Protected by a Duke: A Regency romance (Classic Regency Romance #3)

Twenty-five-year-old Lady Millicent Smythe has come a long way since her elder brother, as her then guardian, tried to marry her off. It was a deal he’d made, when she was but seventeen, with his friend Sir Montague Morton MP, in return for funds. Her escape all those years ago was not a little to do with Lord Charles Lombard, a chivalrous twenty-year-old army officer, who found her stranded on the road and carried her to safety. They’ve not met in the eight years since those events and Charles has now become the Duke of Darvell, following the sudden death of his father.
Millicent has developed her culinary skills and even—anonymously—published a book, which has received good reviews and sold well. Charles discovers the identity of the mystery writer and persuades her to work at Darvell Park. At eight-and-twenty, he remains single and resists his mother’s urging to find a suitable wife. Meanwhile, his late father’s Italian mistress arrives on the scene and rumours fly. There is an obvious solution to his situation, but the lady is uncooperative—until Sir Montague comes seeking his once-promised bride and she must urgently review her options.