If the Duke Dares, page 1
If the Duke Dares
Rogue Rules
Book One
Darcy Burke
If the Duke Dares
Copyright © 2024 Darcy Burke
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 9781637261354
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Book design: © Darcy Burke.
Book Cover Design: © Dar Albert, Wicked Smart Designs.
Editing: Lindsey Faber.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
Created with Vellum
Contents
If the Duke Dares
The Rogue Rules
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Epilogue
Also by Darcy Burke
About the Author
If the Duke Dares
Incorrigible flirt Acton Loxley, Duke of Wellesbourne is in need of a duchess. En route to greet a potential bride, he encounters a most intriguing and captivating widow who completely distracts him from his task. However, she disappears before he can deepen their acquaintance. Acton begrudgingly goes to meet his bride, unaware she and the widow are one and the same.
When Persephone Barclay’s younger sister is compromised, Persephone must wed before the scandal spreads. Her parents scramble to present her to the Duke of Wellesbourne; except he’s precisely the kind of rogue she has now vowed to avoid. Taking flight to avoid a match, Persephone runs straight into her would-be betrothed and pretends to be someone else. But dash it all, the duke proves to be irresistibly charming! If she remains in his company, she’ll end up in the wicked scoundrel’s clutches.
Even worse, her second attempt at escape lands her in increasingly poor circumstances. With nowhere to turn and her safety at risk, she may have to accept help from the one man who threatens her resolve—and her reputation.
Don’t miss the rest of the Rogue Rules!
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The Rogue Rules
Never be alone with a rogue.
Never flirt with a rogue.
Never give a rogue a chance.
Never doubt a rogue’s reputation.
Never believe a rogue’s pledge of love or devotion.
Never trust a rogue to change.
Never allow a rogue to see your heart.
Ruin the rogue before he can ruin you.
Chapter 1
Weston, England, August, 1814
* * *
The windows of the small sitting room of the Weston Hotel provided a sweeping view of the beach below. Persephone Barclay and her sister, along with their four friends, spent most of their afternoons there, having commandeered it for the month of August for three years running now. They sipped tea, read from books and newspapers, and shared everything.
This afternoon, they were missing one of their number, Persephone’s younger sister, Pandora, as she had consented to walk with the Earl of Banemore. Bane, as he was known, possessed a rakish reputation, but he’d proclaimed himself enamored of Pandora, and she was wholly in love with him—or so she’d confided to Persephone.
Persephone knew from experience that infatuation was not love, and only time would tell which of those Pandora was truly experiencing. She’d counseled Pandora to be cautious with the earl, but her sister was so wonderfully giddy that Persephone had also supported her desire to spend time with him.
Their walk would be chaperoned by Persephone and Pandora’s mother, the Baroness Radstock. A stiff and demanding woman, the baroness was positively ecstatic that the heir to a dukedom was courting her daughter.
The door burst open, and Pandora hurried inside. Her pretty, heart-shaped face was red, as were her eyes. She looked like she’d been crying.
Persephone leapt up from the settee she was sharing with Min—Lady Minerva Halifax, daughter of the Duke of Henlow. “Pandora, what’s happened?”
“Utter disaster.” Pandora buried her face in her hands and cried.
As Persephone put her arm around her sister and guided her toward the settee, Min jumped up and closed the door. Helping Pandora to sit, Persephone kept her arm about her, hating the way her sister’s shoulders were shaking. Whatever had happened must be truly awful for her to be reacting so poorly.
Min sat down on Pandora’s other side, putting her hand on Pandora’s back and murmuring words of comfort. With sable hair, delicately arched brows, patrician features, and pale gray eyes, Min was the embodiment of a proper Society miss, though she hadn’t yet had a London Season. Her gaze met Persephone’s with sympathy and concern.
The entire room had fallen into a worried silence except for Pandora’s sobbing. After a few moments, Pandora drew a ragged breath and wiped her hands over her eyes. “Forgive me, I’m completely overwrought.”
“Please tell me this isn’t Bane’s fault,” Persephone whispered, though she feared it was. The man, for all his declarations of admiration for Pandora, possessed the reputation of a cad. He flirted with anything in a gown and supposedly frequented a specific brothel in London called the Rogue’s Den. It was, apparently, where Society’s most elite gentlemen went for their bed sport.
