Please welcome Lady Marisa Hawkestone to my blog. Marisa is the heroine in my latest Regency romance, A Whisper of Desire, book #4 in my Disgraced Lords series (although it can be read as a standalone).
Bron: Welcome, Marisa. Tell us a little about yourself?
Marisa: Good afternoon. Thank you for visiting with me today. Would you like some tea? (Me: yes, I’m a big tea drinker. Thank you). Hmmm, what shall I reveal?
I’m the eldest daughter of the late Marquis of Coldhurst. Both my parents are dead. They died in a carriage accident when I was young, and Sebastian, my elder brother, brought us up. I have a younger sister called Helen.
Bron: Did you have a happy childhood?
Marisa: (sigh) No, not really. I had Helen. She’s only eighteen months younger than me but my brother is ten years older and he was rarely around. He was the lucky one. He could escape.
Bron: Escape what?
Marisa: My parent’s terrible altercations and even physical fights. You see, their marriage was a ‘supposed’ love match. They were both of them, consumed with jealousy, accusing each other of infidelity. The fights were awful. Helen and I used to hide in our rooms.
Bron: That must have had a dreadful affect on you?
Marisa: It did. If this was love I wanted nothing to do with it.
Bron: You’re married now-you had to marry. Is that still the case?
Marisa: (shakes her head) No. When Sebastian married Beatrice (book #2 A Promise of More), I learned what true love means. It’s about trust, friendship, loyalty, real love doesn’t hurt. I thought I’d found that with Lord Rutherford but he was a liar and manipulator, and I’m so thankful that my husband, the Duke of Lyttleton was set up to compromise me.
Bron: Do you love your husband?
Marisa: With every breath I take. He’s taught me about all those things I mentioned – loyalty, friendship and trust.
Bron: Does he love you?
Marisa: (gives a big smile) Unconditionally. If you read the book you’ll learn why, to me, his love for me is such a blessing.
Bron: Thank you for opening up your personal life to us. I look forward to hearing more of your story in the follow up books to A Whisper of Desire
Here is a snippet of Marisa’s story:
Maitland had hero-worshipped Marisa’s brother for many years. He’d been able to repay Sebastian, and the other Libertine Scholars, with his uncanny investment ability. Numbers had always made more sense to him than people. Numbers didn’t lie. They were logical, rational, and impossible to manipulate, if you were smart.
“I will agree that you can ask Rutherford if he will still marry you, even though you’re now compromised.” He looked at Marisa. Really looked. “Shall we make a pact to be friends? Regardless of the outcome of your talk with Rutherford, I shall count you as my good friend as I would Sebastian.”
“If you were my friend you’d tell me what you know about Rutherford. I bet you’ll tell Sebastian.”
She was right. If he were her friend he would tell her. He was certainly going to tell Sebastian. “I knew you were intelligent. I’ve walked right into your trap.”
She rolled onto her side, facing him, and the quilt dropped dangerously low. He could almost see one nipple as his eyes roamed over the swell of her breast. Her eyes twinkled and her smile tugged a reluctant upturn of his lips in return.
“As your friend, tell me.”
He pushed a stray piece of hair behind her ear, the urge to touch her too strong. “I don’t want to hurt you. Rutherford should be man enough to tell you himself, but as I know he’s deceiving you, I doubt the boy knows what the word ‘truthful’ means.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and began to chew on it. At her silence, he looked her in the eye and told her what he knew. “He was in the garden tonight while I was smoking a cheroot and he was not alone.”
He watched her swallow back a curse.
“He was with a woman?”
Maitland nodded.
Here are the buy links, if you’d like to read about Marisa’s road to her HEA.
Amazon -> http://amzn.to/1krgxez
Amazon UK -> http://amzn.to/1lZW95u
B&N Nook -> http://bit.ly/1My6tam
iBooks -> http://apple.co/1k9AnLO
Kobo -> http://bit.ly/1H5WSv1
Google Play -> http://bit.ly/1P8vUpx
