The Duke's Pregnant Maid

by Cassandra Michaels

Warning: Contains HOT Historical Regency Scenes that don't leave much to the imagination! A surprise bonus is also included inside for a limited time!

Jessica has a secret that nobody can find out about, especially her mistress, Lady Beamount.

Lady Beamount is known to be shallow and short tempered and Jessica knows that if she ever finds out about her secret, then she will lose her job before she even gets a chance to explain.

Jessica’s job is everything to her, but when a handsome Duke’s life is put into jeopardy, she faces a hard choice. She can deceive Lady Beamount, or she can keep her job and her secret, which she had fought so hard to get.

Genres: Historical Romance

123 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 21, 2015

About the author

Box Sets, Bundles and Collections are published under: Ponderosa Publishing

Reviews

[Natasha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read four of the short stories in this book. I think they were Regency-era stories, but I can't be certain because no year is given in any of the stories. One of them mentions England. I think two of them mentioned carriages, so they occurred before the Edwardian era. Authors, can we please indicate when and where our stories take place? I'll briefly speak on each story and share my own personal thoughts. I apologize in advance if this review is too long.

The Duke's Pregnant Maid is about a pregnant young lady named Jessica who accepts a job as a lady's maid for Lady Beamount. Now, from her name, I assumed Lady Beaumount is a widow. If she had never been married, she would be Lady____{Fill in the blank with her first name.} She seems to live alone in her own home, so that confirmed my assumption. We are quickly told her father has arranged a marriage for her. Was she widowed before she reached her majority? Why is her father still running her life? The duke she is betrothed to comes to visit her at her home alone. She loves another, but will do her duty and marry the duke. She sends Jessica down to attend to him while she finishes getting ready. Who sends a lady's maid to the parlor to check on their betrothed? The butler should have been seeing to the duke's needs. Later that night, Lady Beaumount sends Jessica to the duke's house with a message. Were all the footmen incapacitated? Let's overlook the fact that a lady's maid is delivering messages for a moment. It's the middle of the night. It's cold. She has to walk two hours to his home. Why wasn't she sent there in a carriage for her own safety and for the sake of expediency? The duke answers his own door, because this part of England apparently is short on qualified butlers. He insists she stay the night and warm herself- all perfectly innocent. The next morning, he takes her home in his carriage. Later, Lady Beaumount confesses she will marry him for his money and make sure he has an accident. When Jessica walks to the duke's home again to tell him about the sinister plan, he tells her he doesn't believe her because he can tell she's hiding a secret. She gives in and confesses she's pregnant by a soldier who promised to come back and marry her, but didn't. For some reason, the duke and Jessica have sex and she spends the night at his house again. In the morning, he tells her he still has to marry Lady Beaumount because it's already been agreed upon. He adds he'd pick Jessica if he had a choice. Sure, he would. Cause every duke wants a pregnant maid to be his duchess! On the wedding day, he searches her out and finds her in the kitchen. He tells her he wants her to promise they'll still have sex after he's married. Lady Beaumount catches them being too cozy in the kitchen. She slaps Jessica and there's a huge argument about how she didn't want to marry him anyway. Suddenly, the agreed-upon marriage can be broken, and the duke carries Jessica back to his home.

Why does a first-aid kit appear in this story? Jessica takes alcohol from her first-aid kit and uses it to clean the cuts on a maid's arm. Why does no one address the duke as "Your Grace?"

*******

In Two Dukes One Scandal, Louisa is informed by her father, an army general, that seven military men will be their house guests for several days. Two of the men are dukes and the father hopes Louisa can make a match with one of them. Samuel Horseforth, called "Duke Horseforth" in this story, is the first to arrive. He's attractive, but Louisa finds him a bit dull and doesn't think he appreciates her sense of humor and frankness. Arthur Jameson, called "Duke Jameson," is charming and congenial. Louisa falls prey to his charms. She has sex with him the day after her "boring date" with Duke Horseforth. When Jameson is indifferent to her the following morning, she seeks comfort in Horseforth's arms. Horseforth has made it clear his intentions are honorable. Why this honorable man didn't refuse Louisa's advances, I cannot say. At least, he asks her, "Are you sure about this?" before they had sex. If you offer it, ladies, most men are gonna accept it. It should come as no surprise that Louisa ends up pregnant and doesn't know who the father of her unborn child is. Her outraged father tells the dukes one of them has to marry her. Jameson accuses Louisa of being loose, but Horseforth is honorable and offers for her, adding he cannot judge her for her mistakes. Really?

Why are these outings referred to as dates? People didn't "date" until after the automobile became mainstream and couples could drive away and spend time alone together. During the time this story takes place, ladies were courted. There's an awkward conversation between Louisa and her maid Claire in which Louisa asks, "Do you enjoy working here? I mean, don't you wish sometimes that you had a life like mine?" Wait for it! The maid's reply includes something about liking Louisa's pretty dresses and her good-smelling dinner, but being quite content with her health, friends, and good job.

Don't get me started on how the two dukes were addressed. There was not one "Your Grace" or "His Grace" in the entire story. I've said this a few times before, and I'll say it again. A peer's title and surname are NOT the same in the overwhelming majority of cases. For example- Arthur Worthington, the Duke of Jameson. He is the Duke of Jameson, never Duke Jameson. He is addressed as "Your Grace" and referred to as "His Grace," not by his Christian name, unless he has given the person permission to do so in private conversations.

