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

Ch. 8 (PG): Lady Madeline's Suitors Pay Morning Calls

"Encouragement", Ch. 8 (PG): Lady Madeline's Suitors Pay Morning Calls,
October 05, 2016 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #978) 

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

[From time to time, I will illustrate my story characters with: Richard Armitage as Lord Christian Blount Earl of Sussex, Kate Winslet or Emma Lady Hamilton as Lady Madeline Lucretia Sinclair, Dame Maggie Smith as Lady Lucretia Beckham Knott, Polly Mabrey as Lady Elizabeth Blount, Crispin Bonham-Carter as Lord Harold Blount, Dame Judi Dench as Lady Catherine Blount the Dowager Countess 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: After Lady Madeline takes a surreptitious tour of Lord Christian the Earl of Sussex' bed chamber in Sussex House courtesy of his sister Lady Lizzie, she contrives to remind him of his promised waltz. That dance gives Lord Christian time to make his sincere apologies for being drunk at her presentation ball, and behaving appallingly rude to her. She accepts graciously by acknowledging that her own conduct—her uncensored utterings of her opinions—were also to blame. Then in watching Lord Christian dance with his sister while she plays for them, Lady Madeline muses more upon herself, Lord Christian, and her other suitors that her Grandmama predicts will descend upon her. And Lord Christian worries that he has let Lady Madeline slip through his fingers, when he now finds her to be a taking little thing.

"Encouragement", Ch. 8 (PG): Lady Madeline's Suitors Pay Morning Calls

Lady Madeline Sinclair should have guessed after receiving several cards and posies on February 3, 1816—the Saturday after her Friday night presentation ball hosted by her Grandmama Lady Lucretia Beckham Knott at their London townhouse—that her grandmother's prediction of suitors paying calls upon her this week would prove correct. It so happens that Lady Madeline not quite finishes her breakfast Monday morning when the first such callers arrive at half past eight on Monday, February 5th when their Butler Mr. Stokes announces them.

Butler Stokes: "Pardon My Lady, but two gentlemen have arrived and seek an audience with you. They are Bernard Lord Quincy and Richard Lord Tottenham. I have shown them to the front Drawing Room." It is the biggest and most lavish drawing room for receiving callers in. And Butler Mr. Stokes surmises that Lady Madeline will need a large room for prospective suitor callers this week due to the twenty or so gentlemen she danced with at her presentation ball. She was a hit!

Lady Madeline nearly chokes on her tea and strawberry jam scones—her boiled egg as yet is left untouched. Her Grandmama Lady Lucretia Beckam Knott had chosen to have her breakfast brought up on a tray to her bed chamber this morning--due to her still feeling tired from her granddaughter's ball three days ago, and despite having promised Lady Madeline that she would take her and Lady Elizabeth Blount to her favorite ladies gloves emporium.

So Lady Madeline is all alone in receiving callers—except for her ladies maid Anne Trask who is sitting off to the side of the room playing with her baby sister after eating their own breakfast earlier. Lady Madeline exchanges glances with Anne—who snatches up her baby sister to her breast—as she seeks further reinforcements.