Dare she risk her secrets?
In the world of upstairs/downstairs, Housemaid Penny Smith anticipates her employer’s needs and blends into the background making her the perfect spy for the prime minister against a suspected
member of the Devil’s Sons. There’s only one problem. When she meets the guilty marquess, his actions don’t match the evidence against him. Lord William Renquist defies her every expectation
and sets her traitorous heart racing.
Lord William Renquist, Marquess of Stoneway and secret spy to Queen Victoria, must infiltrate the Devil’s Sons, tearing the brotherhood apart from the inside. His mission – to bring evil men to justice
while atoning for the sins of his family, proving honour is stronger than tainted blood. There’s only one problem. A canny maid who is always in the right place at the wrong time and who deliciously
challenges his every order.
Liam and Penny are unknowingly playing a dangerous game from opposite sides of justice. And at a masked ball, forbidden attraction burns into something far more complex as their secrets spin into
daring confessions. This battle against their enemy will only be won if Penny and Liam can work together. But can a maid from downstairs ever trust an upstairs marquess?
Darcy McGuire is an award-winning New Zealand-born writer now living in the Pacific Northwest.
She will write a five-part Victorian romance series for Boldwood, focused on a group of ‘Deadly Damsels’.
Facebook: AuthorDarcyMcGuire
Instagram: @authordarcymcguire
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Bookbub profile: @meleemcguire
My thoughts: Queen Victoria’s Deadly Damsels are back, although Penny doesn’t start out as one. She’s genuinely a maid, from London’s tough streets, who gives as good as it gets, determined to get her mother out of debtors’ prison by exposing the Devil’s Sons, especially the Marquess of Stoneway, her current employer, and claim the reward money her police contact has promised her.
That’s before she meets the new Marquess. His father might have been rotten to the core, his brother heading the same way before his death, but Liam is not quite what Penny expected.
There’s an instant spark between them, but would it be right to take advantage of that? A lord seducing his maid would be as Penny expects, and might get her the information she needs, but what if it’s more? Can a Marquess marry a girl who grew up with nothing?
There’s lots of misunderstandings, double crossings, outright interference from familiar faces to fans of this series, a horrible butler, a secretly rather nice housekeeper, and Penny might just be my favourite. She’s streetwise and brave, taking on potential rapists with a set of brass knuckles and her wits, thankfully Liam is pretty charming and a better man than she first believes.
And with some new friends, Penny might just be able to bring the Devil’s Sons and their kidnapping ways to an end.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 