The
Courtesan Duchess
Wicked Deceptions # 1
Wicked Deceptions # 1
By: Joanna Shupe
Releasing March 31, 2015
Zebra
Blurb
Can
a bold-faced lie lead to everlasting love? One by one, the impetuous heroines
in the Wicked Deceptions series intend to find out, each in her unique way…
How
to seduce an estranged husband—and banish debt!—in four wickedly improper,
shockingly pleasurable steps...
- Learn the most intimate secrets of
London’s leading courtesan.
- Pretend to be a courtesan yourself, using
the name Juliet Leighton.
- Travel to Venice and locate said husband.
- Seduce husband, conceive an heir, and voila, your future is secure!
For
Julia, the Duchess of Colton, such a ruse promises to be foolproof. After all,
her husband has not bothered to lay eyes on her in eight years, since their
hasty wedding day when she was only sixteen. But what begins as a tempestuous
flirtation escalates into full-blown passion—and the feeling is mutual!
Could the man the Courtesan Duchess married actually turn out to be the love of her life?
Could the man the Courtesan Duchess married actually turn out to be the love of her life?
Excerpt: Venice,
November 1816
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/03/the-courtesan-duchess-wicked-deceptions.html
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22494733-the-courtesan-duchess?from_search=true
“Two
years! You saw him two years ago
and never told me?” Now inside their gondola, Julia stripped off her gloves and
threw them on the seat inside the felze.
The blinds were drawn, and the single interior lamp cast a warm yellow glow
about the cabin. She was too angry to sit but had little choice in the confined
space. “How could you keep that from me, Simon?”
The
boat pushed off from the dock as he dropped next to her. “There was no reason
to tell you. I came to Venice and tried to convince him to return with me. I
told him of you. Sang your praises, really, but I failed to win him over. I
worried it would hurt your feelings to learn of it.”
While
Julia thought on that, he continued. “The only reason I brought it up tonight
was for you to be perfectly aware of what you face with Colton.”
“What
did he mean, calling me his father’s pawn? Pawn for what, exactly?”
Simon
sighed. “To him, you’re the woman his father married him off to, without
considering his wishes on the subject. Like I’ve said, he was the forgotten son
’til his brother died. And when he became the heir, Colton’s father was
desperate to get his only living son to fall in line, to become responsible. In
Colt’s eyes, you’re merely another attempt by his father to bring the wayward
son to heel.” Simon stretched his long legs. “But you know how well that turned
out. Didn’t he leave for Paris directly after reciting his vows?”
Yes,
and that had stung. And while she could imagine how manipulated Colton must
have felt, Julia
needed to stay focused on her plan—a
plan Simon was not entirely privy to. “Well, he’s interested in Mrs.
Leighton. After I lure him in, I can
spend time with him not as a wife, but as a woman. Then I shall be able to
satisfy my curiosity regarding my husband,” she lied.
“God
save men from intelligent women,” Simon muttered with a yawn. “I am not so sure
this relationship with Pearl Kelly has been beneficial, Julia. You never used
to be so . . . bold.”
“I
had no choice. I’m tired of waiting and wondering if Nick will return. I’m
tired of the pity and the scorn, all the rumors. The innocent wife of the
Depraved Duke—it would be laughable if only it were someone else. We’ve talked
about this, Simon. I should have the ability to at least meet the man I am
married to. To see if we suit.”
“Oh,
it’s Nick, is it?”
The
gondola stopped, and Simon rose to offer his hand. They stepped out onto the boat
dock and continued toward the stairs of their rented palazzo. “He insisted,”
she said. “I told you he was interested.”
“Of
course he’s interested. He’d be a fool not to be—and Colton is no fool. As I’ve
said, I am in full approval of this plan. Colton has ignored his
responsibilities for far too long.”
They
had procured a few local servants upon their arrival, and no one suspected the
renters were not who they claimed. As far as the servants were concerned, the
trio included a wealthy English lord traveling with his mistress and her
companion. Julia, Simon, and her aunt, Theodora, took great pains to maintain
the illusion, unless absolutely certain they were alone.
Once
inside, Simon removed her cloak and handed it to the footman. Aunt Theo
appeared in the parlor doorway. “Would either of you care for a sherry?”
Judging by the messy riot of curls on Theo’s head, Julia guessed her aunt was
already on her second or third drink.
“Yes,
I believe I shall. Darling?” She gave Simon a seductive smile for the benefit
of the servant hovering nearby.
“Lead
on, my love,” he said easily, gesturing to the doorway.
“And
how was your evening?” Theo asked as she settled her rounded, lush frame on the
divan. Her aunt was fond of sherry and cake and hardly a day went by when she
didn’t indulge in at least one.
“Productive,”
Julia answered, closing the door behind her. “Simon, bring me a glass of
whatever you’re having. Sherry makes me gag.” She dropped into a chair opposite
her aunt.
Simon
pressed a glass into her hand and Julia took a sip. Claret, she realized, and
took another grateful swallow. “Oh, Aunt Theo,” Julia breathed. “You would not
have believed this party. Shocking
would be a paltry description. What freedom these women have! A world away from
Almack’s, to be sure.”
