Duke's Mechanical Bride

He intends to marry the perfect mechanical woman. He has no idea her voice belongs to the inventor he cannot stop arguing with.Brilliant but overlooked inventor Araminta Havelock has created Evadne, a lifelike automaton capable of astonishing Victorian society. Yet Evadne's most convincing secret is not hidden among her gears. From behind walls and concealed panels, Araminta supplies the machine's wit, opinions, and voice.Roderick Halewood, the cynical Duke of Sablehurst, has spent years avoiding fortune hunters and unwanted marriage schemes. After witnessing Evadne's public demonstration, he shocks London by declaring that a mechanical bride would be preferable to any woman seeking his title.To protect her invention and reputation, Araminta reluctantly agrees to oversee a six-week public courtship.Speaking through Evadne, she challenges Roderick with an honesty no society woman would dare employ. Roderick soon finds himself fascinated by his supposed mechanical bride—even as his attraction to her stubborn, secretive creator becomes impossible to ignore.But someone else is watching Evadne.A dangerous enemy believes the automaton contains a lost mechanism created by Araminta's murdered father. As theft attempts become increasingly violent, Araminta and Roderick must uncover what was concealed inside Evadne before the invention falls into the wrong hands.And when Roderick discovers the real woman behind the mechanical bride, their greatest obstacle may no longer be the conspiracy hunting them—but the deception that first brought them together.The Duke's Mechanical Bride is the first book in The Clockwork Brides, a Victorian historical romance series filled with brilliant women, powerful inventions, dangerous mysteries, gothic atmosphere, and emotionally charged love stories. Each book features a complete central romance while advancing the mystery of the Canticle Engine.