Hello! Today I am happy to have the ever-talented Grace Burrowes visiting. I hope that you will enjoy her guest post on what constitutes a true gentleman, as well as the following excerpt from her latest novel, Daniel's True Desire.
The Joys of True Gentlemanliness… by Grace Burrowes
About twenty books ago, I lamented (whined) to
one of my brothers that coming up with ways to challenge a romance hero
into facing his worst fears and risking all to win the heroine’s heart
was taxing my imagination. My brother, without a heartbeat’s pause said,
“Make him choose between the competing demands of honor.”
THAT was great advice. Make the hero choose
between the woman who needs him, and the military unit depending on him.
Make him choose between avenging injustices from his past, or
respecting the wishes of the pacifist woman he loves. Make him decide
whether to be publicly vindicated or privately forgiving… Delightful
stuff, for an author!
And yet, to travel along these brilliant
character arcs, our hero must have one characteristic: He must have a
well-developed sense of honor. To me, that means this fellow must be
honest and kind. He can be poor, grouchy, lacking in charm, without
prospects, unlucky in love—Daniel Banks is nodding his head—but ideally,
he will still be a true gentleman at heart.
The true gentleman, alas for him, can be
tormented from page one by the author and by the story, but from the
start, the true gentleman will play by the rules of decency.
Rules are tough. The true gentleman will never
misrepresent himself, which means Daniel Banks must inform Lady Kirsten
that a) he’s married, and b) he won’t disrespect his vows. Too bad for
Daniel, this honesty only raises him in the lady’s esteem, when he’s
trying to emphasize his unsuitability.
The true gentleman will lend a hand—or an ear—to
those in need. When Daniel Banks realizes that Lady Kirsten has been
overlooked by her entire family, and is as lonely as an earl’s daughter
can be, the least he can do is listen when she explains the misery in
her past. Again, his respect for, and understanding of her increases,
but what else could a gentleman have done?
This business of being a true gentleman is darned
hard, and darned heroic. What Daniel has to learn, though, is that true
gentlemanliness begins at home. When he’s honest with himself, and
shows himself the compassion we all deserve, all the inconvenient rules,
tough choices, and honorable standards turn out to have been his
second-best friends.
Lady Kirsten is, of course, his very best friend, being a true lady. But that’s another story…
Excerpt from Daniel’s True Desire
Daniel Banks is the new vicar in Haddondale,
temporarily a guest of Lady Kirsten’s family. They’ve dragooned him into
tutoring some of the local boys, and Kirsten is managing the staff
who’ll turn the dower house into a place of learning. What Daniel
doesn’t know is how a married man, even one estranged from his unworthy
spouse, can resist the allure of friendship with Lady Kirsten…
“I dread crossing the garden,” Lady Kirsten said.
“Susannah has taken up reading old issues of La Belle Assembleé, Della
is memorizing DeBrett’s, and the countess talks only of fashion. Nobody does anything.”
“Most would envy them their idleness,” Daniel
said, though he did not. The earl gave a good account of himself,
tending to significant acreage and mercantile interests, but the women
were bored.
One of the women was mortally bored, though never boring.
“I want to take the vicarage in hand,” Lady
Kirsten said, marching from the pantry. “I doubt I’ll have time before
we leave for Town the week after next. Lemon and beeswax won’t cure
rising damp any way.”
Nothing cured rising damp save for replacing every scrap of affected wood. “You’re leaving soon, then?”
The prospect of distance from Lady Kirsten should
have been a relief. She was unconventional, discontent, and
unpredictable. Worse yet, she was patient with small boys, had a strong
streak of domestic competence, and could not dissemble even to appease
appearances.
Most troublesome of all, Daniel liked her. A lot.
“I smell fresh bread.” Lady Kirsten’s pace
increased, then she halted to twist a sachet from behind a curtain.
“Nicholas told George that in addition to Digby and the Blumenthal
brats, you’re to take on both of Squire Webber’s sons. He aspires to
send them to public school, but they lack a foundation.”
And years of dedicated tutors had been unable to
remedy that lack? “I think you had better join me for lunch,” Daniel
said resuming their progress toward a hot meal.
“I believe I shall. I adore a hearty beef stew
with bread and butter on a cold, rainy day. Cook uses Mama’s recipe, and
I’m partial to it.”
Peasant fare, for an earl’s daughter. Daniel liked her entirely too well.
A scullery maid set places for them at a wooden
table heavy enough to double as a threshing floor, while Lady Kirsten
served up bowls of steaming stew and Daniel sliced the bread. Daniel
held the lady’s chair, and then, without even a nod in the direction of
further small talk, took shameless advantage of his companion.
“I want to know every detail you can share about
my scholars, Lady Kirsten. They’re shaping up to be a pack of
ne’er-do-wells, scamps and scapegraces. One wonders if the parish isn’t
attempting to run me off rather than welcome me.”
She snapped her serviette across her lap.
“They’re out and out rotters, every one save for Digby, but George says
he’s showing dubious potential. Don’t steal all the butter.”
Daniel passed her ladyship the plate of butter, small golden molds in the shape of roses.
“Your butter, and Lord-we-thank-Thee-for-this-food, amen. Now tell me about these scoundrels.”
Lady Kirsten sat back, her smile indulgent. “I’ve
known them since they were babies, Mr. Banks. They’re full of energy
and mischief, and there’s not a Latin scholar among them. They are
truly, truly awful.”
She loved these rotten boys, and—greatest possible inconvenience—Daniel regarded this her most attractive quality of all.
***
An honorable life
Daniel Banks is a man of the cloth whose vocation is the last comfort he has left-and even his churchman's collar is beginning to feel like a noose. At the urging of family, Daniel attempts to start his life over as vicar in the sleepy Kentish town of Haddondale, family seat to the earls of Bellefonte.
Challenged by passion
Lady Kirsten Haddonfield has resigned herself to a life of spinsterhood.
Then the handsome new village vicar, Reverend Daniel Banks, becomes a
guest of the Haddonfield family while the vicarage is being renovated,
and Kirsten finds herself rethinking her position. Lady Kirsten does not
know that Daniel's past is about to cast a shadow on love's future.
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Author Biography
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Grace Burrowes' bestsellers include The Heir, The Soldier, Lady Maggie's Secret Scandal, Lady Sophie's Christmas Wish and Lady Eve's Indiscretion. Her Regency romances have received extensive praise, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist. Grace
is branching out into short stories and Scotland-set Victorian romance
with Sourcebooks. She is a practicing family law attorney and lives in
rural Maryland.
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