop here, but read the book because the story is great. Make sure you have a tissue box on hand. I can not wait for the next installment of the Knight Brothers.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 8, 2001

    Absolutely the BEST!!!

    This was the first book of Ms. Foley's that I read and I could not put it down. Not only could I not put it down, I immediately reread the book after finishing it the first time. After reading 'The Duke', I read her other three books as well. I was not disappointed! She is among the best. I can't wait to read her next release!!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 18, 2001

    It's sooo good

    This book is just wonderful. I was afraid that Ms. Foley would not be able to top Prince Charming, or even write another book as good. She blew me away and showed me just how creative she is, and that you can expect only the best from her.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 29, 2000

    good old fashioned romance

    Gaelen Foley is a wonderful new writer. She can be compared with the best--Jude Devereaus, Mary Jo Putney, Judith McNaught and more. I am looking forward to reading some more of her work.

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  • Posted December 9, 2008

    more from this reviewer

    exciting Regency romance

    Although he never touched her, Robert Knight, the Duke of Hawkscliffe loved Lucy O'Malley from the first moment he saw her. However, the aristocrat showed appropriate behavior towards the wife of elderly Lord Coldfell. When she suddenly died, Coldfell tells Robert that he believes his heir, Dolph Breckinridge, killed his spouse, but the septuagenarian feels too old to retaliate. Robert picks up the mantel of vengeance.

    Robert decides he needs to check his facts. When he meets Lady Belinda Hamilton at Harriette Wilson's house of ill repute, he is shocked by his attraction to her. He is even more stunned to learn how Dolph led to her ruin, rape, and her father's jailing. They agree that he will protect her and she will help him prove Dolph's guilt. However, neither one expected love to enter into the equation, but he is a rising politician who cannot afford the baggage of Bel as a spouse.

    THE DUKE is an exciting Regency romance that shows the power of the aristocracy to ruin almost anyone including a peer of the realm. The story line uses mystery elements that enable the plot to captivate the reader. Using Wilson as a major player provides a taste of authenticity. With two strong lead charcaters and an enticing support cast, Gaelen Foley provides the sub-genre fans with a charming prince of a tale.

    Harriet Klausner

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  • Anonymous

    Posted July 9, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

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