It's Marriage Or Ruin

by Liz Tyner

  Miss Emilie Catesby’s choice:

  A convenient 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...

  “I am here to be compromised, without benefit of marriage. It’s marriage or ruin for me. Just ruin me and we will always be... Well, we will be much friendlier than we have been in the past. You do have an exceptionally nice build.”

  “If that happened, and you were to leave, your family would not let you stay in London. I’d never see you again.”

  “It’s not that I want you to actually ruin...ruin me—” Emilie cleared her throat. “I require the appearance of it. You will refuse to marry me. I will be disgraced. I will be happy. No one will ever ask me to wed. And you will have your reputation as a careless scoundrel enhanced.” She sighed. “I don’t imagine you would like being married to me. And it might prevent your father from pushing you, if he sees how close you came to making a mistake with me as a future partner. Bringing an artist—a female one—into the family might cause consternation. It does with my relatives.”

  Author Note

  In my imagination, the most perfect place to live is near a woodland stream. Snails and minnows abound. A forest surrounds the brook, and the world seems a thousand miles away.

  This is the acreage I gave Marcus and Emilie in It’s Marriage or Ruin, and it’s based on a riverbank near where I once lived.

  Writing the story reminded me that I should visit the river again in the summertime. The water is cool even on the hottest day because it flows from the bottom of a lake. It’s a natural area for photography, and often the morning fog rises above the water, making the scenery even more beautiful.

  Plus, it’s a good place to have a picnic and read.

  Liz Tyner

  It’s Marriage or Ruin

  Liz Tyner lives with her husband on an Oklahoma acreage she imagines is similar to the ones in the children’s book Where the Wild Things Are. Her lifestyle is a blend of old and new, and is sometimes comparable to the way people lived long ago. Liz is a member of various writing groups and has been writing since childhood. For more about her, visit liztyner.com.

  Books by Liz Tyner

  Harlequin Historical

  The Notorious Countess

  The Wallflower Duchess

  Redeeming the Roguish Rake

  Saying I Do to the Scoundrel

  To Win a Wallflower

  It’s Marriage or Ruin

  The Governess Tales

  The Runaway Governess

  English Rogues and Grecian Goddesses

  Safe in the Earl’s Arms

  A Captain and a Rogue

  Forbidden to the Duke

  Visit the Author Profile page

  at Harlequin.com.

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  Dedicated to Tianne and Anna

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Excerpt from Beguiling the Duke by Eva Shepherd

  Chapter One

  Emilie Catesby could not be dancing at the wrong moment.

  She stood in her very best dress, with her very best demeanour, which she quickly changed to her very best frown should any man try to catch her eye.

  Finally her mother departed for the ladies’ retiring room and Emilie saw her chance. She’d not been fetching those lemonades for her mother purely out of daughterly devotion.

  Lightly clasping the side of her skirt, so she could lift the hem enough to move quickly, Emilie made her way across the ballroom floor, one destination fixed in her mind. The pianoforte music and violins faded into silence; all her concentration was on her task.

  Her mother didn’t want anyone to be reminded of Emilie’s fascination with art, but Emilie had to examine the portrait of Lady Avondale.

  The likeness rested on an easel, to the opposite side of the musicians, its unveiling the excuse for the soirée.

  Then she stopped, gazing at the life-sized replica of the Marchioness, the scent of the dried oils still lingering.

  Emilie folded her arms behind her back and examined the brushstrokes. The blending of colours. Lady Avondale’s interlaced fingers were almost hidden by fabric and her aunt had painted them by blending skin tones with the hues of the dress. They gave more the appearance than the reality. As Emilie browsed from the outside of the portrait to the centre, she realised the painting became more detailed. An observer’s attention was being directed by the artist. Emilie was entranced. Such mastery.

  The features were well defined. Wrinkles were hinted at on the subject, but were softened. This was not Lady Avondale upon serious scrutiny, but the woman a loved one might observe. A true likeness seen through devotion.

  The painting had captured the spirit. It said more than colours on canvas. It spoke of vivacity.

  Emilie sighed.

  Her aunt was beyond great. She was not only an artist, she was a master of the brush.

  ‘A good painting.’ A deep baritone voice resonated in her ear, coming from behind her shoulder.

  Emilie didn’t turn, still gazing. ‘Magnificent.’

  ‘You’ve been staring at it and, while it is beautiful, I cannot but realise that you are used to seeing more loveliness in the mirror each morning.’

  ‘Mmm...’ What nonsense. This was true splendour. Captured for—well, eternity. A legacy. The woman’s visage would remain in the family’s midst for ever. Alive. A child generations in the future would view the image and feel they knew this woman.

  ‘The hands...’ Emilie said. ‘I had no idea you could paint them that way.’

  The voice sounded closer, as he peered over her shoulder. ‘I had not noticed them before.’