********

Only Way to Tame a Rake was my least favorite story. Gregory Hernshaw is a rake. He will sleep with any lady who's willing to lie down with him. He has a bad reputation. Fathers are told to keep their daughters away from him. Respectable people move away when they see him coming. His father is now feeling the wrath of the town's displeasure, so he insists Gregory marry. He takes Gregory to meet an eligible young lady, Isabella. Gregory finds her attractive, but he's still not ready to change his promiscuous behavior. That evening, Gregory goes to a tavern and meets a girl and has sex with her in the alley. Manwhore! They are seen. Isabella's father hears about the tryst in the alley and asks Gregory to defend his behavior. For reasons not made clear in the story, Isabella tells her father she was the girl in the alley and they are soon married. As pretty as she is, I just couldn't believe the people-think-I'm-cold-and-unruly-so-you're-my-last-hope excuse. Gregory was not the best she could do! Isabella settled for a zero when she should have waited for her hero.

********

The Duke of London's Baby seemed to have a few plot pieces missing. I never felt like I got a complete picture of this story. Peter, the Duke of London, is returning from a military victory in America. He meets a red-haired serving girl named Tilly in a tavern. She thinks the British soldiers are murderers and doesn't want to participate in their celebrations. Peter thinks she "has the potential to be pretty." He doesn't like her frizzy hair or her dirty nails. His friend tells him not to judge her too harshly because she's from the streets and is at least working instead of begging. Peter meets Tilly again in a cafe. This lady is so resourceful, she has three jobs: tavern, cafe, and a weekend job at the mill. He asks her if he can take her out to dinner. I don't think men did that during this time period. A gentleman might invite a woman and her family to join him at his home for dinner, but dating wasn't done during the era of carriages. George and Tilly have sex. {Most of the ladies in this book appear to be lightskirts.} Tilly ends up pregnant. George's friend has to convince him to do the right thing by Tilly. George takes Tilly to meet his parents who are less than pleased to see Tilly. She is not of royal blood. This brings a question to mind. How is George a duke if his father is still alive? Who is his father? The only people I'm aware of with a courtesy title of duke are royal princes. Was George awarded a dukedom for his military service? More details are needed to explain this. George is given an ultimatum- leave Tilly or he'll be cut off. In the one truly romantic scene in this book that I read, he chooses Tilly.

"I can't believe you gave up everything to be with me," Tilly said. Her eyes were full of admiration.

"Before you, I had nothing," Peter disagreed. "The only way I could have left today with nothing is if I'd have left without you."

Cassandra Michaels is a talented story-teller. The writing is good. These short stories have the potential to be good full-length novels if the plots are expanded and the characters are developed better. There are a few grammatical errors that a good editor would have caught before the book was published.

[angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

I'm reviewing the Dukes pregnant maid, but most of the stories were good. So I enjoyed the Dukes pregnant maid, I am not really a big fan of short stories usually. This story was pretty good though and enjoyable. If u like short stories you will probably really like it.

[Alice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somewhat Historical Romance and a generous bonus of other romance genre

There are 26 short romance stories written by Cassandra Michaels included in the bonus version of the kindle. I was very conflicted about writing a review of these stories especially the beginning romances which are presented as: historical romance, Regency Romance, and 1800's Victorian Romance. I am aware that the author is young and enthusiastic about writing but she desperately needs to study the period culture that she is writing about. I would recommend that she stays away from Dukes completely and focuses on the lesser nobles for her heroes. For example in The Duke's Pregnant Maid there are the following discrepancies in one small section (this shouldn't reveal the plot): The mistress sends her maid out at dusk to deliver a message to the Duke ( where's the footman, single maid at night a no no) she travels through the cold and knocks on the front door and the Duke opens the door himself ( where's the butler?, servants use servant entrance) Duke is shocked and takes her into the kitchen where HE has a kettle boiling water and makes the maid some tea (Dukes usually know nothing about kitchens sometimes not even where they are located, and they don't make tea for maids). Well that's a small taste of the problems involved. Another story has a mother invite 7 Dukes to dinner to meet her single daughter. There's no indication that these ladies have titles or money yet the Dukes show up anyway. Actual Dukes being very rare and are usually connected to the Royal Family or a Military War Hero and Leader makes this abundance of marriageble Dukes is astounding. In another story the Duke was a commoner who was friends with the King as a child. He is addressed as Sir William, and when he goes to another country he calls the Prince 'Your Grace'. He is also concerned that he'll loose his title if his King is displeased. The actual normal way to loose a Dukedom is by being beheaded and that depends on the King and the historical period you're aiming at. (So King=Your Majesty, Prince=Your Highness, and Duke=Your Grace. All the others are addressed as My Lord or Your Lordship, except for the Knights who are addressed as Sir.) I kept thinking if the author had aimed lower perhaps a Viscount, most of the jarring inconsistencies could be overlooked. I also felt that if she wrote contemporary romance and avoided the historical stuff her writing would be fine. And surprise, as I continued reading there was one historical romance concerning a young rake that totally worked because the improbable Duke was missing.

Much later several stories about contemporary Navy Seals were written that worked very well. Please don't be discouraged by this review. You can write. Drop the Dukes and aim at the lower nobility such as a Viscount who might answer his own door. Please read up on English Social Customs, traditions and history. And watch out for contemporary language such as 'okay', DNA', and maids who talk back to their employers. I could tell by the idioms used that you are fairly young. Please continue your writing but get someone with a historical background to edit the content. There are writing groups that meet, make some friends. Your contemporary romance works. Good luck.