Wendy Soliman is a British author, brought up on the
Isle of Wight, who now divides her time between Andorra and the west coast of
Florida. She shares her life with her long-suffering husband and a rescued dog
of indeterminate pedigree, named Jake Bentley after the hero in one of her
books. Both Jakes are handsome mongrels with independent spirits and wild
streaks.
Wendy has over forty published books to her credit,
ranging from Regency romance, (her first love), to contemporary women’s fiction
and marine crime mysteries. She also writes erotica for SirenBookStrand under a
pen name.
When not writing, Wendy enjoys walking miles with her
dog, reading other people’s tomes…oh, and she’s on a one woman mission to save
the wine trade from the world recession. She figures someone has to do it!
TO
DEFY A DUKE
Elias Shelton, the Duke
of Winsdale, has a duty to produce an heir. Completely indifferent, he leaves
his mother to invite all the most suitable candidates to a house party at
Winsdale Park, promising to choose one of them as his duchess. Returning home
after several days of pre-nuptial carousing, Eli falls from his horse and badly
injures his head. His life is saved by a mysterious woman who fascinates and
enthrals Eli.
Athena Defoe and her young twin sisters are hiding from their past in a
tumbledown cottage on Eli’s estate. Athena refuses to place her trust in Eli,
but he is equally determined to repay her by protecting her. To do so he must
first discover what or whom she is so afraid of. With attention focused on her
by the duke’s interest, Athena’s whereabouts becomes known and danger visits
her quiet corner of Hampshire.
Caught up in the whirl of his mother’s entertainments, Eli must race against
time to save the woman he’s fallen in love with, even if she isn’t duchess
material…
EXCERPT
“Mrs. Defoe.” Eli
offered her an engaging smile. “Welcome to Winsdale Park.”
Athena continued to
stare at him, looking totally stunned. She swallowed several times, deathly
pale and so bewildered, Eli felt wretched for having deceived her. She made no
response to his greeting as a kaleidoscope of conflicting emotions passed
across her lovely features, none of them especially encouraging. She was not
only shocked, but angry with him.
Very angry.
Eli wondered if she
knew just how endearing she looked when in a high dudgeon. She was simply
magnificent in her justifiable rage and clearly not the slightest bit
intimidated by Eli. Silence sucked the atmosphere dry as she continued to fix
him with a penetrating gaze of focused fury. Susan, equally bewildered by the
chilly silence, cleared her throat and sent Eli a speaking look. It broke the
spell, and Athena finally acknowledged his presence.
“Your grace.” She
imbued the words with sweet sarcasm as she dipped an elegant curtsey.
“I am very glad you
were able to come to my sister’s aid.” He waved a hand around the cavernous
barn, treating her as though she had just spoken with the upmost civility. “She
was quite at her wit’s end over all this.”
“I was?” Susan looked
surprised to hear it.
“I am no longer sure
I can be of any help,” Athena said, a determined jut to her chin.
“Susan, I believe
Mother needs you.”
“No she doesn’t, Eli.
She is discussing menus with Mrs. Coulton.” Susan sent him an impish smile and
leaned her chin in her cupped hand, making her intention to remain with them
patently clear. Eli supposed he couldn’t blame her. Susan, the little minx,
would be eaten up with curiosity about his connection to Athena. “I should only
be in the way.”
“You’re in the way
now,” Eli replied, through gritted teeth.
“Me?” She elevated
her brows in innocent surprise. “You must excuse me, but Mrs. Defoe and I are
in consultation about decorating this barn. If anyone is in the way, it’s you.”
She settled herself on a stool and sent him a sweet smile. “But don’t mind me.
If you have matters to discuss with Mrs. Defoe, I shall find something to
occupy me.”
“Mrs. Defoe.” Eli
held out an arm. “Do me the goodness of taking a turn around the lake with me.”
His goddess sent him
a lofty glance from beneath her fringe of thick, curly lashes. “Do I have any
choice in the matter?”
“Absolutely you do,”
Susan replied before Eli could. “No one ever dares to say no to Eli. He will bark at them, and intimidate them if they
attempt it, you see. But you are my guest, not his, and it’s high time someone
put him in his place.”
“Susan, are you
absolutely sure there isn’t something you ought to be attending to?”
“Thank you for your concern,
Eli, but I believe my morning is completely my own.”
“Mrs. Defoe.” Eli
again proffered his arm, an edge to his voice. “Please oblige me.”
She inverted her
chin, expelled a disgruntled sigh, and moved elegantly across the space that
separated them. Eli felt victorious when she placed her small hand on his
sleeve, even if she did so with obvious reluctance.
“Pray excuse me, Lady
Susan,” she said. “I will not be gone for long.”
“Take all the time
you need, Mrs. Defoe,” Susan replied with a mischievous smile. “I shall busy
myself ordering the cutting of the blackthorn and elderberry branches you
suggested.”
“Make sure they know
to cut them as long as possible. These decorations need to be on a large scale
in order to show to their best advantage.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Eli led Athena away
in the direction of the lake. She looked straight ahead, but he could sense the
fury in her fixed expression and rigid stance. What else could he have
expected? He was unsure how to proceed or what to say to win her around, and so
thought it best to wait for her to break the brittle silence that sprang up
between them. It was several minutes before she did so—several of the longest
minutes of Eli’s life.
“I dare say you
enjoyed a good laugh at my expense,” she said through tightly compressed lips.
“Quite the contrary,
I do assure you. I’ve never felt more obliged to anyone.” He sent her a candid
smile. “You saved my life, and asked for nothing in return. I don’t think you
understand how remarkable that is.”
“Why did you not tell
me who you were?” She stopped walking and glared at him, a rich burn turning
her eyes the colour of molasses, her cheeks flushed delightfully pink with
indignation. “Or did you prefer to entertain yourself by making me look
foolish?”
“What would you have
done if you had known?”
“Sent word here at
once.”
“Precisely.” He
started walking again, compelling her to remain with him by placing his free
hand over the one still resting on his other arm. “And I couldn’t have that.”
“You would rather
sleep in a…just a minute.” She snatched her hand from beneath his and covered
her mouth with it. “The repairs to the cottage, selling our lace so easily,
this request for help from your sister…that was all your doing?”
“Yes, I wanted to
repay you in some small way.”
“So Miss Dawson
wasn’t impressed by our lace.”
She looked
endearingly discouraged, and it took every last vestige of Eli’s self-control
not to pull her into his arms and kiss away the hurt.
“Oh, I believe she
was,” he said in a languid tone. “She ought to be. Even I can see that it is
exquisite, and I’m told she has every expectation of it selling well.”
“It should. It’s far
cheaper than it ought to be.”
“Why is that?”
She shook her head,
and it was obvious she didn’t plan to say anything more.
“This may come as a
surprise to you, your grace, but I was perfectly happy to help you, just as I
would have helped anyone I found on the ground bleeding to death. You didn’t
have to interfere in my life in some obscure attempt to repay me.”
Find More of Wendy’s Books at www.wendysoliman.com