  ‘That is the purpose.’ Emilie unclasped her arms and held her fingers near the frame as if she could cup the face on the canvas. ‘And the skin tones...’

  ‘If you say so.’

  Oh, the picture truly was a work of brilliance. Emilie blinked back tears, both of awe for her aunt’s talent and sadness that she herself had not perfected her own skills. She had wasted so many hours on fripperies when she could have been improving.

  ‘Might I share a waltz with you?’ the voice asked, so softly she could barely hear.

  ‘Have we been introduced?’ Emilie gazed at the tints of the painting of the Marchioness, still unable to take her gaze away from it, tears almost blinding her now. It would not do at all for someone to notice her sniffling over a painting. Her mother wou
ld be enraged.

  ‘We have.’ The words were clipped.

  ‘Of course. I recall now,’ she said. Her mother had insisted she meet so many people that she’d not remembered most of them. ‘Certainly.’

  ‘A waltz...’

  ‘That would be enchanting.’

  Thankfully, he moved away and she used her glove to wipe the moisture from her face.

  Her mother returned, standing by Emilie, then taking her arm to guide her away from the likeness. ‘You picked the right moment to study the painting—when the Marchioness’s eldest son was viewing it. For once, your fascination with daubs of pigments did you well.

  ‘Avondale’s son,’ her mother continued, leading her closer to the musicians. ‘I overheard the Marquess of Avondale’s eldest son ask you to waltz. The eldest,’ she repeated. ‘The Earl of Grayson.’

  Emilie realised she’d agreed to a dance. She’d not been paying attention to anything but the portrait in front of her. She glanced at her mother and put sincerity into her words. ‘I’m so very thrilled.’

  Her mother frowned. She whispered in Emilie’s ear as the music for a reel started, ‘You were not paying any attention, were you? You were staring at the canvas. Lord Grayson and his brother, Mr Westbrook, are matrimonial prizes—at least, on the surface. Their cousin, Mr Previn, as well, but he’s not here tonight.’

  ‘But you said they were all rakes,’ Emilie responded, remembering the quick whisper of warning her mother had given earlier.

  ‘I know.’ Her mother’s scowl speared Emilie as she spoke. ‘But you can’t be too choosy. You’ve waited a little late for that.’

  Emilie didn’t argue. She knew that was the true reason her mother had brought her to London. Her mother had married out of the peerage, for love, and had raised her children away from society. Then she had decided that, while love was nice enough, love and a title would be much better.

  Actually, the one person Emilie truly wanted to spend time with, her aunt, was surrounded by well-wishers. Her aunt laughed, the sound reverberating in the room, causing others to chuckle along.

  Emilie sighed. There was so little difference in their ages, yet her aunt had succeeded, where Emilie had not.

  Emilie’s deepest dream—the dream which made her spirit live—was to create art which mattered to people. Portrayals which people noticed. She wanted to leave a legacy. James Gillray was gone and still people kept his caricatures of the Prince Regent.

  Her mother snorted, ever so delicately, and Emilie knew she’d best give her mother full attention.

  ‘Do not get your expectations up, Emilie. Avondale’s son is likely to be considering you for a dalliance, nothing sincere. But by dancing with him, the other men in society will notice you. This is indeed beneficial to your marriage prospects.’ Her mother looked at her, then in the direction the man had taken. ‘He’s speaking to his brother now. Perhaps both of them will dance with you tonight.’

  Emilie tilted her head so that her mother might not study her too closely and notice the remaining tears. ‘Very beneficial. Yes, Mama.’

  She compared the two brothers, talking, with drinks in their hands. They were too far above her in every way. She would say one reached almost to the doorframe and the other was taller still. Well, she was tall enough herself. She would not oversize them. The tallest one grinned at her. The other one reminded her of someone she couldn’t place. It was as if she’d seen him in a painting before, yet she was certain she would have remembered a portrait with that image in it.

  She bit the inside of her lip, concentrating.

  The more serious one took a drink from the glass in his hand. His frown changed and she assumed he’d glanced her way, but she wasn’t sure. A tiny crease showed on one side of his mouth. He seemed to be paying attention to his brother, but the tickle inside her told her she’d been viewed—pleasantly. Not as a country miss overstepping her bounds, or as a woman in search of a marriage, but as a person who might be interesting.

  Both men were completely comfortable at the soirée, speaking as if they were alone. She wondered what brothers could find to talk about. But everyone in the room seemed to have plenty of things to discuss with their friends, or to be enjoying the spontaneity of the gathering. Even the other young woman whose mother inserted her directly into the line of marriageable men appeared at ease.

  Marriage wasn’t in Emilie’s future. She knew that. She pretended to be on a husband search because bringing down the wrath of her mother never ended well. Paints could be tossed away. Brushes broken.

  But she rarely had a chance to study features on men near her age and the serious brother was familiar. ‘Do you mind if I stand near the Marquess of Avondale’s sons so I will be ready when the waltz begins?’

