What a Duchess Does by Judith Lynne

She's in no position to turn down a duke. They both know it. That doesn't mean the game is over... Selene's mother is deathly ill, and there's little a poor housemaid can do. Working in her cousin's house, grateful for the roof over her head, Selene doesn't dream anymore of a titled marriage. Only a little of falling in love. Nicholas Hayden, the Duke of Talbourne, learned early in life never to show what he wanted. But sad experience, and silence, won't help him conquer his passion for the housemaid he has rescued — a passion that threatens everything he has built for his life. A mother's scheme with a duke as cold as the devil could transform Selene from a housemaid to a duchess in a matter of days. But Selene dares to want a marriage that isn't just for show. If she's going to make a deal with this devil, she has demands of her own. A fairytale romance with a touch of intrigue What a Duchess Does is a standalone book! But its characters appear not only in the next book in the series, Crown of Hearts, but also in The Caped Countess, the first book of Judith Lynne's exciting new action Regency romance series. What a Duchess Does features a game-playing duchess, a duke who gets a dog, and some political intrigue based on actual events of spring 1813.