title: The Clarendon Rose
author: Anthony, Kathryn
description: Word spread through the countryside like the whisper of the wind through the branches of the trees: he’s back.
  The prodigal son had returned.
  But that was one of the few things the rumors could agree upon. Some claimed he was a changed man—ready, finally, to shoulder the responsibilities that he had shirked for so many years. Others claimed that any apparent changes were merely a ruse—once a ne’er do well, always a ne’er do well. And the new duke had been far worse than a ne’er do well: he had been a rake, a degenerate and a scoundrel.
  The other thing that everyone agreed upon, whether tenant, servant or villager, was that it was a fine thing that Miss Tina had finally gotten engaged to Lord Edmund. That, at least, would keep her safe from the prodigal’s degeneracy—for surely even the duke could not have sunk so low as to seduce his own brother’s betrothed!
  Valentina Merriweather remembers all too well the dark, broodingly handsome duke from years earlier, when he had come to visit his family estates. Now, back from his wild travels to the far reaches of the earth, he is darker and more tortured than ever. Tina soon finds that she is attracted to him with an urgency that spells danger for her peace of mind, her conscience, and for the most valuable commodity that a genteel woman of her murky lineage and meagre fortune possesses: her reputation.
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  If you enjoyed The Clarendon Rose, be sure to check out Kathryn Anthony's other Regency Historical romance novel. An Immodest Proposal is a light, drawing-room comedy of manners: after being jilted by her longtime fiance, Sophia Lamott slips away from what should have been her engagement party. She hides in the library and resolves to get good and drunk. But, before she knows what's happening, she's being kissed by the most exciting man she has ever met. She must then face up to "the Summer Wildfires"-malicious gossips who would delight in dragging Sophie's name through the muck-and convince them they only imagined the dark, mysterious stranger they saw disappearing into the shadows.
  The Clarendon Rose, by contrast, is a darker work, in which Clarendon, a tortured war veteran, must overcome his demons in order to do right by his family, his inheritance and the tenants on his estate, whose livelihoods depend on his responsible stewardship. Unfortunately, the only woman who can help him in this task is far too attractive for his own peace of mind--and engaged to his brother.