Character Interview: Lisbeth Carslake, Countess of Blackhurst (Cassandra Samuels)

Character Interview: Lisbeth Carslake, Countess of Blackhurst

As the Black Raven, she’s cold, distant, and alone, untouched by the gossip and scorn of her aristocratic peers. Until he enters her house – and her life – and suddenly her icy shell is no match for the heat of attraction…

Notorious Widow Lisbeth Carslake, Countess of Blackhurst was acquitted of her husband’s murder, but no one believes in her innocence. Known as the Black Raven, bringer of bad luck and death, she is eviscerated by the gossips and mocked in the clubs. She’s also the subject of London’s most scandalous wager.

Oliver Whitely, Earl of Bellamy, needs money, but it takes more than a few drinks to take on The Black Raven Wager. He finds himself drunk, at her house, and – more surprisingly – inside, and agreeing to a business proposal at the end of a fire poker. She will let him win the wager, and he will help find her husband’s killer before the killer finds her. But business agreements don’t mean trust, and Lisbeth certainly doesn’t trust Oliver, her body’s reaction to him, or her heart.

Love may be the biggest gamble of their lives, but is it a wager their hearts can afford to lose?

Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce Lisbeth Carslake, Countess of Blackhurst from my debut book, A Scandalous Wager.

Hello Lisbeth, I am so happy you agreed to this interview.

Thank you Cassandra, how sweet of you to ask me to join you today.

Q: What year did you meet your now husband, Lord Bellamy?

Our love story begins in London in 1816. This is known as the year without a Summer because of the dismal weather we had due to a volcanic eruption last year causing bad weather, crop failures and general starvation over most of Europe. It has been a most horrible time for so many. Oliver and I included but for different reasons.

He cashed in his commission with the Army and came home to England to find his brother had passed away and left him everything, including a huge debt to the bank.

I’ve had a hard time too. I’ve been a victim of domestic violence, accused of my husband’s murder, abandoned by my family and friends, called The Black Raven – bringer of bad luck and death and basically became a social pariah. Things are much better now, of course.

Q: How did you and Lord Bellamy meet?

Ah, my butler came to tell me there was a man at the door demanding entrance. I knew why he was there, to gain entry into my house and win that awful wager. Previously, I have been forced to call the watch on these men but tonight I decided Lord Bellamy was going to win that wager and he was going to help me with my plan.

Q: What plan?

My plan to gain access back into society, so I could find my husband’s killer and prove my innocence. One cannot simply waltz back into the ton on one’s own, you know. I needed someone who was already accepted and who could procure me invitations to certain balls and soirees. He did not know why I was so anxious to re-enter the viper’s pit known as the ton and at the time he seemed not to care what my reasons were.

Q: And I take it he agreed to this?

Oh, yes. Once he realised he could make some money from the venture. I would help him to win some of the wagers placed about me and he would get the money. You see, at that time I did not have a very good opinion of him. He was more than foxed when I met him and I thought him the type of man who would go along with my plan. And he did.

Q: So, when did your feelings start changing towards him?

When he found out the truth about my reasons for re-entering society I still did not trust him. But I did needed him and he knew it. He seemed to test my boundaries at every turn, trying my patience and driving me near mad with his jokes and stories.

Then I found out he was like me, without family (except his elderly aunt), and I knew what it was to be alone, abandoned as I was by my own family. I think it was at this time my feelings for him began to change. I started to see a different side of him, saw he was trying to protect me. I was still wary because I had experienced so much hatred at the hands of my husband that I didn’t really believe that anyone would want to care about me.

Q: But Oliver did, didn’t he?

Yes (blushes) and I cannot say I was truly able to appreciate his subtle attempts at seduction at first. I think there were sides of me he was still trying to figure out as well. I had spent so much time protecting myself that I found it hard to let anyone really in.

We were both wearing masks to hide our hurt and anger, you see. He wore a devil may care attitude and I one of a cold and stoic woman who felt nothing. In actual fact we were both looking for a home for our wayward hearts. I’m happy to say I found it in Oliver. He never gave up trying to love me.

Do you like a little mystery to go with your Historical Romance?

Excerpt

Set up. The hero, Lord Bellamy, has drunkenly taken on The Black Raven Wager and to his surprise she has let him in, but she has other plans for him that he is about to find out.

She spun to face him, fire poker drawn level with his heart. ‘Do sit down, Bellamy.’

This time he did laugh. He was in no doubt he could overpower her before she did much harm with that mere stick in her hand — as pointy and well-crafted as it seemed.

‘I believe you owe me an answer, Lord Bellamy.’

She moved towards him brandishing the poker like a rapier. He couldn’t believe his bloodshot eyes. He laughed louder. He nearly told her to keep the tip up, until he saw where her target was and it was no longer his heart.

He stopped laughing.

‘Fifty pounds,’ he confessed with a slow smile, for there was no longer any reason to conceal his true mission here. Confounded woman had him at a disadvantage though. If only Henry had not been such a blasted fool, leaving him with more debt than he knew how to handle, a doddery old aunt and two entailed estates full of dependents. Oh, and no money.

He saw her glance at the mantel and realised his time was up. Should he start praying now or…? He wanted to laugh again. If only the Frenchies could see him now. Undone by a handsome widow and a fire poker.

Her gaze left the clock and seemed to focus on his cravat. ‘I fail to see what is so amusing to you, Lord Bellamy. I can only assume you know of my reputation. Why else would you be here? Ah, yes, the money. Fifty pounds, was it? How would you like to earn a lot more?’

This was a twist he had not expected. ‘Excuse me?’

She glided over to him and pointed the poker at his vitals. ‘Let me explain it for you. These little wagers have been happening for quite some time, Lord Bellamy. You see, you are not the first man to sit on my steps and demand entrance. Some have even tried to break in. I find this whole business very childish and most annoying. Can you understand my frustration, Lord Bellamy?’ The poker came very close to his pride.

‘Yes, most annoying,’ he replied, his eyes riveted on the poker. She had no idea how easily he could turn this scenario on its, or in this case, her derrière. He was too intrigued, however, by her suggestion to bother demonstrating just now.

‘However, if you will assist me, I think you will be more than happy with the arrangement I am proposing.’ She stared at him coolly.

‘Arrangement?’ The fire poker remained hovering above his most important asset.

‘Yes. I find I require an escort. You see, I presume there are a number of…outstanding wagers concerning my reputation as the Black Raven, and I will allow you to collect them on the condition you but play the gentlemanly escort.’

She took the poker away from his crotch. ‘Are we in agreement?’

Cassandra Samuels

Cassandra Samuel’s mother always said she should have been born in the 1800s. However, she was born in the 1970s instead. But she was not discouraged by all the corduroy and dodgy hair do’s. She decided if she couldn’t live in the Regency period she would write about it instead.

Cassandra cut her romance reading teeth on Jane Austen when she read Pride and Prejudice in high school. It was the beginning of a love affair with the Georgian and Regency eras that continues today. She has wanted to be a romance writer since she was a teen and was encouraged to study a diploma in journalism, but fiction writing was where her heart belonged.

She is the eldest of three children and grew up living on the outskirts of the Royal National Park which gave her a love and appreciation for the Australian bushland. Cassandra lives with her fabulously supportive husband and three wonderful children on the NSW South Coast along with a three-legged staffy cross, a cheeky terrier and a cat called Angus. Cassandra enjoys music, the theatre, reading, and watching romantic comedies. She is also a proud member of Romance Writers Australia.