Pandora sucked in a breath and nodded. “I don’t understand. He said he loved me.”
“What happened?” Min demanded. “It doesn’t matter. I’m going to make sure he’s out of the Grove by nightfall.” The Grove was her father’s house situated just outside town. Min, along with her companion, Ellis Dangerfield, spent every August there. Min’s older brother, the heir and Earl of Shefford, came and went during the month with various friends, including Bane. This year, they were joined by the Viscount Somerton, cousin to another of their friends, Tamsin Penrose, and Lord Droxford, a surly gentleman who seemed oddly aligned with the more jovial trio.
“He may be packing to leave even now. Or his valet is, probably.” Pandora sniffed. “Everything was going so well. Then Mrs. Lawler saw us…together.”
Persephone’s gut clenched. “Together how?” she asked in a low tone.
Pandora flicked her an apologetic glance. “Embracing. I suppose it was a…compromising position. That’s what Mrs. Lawler said anyway.”
“What did Mother do?” Persephone was afraid of the answer and surprised she’d allowed Pandora to come here to the sitting room.
“She wasn’t there,” Pandora murmured, her eyes full of regret. “I didn’t tell her about my excursion with Bane.”
Persephone stared at her sister. Pandora had lied when she’d said the baroness knew and would chaperone. It had never occurred to Persephone to confirm anything. She trusted Pandora to do the sensible thing. Pandora had not, however, done that. But Persephone couldn’t blame her because she knew what it was like to be swept away by emotion and arousal. However, when it had happened to Persephone, she hadn’t been caught.
Min met Persephone’s gaze over Pandora’s head, silently conveying that this was not good. Persephone knew that, but she would hope it wouldn’t be a disaster, as Pandora had said.
“I wish my mother were at the Grove,” Min said. “I would ask her to speak with Mrs. Lawler.”
“Would she?” Pandora said hopefully. But then her face fell. “It doesn’t matter since your mother isn’t there.”
“A compromising situation isn’t the end of the world,” Tamsin said from the other side of the room. At one and twenty, she was just a year younger than Persephone. However, her youthful appearance—wide blue-green eyes and soft, round cheeks—and her relative isolation in Cornwall made her seem even younger. She spent August in Weston with her grandmother, who lived in a charming cottage near the beach. “My great-aunt was compromised. They simply got married, which had been their intent anyway.”
Persephone feared what Pandora would say next.
Pandora’s mouth tightened, and anger stole into her expression, lighting her eyes. “Bane will not marry me. After Mrs. Lawler saw us and admonished him for
Rage ripped through Persephone. She’d never wanted to do harm to another person, but in that moment, she would gleefully have watched Bane suffer any number of tortures. “If I were a man, I would call him out. If I could shoot, I would call him out.”
Min slapped her hand on the arm of the settee. “The scoundrel! He must be forced to marry you. I’m going to speak with my brother at once.” She stood, as did Ellis, who was seated in a chair angled near the settee.
Ellis, who at four and twenty was the oldest of their unofficial club, looked to Pandora with sympathy. “I’m so sorry for what’s happened. Men can be absolutely awful.”
“And yet we are all destined to marry one, whether we want to or not,” Tamsin said, also rising. “Why should a reprobate like Bane be allowed to ruin a sweet person like Pandora?”
“Because he’s an earl and heir to a dukedom. He can do whatever he wishes and likely suffer no consequences.” Gwendolyn Price, the newest member of their club, got to her feet as she shook her head. Her brown eyes glittered with outrage as her dark curls brushed her cheeks. “It isn’t remotely fair.”
“But what can we do?” Pandora asked forlornly.
Persephone clasped her sister’s hand and looked into her eyes. “We can vow to not let them get away with their behavior. We can band together and say enough. We won’t tolerate being treated this way, and we won’t play by their rules.”
“We’ll make our own rules,” Min said.
“Starting with ‘never walk alone with a rogue,’” Pandora said bitterly. “And never flirt with one either.”
Gwen held up her hand. “Forgive me, but what is a rogue exactly? Are all men rogues?”
“Yes,” Pandora said emphatically.
Min sent Pandora a sympathetic look. “Not all men, but a great many who swan about with their privilege, their poor reputations for whatever transgressions they’ve committed, and their arrogance.”
“I would say rogues pay little attention to Society’s rules—or any rules, really,” Ellis said.
