They met and his love roared louder than the beasts haunting her…For half-blind maid Lenora Foster, life in the service of the Duke of Brackhill is everything she’s ever known. Having experienced the mocking glances of the ton due to her disability, she keeps herself isolated in the darkest corners of the manor.Pressured by his family to produce an heir, Adrian Sullivan, Marquess of Galdhor, … Sullivan, Marquess of Galdhor, finds himself attending a lackluster ball at Brackhill Manor. That is until he bumps into a peculiar maid with an eyepatch spying on the attendees.
With his heartbeat whispering Lenora’s name, Adrian fails to realize that someone knows. And someone who knows always tells.
Life in the service of the Duke of Brackhill is everything Lenora Foster has ever known. And within a few days, she is pronounced dead…
*If you like powerful Dukes, loving Duchesses and a marvelous depiction of the majestic Regency and Victorian era, then A Game of Chess with the Marquess is the novel for you.
This is Patricia Haverton’s 2nd novel, a historical Regency romance novel of 80,000 words (around 400 pages). No cheating, no cliffhangers, and a sweet happily ever after.
Pick up “A Game of Chess with the Marquess” today to discover Patricia’s captivating story!
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Adrian the Marquess of Galdhor knows he needs to marry, he’s getting older and he really should think about an heir. His mother has begun pushing him to that end and he attends a ball for Lady Katherine, the Duke of Brackhill’s daughter. While she is attractive, Adrian doesn’t find anything about her that would make her a match for him. However someone else at the ball does catch his eye.
Lenora is a chambermaid on the Brackhill estate, and in spite of how much the Duchess and Lady seem to despise her, she loves her job and always gives her best effort in everything. Born blind in one eye, she covers the milky white eye with a patch, she does however love her other eye which is a lovely green.
On the night of the ball she sees a very attractive man dancing with Lady Katherine. She knows immediately that no other man in the room has a chance with her lady. She has made her choice. Lenora hoping for another glimpse of the man is peering into the dining room when her lady spots her. Drawing back quickly she bumps into Adrian as he returned from the gardens where he was escaping the crowd. He was quite late for dinner but running into this striking little maid was a pleasant surprise. Even though she won’t give her name and flees from him.
Adrian wasn’t surprised to get the invitation to visit Brackhill with the intent of getting to know Lady Katherine better as a possible match. Conflicted he decides to go but not before he sets his friend and bar keep Samuel on an investigation. An investigation into the maid with the eye-patch, he desires to know more about her and couldn’t possibly ask the Duke.
Adrian keeps his eye out for the mysterious maid from the moment he arrives at Brackhill. He finally gets his chance while reading in the library. Lenora comes in to dust and is startled by his presence and persistence to know her name. Now that he knows it he finds it even more difficult to endure the simpering Lady Katherine and seeks out Lenora when he can.
One of the more extensive conversations takes place in the parlor, where they learn about each others lives.
Lenora knows she shouldn’t fantasize about the Marquess, but she really couldn’t help herself. She enjoys their conversations as much as he appears to. However she can’t allow things to get out of hand. He was meant for Lady Katherine, not her.
In a startling turn of events we see another side of the housekeeper and Lady Katherine. One that completely changes things, not only for the Marquess but also the Duke.
A fun read with an unusual courtship and a touch of suspense and intrigue.
Don’t know where they got the title. Story about class difference somewhat interesting ,easy guess ending.
I loved this story! An absolutely delightful book. Action packed and full of adventure and sweet romance. It’s well written and the characters are wonderful and engaging. I couldn’t put it down. A truly enjoyable read.
Cinderella
From the beginning it had me hooked. A true Cinderella story complete with EVIL WICKED step mother and sister. This step sister was so wicked the story only needed one. I found Lenora to be very naive and way to charitable where her so called family was concerned. And then there’s Adrian, The Marquess of Galdhor he was very promising right up till chapter fifteen when he stated Oh, God I’m going to have to wed Lady Katherine after all. Lady Katherine and her mother are some of the most despicable people around but by all means Adrian believe everything they tell you without question. As for the Duke of Brackhill father is not a word I would associate with him. How could he have been so blind to all the suffering and abuse Lenora endured, could he not see what a viper of a woman he had wed. In the end she forgave way to easily. Lenora should have told them all to stuff it she forgave way to easily while Lady Katherine and the Duchess didn’t suffer nearly enough.
“A Game of Chess with the Marquess” by Patricia Haverton
A Regency romance tale with quite a bit of suspense and abuse. I wouldn’t say this is sweet story but it is a sweet clean romance. There is a lot of dialogue, self-dialogue as in what characters are thinking or saying to themselves. To be honest, I did get anxious to get on with the story and scanned/skipped over some of those pages. I received an ARC of this story from the author for an honest review. I liked the story and most of the characters, didn’t like those characters that were not likeable. I think if you like Regency stories, and long stories, you will most likely like this story, too. Happy Reading ! !