A Wallflower to Tame the Duke

A WALLFLOWER TO TAME THE DUKE A STEAMY REGENCY ROMANCE VIOLET HAMERS CONTENTS Before You Start Reading… Join this amazing group! Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Epilogue Will you give me your honest review? Extended Epilogue Preview: A Virgin to Seduce the Duke Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three About the Author BEFORE YOU START READING… Before you start reading... Here is Isadora and Alexander’s Prequel Chapter which will help you understand and visualize the story inside my book better. Many of my readers requested it and that's why I am giving it away for free! I believe you will LOVE IT! It’s not mandatory to read it, but it will be really helpful if it's your first time with this book. Read the beginning of the their story here. Just click on the image above! ⇧ JOIN THIS AMAZING GROUP! Did you know that there is a group where you can chat with me and with thousands of like-minded book-worms all over the globe? Group name on Facebook: Cobalt Fairy’s Voracious Readers Click here to join and I guarantee you, you’d wish you had joined us sooner! Just click on the image above! ⇧ ABOUT THE BOOK “Don't you know that I ache for you the way you ache for me?” Lady Isadora has had enough. She might have been able to withstand her mother’s comments and the ton’s disapproval of her voluptuous figure. But seeing her name on the bottom of a rake’s ranking list is the last straw... Duke Alexander is looking for a duchess. But despite his efforts to forget his rakish ways, old habits die hard. And a mysterious note inviting him to a secret rendezvous is a temptation he cannot decline… Alexander never expected that a passionate kiss in the dark would make him yearn for so much more. Nor that the lady would walk away, taking all his clothes with her. Whether it’s revenge or desire, it matters not. He simply must get his hands on her… CHAPTER ONE “Put. It. Down.” Each word that came out of the Countess of Larton’s mouth was sharply pointed and dripping with disgust. Her eyes, a rich hazel brown that matched her daughter’s perfectly, stared down at Isadora Wells with maternal rage. From behind the Countess, Isadora’s stepsister, Amelia, appeared, an evil grin spread across her face as she watched Isadora be humiliated. Shame filled Isadora as her soft, plump cheeks bloomed with a deep crimson red. Her gloved hands shaking, she slowly lowered the thin slice of cucumber sandwich that she had grabbed from the silver tray of delicacies. It was bad enough that her mama had scolded her, but Amelia’s presence always made it seem worse. It was as if she enjoyed watching her stepsister be scolded. “But, Mama,” Isadora replied shakily as she put the sandwich back, “I did as you asked me and declined lunch earlier.” Her wide brown eyes stared down at her person as if trying to prove a point. “I am afraid if I do not eat something, I will grow weary at the ball this evening.” “Surely you know that is not true, Isadora,” Amelia said, her tone dripping with false sincerity. “Why, I bet you could last an entire week without breaking your fast. Maybe you should? Perhaps it would help your figure and your countenance.” While her tone was sweet, Amelia’s menace was shining in her blue eyes as she smiled at Isadora. Isadora winced at her sister’s insult. “Sister, you have a hair out of place,” she replied sweetly. “Perhaps you should go fix it?” Amelia’s hands flew to her hair before she scurried out of the room. Martha Sims, the Countess of Larton, rolled her eyes distastefully as she snatched up the tray Isadora had been picking at and thrust it into the nearest servant’s hands, seemingly ignoring her youngest daughter’s waspish retorts. “Take this away at once,” she hissed to the footman. Quickly, the man scurried out of Isadora’s room with the tray in tow. Isadora watched longingly as the only food she had seen in over eight hours walked out of her reach, no doubt going straight into the rubbish, despite there being nothing wrong with it. Martha watched closely as well, wanting to make sure her wishes were carried out. Once the servant left the room, the matriarch turned toward her daughter and smiled sweetly. “Come now,” she cooed, pulling Isadora toward the full-length mirror once more, “Amelia is right. You and I both know that skipping a meal or two will not harm you in the least. Look! Thanks to your fasting, I am sure we can get your corset just a smidge tighter than it was the day before the last. Come, let’s try.” Isadora stared dismally at her reflection as her mother instructed her handmaid, Sarah, to undo her dress and re-lace her corset. As she watched, she saw her supple curves jiggle and move like waves as Sarah began to tug and pull at her corset strings, doing all she could to find a few extra inches. It was to no avail, as Isadora knew it would be, and the end result only made her mother more agitated. “Well, it has only been a day with this new… diet,” Martha said dismissively, moving away from her eldest daughter. “I am sure that in a few days’ time, we will see results. Until then, we must make do with what we have, do we not?” “Yes, Mama,” Isadora replied obediently, her eyes on the floor. “Oh, now, do not be pouty, darling, it will ruin all of the hard work your maid has done to make you pretty,” her mother chastised.