"Encouragement" (Book 1), by Gratiana Lovelace, 2016 (Completed)

Ch. 2 (PG): Paying a call to Sussex House

"Encouragement", A Regency Tale of Love and Romance,
Ch. 2 (PG): Paying a call to Sussex House,
September 08, 2016 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #965) 

(An original Regency love story copyrighted by Gratiana Lovelace; all rights reserved)

(An original story copyrighted by Gratiana Lovelace; all rights reserved) [(1) story cover, left]

[From time to time, I will illustrate my story characters with: Emma Hamilton as Lady Madeline Sinclair, Richard Armitage as Lord Christian Blount Earl of Sussex, and others as noted.]

Authors Content Note: "Encouragement" is a frothy love story with sometimes humorous and sometimes dramatic themes of love and relationships. It will mostly be at the PG and PG-13 movie levels. Specific chapters or passages may have a further rating of: D for dramatic emotions, and LS for love scenes that are tenderly sensuous and not explicit. And I will rate the chapters accordingly. If you are unable or unwilling to attend a movie with the ratings that I provide for a chapter, then please do not read that chapter. This is my disclaimer. And as is my habit, I will summarize the previous chapter's events at the beginning of each chapter.

Author's recap from the previous chapter: With Lady Lucretia Beckham Knott sponsoring her seventeen year old granddaughter Lady Madeline Maddie Lucretia Sinclair for her first London Season, their goal is to find Lady Madeline a husband of good breeding. And with Lady Madeline's dowry of 20,000 pounds, she can afford to be selective. She wants to marry for love. Lord Christian Blount, the newly inherited Earl of Sussex does not have the same luxury. He has inherited his grandfather's and father's debts and must marry an heiress to not lose their home and standing in society, but more importantly to see his sister Lady Elizabeth Lizzie Blount with a suitable dowry and help her to make a good marriage. Lady Madeline and Lord Christian seem destined to make a match—except that their introduction began unfortunately with him causing her to drop her ices cup, to her consternation. Perhaps the visit to reacquaint their respective grandmothers will improve the situation—or not.

"Encouragement", Ch. 2: Paying a call to Sussex House

Lady Madeline fidgets with her reticule as she sits across from her serenely smiling Grandmama as they take their enclosed carriage to Sussex House—Lord Christian Blount's London Mansion estate. And though January is bitingly cold—deceptively so since the snow has melted for a bit, giving the visual impression of a warmer season--the two hot bricks her grandmother ordered are serving them in good stead, along with their fur coats.

Yet, Lady Madeline also feels a chill of unease for their impending call on the Blounts. However, nothing seems to ruffle Lady Knott's feathers as she glances out the carriage window—in between shrewd appraisals of her granddaughter, Lady Madeline. And especially not this morning when her plan—hers and Lady Catherine Blount's, the Dowager Countess of Sussex—is moving along nicely. Their grandchildren met at last night's ball—a beginning. Though the ices cup crashing to the ground debacle was unfortunate, there may yet be time to repair—or establish, more likely—a regard between Lady Madeline and Lord Christian. That is their respective grandmothers' hope.

Our carriage having wound its way around the park on our way to Sussex House, Grandmama and I find ourselves being routed down a quiet tree lined lane of grandly large stately homes. The neighborhood is so exclusive that each home and its surrounding parklike property takes up more than several acres. Finally, our carriage driver turns into the drive of what I can only presume is the Blount family's impressive London mansion, Sussex House [(2) below].