To protect her sister, Prin, Eloise Cooper has been forced to serve in the South Carolina patriot underground network as a spy dubbed the Fox. She yearns for the day she and her sister are free to leave Brixton Hall Plantation and the tyrant who controls them. When she accidentally kills a Redcoat double agent in a fight for her life, she continues her covert activities, but declares the Fox is dead--a decision that threatens the hopes for freedom for Prin and herself.
In England, Drake Amberly, Fifth Duke of Hawk Haven, learns a murderous rebel spy has not only killed his brother in SC, but has also duped the British authorities there and escaped. Enraged and frustrated by the news, he travels to SC under the guise of a tradesman ship owner to secretly head a plot to flush out the notorious insurgent and bring him to justice.
Drake's mission leads him to Brixton Hall Plantation, and it isn't long before a mutual attraction between Eloise and him turns into love and marriage. But when another patriot is used to lure Eloise into a trap, she is captured and exposed. Deeply wounded and vexed by what he views as her disloyalty and betrayal, Drake must choose between giving up his cherished wife or his need for vengeance.
The Duke's Redemption offers intrigue, action, love, betrayal, and major conflicts with secondary characters--some of which I wanted to beat up--and events that keep the pages turning. But I love the author's wonderful portrayals of Eloise and Drake the best. Abused at an early age, Eloise learned to depend on the Lord. And she remains tenderhearted toward Him in impossible situations. A woman who despises violence, she grieves over the death of the double agent and agonizes over the choices she has to make as a spy. But the hardest decision is hiding her past from the husband she adores.
Drake is a man who deeply loves. Not just his wife, but his younger brother. Familial pride and honor demand he avenge the latter, but his wife is his heart. An impossible dilemma, how can he choose between them? He can't in his own strength, but through God's power and love, all things are possible. But only if the highminded and lofty duke is willing to repent and humble himself.
A great read, I heartedly recommend The Duke's Redemption to all romance lovers.
