We have received a most interesting report from an American acquaintance now engaged in a grand tour of the far northern reaches of our fair isle. The events in question occurred several months previously, and have not been greatly talked of in London. Or at all!
Dear Readers, you are the first in our great metropolis to learn of this story! No less a personage than a new member of the loftiest of our toplofty ranks, formerly a mere Mr. Mac, has married none other than the lady he employed to tend to the domestic responsibilities of the castle from which he rules his realm.
His housekeeper!
Some of you may not find such a story surprising. After all, it is said that the society of those places my American friend describes as having “lakes with a quiet sheen of water surrounded by high, swelling, naked mountains” might be less genteel than that of our southern climes. Perhaps this is due to the great north’s scarcity of society, the harsh climate, and the ancient rigors of kinship. (Why, my friend has also reported that at the close of a hearty dinner, even the ladies take whisky!)
Astonishingly, however, my inquiries reveal that this former Mr. Mac and the lady in question, a certain Mrs. M, were in fact not of Caledonian extraction at all but of good English gentry stock!
How such a thing came about is a tale involving a long-standing feud, common in those climes. Our American friend, a minister of one of the churches hatched in the free-thinking country that renounces all noble titles, finds the matter vastly amusing. He claims, in fact, to have dined with the lofty personage and his lady and heard the whole story from the proverbial horse’s mouth!
He proclaims it a most heartening Christmas tale of revelation, forgiveness and in the end redemption.
Dear Reader, as soon as we learn more, we will be sure to provide the whole story!
About the Book: The Duke She Despised
The new Duke of Kinmarty has lost everyone who mattered and gained naught but a title, and debt, and an old pile of a castle. When a fetching new housekeeper appears on his doorstep frantic to ready the place for the Yuletide, he seizes the chance for a respite from grieving and pretends to be the new duke’s estate factor.
With her cousin’s children due to arrive from India, a vicar’s widow hides her identity and takes a position as housekeeper to their dreadful uncle, the man who years ago sabotaged her own chance for happiness. Overwhelmed by a castle understaffed and in disarray, she forges a bond with the new duke’s charming but not very competent factor, not knowing that he’s hiding something as well.
When allies become lovers, each senses the truth may rip them apart. Can their love survive when she discovers he’s the duke she despised?
Amazon:
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-duke-she-despised
Nook:https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-duke-she-despised-alina-k-field/1136931774
Apple Books:
https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-duke-she-despised/id1511435698?ls=1
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=Bs_gDwAAQBAJ&rdid=book-Bs_gDwAAQBAJ
Universal Book Link: https://books2read.com/u/38Z7YV
About the Author
Award-winning and USA Today bestselling author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but she prefers the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California and hasn’t looked back. She is the author of several Regency romances, including the 2014 Book Buyer’s Best winner, Rosalyn’s Ring. She is hard at work on her next series of historical romances, but loves to hear from readers!
Author Links:
https://www.facebook.com/alinakfield
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7173518.Alina_K_Field
https://www.instagram.com/alinak.field/
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/alina-k-field
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Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Alina-K.-Field/e/B00DZHWOKY
Alina K. Field
Thanks so much for posting this gossipy piece today! This scandalous tale is now on sale for 99 cents.
The sequel to this story, Convincing the Countess, is included in the 2021 Christmas anthology, Mistletoe and Mayhem now available for pre-order.
Patricia Kiyono
This sounds like a story I NEED to read! Thanks so much for the goss– I mean, news.
Alina K. Field
Haha, isn’t the Teatime Tattler the best! Love it!
Thanks for stopping by, Patricia!
Pamela S Thibodeaux
GREAT story, Alina!
Good luck and God’s blessings
PamT
Alina K. Field
Thank you, Pamela!
Marissa Garner
Very clever post. Bought my copy. Can’t wait to read!
Kara O'Neal
I loved this story! It was sooo worth the read!