  ‘That is a questionable plan, Emilie. You must not talk much, and remember to say pleasantries. You’ve not demonstrated that as a ready quality.’ Her mother paused. ‘But we’ll make the best of it.’

  ‘Which is Lord Grayson and which is Mr Westbrook?’ Emilie asked, realising she didn’t know which brother was the eldest.

  ‘Nature was fair. The younger son, Mr Westbrook, inherited Avondale’s handsome face and immense charm. Lord Grayson inherited the title,’ her mother told her.

  Then Lady Catesby contemplated Emilie and whispered. ‘But don’t remind anyone of our connection to Beatrice. Your aunt Beatrice was a late-in-life baby and our parents doted on her far too much. Father was busy training Wilson to take over the ducal estates and Mother spoiled Beatrice. She married for the wrong reasons and ended up on the worst of terms with her first husband. The worst.’

  ‘I’ve heard of her attacking a carriage.’

  ‘Shush,’ her mother whispered. ‘Fortunately, that husband died and she married someone who calms her. Mostly. But she has excellent conversational skills when she wishes and that has advanced her somewhat. Could hold a conversation with a teacup and kettle at the same time. Probably has done so and doesn’t care at all how she embarrasses us.’

  ‘She is my favourite aunt.’

  ‘I know. I’ve kept you apart from her for your own good. You have the same leanings as her. It is so obvious. I would not have let you attend tonight had I not known how many marriageable males would be here and received your promise of good behaviour.’

  * * *

  Marcus watched Miss Catesby. He could remember her from many years before, but he was fairly certain she didn’t recollect him.

  The soirée was a crush—the largest one this Season. Sometimes his mother did get her feathers in a swirl and decide to show everyone that she was the Marchioness of Avondale. She stood, talking with Miss Catesby’s mother.

  Miss Catesby had wandered again into his line of vision. He regretted asking her for a waltz. He’d spoken with her to help him recall where he’d seen her before. It wasn’t until after she spoke that he’d remembered she was the hoyden at the wedding.

  If he’d known she was going to keep her attention on the portrait when he’d spoken to her for the dance, he’d not have requested her to partner him. His brother had watched the interchange, and found it amusing.

  She moved closer, and he and his brother, Nathaniel, greeted her.

  ‘You are radiant tonight,’ Marcus said, taking her gloved hand to bring it to his lips for a kiss. The glove smelled of springtime roses.

  ‘Thank you.’ Emilie turned to his brother. ‘I’m so looking forward to our dance.’

  Marcus’s eyes narrowed and he studied her.

  Nathaniel tensed, straightened a bit, but then gave a bow and took her glove to raise it almost to his lips and brush a kiss in the air above it, fighting a grin. He didn’t release her glove as he should. ‘I would indeed love to partner you, Miss Amelia.’

  Marcus waited for Emilie to correct the mispronunciation of her name, but she didn’t. Nor had she, it was obvious,
taken notice when Marcus had been the one to ask her to dance.

  ‘It is my good fortune that you accepted. My immense good fortune,’ Nathaniel continued.

  He finally released her fingers. ‘But can you imagine the dilemma that this presents for me? While I asked you to dance, my brother asked Miss Geraldine the same question and she mistook him for me.’ He put a hand over his heart. ‘Happens repeatedly. They are thinking of me when he appears and, well, I suppose it is a purposeful game they play to try to get closer to me. So, I really should waltz with Miss Geraldine as she has been expecting it. You alone can make this faux pas fade into nothingness, Miss Amelia. Please do me the great honour of saving the evening and my brother’s deep embarrassment, and move to the floor with him.’ His lids lowered. ‘Of course, I would be happy to partner you before the night is over.’

  Marcus stared at his brother’s grin and the confused regard of Miss Catesby, whom he now rather disliked.

  Her eyes opened wide.

  ‘It would indeed be fortunate if you saved me grave embarrassment, Miss Catesby.’ Marcus shot a glance at his brother before giving her a bow.

  ‘Oh, how awkward for you.’ She turned to him in sympathy. ‘Of course I will partner you.’

  ‘If you will pardon me, I must fetch Miss Geraldine,’ Nathaniel said, moving away.

  Marcus nodded to Emilie. Her heart-shaped face and delicate lips were beyond ordinary. He regarded her enthusiasm. She could sparkle with radiance when she inspected splatters of colour...or his brother, Nathaniel, or even a particularly good lemon, he recalled.

  The music started and he held out his hand for hers.

  She moved into his arms and the waltz began. Marcus planned this to be his last tête-à-tête ever with Miss Catesby.

  She stared at his cravat and he looked over her, noting that she did feel rather perfect in his arms.

  ‘This must be awkward for you. But I assume it’s the curse of the younger brother,’ she said.

  ‘I have a younger sister, who is married and in Staffordshire. She is a treasure. And I would have to agree with your assessment that it can feel a curse to have a younger brother,’ Marcus said.