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

Ch. 29 (PG)--A Friendship Blossoms into Love, Part 1

“Love is a Choice”, Ch. 29 (PG)--A Friendship Blossoms into Love, Part 1,  July 15, 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, Rosamund Pike as  Fanny Miller, Brendan Coyle as Uncle Miller, Princess Adelaide as herself, Princess Victoria as herself, Kirsten Dunst as Cassandra Hatch, Matthew MacFadyen as Fr. Robert Hatch, 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. 

Additional Disclaimer: The Wiki and other reference links I cite contain general information merely to indicate that a place, person, or artifact, etc.,  possibly existed.  Though I try to use real locations in England and I make reference to some historically complementary information whenever possible, the fictionalized history that I write about for these towns, towns folks, and areas in my story are mostly figments of my imagination and should not be taken as fact.

Author’s Recap from the previous installment:  Christmastime 1826 at the Wingate Estate of Dearing Manor near Warwick saw the unexpectedly early birth of Lady Louisa and Sir John’s third child, a son they named Edmund.  Then Little Lottie predicted rightly that Lady Charmaine and Sir Antony Southwick--Lady Katharine’s parents--are expecting their third child in the Spring.  Lottie also predicted that Lady Katharine and Lord Rafe are with child--but that is yet to be determined.  And Mrs. Cassandra Lowens Hatch--Lady Katharine’s friend from Maylandsea--and her baby daughter Beatrice visited her former home at the Hatch estate with its new owner twenty-two year old Fr. Robert Hatch and his mother. Cassie and Beatrice witnessed and assisted with Robert’s first guest sermon the Sunday before Christmas.  Then on Christmas Eve, Robert conveyed to Cassie that he felt a growing fondness for her that Cassie responded to cordially.  However, Cassie reminded him that she is still in her year long period of mourning until the Spring for her late husband Gerald Hatch, Robert’s uncle--and thus could not be courted by anyone yet.  But Robert asked if he may write to Cassie--and she agreed.

“Love is a Choice”, Ch. 29 (PG)--A Friendship Blossoms into Love, Part 1

March of 1827 was an auspicious month--not only because Spring officially begins, but also because the now nineteen year old Mrs. Cassandra Hatch officially ended her year long mourning period for her late and much older husband, Mr. Gerald Hatch.  Though she will always miss him as a kind gentleman who gave her their beloved baby daughter Beatrice to cherish, Gerald’s and Cassie’s marriage was not a love match--it having been arranged by Cassie’s late father Mr. Lowens, to secure her future.