Heir to the Duke

Book excerpt: A dazzling Regency romance from bestselling author Jane Ashford. Life is predictable for a Duke's first son. Or so he once thought... He was delighted that she shared this pleasure with him. And how lovely she looked, out here on the water. The wind had whipped color into her cheeks. Her sandy hair leaped and curled around her face. And her gray eyes shimmered and sparkled. Violet's beauty—for it was undoubtedly beauty—arose from animation, he realized. When she was subdued and distant, as she'd always been when he saw her before their marriage, it was hidden. A secret, like the flower she was named for, obscured by broader leaves in the forest. But now he'd discovered a different Violet—vibrant, responsive. Watching her laugh as spray spattered her sleeve, he felt extremely fortunate. His instincts had somehow led him to a prize. As eldest son of the Duke of Langford, Nathaniel Gresham sees his arranged marriage to Lady Violet Devere as just another obligation to fulfill?highly suitable, if unexciting. But as Violet sets out to transform herself from dowdy wallflower to dazzling young duchess-to-be, proper Nathaniel sets out to prove he's a match for his new bride's vivacity and daring. Oppressed by her family all her life—especially her domineering and horrible grandmother—Lady Violet can't wait to enjoy the freedom of being a married woman. But then Violet learns her family's sordid secret, and she's faced with an impossible choice?does she tell Nathaniel and risk losing him, or does she hide it and live a lie?