The Duke’s Unwanted Guest
Book 2 of The Ladies of Thornwick SquareMarianne Vale has learned how easily society turns against a woman who refuses to explain herself.
Once admired for her beauty, sweetness, and charm, Marianne is now the subject of whispers after breaking her engagement to the respectable Mr Lacy without giving a reason. She knows the truth would ruin another woman already wounded by his cruelty, so she keeps silent — even as society mistakes silence for guilt.
At Thornwick House, where Lady Augusta Vane’s strange will continues to draw six women into the secrets of the past, Marianne discovers a letter addressed to the powerful Duke of Merrow. The letter speaks of betrayal, a hidden woman, a forgotten child, and debts no ledger ever recorded. To uncover the truth, Marianne must face Alexander Hawthorne, Duke of Merrow: proud, cold, guarded, and determined to protect his family name.
Alexander has no wish to welcome inquiry into his father’s past — and even less wish to be challenged by a woman society has already judged. But Marianne is no empty beauty, and beneath her bright wit lies courage, pain, and a fierce loyalty to women whose stories powerful men would rather bury.
When storms, scandal, and old secrets force Marianne into the duke’s world as his unwanted guest, both must confront the difference between reputation and truth. For Alexander, honour may mean questioning everything he was raised to defend. For Marianne, love may mean trusting that one man can see beyond gossip to the woman she truly is.
Atmospheric, romantic, and rich with Regency mystery, The Duke’s Unwanted Guest is the second book in The Ladies of Thornwick Square, a series of hidden histories, wounded hearts, and women brave enough to open the doors society kept locked.
