Amelia and Leo grew up as neighbors and friends and she insists on going with Spencer and his friends to break the news to Leo’s sister, Lily. While they are in the garden, two other men, Bellamy and Ashworth, come barging in with the news that Leo Chatwick, the Marquess of Harcliffe has been killed. He is nonplussed at her daring, but goes along with her and after the dance, he and Amelia retire to the garden to talk. So Amelia takes her courage in hand and boldly asks Spencer for the midnight dance.
She loves Briarwood passionately and the prospect of spending summer there is all that keeps her soul alive, and despite his fecklessness, she loves Jack dearly. He’s known as the Midnight Duke.Īmelia is desperate to persuade Spencer to forgive her brother’s debt. Spencer’s habit is to come into a ball at midnight, pick out a young lady and dance with her, then escort her to supper and disappear. He was brought up in the wilds of Canada, and rumor has it, he is not quite civilized. Spencer has only recently come to town and he is sending frissons through the belles of the ton. At a ball, Amelia discovers that Jack owes 400 pounds in gambling debts to Spencer Dumarque, the Duke of Moreland, and the family country home, Briarbank, has been let for the summer.
He is the proverbial wild child who spends all his time carousing. Then there’s Amelia’s younger brother Jack. Her brother Hugh joined the army and was killed in action. Her older brother is Laurent, the Earl of Beauvale, who has married a wealthy, if silly woman, and he’s slowly rebuilding the family fortunes. Amelia still dreams of a home and family of her own – she grew up in a happy family and is still close to her brothers. She has had a couple of Seasons, but since she’s not a simpering miss, and her family isn’t wealthy, she’s pretty well on the shelf and almost resigned to being a spinster – almost. Lady Amelia d’Orsay descends from a noble family – a noble family that has fallen into genteel poverty. So, what’s the verdict? Well, in a nutshell, I loved the characters, but the story could have used some tightening up. I was most impressed by Tessa Dare’s trilogy from last year, and asked to review One Dance With a Duke, the first in her new trilogy.
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