Can an Arranged Marriage Lead to Love?

Thanks for stopping by! This is my first blog post as an official Femme and I’m thrilled to be here. I’m kicking off official “Femme-dom” with the release of my second historical romance, Tempting Bella.   

A 13-year-old girl is forced to marry the heir to a dukedom in order to settle a gaming debt between their fathers. After the ceremony, the bride and groom go their separate ways. Years later, the groom spies an enchanting beauty at the opera and is thrilled to learn she is his wife.

The true love story of Lady Sara Cadogan and Charles Lennox, the Earl of March, who later became the Duke of Richmond, inspired my latest historical romance,  Tempting Bella, the second book in my Accidental Peers series.

I add my own twist by making Bella  a future duchess in her own right, meaning she’ll inherit the dukedom once her father passes.

That little tidbit also came about from my research, when I read about Henrietta Godolphin, the 2nd Duchess of Marlborough. Her father, the first Duke of Marlborough, had two sons but neither lived to adulthood. An act of  parliament in 1706 allowed the first duke’s daughters to inherit his English titles. Henrietta became a duchess in her own right after her father’s death in 1722. Sadly, like her father, she outlived both of her sons, so the titles passed to her sister’s son.

Henrietta, Duchess of Marlborough. (Public domain image)

Before I was published, I entered a number of contests for unpublished writers and Bella’s early marriage and status as a future duchess in her own right were criticized by some judges as historically inaccurate. Once I let judges know both elements were inspired by true events (by providing names and details in the synopsis), Tempting Bella started doing well in contests.

You could say that proves the old cliche about truth being stranger than fiction…or at least as interesting. I guess that’s why three of the four books in this series were inspired by real events. They captured my imagination and I ran with it. I hope you like the result!

Here’s a quick preview of Tempting Bella:

Mirabella can hardly remember the man she married as a girl. And it’s just as well. She feels nothing but contempt for the man who married her for her fortune and promptly forgot she existed. 

Sebastian has been apart from his child bride since their wedding day, after a teenaged marriage forced upon him to rescue his family from certain ruin. His attempt to honor his vows to his absent wife have earned him the nickname, “The Saint.”

But when he encounters an enchanting impish beauty at the opera, Sebastian cannot resist learning who she is and is  thrilled to learn she is none other than his long-ago bride.
 
Already resentful of his early abandonment, Bella is suspicious of her husband’s unusual activities—mysterious midnight outings and apparent liaisons with pretty servant girls. Then there is the mounting evidence that Sebastian is not who he claims to be.

Guarding the painful secret of his true identity, Sebastian is entranced by Bella. Delighted by his good fortune, he is eager to make her his wife in truth. But the beguiling lady has no intention of coming meekly to the marriage bed!   

Interested? Check out the first chapter, the wedding scene, here.

Leave a comment for a chance to win a digital copy of Seducing Charlotte, Book 1, in my Accidental Peers series.

Posted by Diana Quincy on September 9, 2013

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