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No Marriage of Convenience

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Overview

Mason St. Clair, the new Earl of Ashlin, has inherited a title for which there is no longer a fortune, thanks to his elder brother. Steeped in debt, with three ungainly nieces to marry off, Mason is desperate for relief. Only he doesn ' t expect it in the form of Madame Fontaine, a woman of questionable reputation.

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Author Information

Bio of Elizabeth Boyle

Elizabeth has written stories since childhood--including tales about her imaginary friend, an oversize Holstein by the name of John Clapper--and from there graduated to notebooks full of the usual bad adolescent poetry full of angst and dreary tales of woe that only a teenager can conjure up. After college and a stint of traveling, Elizabeth returned to writing what she loved to read: romance novels. However, she hit a small bump in the road when she discovered that aspiring writers still have to pay their rent and buy groceries, so she worked as a paralegal, compiling case profiles on insurance fraud (arsons, faked burglaries, faked accidents) and police misconduct (assaults by officers, shooting inquests). Eventually she worked for a software company investigating piracy in North America. During her time "pirate hunting," she participated in civil and criminal seizures with the FBI, U.S. Customs, and the Canadian RCMP. After years of these modern-day adventures, it is no wonder that counterfeiting, forgery, and espionage find their way into her Regency-set romances, which she now writes full-time. Writing at night and on weekends, Elizabeth completed four manuscripts before Brazen Angel won the Dell Diamond Debut Award in 1996. The story of her first sale is considered romance legend, an event she says could not have happened without the love and determination of her husband. The entire story can be found here. Since then, she has written eleven more historical romances, as well as a novella, which have made eight appearances on the USA Today bestseller list, earned a spot on the New Times Extended list, received four RITA nominations (including This Rake of Mine and His Mistress by Morning) and one win, garnered countless Romantic Times nominations, and won the praise of fans worldwide, who call her fast-paced, adventurous romances "page turners" and "keepers." Her most recent book, Love Letters from a Duke, is the third novel in her Bachelor Chronicles series. Always one for an adventure herself, Elizabeth has driven a train through the Highlands of Scotland, hitchhiked in Ireland, and carries a Cook Island driver's license in her wallet. After her hometown of Seattle, Elizabeth's top three places to explore and people-watch in are London, New York, and Las Vegas--a trio of cities where, she says, story ideas can be found on just about every corner. Traveling aside, Elizabeth's favorite place is home, where she finds her foremost writing inspiration in her die-hard romantic and hero-handsome husband, Terry, whom she considers the best birthday present she's ever received. Elizabeth and Terry used to live in a quiet Seattle neighborhood, enjoying their own romantic view of Puget Sound, ferryboats, and the Olympic Mountains. That is, until they became parents--so, while they still enjoy their Northwest panorama, "quiet" has become a term they use only with the past tense.

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Additional Info

Imprint

HarperCollins

Filesize

758.91 KB

Number of Pages

384

eBook ISBN

9780380815340

Excerpt from: No Marriage of Convenience by Elizabeth Boyle

London, 1798

"Cousin Felicity, my brother had the business sense of a pelican," Mason St. Clair, the new Earl of Ashlin said, waving his hand over his littered desk. "Look at these. Bills for carriages. Bills for horses. I've looked in our stables. We have no horses. And we have no carriages. From what I can surmise, as quickly as Freddie bought these extravagances, he gambled them away."

Mason's announcement hardly seemed to upset his elderly relative, who sat primly on the settee in the corner of his study.

"Frederick always said life was just a dice toss away. Perhaps you should take up gambling." She nodded sagely, as if she'd recited gospel.

He picked up several sheets of paper and shook them at his cousin. "That's exactly what got us into this situation. That and Freddie's ill-advised investments. I never knew anyone who could throw so much money at such nonsense. Gold mines in Italy, Chinese inventions, and of all things, a theatre!" The Earl shook his head. "Only my brother would invest in some tawdry play on Brydge Street."

"Really, my dear, you shouldn't speak ill of the dead," she sniffled. A day never passed that Cousin Felicity didn't find something to cry about, especially when it came to Frederick. "My poor Caro and dear Frederick have only been ' been ' gone now ' " Cousin Felicity faltered, unable to continue. With a shaky hand, she reached for her ever near lacy handkerchief and dramatically blew into it. She glanced up at him, her blue eyes misting, making her look frail beyond her fifty-odd years.

Mason sighed. "Yes, I know the last seven months have been terribly difficult for you and the girls. But weeping all the time does not solve the problems at hand. The bill collectors are becoming quite insistent, Cousin. If we don't find a way to satisfy some of the more pressing debts ' we'll be out on the street."