In this boundary-pushing page-turner, bestseller Feather (The Bride Hunt
) forsakes the familiar terrain of the Regency era for an earlier decade, that of the French Terror. Englishman Jack Fortescu, the duke of St. Jules, lost his sister in the Terror. Determined to take vengeance on Frederick Lacey, the man who betrayed her to the securité
, Jack ruins him at cards, gaining his fortune after Lacey kills himself. With the estate, however, comes Lacey's 28-year-old half-sister Arabella, who's self-confident, blunt and wary of the intentions of the polished but arrogant duke. When he proposes a marriage of convenience, deciding that possessing his enemy's sister is his final revenge, Arabella's suspicions redouble. But she's without support in the world, and marriage would bring her into the London political circles she has always wished to join. While their marriage is more satisfying than either expects, the distrust on both sides and Jack's silence on his past create obstacles that only Arabella's emotional bravery can overcome. Rich with details that put the "historical" back into historical romance, this tale seethes with breathtaking tension even as it explores the aches and joys that a true emotional union brings. (Mar. 29)
