Emily Larkin's Blog - Posts Tagged "ruining-miss-wrotham"

So, the fifth book in the Baleful Godmother series comes out later this month! It's called Ruining Miss Wrotham, and I thought I'd take a moment to introduce the hero and heroine to you.

Here's their first meeting in the book. The setup is this: our heroine, Eleanor (Nell) Wrotham has approached her former fiance, Roger, for help. Our hero, Mordecai Black, notorious rake and Roger's illegitimate cousin, witnesses the end of this encounter:

The drawing room door opened abruptly and a young lady strode out. “―hiding behind excuses. A hen has more courage than you!”

Mordecai halted.

He’d been truly and deeply surprised twice in his life. Once, when his father had come to claim him, and the second time when Henry Wright had stood up for him at Eton. This moment qualified as the third. He was so astonished that he gaped. Eleanor Wrotham was here? In Roger’s house?

“If you won’t help me, I’ll find someone who has the gumption to do so!” Miss Wrotham was magnificent in her scorn, eyes flashing, voice ringing, cheeks flushed.

And then he saw the tears trembling on her eyelashes. She wasn’t merely angry; she was upset.

Miss Wrotham didn’t see him. She crossed the entrance hall briskly, flung open the door before the butler could reach it, and marched outside.

Roger emerged from the drawing room—red-faced and righteous, his blond hair sleek with pomade. Mordecai ignored his cousin. He strode after Miss Wrotham and shut the door firmly in the butler's face. “Miss Wrotham!” He took the steps two at a time.

Miss Wrotham halted on the flagway and glanced back. He saw surprise cross her face—a brief, wide-eyed flare of astonishment—and then the surprise snuffed out and she was once again her father’s daughter, haughty and aloof.

Mordecai stared down at her and knew in his bones that she was the one woman in all the world whom he was meant to marry. Not because of her appearance and her breeding—those had been Roger’s reason for offering for her—but because of what lay beneath those things: the clear-eyed intelligence, the suppressed passion, the spirit bursting to be free.

He trod down the last three steps. “I’ll help you,” he said. “Whatever it is, I’ll help.”

Miss Wrotham’s eyebrows lifted slightly. She looked him up and down.

Mordecai was suddenly acutely aware of what he must look like: sweaty, hulking, unshaven, dressed in clothes that had been elegant yesterday, but today were wrinkled and travel-stained.

He resisted the urge to tighten his neckcloth and brush the dust from his coat, but it was impossible not to feel embarrassed. Of all the ways he’d imagined meeting Miss Wrotham again, this wasn’t one of them. He felt a faint blush creep into his cheeks—and when was the last time he’d blushed? Years ago.

Mordecai endured her scrutiny, and wished he knew what Miss Wrotham thought of him. Not what she thought of his appearance—it was obvious what anyone would think of his appearance right now—but what she thought of him. Mordecai Black. Earl’s son. Bastard.

Society accepted him—his father’s sponsorship had seen to that—but not everyone liked him. Roger certainly didn’t. Miss Wrotham’s father—a high stickler—hadn’t either. He’d thought Mordecai unworthy of his daughter’s hand, but the man was dead now and the only opinion that mattered was Miss Wrotham’s. What did she think?

I'll let you know what Nell thinks of Mordecai in my next post! Until then, here's a picture of Nell marching out of Roger's house.



[Image courtesy of the Rijksmuseum's public domain collection.]

Do you remember in Pride and Prejudice how fifteen-year-old Lydia Bennett runs off with Mr. Wickham? Elizabeth Bennett thinks that her family is ruined, but Mr. Darcy saves the day by finding the runaway pair and inducing them to marry.

Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Lydia and Wickham hadn't married? What would have happened to the Bennett family? And more importantly, how would Lydia's disgrace have affected her sisters' marriage prospects?

Nell Wrotham, the heroine of Ruining Miss Wrotham, knows exactly what would happen―because it's happened to her. When her sister runs off with a soldier, Nell finds herself ruined. Her fiance abruptly terminates their engagement, her Season is cut short, and life as she knows it is over.

And then along comes a man with a terrible reputation: Mordecai Black. Earl's illegitimate son. Notorious rake. And Nell's hero—although it takes Nell quite some time to recognize him as her hero!

If you'd like to meet Nell and Mordecai, you'll find them having adventures on the pages of Ruining Miss Wrotham.

In my last blog post you saw Nell, the heroine of Ruining Miss Wrotham, through the hero's eyes. In this post I'd like to swap it around and show you the hero, Mordecai Black, through heroine's eyes.

Here's part of a scene from early in the book. The set up is this: Nell has very little money and she desperately needs to get to Exeter to find her missing sister, Sophia. Mordecai Black is a shocking rake and has just offered to help her. The scene takes place in a hackney carriage in London.

Black climbed in after her. The door swung shut and Nell was alone with him. Alone with Mordecai Black.

Awareness of him swept through her, the same unsettling mix of attraction and fear that had plagued her Season. Her pulse fluttered and her skin tightened and her breath came a little shorter. Don’t be silly, Nell told herself tartly. You don’t want him and he most certainly doesn’t want you.

She took a deep, steadying breath and turned her attention to Sophia. How long would it take to reach Exeter? Dare she accept Mr. Black’s assistance to get there? Should she accept it?

Nell gripped her reticule tightly and wrestled with her conscience. She ought not allow Black to pay for a post-chaise to Exeter. She could never repay him, therefore it would be wrong of her—and quite apart from that it would be grossly improper. She was an unmarried lady; he was Mordecai Black. Scandal clung to him. Any association with him would tarnish her.

But she was already tarnished. Scandal clung to her, too, and what did her reputation matter anyway? What mattered was finding Sophia as soon as possible, and if Mr. Black could help her, she would accept anything he offered. Even if it was improper of her to do so, and even if it put her in his debt.

Nell stole a glance at him and felt the familiar response: the fluttering pulse, the shiver. I want him. I fear him. Foolish, conflicting emotions. Emotions she ought to have mastered a year ago.

There was no denying that Mordecai Black had a memorable face—the dangerous angles of cheekbone and jaw, the eyes so dark they were almost black, the Dereham nose. That nose had overpowered the late earl’s face, but it didn’t overpower Black’s face. It was in keeping with the rest of him: striking, strong. An assertive nose with a high and prominent bridge. The sort of nose a Roman emperor would have had. The nose stopped Black being pretty, as Roger was. It stopped him being classically handsome, despite his chiseled cheekbones. But it didn’t stop him being beautiful, because Mordecai Black was beautiful, in a way that was purely and aggressively masculine. He had a face that drew the eye. A face women looked at twice. A face that made other men’s faces appear soft and feminine by contrast.

Nell looked down at her hands gripping the reticule. Mordecai Black’s face was irrelevant. What mattered was his character. Can I trust this man?

So, there you have it: the hero of Ruining Miss Wrotham through the heroine's eyes. (You can imagine them in the back of this carriage if you like, heading towards all sorts of adventures...)





[Image courtesy of the Rijksmuseum collection of public domain images.]

Last weekend was super exciting, because Ruining Miss Wrotham won two awards at the Romance Writers of New Zealand annual conference—Long Romance Book of the Year, and Overall Best Book of the Year.

Nell and Mordecai are two of my favorite characters and I'm so glad that readers love this book so much!

If I knew how to insert gifs, I'd insert one here of someone doing a happy dance, but I don't know how, so you'll just have to imagine it. :)

I woke up this morning to discover that Ruining Miss Wrotham won the Long Romance of the Year award at the Romance Writers of Australia conference last night!

It's just as well I've finally figured out how to do gifs, because this is the perfect time for a happy dance!