“Such
freedom does not last long when your looks fade or your benefactor tires of
you. And the health risks!” Theo waggled her finger at Julia. “Do not envy
them. It’s a hard life, full of uncertainty and scorn.”
“But
they do wield a certain amount of power. Pearl has had liaisons with two dukes,
one earl, a viscount, and a Bavarian prince. Two lifetime annuities have been
settled on her, and she’s only thirty-one.”
“Julia,
don’t be naïve,” Simon said. “Not every woman could possibly be Pearl Kelly.”
“Have
you met her?” Julia asked him.
“Yes,
once at Vauxhall Gardens. A group of us went for supper one night, and she
accompanied Lord Oxley. She is intelligent and witty,” he admitted. “Not only
can she carry on a conversation, she listens. And Pearl makes a man feel as if
everything he says is important—which in Oxley’s case would’ve been nothing
short of a miracle. But she’s deuced expensive.”
“Worth
every banknote and gem she receives, I’d wager, if half of what she told me is
true.”
“I
almost pity that poor husband of yours,” Simon drawled.
Julia
frowned. Colton deserved no pity. The man was a reprobate. And he’d left her at
the mercy of his cheating, lecherous relative.
She
started to argue but Simon held up a hand. “I said ‘almost.’ No one knows of
your unhappiness these last few years better than I. Colt deserves retribution
for what he’s done—and more. However, it does seem as if you’re well on your
way to achieving your goal.”
“Oh,
saints be praised!” Theo slapped her thigh. “How long, then, do you believe we
must stay in
Venice?”
“Not
long. If I were to wager, not long at all,” Julia answered with a sly smile.
“Well,
I’m off.” Simon rose and drained his glass. “I know of a few more parties I
should like to visit this evening—without Mrs. Leighton’s watchful eye, of
course.”
Julia
held up her hand. “Say no more. We wish you luck, don’t we, Aunt Theo?”
Glorious
crackpot that she was, Theo nodded, her brown curls rocking back and forth.
“Indeed. Here’s to wine, women, and song, my lord.”
Simon
gave them an elaborate bow and left.
“Do
you think this scheme will work?” Theo asked once they were alone.
“It
must. Templeton’s last visit continues to give me nightmares.” After informing
her—again—of the further reduction of her monthly stipend, the grotesque excuse
for a man had suggested what services Julia could provide to make up the
difference. And by services, he hadn’t meant mending his clothes.
The
thought of intimacies with Templeton—with his small black eyes, sweaty brow,
and demeaning attitude—almost made her physically sick. Damn
Colton for putting me in this
situation. “Oh, how I wish my father was still
alive.”
“My
brother would’ve dragged your duke home by his whirlygigs by now, that’s for
sure.”
Julia
chuckled. “Perhaps. Templeton wouldn’t be a problem, in any case. I know my
father believed marriage to a duke to be an unparalleled match for his only
daughter, but I’d like to think he would have reconsidered if he’d known how
much trouble it would bring me.”
“The
trouble is your duke ignoring his responsibilities at home. Leaving you to fend
for yourself for eight years. With naught a word from him!” Theo sniffed in
disdain. “And to wash his hands of the estate business. Does he believe all
estate managers to be honest men? You know very well that Templeton is paying
off Colton’s man to follow his orders.”
“Colton
does not care. He told me himself he never plans to come back to England. So we
had to do something.
As you well know, the last of our jewelry went to pay Pearl and fund Mrs.
Leighton’s wardrobe. We barely have enough to carry us through until spring.”
“I
still say we could’ve asked Winchester for help. Or perhaps your Lord Wyndham.”
Julia
bristled. “You know we cannot ask for another man to support us indefinitely.
And he is not my lord
anything. I told you I merely flirted with Wyndham in hopes of forcing Colton
back to London. But either my husband didn’t hear the rumors or didn’t care
about being cuckolded because it failed to work.”
“So
if Colton does not care about being cuckolded . . .”
“I
still couldn’t do it. Colton would know the child was not his, and I cannot
risk him telling anyone. If it were found out, my child would be an outcast.
No, Colton must father my child. And when I find myself with child, we shall
return to London and I’ll write to my husband, explaining what I’ve done.”
They
both fell silent, contemplating the duke’s reaction to such a letter, while the
mantel clock ticked loud and steady throughout the room.
“Will
Colton acknowledge the child, I wonder?” her aunt asked, and sipped her sherry.
Julia
frowned. “Why would he not? Every man wants an heir.”
“Well,
what will happen if you deliver a girl?”
“Then
I shall love her fiercely—from debtor’s prison.”
Link to Follow Tour: http://www.tastybooktours.com/2015/03/the-courtesan-duchess-wicked-deceptions.html
Goodreads Series Link: https://www.goodreads.com/series/130734-wicked-deceptions
Author Info
Award-winning author JOANNA SHUPE has always loved history, ever since she saw her first Schoolhouse Rock cartoon. While in college, Joanna read every romance she could get her hands on and soon started crafting her own racy historical novels. She now lives in New Jersey with her two spirited daughters and dashing husband.
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