Emma Orchard interviews the hero of her latest novel, THE RUNAWAY HEIRESS

About THE RUNAWAY HEIRESS

London, 1815. Cassandra Hazeldon is on the run.

Under duress to marry a repellent friend of her uncle, Cassandra has made her escape, but now she is very much alone. With luck and quick thinking, she finds a refuge in a grand mansion in Mayfair, and a protector in Lord Irlam, or Hal to his friends.

Posing as a friend of Hal’s sister, Cassandra is swept up into the social whirl of a Brighton summer. But the attraction between her and Hal is starting to scorch, and when jealousy is added to the mix, things are set to reach boiling point.

Emma Orchard is interviewing the hero of her latest novel, THE RUNAWAY HEIRESS.

Lord Irlam is not yet thirty, tall, dark and very handsome. He has striking bright blue eyes and a Cary-Grant-style cleft in his chin. Ms Orchard seems a little flustered.

EO: I’ve never met an earl before. It’s a pleasure to meet you, your lordship.

Lord Irlam: Delighted to make your acquaintance, ma’am. And please, call me Hal – almost everyone does. Lord Irlam still sounds like my father. Strange, really, because he’s been dead for seven years, but I still find myself looking over my shoulder for him. Still miss him every day, and my mother, too.

EO: I’m sorry. I understand you lost both your parents when you were barely of age, and you were left with five younger siblings to bring up. You’re their guardian. That must have been extremely difficult. 

Hal: You could say that. Of course, I had help, particularly from my aunt Sophia. I couldn’t have managed without her. The twins were only just five when our mother died, Fred was seven, Georgie – my sister Georgiana – was eleven, and Bastian was thirteen. I think that’s right. It can be hard to keep track of them all, to tell you the truth.

EO: I can’t even imagine how you coped, all of you. But you did, and everyone is doing well, I hope? The younger children are at school now?

Hal: Fred is. The twins have a tutor, but they’ll be going to school soon. I probably shouldn’t say it, but the teachers haven’t got the faintest idea what’s coming. Honestly, I pity them.

EO: I expect they’ll manage. They must be used to…boisterous young men.

Hal: Boisterous! You don’t know the half of it. They once smuggled a piglet into church… Well, perhaps you’re right. They may settle down. Miracles can happen, I suppose.

EO: Your brother Sebastian is at Oxford, though?

Hal: Bastian’s the best of us. The brightest of us, too, by far. Not that Georgie’s stupid, mind, she’s clever as a wagonload of monkeys, but she wouldn’t apply herself, her teachers said. Not to book work. If there was a course of study in flirting…

EO: Someone told me she might be getting married. That’s exciting news.

Hal, looking suddenly formidable: Who said that? There’s nothing official, I can promise you. There’s plenty of time for that; she’s only just made her come-out. Best not to rush into anything. I keep telling her that.

EO: It sounds like you still have your hands full. Do you ever get any time for yourself?

Hal: Well, it’s true, not much. Just a little, here and there. I must be going soon, as a matter of fact: meeting my friend Tom Wainfleet at Jackson’s Boxing Saloon. Ladies not permitted, I’m afraid. Not at all the done thing.

EO, sighing: That’s a shame. No, I mean, of course not. Naturally. Oh, one last question, if I may?

Hal: Please, go ahead.

EO: It occurs to me that gentlemen in your position often find themselves obliged to marry, in order to make sure they have an heir. It’s a pressure a lot of people feel. But that’s one thing you don’t have to worry about, isn’t it? You have four brothers. So, do you ever plan to marry?

Hal: 

EO: I’m sorry, shouldn’t I have asked that? I didn’t mean to intrude.

Hal: No, it’s… I don’t know. I can see it might be… My parents were very happily married. We were all very happy.

EO: So, one day, maybe? As you said, there’s no need to rush into anything. You’ve got such a big family already, you certainly can’t be lonely!

Hal: Lonely? No, I’m not lonely. Of course I couldn’t possibly be, that would be quite ridiculous. And now I really must go…

—

The Runaway Heiress by Emma Orchard is published by Allison & Busby. 

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Emma Orchard was born in Salford. She studied English Literature at the Universities of Edinburgh and York, before working behind the scenes in publishing and television for many years. Her first job was at Mills & Boon, where she met her husband in a classic enemies-to-lovers romance. She now lives in North London.
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Category: Interviews, On Writing