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

Ch. 21 (PG-13): The Wingates with Anna in London Part 2

“Love is a Choice”, Ch. 21 (PG-13): The Wingates with Anna in London Part 2,   May 19, 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 Southwick Wingate, Lesley Nicol as Mrs. Plunkett, Emilie Francois as Anna Wingate, Mark Strong as Sir Collin MacGregor, Alan Bates as Lord Charles Wingate, Christian Bale as Stuart MacGregor, Daniel Day-Lewis as Sir Antony Southwick, Michelle Pfeiffer as Lady Charmaine Southwick, Catherine Deneuve as Lady Esmѐ Sinclair, Julian Sands as Sir Percival Southwick, Samantha Morton as Lady Lucinda Southwick, Raymond Coulthard as David Harriott, and others, etc.]     [Story Logo 1abcd]

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:  Lord and Lady Wingate travel to London with Anna to be of assistance to Lord Rafe and Lady Katharine regarding Lady Charmaine Southwick’s illness.  The two families meet for tea at the Southwick home and Anna meets Lady Katharine’s parents--including the still recovering ethereal beauty, Lady Southwick.  Lady Charmaine is struck by how much the blondeleven year old Anna resembles her brunette daughter Katharine--who in her memory is still ten years old.  Lady Charmaine’s continuing memory loss is both a blessing and a curse for her family--hoping her good humor persists, but dreading her return to being bitter and judgemental of everyone.  But on a hopeful note, Lady Katharine’s brother Sir Percival and his wife Lady Lucinda Harriott Southwich invite Lord Rafe and Lady Katharine to bring Anna to lunch this week so they may meet her.   Anna’s welcome reception by Lady Katharine’s family is more than Lord Rafe could have hoped for.  And Anna’s cousins five year old Henry and three year old Charlotte--children of Anna’s father Lord Rafe’s sister Lady Louisa Throckmorton’s family--had also returned to London.  And in a brief joyous family meeting at the Wingate’s London home, the Throckmorton’s invited Anna to tea at the Park Pavillion the next day. 

“Love is a Choice”, Ch. 21 (PG-13): The Wingates with Anna in London, Part 2

After Anna endured a two hours long and slightly tedious Tuesday morning being poked and prodded, measured, draped with beautiful fabrics and ribbons as selections were made, and generally clucked over by the great London coutourier Madame Messier herself--as her Grandmama Lady Wingate looked on approvingly--it was arranged that Anna will have a whole new wardrobe befitting her elevated station.  There will be five day frocks, two traveling suits, one riding outfit, four evening dresses for dinner and one sea bathing costume--and all the necessary undergarments, shoes, boots, and related accessories.  It will cost the princely sum of nearly 100 pounds to outfit her completely.  Anna is uncertain that she will have the occasion to wear all of these different clothes--when she was accustomed to one day dress, one play dress, one school dress, and one dressy dress.  Though her Grandmama would have spoiled Anna with more clothes growing up, Anna’s Mama Fanny did not want her daughter spoiled--Fanny not wanting Anna to become accustomed to a way of life that might never be hers.  However, now having free reign to indulge her benevolence toward her granddaughter Anna, Lady Wingate has quite worn herself out with the morning’s dressmaking appointment  as they return to their London home.