Character Interview (Giveaway): Romancing The Countess by Ashley March

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Please sit back and enjoy. I loved this book and hope to get my review posted soon. I sat down with Sebastian Madinger, The Earl of Writhosly and got an interview. :)

I am very excited to get to sit down today with Sebastian Madinger, the Earl of Wriothesly.

 I assure you, Miss Rebecca, it is my pleasure to be here. You’re certain this is the equivalent of shouting my love for Leah from the rooftops? She told me she would kill me if she ever found me climbing up to the roof…

First up, tell us how you and Leah are doing now? The story after the happy ending.

 My wife is an amazing woman. Although I didn’t think I could fall in love with her any further, she continues to give me more reasons every day to love her more. Don’t tell her I told you this, though—she’d tease me unmercifully.

As you know, she very much wanted to have a child of her own. Although I know she would have been content with Henry as our only son, I’m happy—very well, I’m ecstatic—to tell you that after a miscarriage, Leah is just weeks away from giving birth to our first child together. I’ve never seen her look more beautiful. And I’ve never been more nervous. But don’t tell her that, either—I’m her rock through her own anxiety.

After that first kiss, did you know you had found ‘the one’?

 To be honest, I thought that I’d just proven myself right and that I was an utter fool. I don’t think she was “the one”; as you know, I had once believed that Angela was “the one”, and obviously our marriage didn’t turn out as I’d hoped. However, that first kiss was something very unexpected—I didn’t expect to kiss her, and I didn’t expect to continue wanting her, even when she withdrew from me. Even after three years of marriage, Leah continues to intrigue me; every day I find something special that draws me to her even more and makes me realize all over again how fortunate I am to have found her. I don’t think I could bear it if something ever happened to her…which is why I’ll be so damn relieved when the baby is born. Even seeing her struggle to stand up from a chair nearly kills me.

When you discovered Leah was having a house party, did you only go because of the secret or did she intrigue you?

 I have to admit, part of it was that smile. For the short length of our previous acquaintance, I’d always seen her as this quiet, reserved, proper woman. But that smile…it was as if every light inside her suddenly shone brighter than the sun itself. Yes, I went to the house party because of the possibility of a scandal, but I also went because it was Leah. Even then, even when I was grieving and angry, I found an excuse to discover more about her. Perhaps I was hoping that she would really return to the docile woman I’d known before…but I’m so glad she didn’t. She is amazing as a reckless woman. *smiles*

In the beginning, you almost seemed like you thought it had to be Leah’s fault as to why her husband turned to your wife. Did you really feel this way?

 *looks away* God, I wish I’d never said that. No, I never felt that it was Leah’s fault. Especially now that I know her for who she truly is, I am amazed at Ian’s idiocy. I know I was cruel to her at the beginning, and I don’t have an excuse that could ever justify my behavior. All I can say is that she was the only person who could understand how I was feeling, but instead of being miserable like I was, she was happy. And I hated that she was happy. I hated that after all the love I gave to Angela, it wasn’t enough. And so, as I blamed myself for Angela turning to Ian, it made me feel better to blame Leah for Ian’s betrayal as well. As you can see, I can be an idiot sometimes, too.

Did you have any idea after the death of your first wife that you would find anyone else you would truly love?

 I never thought of it. The news of Angela’s betrayal and death tore me apart to such an extent that I couldn’t think of anything beyond her being together with Ian…and then of her not being there at all. But then Leah came along, with her reckless behavior and her smile, and she took me completely by surprise. Certainly, I imagine one day I would have tried to find another mother for Henry, but the idea of marrying probably wouldn’t have come to me for a long, long time.

Leah definitely didn’t make it easy for you. What was the most stubborn thing she did?

 *smiles* Let me tell you, she’s still just as stubborn now as she was then. Thank God I let go of the idea of her obeying anything I said a long time ago.

I suppose that while I understood the pain that Ian put her through, I wish she wouldn’t have stayed distant from me for so long. As I said above, I never thought to fall in love again, and certainly not so quickly. I wished that she would have acknowledged her feelings for me sooner, but I also knew that if I pushed her too hard and too quickly I would only push her away.

The greatest part of my day now is in the mornings, when I wake up beside her and the first thing she does is wrap her arms around me and says she loves me. That makes up for every moment in the past when I feared she would never truly be mine.

When was the moment that you knew you had to go find her no matter what?

 Ah, an excellent question. But the truth is this: I wanted to go find her and take her back with me and Henry to our home the very moment I left her. However, I was hesitant because of Henry. At first I believed any resulting scandal from her behavior would hurt him. And then, after the rumors started circulating about Ian and Angela, I realized that having a shell of a father would have hurt him even more. I could have gone on with life without her, but by God I didn’t want to. I probably would have gone after her eventually even if the rumors hadn’t started, but I was glad to have that as an excuse. And if I hadn’t had it as an excuse, who knows if she would have accepted me when I proposed?

Thank you for being here. I know you are ready to get back to your wife and son. It was a pleasure meeting with you today.

 *laughs, catching Henry in his arms as he runs up, then wrapping an arm around Leah’s very pregnant waist and kissing her cheek* Yes, they are impatient for me, as you can see. But truly, Miss Rebecca, it was my pleasure. You’re welcome to visit with us anytime. Perhaps you can convince my lovely wife here that taking long strolls about the estate is not a good idea, nor is telling her husband what to do all the time. It— *breaks off as Leah jabs him in the ribs, then kisses her full on the mouth* Yes, feel free to visit our happily-ever-after anytime you wish. *smiles*

I hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes interview with Sebastian, and thanks so much to Rebecca for hosting me today as I continue celebrating the release of ROMANCING THE COUNTESS! If you’ve already read the book and you could ask Sebastian any one question you wanted, what would it be? If you haven’t read the book and could ask me any one question you wanted, what would it be? Whether the answers are in the comments or in a separate blog post, I’ll be sure to answer them!

One random commenter will be chosen to win a copy of my newest book, ROMANCING THE COUNTESS (open internationally)! Also, find out how to win the ROMANCING THE COUNTESS Book Tour Grand Prize of 50+ romance novels by visiting www.ashleymarch.com!