It's Marriage or Ruin

​​Miss Emilie Catesby lives to paint, but when her mother threatens to take her oils away if she doesn’t marry, she must either recklessly ruin herself, or marry jaded Lord Marcus. And when she finds herself compromised into a marriage of convenience with Marcus, her decision is made for her! However, she’s now surprised to discover her wifely duties hold much more appeal than her paints...

Writing the book...

Emilie is related to Beatrice in The Notorious Countess, but I had imagined Emilie first. Both Emilie and Beatrice are artists, but that isn't the connection for me. The connection is the lighthearted moments of the stories. For instance, when Marcus asks her to marry him—a sometimes private moment—and he's secretly arranged a witness, but then, so did she.

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Emilie's view on marriage:

     Marriage could work, assuming it was not taken too seriously.
     Her husband must have money to buy all the paints she needed and an appearance to work well in oils.
     And handsome men didn’t dig beyond the surface. They had wandering attentions and admired beauty. After he had acquired her, an attractive man would tire of his wife. His eyes would flicker to the other women who fluttered near.
     She surmised the considerate thing to do would be to make certain he was a man who didn’t mind that he’d married a woman who had little use for him. If the things she’d overheard were true, it would be simple to locate such a man.
     She didn’t want a suitor who had a heart—she might break it. She didn’t want a suitor who might have motivations deeper than a bird flitting from one spot to the next.
     She examined her hand and decided a wedding ring would fit. Yes, she decided, she would accept a proposal. Now she had to decide on the date and the husband.
     A very unsuitable husband would be perfect.