Thawing A Duke's Heart (Faces of Love Series #1) by Jessie Bennett

Synopsis
    L ady Mary Withington is twenty years old, nearly a spinster by her mother’s standards, and feeling the pressure to marry. Her family is in need of a good match for her and her sisters, and Lady Mary knows that she must put forth some effort to garner a beau this season out or risk spending her life as a lonely unmarried woman. However, she desperately wants to find true love instead of simply finding someone whose fortune can be shared with her family in their hour of need.
    Deciding to take matters into her own hands, Lady Withington plans to host a ball for the coming out celebration of her two youngest daughters coming out to the ton. When she hears that a handsome young Marquess will attend, she is overjoyed and pressures Lady Mary to ensnare the wealthy man. She could not have known that instead of a match to the Marquess, Lady Mary would instead make the acquaintance of his dark and handsome best friend, the secretive and aloof Duke of Gaffton.
    He brushed a stray lock that had fallen, and tipped my chin to look at him again. “I only meant that I am the last person in the world for you. I am incapable of love. I have lost all faith in it. You know this…”
    I simply nodded my head in understanding. He was being kinder than I deserved.
    “Just because there is no love doesn’t mean you can’t find happiness, contentment, with,” he paused for a moment. “With another man…”
    Jacob Fitzroy, Duke of Gaffton, is a lifelong self-proclaimed bachelor, very adamantly proclaiming his distrust in the fairer sex. His heart is walled off and cold, untouchable by even the fairest of ladies, and he dedicates himself to protecting his friend, the Marquess of Dunlop, from experiencing a bad match as he seeks a wife. When the Marquess finds such a woman, Gaffton chaperones them coolly, although in the process he finds a less-than-enthusiastic friend in Lady Elisabeth’s escort.
    The Duke of Gaffton is definitely not interested in finding a wife, nor is he tolerant of Lady Mary’s exploration into the world of books—especially when he discovers her belief that true love is possible. His heart holds dark secrets, tragic remembrances of the past when he was a different man in a different place. One fateful dinner affair may change his outlook on life, but only if Lady Mary can find a way to thaw his frozen heart.
    Will the Duke of Gaffton find room in his heart for beautiful Lady Withington, and will he be able to voice his intentions before she is sent away when his attempts to prove that love and attraction are the same that nearly create disasters for her entire family?

“ W hat a good girl you are ,” Gaffton cooed as he scratched and petted her all over. “Though you are quite an ugly thing. I suppose you are the reason breeds shouldn’t be mixed. You look to have gotten the worst of both parents. A huge head and short fat legs. It is kind of charming in a way, though.”…

    “ Y ou will never guess what I’ve just heard,” my mother exclaimed as she came into the drawing room. …

    “ I ’ve ruined them all ,” I cried. “And you, I’ve taken away your life. I’ve chained you to me. I’m so sorry, Your Grace.”…

    “ T hey will be fine ,” he continued to coo. “You could do worse than being married to a Duke,” he added with a smile….

CHAPTER 1

A Season To Remember
    * * *
    T he house was abuzz with the preparations for departure. Servants were rushing to and fro, packing trunks and simultaneously closing up the house. I did my best to stay out of their way. My own maid, Josie, had finished packing my belongings earlier this morning before helping me dress for breakfast.
    I had settled on a casual tan traveling dress, and had my hair simply placed in a bun pallet. I knew Mother would give me grief for it not being the most fashionable or newest of outfits, in all honesty, the hem had frayed just a tad in the back, but it was comfortable. Since we would be spending the next six