rather not. Marriage it is, I suppose.” She sounded resigned.
“Damn, but you are still far too good at pretending.” He went to her chamber, and she pushed open the door. “I can’t tell if you’re jesting.”
She slid down his front, keeping her arms around his neck. “Then I shall just have to show you. Surrender to me, Mr. Sheffield, and I will show you the truth of my undying love.”
He put his lips to hers. “I am yours.”
Don’t miss A SCANDALOUS BARGAIN, when Beatrix sees something she shouldn’t and finds herself making a deal to help Lord Rockbourne after the shocking death of his wife. Can a woman who can’t stop stealing and a widower in need of redemption find love, or will their secrets destroy them both?
Thank you so much for reading A Secret Surrender! It’s the first book in The Pretenders trilogy. I hope you enjoyed it!
Would you like to know when my next book is available and to hear about sales and deals? Sign up for my VIP newsletter at https://www.darcyburke.com/readergroup, follow me on social media:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/DarcyBurkeFans
Twitter at @darcyburke
Instagram at darcyburkeauthor
Pinterest at darcyburkewrite
And follow me on Bookbub to receive updates on pre-orders, new releases, and deals!
Need more Regency romance? Check out my other historical series:
The Untouchables - Swoon over twelve of Society’s most eligible and elusive bachelor peers and the bluestockings, wallflowers, and outcasts who bring them to their knees!
The Untouchables: The Spitfire Society - Meet the smart, independent women who’ve decided they don’t need Society’s rules, their families’ expectations, or, most importantly, a husband. But just because they don’t need a man doesn’t mean they might not want one…
Wicked Dukes Club - six books written by me and my BFF, NYT Bestselling Author Erica Ridley. Meet the unforgettable men of London's most notorious tavern, The Wicked Duke. Seductively handsome, with charm and wit to spare, one night with these rakes and rogues will never be enough...
Love is All Around - heartwarming Regency-set retellings of classic Christmas stories (written after the Regency!) featuring a cozy village, three siblings, and the best gift of all: love.
Secrets and Scandals - six epic stories set in London’s glittering ballrooms and England’s lush countryside, and the first one, Her Wicked Ways, is free!
Legendary Rogues - Four intrepid heroines and adventurous heroes embark on exciting quests across Regency England and Wales!
If you like contemporary romance, I hope you’ll check out my Ribbon Ridge series available from Avon Impulse, and the continuation of Ribbon Ridge in So Hot.
I hope you’ll consider leaving a review at your favorite online vendor or networking site!
I appreciate my readers so much. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Author’s Note
I love the research involved with writing historical fiction. One of my go-to references is the 1817 map of London by W. Darton. This is where I look for neighborhoods and specific streets in London during this time. This map shows a Queen Ann Street intersecting with Portland Street (which is now Great Portland Street). When you compare that 1817 map to a modern map of London, the area looks vastly different! It’s amazing how many streets in London are lost to time. I decided to spell Queen Anne Street with an “e” in this book because the majority of the advance readers (my editor and beta readers) found that the Ann spelling made them stop and wonder if it was spelled correctly, as Queen Anne is the more widely known modern spelling, at least in the US.
Other historical tidbits: the Lambeth Asylum for Orphan Girls was a real place, but is noted by several different names, including Asylum for Female Orphans. I chose one title and went with it. The Brown Bear pub existed at 34 Bow Street across from the magistrates’ court at 33. I recently started watching Ripper Street, a BBC show set during the 1890s about the police in Whitechapel at Lambeth Street. There is a Brown Bear pub in the show near the police station, which I found interesting since I knew there was a Brown Bear on Bow Street too. I wonder if the Brown Bear in Whitechapel (which I believe was founded shortly after the one in Covent Garden) took its name from the pub across from the Bow Street Magistrates’ Court.
Researching A SECRET SURRENDER was great fun! I do hope you’ll contact me if you have any questions or further information to share.
Also by Darcy Burke
Historical Romance
The Untouchables
The Forbidden Duke
The Duke of Daring
The Duke of Deception
The Duke of Desire
The Duke of Defiance
The Duke of Danger
The Duke of Ice
The Duke of Ruin
The Duke of Lies
The Duke of Seduction
The Duke of Kisses
The Duke of Distraction
The Untouchables: The Spitfire Society
Never Have I Ever with a Duke
A Duke is Never Enough
A Duke Will Never Do
The Untouchables: The Pretenders
A Secret Surrender
A Scandalous Bargain
A Rogue to Ruin
Love is All Around
(A Regency Holiday Trilogy)
The Red Hot Earl
The Gift of the Marquess
Joy to the Duke
Wicked Dukes Club
One Night for Seduction by Erica Ridley
One Night of Surrender by Darcy Burke
One Night of Passion by Erica Ridley
One Night of Scandal by Darcy Burke
One Night to Remember by Erica Ridley
One Night of Temptation by Darcy Burke
Secrets and Scandals
Her Wicked Ways
His Wicked Heart
To Seduce a Scoundrel
To Love a Thief (a novella)
Never Love a Scoundrel
Scoundrel Ever After
Legendary Rogues
Lady of Desire
Romancing the Earl
Lord of Fortune
Captivating the Scoundrel
Contemporary Romance
Ribbon Ridge
Where the Heart Is (a prequel novella)
Only in My Dreams
Yours to Hold
When Love Happens
The Idea of You
When We Kiss
You’re Still the One
Ribbon Ridge: So Hot
So Good
So Right
So Wrong
About the Author
Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy, emotional historical and contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a happily ever after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations. Join her Reader Club newsletter at http://www.darcyburke.com/readerclub.
A native Oregonian, Darcy lives on the edge of wine country with her guitar-strumming husband, their two hilarious kids who seem to have inherited the writing gene. They’re a crazy cat family with two Bengal cats, a small, fame-seeking cat named after a fruit, and an older rescue Maine Coon who is the master of chill and five a.m. serenading. In her “spare” time Darcy is a serial volunteer enrolled in a 12-step program where one learns to say “no,” but she keeps having to start over. Her happy places are Disneyland and Labor Day weekend at the Gorge. Visit Darcy online at http://www.darcyburke.com and follow her on social media.