When the Duke Returns Read online

  One significant difference between Bruce and the Duke of Cosway is Simeon’s faltering adherence to the Middle Way. I make no claim whatsoever to historical verisimilitude in Simeon’s recollections of Valamksepa’s teachings. The term “Middle Way” is drawn from Rudyard Kipling’s novel Kim, in which the titular hero meets a Tibetan holy man who seeks freedom from the “Wheel of Things.” Had Simeon been lucky enough to meet the guru of Kim, he might well have been better prepared to encounter the mire that awaited him in Revels House. But I drew Valamksepa’s wisdom from the flotsam and jetsam of bowdlerized Eastern teaching, and they have no basis in reality.

  I’ll finish this note with just a word about water closets, since their development (and failure) lie at the heart of Simeon’s greatest challenge. The 1770’s were an exciting time in the history of modern toilets; between 1775 and 1785, inventors created the S-trap (preventing the escape of foul air), the “plunger closet,” and the float valve system. None of these new inventions were yet in use in country houses, but water closets were definitely gaining dominance over outdoor privies and old-fashioned close-stools.

  Acknowledgments

  This book is a concerted effort, and I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to all the wonderful people who helped me: my editor, Carrie Feron; my assistant, Kim Castillo; my research assistant, Franzeca Drouin; and the newest member of my team, a brilliant fact-checker, Anne Connell. I love you all!

  About the Author

  Author of fourteen award-winning romances, ELOISA JAMES is a professor of English literature who lives with her family in New Jersey. All her books must have been written in her sleep, because her days are taken up by caring for two children with advanced degrees in whining, a demanding guinea pig, a smelly frog, and a tumbledown house. Letters from readers provide a great escape! Write Eloisa at [email protected] or visit her website at www.eloisajames.com.

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  ACCLAIM FOR

  NEW YORK TIMES AND

  USA TODAY BESTSELLER

  ELOISA JAMES

  “One of the brightest lights in our genre.

  Her writing is truly scrumptious.”

  Teresa Medeiros

  “She writes with a captivating blend of charm, style, and grace that never fails to leave the reader sighing and smiling and falling in love.”

  Julia Quinn

  “Call her ‘the historical Jennifer Crusie’…

  James gives readers plenty of reasons to laugh.”

  Publishers Weekly

  “She’s a gift every romance reader should give herself.”

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  “[James] forces the reader into a delicious surrender.”

  USA Today

  “Romance writing does not get much better than this.”

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  By Eloisa James

  WHEN THE DUKE RETURNS

  DUCHESS BY NIGHT

  AN AFFAIR BEFORE CHRISTMAS

  DESPERATE DUCHESSES

  PLEASURE FOR PLEASURE

  THE TAMING OF THE DUKE

  KISS ME, ANNABEL

  MUCH ADO ABOUT YOU

  YOUR WICKED WAYS

  A WILD PURSUIT

  FOOL FOR LOVE

  DUCHESS IN LOVE

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  WHEN THE DUKE RETURNS. Copyright © 2008 by Eloisa James. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  EPub © Edition OCTOBER 2008 ISBN: 9780061980152

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