Dear Love Bytes Team,
Thank you for letting us blog with you today. Lake and I are tickled to share our inspiration for Wentworth’s story, His Brother’s Viscount.
Several years ago, Stephanie was writing a Regency romance in which two secondary characters have a short affair that ends spectacularly ugly. Well, these two characters, Wentworth and Hector, totally stole the show… Or, um, the book to be more precise.
These two gentlemen are complete opposites. One a viscount, the other a third son. One is brooding and dark while the other is pure sunshine. One is mired in doubt and guilt while the other is all about achieving his goals.
Well, it didn’t take us long to realize Wentworth and Hector deserved their own story.
And that is how His Brother’s Viscount was conceptualized.
The problem was, in the first book Wentworth does something really quite wicked to the main character. So, to make Wentworth’s character work we had to make his rationale for doing evil plausible. Part of this was easy because in the first book Wentworth loses everything he cares about: family, friends, lover. The hard part was how to have him overcome his guilt and atone for his betrayal without giving away the plot lines early in the book. We accomplished this by adding a few flashbacks. This came naturally for Wentworth since he is introspective and overthinks everything.
Here is a scene from His Brother’s Viscount where Wentworth hits rock bottom. So, he asks for help. And Wentworth, being the way he is, asks for help from a very unique corner.
Abridged excerpt:
Wentworth stood and paced the room, heels resounding on the oak floor. “Damn it all to hell.” He kicked the marble fireplace surround. His boot left a long scuffmark on the white and green stone.
What was he doing, meddling with somebody’s life? A vibrant, charismatic youth’s life? All this just to… To what? To decide if what they had before was real? If these new remembrances slowly creeping into his emotionally sluggish brain were true or simply a shadow of what he’d once wanted?
The past week had been bright conversations and moments of extraordinary passion, sometimes almost beastly copulation, with only a hint of culpability. And now, after Will’s visit, he suddenly felt surrounded by hours and hours that passed like weeks. Hours of guilt, shame, mental self-flagellation, and fear.
He didn’t necessarily consider himself a good man, but he certainly did not make a habit of constant deceit that rose to the level of betrayal. Trying to remember his many lies of omission, keeping up with the heavy energy of deception while entertaining someone as lively as Hector, was near impossible.
He took a sip of oaky liquid. The liquor slid down his throat, smooth as fresh spring water. The lack of burn meant he was already drunk. He took another sip.
“For God’s ever-loving blasphemy, Gabriel, what would you do?” He glared at the portrait of his older brother, the Wentworth heir, dead these past seven years. “Nothing to say? Yes, well, you were not very helpful in these matters before, so I am not surprised.” He raised his glass to the portrait of a tall, lean, dark-haired young man of whom Wentworth was starting to lose memory. Quiet and studious, Gabriel would have made a much better viscount than the current sham. “I will have to make my own decisions, then. Not that I have a tried and true record for this sort of thing.”
Obviously, he didn’t get much help from his older brother. Poor Wentworth still needs to grow at this point in the book. So, he stays in the doldrums for a bit longer after this scene.
Not to worry, he finds his stride and sets his own goal. And boy, when that man figures out what he wants, he will stop at nothing to get it!
Hope you enjoy His Brother’s Viscount!
Steph and Lake
As a baron’s youngest son, Hector Somerville has no real prospects. He will not inherit, and he’s overshadowed by two perfect brothers. While searching for ways to improve his situation, Hector finds respite in an invitation to a country estate—and has a second chance at rekindling his illicit affair with Viscount Wentworth, captain of HBMS Dragon. The upcoming fortnight could be everything Hector dreamed of since their disastrous parting.
Wentworth has forsaken love, and yet, memories of guilt and heartache resurface. He loved a boyhood friend once, Hector’s older brother William, until the man left him, trampling his heart in the process. Years later, he wonders if he ever fell out of love. Is his heart bound by William, or can he create a life with Hector?
Publisher – Paperback Sale | Universal Buy Link | Amazon | iBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | QueeRomance Ink | Smashwords
Stephanie is giving away two Bold Strokes Books (publisher) gift certificates with this tour:
Hector raised his face to the warm spring sun. The gods had worked together to make this a perfect day. Well, he had a small part in making all the components align correctly, of course. He smiled, looking forward to what lay ahead.
Flourishing spring-green grass spread all the way to the surrounding forest, the manor house stood bright against a vibrant sky, and a light breeze cooled the air and carried the scent of woodbine.
He admired the spread of food arrayed on large linen-covered tables. One dish containing meat in a dark gravy filled the air with a savory fragrance that started his stomach to rumbling. The crystal, which sparkled in the sunshine, was filled with the best wines from France, and delicate porcelain tableware was arrayed for the guests’ use.
Youngsters chased one another about. The light giggles of two young women and the hearty laughter of young men added to the festive air. Yes, it was a glorious day, brimming with joy, but the party alone could not explain the gale-force euphoria surging through his body.
In fact, he could not remember life ever being this enjoyable. Especially not in the past eighteen months. Certainly not in the past eighteen months.
His favorite—well, his only, but he knew she would always be his favorite—niece’s christening had progressed along wonderfully. But his attention wandered to things other than the party. Even with the warm sun, he shivered thinking about the night to come. If he wasn’t careful, he might even sport wood. Now wouldn’t that be a shock to old Aunt Dorothea?
“Well, don’t you look like the man who stole the raspberry tart?” Will slapped him on the back with a bit too much enthusiasm.
