The Duchess Takes a Husband

PRAISE FOR HARPER ST. GEORGE “A glittering ballroom romance bursting with the industry and wealth that so define Gilded Age heiresses.” —Entertainment Weekly “The Heiress Gets a Duke is a charming, compulsively readable delight and I can’t wait for the next book from Harper St. George’s magical pen!” —Evie Dunmore, USA Today bestselling author “St. George marries classic elements from historical romance greats like Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn with subtle winks and nudges about the genre that would appeal to the more experienced romance reader.” —Forbes “A sparkling jewel of a love story, full to the brim with Victorian wit, romance, and heart-stopping heat. Road trips in a carriage and four don’t get much sexier than this.” —Mimi Matthews, USA Today bestselling author on The Devil and the Heiress “A sexy, emotional, romantic tale . . . Harper St. George is a must-buy for me!” —Terri Brisbin, USA Today bestselling author on The Heiress Gets a Duke “Wit, seduction, and passion blend seamlessly to create this deeply emotional romance. St. George weaves an intriguing plot with complex characters to provide the perfect sensual escape. There’s nothing I didn’t love about The Heiress Gets a Duke, especially its lush, captivating glimpse into history.” —Anabelle Bryant, USA Today bestselling author “With sizzling chemistry, brilliant banter, and an unapologetically strong, feminist heroine, Harper St. George sets the pages ablaze!” —Christi Caldwell, USA Today bestselling author “Fun, tender, and definitely sexy, The Heiress Gets a Duke is already at the top of my list for the best books of the year. Don’t sleep on this refreshing and feminist romance.” —BookPage (starred review) “Harper St. George just gets better and better with every book, penning the kind of page-turning stories that you will want to read again as soon as you finish each one.” —Lyssa Kay Adams, author of Isn’t It Bromantic? “A rich, compelling, and beautifully written romance. St. George brings us the story of Violet Crenshaw, an American heiress with distinctly modern ideas about love and marriage.” —Elizabeth Everett, author of A Perfect Equation on The Devil and the Heiress “Luscious historical romance.” —PopSugar “Rich with period detail, The Heiress Gets a Duke brings to life the Gilded Age’s dollar princesses in this smart, sexy, and oh-so-satisfying story.” —Laurie Benson, award-winning author of the Sommersby Brides series “You’ll sigh, you’ll cry, and you’ll grin yourself silly as this independent and cynical heiress finally gets her duke.” —Virginia Heath, author of Never Fall for Your Fiancée TITLES BY HARPER ST. GEORGE The Gilded Age Heiresses The Heiress Gets a Duke The Devil and the Heiress The Lady Tempts an Heir The Duchess Takes a Husband BERKLEY ROMANCE Published by Berkley An imprint of Penguin Random House LLC penguinrandomhouse.com Copyright © 2023 by Harper Nieh Excerpt from The Stranger I Wed by Harper St. George copyright © 2023 by Harper Nieh Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader. BERKLEY and the BERKLEY & B colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Ebook ISBN: 9780593440995 First Edition: May 2023 Cover design by Rita Frangie Cover photo by anna.evlanova/Shutterstock Book design by George Towne, adapted for ebook by Molly Jeszke This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. pid_prh_6.0_143634252_c0_r0 For all the readers who asked for Camille’s happily ever after. This one’s for you. Author’s Note Thank you so much for reading the Gilded Age Heiresses. I hope you enjoy the opulence and richness of this time period as much as I do. One of my favorite parts of the Gilded Age are the Dollar Princesses. These were real women from new money families who were often pressured into marriages with European nobility for the sole purpose of raising the status of their families in Society. There were over 350 of these marriages from 1870 to 1920. They were the inspiration for this series. Sometimes the marriages were consensual, as in the case of Jennie Jerome, who accepted the proposal of Lord Randolph Churchill after knowing him for all of three days. (Their first child was Winston Churchill, who was born premature at nine pounds.) Some believe it was this love match that started the avalanche of heiresses into European society. Then there is the famous case of Consuelo Vanderbilt, who was forced by her parents to give up the man she loved to marry the 9th Duke of Marlborough. Accounts from the time indicate that she was crying as she walked down the aisle. This story in particular was the inspiration for Camille. Camille has been somewhat of a cautionary tale for my Crenshaw heiresses throughout this series. They saw her forced marriage in the prologue of book one and decided to run from every marriage their parents tried to arrange for them. Camille’s book was not planned when I first started writing the series, but I am so glad that readers wanted and asked for her story. She deserves her happily ever after. There is no question that Camille was a victim of domestic violence. Please be aware that some of the abuse she suffered in her previous marriage is remembered in this book, in case that is a sensitive topic for you. It’s not explicit, but it is discussed. The National Domestic Violence Hotline defines domestic violence (also referred to as intimate partner violence, dating abuse, or relationship abuse) as a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate