Praise for The Handmaidenâs Necklace
âFast-pacedâ¦sizzling love scenesâ¦[Martin has] a well-honed ability to deliver spicy romance.â
âPublishers Weekly
âKat Martin captivates readers within the first three pages of the story. This book was pure sensational joyâ¦with all the right elements that make this book a non-stop read full of passionate love.â
âCoffee Time Romance
âThe sexual tension between Rafael and Danielle was so thick you could cut it with a knife.â
âRomance Reader at Heart
âA dazzling conclusion to The Brideâs Necklace trilogy. I could not put this book down. If you havenât experienced this trilogy yet, I urge you to run to your nearest bookstore and get it. You wonât regret a minute of it.â
âFresh Fiction
âA heartwrenching and beautiful love story. Youâll be utterly captivated at Martinâs talent for creating a masterful, emotional and unforgettable experience.â
âRT Book Reviews
London, England
June 1806
ââTis a shame, is what it is.â Cornelia Thorne, Lady Brookfield, stood near the center of the ballroom. âJust look at him out there dancingâ¦so completely bored. Him a duke and her such a mousy little thing, completely terrified of the man, Iâll wager.â
The Duchess of Sheffield, Miriam Saunders, raised her quizzing glass to peer at her son, Rafael, Duke of Sheffield. Miriam and her sister, Cornelia, were attending a charity ball along with Rafael and his betrothed, Lady Mary Rose Montague. The evening, a benefit for the London Widows and Orphans Society, was being held in the magnificent ballroom of the Chesterfield Hotel.
âThe girl is actually quite lovely,â the duchess defended, âso blond and petite, just a bit shy, is all.â Unlike her son, the duke, who was tall and dark, with eyes even bluer than her own. And there was Rafe, himself, a strong, incredibly handsome man whose powerful presence seemed to overshadow the young woman he had chosen to be his future bride.
âIâll grant, she is pretty,â Cornelia said, âin a rather white-washed sort of way. Still, it seems a shame.â
âRafael is finally doing his duty. It is past time he took a wife. Perhaps they donât suit as well as I would have liked, but the girl is young and strong, and she will bear him healthy sons.â And yet, as her sister had said, Miriam couldnât miss the bland, bored expression on her sonâs very handsome face.
âRafael was always so dashing,â Cornelia said a bit wistfully. âDo you not remember the way he was before? So full of fire, so passionate about life in those days. Nowâ¦well, he is always so restrained. I do miss the vibrant young man he used to be.â
âPeople change, Cornelia. Rafe learned the hard way where those sorts of emotions can lead.â
Cornelia grunted. âYouâre talking about The Scandal.â Thin and gray-haired, she was older than the duchess by nearly six years. âHow could anyone forget Danielleâ¦? Now, there was a woman Rafaelâs equal. âTis a shame she turned out to be such a disappointment.â
The duchess cast her sister a glance, not wanting a reminder of the terrible scandal they had suffered because of Rafeâs former betrothed, Danielle Duval.
The dance ended and the couples began dispersing from the dance floor. âHush,â Miriam warned. âRafe and Mary Rose are coming this way.â The girl was nearly a foot shorter than the duke, blond, blue-eyed and fair, the perfect picture of English femininity. She was also the daughter of an earl, with a very sizable dowry. Miriam prayed her son would find at least some measure of happiness with the girl.
Rafe made a polite, formal bow. âGood evening, Mother. Aunt Cornelia.â
Miriam smiled. âYouâre both looking quite splendid tonight.â And they did. Rafe in dove-gray breeches and a navy-blue tailcoat that set off the blue of his eyes, and Mary Rose in a gown of white silk trimmed with delicate pink roses.
âThank you, Your Grace,â said the girl, with a very proper curtsy.
Miriam frowned. Was her hand trembling where it rested on the sleeve of Rafeâs coat? Dear God, the child would soon be a duchess. Miriam fervently prayed she would manage to infuse a bit of backbone into her spine as the months went along.
âWould you care to dance, Mother?â Rafe asked politely.
âLater, perhaps.â
âAunt Cornelia?â
But Cornelia was staring at the doorway, her mind a thousand miles away. Miriam followed her gaze, as did Rafael and his betrothed.