Hector winced but would not let sibling rivalry ruin his day. He’d always been smaller than his two older brothers, and Will’s mere presence reminded him of his deficiency.
“Careful, you might drop Pug in your attempt to collapse my left lung.”
“I’d never drop my precious girl,” Will cooed to the babe in his arms. “And stop calling her Pug.”
He looked up at Will—two inches up, to be exact. Two very important inches. Two inches and a scar that changed common, everyday looks into the dangerously dashing Dr. William Somerville. It wasn’t only size that distinguished the two of them. Will had his jaunty black hair, black eyes, and a swarthy complexion. Hector had washed-out mud brown, faded mud brown, and light mud brown.
But today it didn’t matter that he was small and forgettable. Today, Hector felt like Apollo himself.
“’Fraid I cannot stop calling her Pug, old man, not until she grows into those ears of hers.” He laughed at Will’s puckered expression. “By the way, the celebration is going well. All the work your wife forced us into this morning paid off outstandingly.”
The early hours they spent tacking up decorative paper in the high-ceilinged grand hall and around the stone balustrades made the inside and outside of the manor rather festive. They’d rearranged furniture and pinned up paper decorations for his brother’s first child’s first party. Margaret Harriet Philadelphia Somerville. What a designation. Will had taken leave of his senses when he labeled the poor girl with that name. But even with that taint, Pug was a sunny child with her mother’s fawn-colored hair and her father’s rambunctiousness. At just three months, she managed to grab everyone’s attention, a little sun at the center of whatever room she occupied. It’d taken Hector two months to decide he really quite liked the girl even though she was an unsightly pink, wrinkly thing that smelled of curdled milk.
“My little girl’s ears are in perfect proportion. She is beautiful.” Will glowed, simply oozing fatherly pride. He acted like a simpleton around his squirming bundle, making funny squeaking noises and wiggling his fingers—as he did now—to make his daughter laugh. And she did laugh, with a toothless, infectious mirth.
Hector laughed with her and ruffled the baby’s tuft of downy hair.
Will’s attention, as usual, was divided between his daughter and his wife, Mary. She chatted with guests, lovely in a sunny yellow muslin afternoon dress. Mary was one of those natural beauties who were always attractive. In fact, she probably woke up pretty, even with rumpled hair, pillow marks on her cheek, and sleep in her eyes.
Anyone who glanced at them could tell that Will and Mary were besotted. That was what he wanted. He wanted someone to stay by his side, to wake up with every morning. Someone to grow old with. Someone he found beautiful even with rumpled hair, pillow-creased cheeks, and a sparkling drop of drool on silk sheets.
A stupid romantic, he, ever since boyhood; but on a day like today it was hard not to be. Because even if he didn’t quite match up to his older brothers, it didn’t matter. Somebody had noticed him again, and today that somebody would collect him for an extended stay in the country.
He had magnificent plans for this fortnight. He rubbed his hands together, the friction warming his fingers, getting them ready for anything. Everything. Yes, joy filled his body today, and nothing would ruin his optimism for the future. Not even his brother’s perfection.
Even so, he stiffened when Will said, “You enjoy little Margaret so much, you should marry, have your own children.”
“That won’t happen, Will. You know why, so leave off.”
Tight-lipped, Will looked about to say something. Fortunately, Mary joined them at that moment. “How are my three favorite Somervilles?” she said in her soft, smoky alto. She leaned over and kissed her daughter’s forehead, then brushed the fuzzy locks back into place. She glowed with pride, just like her husband. “Hector, I believe you are as fond as we are of our little girl.”
“Actually, I spent the day planning my revenge. I will take her on outings, spoil her rotten, and then give you back an overexcited and insufferable child.”
Will groaned with an age-old weariness. “Save your strength. I will simply hand her off to Nanny Pennington if you do so. Besides, you’ve given me enough trouble throughout my lifetime. I don’t need her following in your footsteps.”
“Me? You were the one who tormented me to distraction and tears. And got me into predicaments where I required doctors to sew me up.”
Will laughed. “I will not deny Stephen and I were terrors, but in my defense, he usually instigated the worst of the pranks.”
Hector snorted but knew he’d been partly to blame, always following his older brothers, wanting to be as big, bold, and brave. They’d picked on him because he’d been the youngest, the weakest. It didn’t matter. Hector no longer held animosity over his brothers’ dealings. To be honest, they hadn’t been that bad. They shared brotherly affection. They held together through their father’s drunken abuse. In fact, Hector could remember times when Will took the switch meant for him.
He did appreciate his older siblings. It was just that sometimes, when the days were gloomy and he did not quite know what to do with his life, the comparisons to perfection rankled.
Stephanie Lake is the pen name for a husband/wife team who enjoy writing happy endings and steamy middles. We write historical and contemporary LGBTQ+ and M/F romance. Inspiration for our stories comes from living in seven countries and traveling around the world. Wherever we wander, our beloved four-legged family member is not far away.
Author Website: https://sites.google.com/site/stephanielakeauthorcom/home
Author Page at Bold Strokes Books: https://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/authors/stephanie-lake-330
Author Facebook (Author Page): https://www.facebook.com/StephanieLakeRomance
Author Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15343210.Stephanie_Lake
Author QueeRomance Ink: https://www.queeromanceink.com/mbm-book-author/stephanie-lake/
Author Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-Lake/e/B01LWCS90U/
