A Salon Guest: Manners, Manners, Manners

It is my pleasure to welcome Ella Quinn to the salon today, who has been a supporter of the site for many moons! Always a picture of perfect manners herself, Ella is here to discuss the importance of Regency manners and her latest release, A Kiss for Lady Mary. 

I am off to London for the weekend to immerse myself in the worlds of Joshua Reynolds and Benjamin Franklin, so the salon will reopen on 18th May 2015!

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We all know that manners and proper behavior were taken very seriously during the Regency. We also know that our heroes are perfectly capable of throwing some of them out the window in pursuit of their lady love. But my hero in A Kiss for Lady Mary, Mr. Christopher (Kit) Featherton, also known as Mr. Perfect, takes what he was taught to heart. Which made my path to finding him a happy ending much more difficult than it had to be. At least as far as I was concerned.

Take, for example, the almost unknown edict that one did not compliment the person of a lady unless one was betrothed or closely related to that lady. I actually did not know about this one until Kit told me about it, and I wasn’t at all happy about it.

“Seriously?” I said, not believing him at all.

Sure enough I did some research and he was right. Well, most of my heroes would have ignored that bit for the sole purpose of making sure the lady knew he was interested. Not Kit. Not even when placed in a completely scandalous situation which required him to convince Lady Mary Tolliver to marry him.

And that was not the only rule he refused to break. Kissing her before she accepted his proposal was out as well. Now we don’t want our Regency ladies to go around kissing just anyone, but if a gentleman is attempting to actively court a lady stealing a kiss or two is almost expected. At least that’s what Lady Mary wholeheartedly believes. We all know how much a kiss can reveal about a man’s feelings.


Eventually, I called for help in the form of his friends. Fortunately, their wives were also friends of Lady Mary’s.

About the Book

Ella Quinn’s bachelors do as they like and take what they want. But when the objects of their desire are bold, beautiful women, the rules of the game always seem to change…

Handsome, charming, and heir to a powerful Viscount, Christopher “Kit” Featherton is everything a woman could want—except interested in marriage. So when he hears that someone on his estate near the Scottish border is claiming to be his wife, Kit sets off to investigate.

Since her parents’ death, Lady Mary Tolliver has been hounded by her cousin, a fortune-hunting fool after her inheritance. Refusing to settle for anything less than love, Mary escapes to the isolated estate of rakish bachelor, Kit Featherton. Knowing he prefers Court to the country, she believes she will be safe. But when Kit unexpectedly returns, her pretend marriage begins to feel seductively real…

Excerpt

Huntley pushed Kit down onto the window seat. “Give over, man. What the hell is going on here?”

The others pulled up chairs, until they were seated in a semi-circle.

Marcus sat. “That’s what I’d like to know as well.”

Taking out his quizzing glass, Rutherford went to the French window. “Agreed. The sooner we know what the problem is, the sooner we can be with our wives.”

It felt strange sitting in Mary’s favorite place. Kit rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know.”

Rutherford’s quizzing glass focused on Kit. “Unfortunate, but not surprising.” He waved his arm to include Huntley and Marcus. “However, you have with you those who have battled the female mind and won.” Huntley rolled his eyes as Rutherford continued. “I believe you must begin at the beginning.”

Marcus pressed a cup of tea in Kit’s hands.

He took a sip. It was better when Mary made it. “I had not visited Rose Hill since I first inherited it . . .”

As he finished the tale, Huntley polished off the last biscuit. “You want to marry her?”

“In a word, yes.” Kit put down the cup of cold tea. “I’ve been attempting to woo her, but, as I said, I’ve done something wrong and do not know how to get this courtship back on track.”

Rutherford went to the door to the hall and spoke to whoever was outside of it. At least Kit didn’t have to worry about them making themselves at home, and considering the problems he faced with Mary, that was good.

Marcus sauntered over to the sideboard, filled four glasses, and came back with two, one of which he gave to Kit. “Sherry. It’s better to think with than brandy.”

After the other two men had their drinks, Kit continued. “Just when I think we’re becoming closer, she backs away.”

“What does she do when you kiss her?” Marcus asked.

“Kiss her!” That was it. Kit was at the end of his rope. “I’ve been doing my best not to kiss her. Good Lord. Mary has been through enough without me acting like a raging beast. Look at what happened when Beaumont followed his basest instincts.” He shook his head. “No, I will not compromise her. I have vowed not to touch her until she agrees to marry me.”

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Huntley held his glass up, tilting it, looking at the amber liquid, “she has already been compromised. One word to the wrong person, to anyone actually, and everyone will know she has been living here as your wife. With your reputation as the perfect gentleman, the gossip will be vicious.”

“You don’t think I know that?” Kit drank half of his glass in one gulp. It was time to admit what bothered him the most. “Mary has no interest in kissing me.”

His friends stared at him, stunned. He drained his glass, waiting to hear what they’d advise him to do next.

About the Author

Bestselling author Ella Quinn’s studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them. She has just finished her first series, The Marriage Game, and her new series will start in April 2016.

She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and granddaughter, one cat and a dog. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true and are now living on a sailboat cruising the Caribbean and North America.

Ella is a member of the Romance Writers of American, The Beau Monde and Hearts Through History. She is represented by Elizabeth Pomada of Larsen-Pomada Literary Agency, and published by Kensington.

Website: www.ellaquinnauthor.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EllaQuinnAuthor
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Blog: http://ellaquinnauthor.wordpresscom

This post copyright © Ella Quinn, 2015.