“That would be their privilege,” Persephone added with a nod. “They think they can get away with whatever they want without a care for anyone else. Utterly reckless.”
Min shrugged. “Some aren’t even that bad. In my experience, rogues can simply flirt too much. They think they’re irresistible.” She rolled her eyes. “They also tend to gamble and drink to excess. And, of course, anyone who spends time at the Rogue’s Den is, by definition, a rogue.”
“What’s the Rogue’s Den?” Gwen asked.
“A place in London where rogues go for their bed sport, and true rogues are not discreet about it,” Min said with a sniff. “One must be a member, and it’s rather elite.”
Gwen opened her mouth to perhaps ask how Min would know, but Min went on. “My brother is a member, and he is most definitely a rogue.”
“Your brother’s entire set are rogues,” Persephone said. “Except perhaps Droxford. I can’t say he’s exhibited roguish tendencies.”
“Not that we’ve seen, but one must wonder given his company,” Min said warily.
Gwen nodded firmly. “I think I understand. I daresay my brother may be a rogue. He is a terrible flirt. He also likes to do risky things—the more dangerous, the better, such as racing in a high-perch phaeton.”
“That is absolutely rogue behavior—more recklessness,” Min said.
“My mother despises when he does such things, especially since he always promises her that he will stop.” Gwen exhaled. “Rogues are likely not entirely truthful.”
Pandora scoffed. “Not at all. Bane vowed his eternal adoration just moments before he informed me that he was betrothed.”
Ellis curled her lip. “That’s another rule: never believe their pledges of love and devotion.”
“And when you hear of a rogue’s reputation, never doubt it,” Pandora added fiercely. “They are not to be trusted to change.”
“Indeed, once a rogue, forever a rogue,” Persephone said, squeezing her sister’s hand.
Pandora nodded vigorously in agreement. “Never, ever allow a rogue to see your heart. I wish I hadn’t.”
Persephone ached for her sister. “Never even give a rogue a chance. I wish I’d given you that advice.” She’d hoped Bane was not as bad as his reputation had purported him to be.
Min’s eyes glittered with intent. “Most importantly, if given the opportunity, ruin the rogue before he can ruin you.”
“Amen!”
“Huzzah!”
Cheers went around the room, and Persephone nearly sobbed at the sight of her sister smiling faintly. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
“I shall record these so we may never forget the rules,” Ellis said, whipping a small book and pencil from her reticule. She sat back down and went to work writing.
“Thank you all so much,” Pandora said as a few more tears leaked from her eyes. “I fear I am ruined, but I hope you will all remain my friends.”
“Nothing could stop me,” Min promised. “And I’ll do everything I can to minimize the scandal.”
Persephone had never loved her friend more and knew that Min would use whatever power she had in Society to help Pandora. Even so, Persephone feared there would be nothing for it, that their family would simply have to remove to Radstock Hall and keep to themselves for the next year. There were worse things that could happen.
Such as the monumental lecture the baroness would most certainly deliver to Pandora—and Persephone. That was going to be painful. How Persephone wished she could take all this away from her sister. Why couldn’t it have been her? No one would care if she were ruined, except for how it might affect Pandora.
All the friends took turns hugging Pandora and offering their love and support. Thankfully, they still had another week together before they went their separate ways.
“Finished,” Ellis declared. “I’ll make copies for each of you and bring them tomorrow.”
The door opened again, and this time, it was the Baroness Radstock standing at the threshold. Her vivid blue gaze went directly to Pandora. “Mrs. Lawler has just come to see me,” she said softly, but Persephone heard the underlying fury.
Pandora stood shakily, and Persephone helped, rising with her.
“Come, girls, we must pack,” their mother said crisply as she pivoted in the doorway.
As it happened, they did not have one more week in Weston. They didn’t even have the rest of the day. Within the hour, they were on their way home, and the future, once bright with the promise of Pandora making a brilliant match, had never looked more uncertain.
Chapter 2
Radstock Hall, Somerset, England
* * *
They’d been home from Weston for four days, and Pandora hadn’t left the second floor where their former nursery and current retreat was located except to sleep in her bedchamber on the first floor. Persephone had shared her bed, insistent that Pandora not be alone. Doing so had reminded them both of their childhood when they’d shared a room. It was much easier for them to look back instead of forward. Pandora was certain her life was over.
Because their mother had said so repeatedly.
