A Most Curious Courtship — Julie Tetel Andresen

With the horrors of Waterloo behind him, Jonathan Avery must now take up his duties as the Fifth Duke of Bedford, a position he inherited most unexpectedly. Not only is he entirely unprepared for the position, he is also, in his opinion, completely unsuited for it. But good soldier that he is, he squarely faces his duty and travels to take up residence at Bedford Manor, his primarily ducal seat in Hartsfield. Beatrice Castle has established in Hartsfield a home for unwed mothers where they can give birth under healthy and happy conditions. She is the first to meet the new duke upon his arrival and is able to direct him to his splendid manor. She doesn't give him a second thought, but he is intrigued by her and determined to pursue an acquaintance. After he visits her both in Hartsfield and in London, she decides the well-set-up and charmingly self-effacing duke should be her first Adventure and determines to seduce him. So, she lures him to The White Chrysanthemum, the most exclusive brothel in London which she owns. In the White Chrysanthemum's scandalous viewing rooms, Jonathan, with his good soldier's instincts, recognizes he's on the battlefield of love and determines a strategy of his own – one that, after a night of pleasure, leaves Beatrice with an ultimatum. Who will win this battle of the sexes?