"Love is a Choice" by Gratiana Lovelace, 3/15/13 (Completed)

Ch. 7-8 (PG): Husbands & Wives, Daughters & Sons, Part 2; Lord Rafe Meets Anna

“Love is a Choice”, Ch. 7-8 (PG):  Husbands and Wives, Daughters and Sons, Part 2; Lord Rafe Meets his Daughter,  March 25, 2013 Gratiana Lovelace

(An original story by Gratiana Lovelace; All Rights Reserved)

[From time to time, I will illustrate my story with my dream cast of:  Richard Armitage as Lord Rafe Wingate, Carla Gugino as Lady Katharine Wingate, Lesley Nicol as Mrs. Plunkett, Emilie Francois as Anna, and others, etc.]
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Author’s Mature Content Note:  “Love is a Choice” is a story of love and romance set in the early to mid 1800’s.  I like Regency sensibilities with regard to comedy of manners, but Romantic period modes of dress.   Ha!  As such there will be some passages in this story involving heartfelt love scenes (perhaps some R rated) and some passages involving highly dramatic moments.  I will label the maturity rating of those chapters accordingly.  Otherwise, the general rating for this story is PG or PG-13 due to some mature situations and topics.  If you are unable or unwilling to attend a movie with the ratings that I provide, then please do not read the chapters with those labels.  This is my disclaimer.

Author’s Recap from the previous installment:   The day after they were married, Lord Rafe and Lady Katharine enjoyed pudding with retired Dearing Manor cook Mrs. Plunkett at her forest cottage.  Surprisingly, Mrs. Plunkett revealed that she is to have a new kitchen helper named Anna Miller.  Anna is the orphaned child of Lord Rafe’s first love, Fanny Miller--a pastry cook--though only he and Lady Katharine know about Fanny, because Lord Rafe told Lady Katharine about Fanny.  Lord Rafe fleetingly wonders about the girl’s parentage in the back of his mind.  Then when he and Lady Katharine are getting ready for this evening’s dinner for them hosted by his parents, they almost have a romantic tryst--with Lady Katharine being willingly seduced.  But they are frustratingly interrupted before they can even get into bed by their butler who says they are summoned to the manor early by Lord Rafe’s parents to talk over an urgent matter. Earlier his parents had another revelation up at the manor as Lady Leonora Wingate revealed to her husband Lord Charles Wingate, that their son Lord Rafe has a daughter named Anna Miller, and she is missing.  She tells her husband that their son does not know that he has a child.  Hence the reason his parents summon of Lord Rafe and his new wife to the manor early, before the dinner party in their honor.  Concurrently, after a long and bumpy carriage ride, the ladylike and dainty eleven year old Anna Miller arrives at Dearing Manor to be Mrs. Plunkett’s kitchen helper.  After greeting each other, Mrs. Plunkett sets Anna down with a plate of food whilst Mrs. Plunkett attends to making tonight’s desserts.

“Love is a Choice”, Ch. 7:  Husbands and Wives, Daughters and Sons, Part 2

After Lord Rafe and Lady Katharine quickly finish getting dressed for their evening dinner party hosted by his family for them--Lady Katharine looking très charmant as a young bride in her pink silk [(2) right] with ribbon rosettes embellished gown and Lord Rafe dashingly wearing his jet black suit with a silver satin vest and burgundy cravat [(3) right]--they take a ten minute enclosed carriage ride from their hunting lodge retreat on the estate to Dearing Manor for their pre-dinner meeting with his parents.  They hold hands the whole way, with Lord Rafe kissing his wife’s hand frequently--in between sweet kisses on her lips, taking care not to muss her hair as she requested of him earlier.  He hopes that tonight will be a short evening with his parents and their friends--because after that, he looks forward to a long evening of finally making love with his lovely bride.  In truth, the less reluctant Lady Katharine is thinking the very same thing--as her pinkening cheeks betray.