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

Ch. 11 (PG): The Kimball Ball, Part 2: Presumption

"Encouragement, A Regency Tale of Love and Romance", 
Ch. 11 (PG): The Kimball Ball, Part 2: Presumption,
October 21, 2016 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #987)

[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, Rupert Penry Jones as Lord Duncan the Viscount Lindsay, 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: Having achieved bringing the very shy Lady Elizabeth Blount to attend the Kimball's Ball this Friday, February 9th, 1816 is an accomplishment in itself. Lady Lizzie's presentation ball is next week and her brother Lord Christian—with the aid of Lady Madeline Sinclair—reasoned that Lady Lizzie would want to have some experience of a ball before her own. And then there was the introduction of the much anticipated Lord Duncan the Viscount Lindsay—by Lady Madeline's Grandmama Lady Knott and by Lady Lizzie—who has a long ago formed crush on Lord Duncan. And then there are Lady Madeline and Lord Christian—and what to do about them. Lord Christian knows the challenge before him—of capturing Lady Madeline's affections. Yet it remains illusory at the moment with Lord Duncan being thrust into the courting fray.

"Encouragement, A Regency Tale of Love and Romance", Ch. 11: The Kimball Ball, Part 2, Presumption

While at the Kimball's Ball this Friday, February 9th—really all this past week--the minxish Lady Madeline Sinclair is really making the proud Lord Christian Blount work to win her romantic heart, because he mistakenly feels that she is immune to him. Lady Madeline is merely trying to prevent herself from heartache by not presuming that the grand and wonderful Earl of Sussex thinks of her as anything more than his younger sister's friend. She has even pointedly told him so—wanting to gauge his reaction, but he did not refute it, to her disappointment. Lady Madeline still seeks a love match for marriage—and Lord Christian still struggles to determine if his heart is open to such a concept.

Lord Christian has never been in love before, so he hesitates from characterizing his growing feelings for Lady Madeline in more than politely affectionate terms. Though he will admit that her sweetness, effortless natural beauty, and her tartness of tongue if truth be told—along with her forthright nature-- has made a lasting impression upon him. And what neither Lady Madeline nor Lord Christian yet realizes is that they need to take great care with recognizing and respecting each others' developing feelings, or they might miss their chance at making a life together as husband and wife—if that is their destiny. It is too early to tell.

Lady Madeline Sinclair and Lord Christian Blount, Earl of Sussex are much admired for their waltzing on the dance floor in the second dance of the evening by the many guests at the Kimball's Ball presenting their daughter Lady Penelope to society—not the least of which is Lord Duncan the Viscount Lindsay, Lord Christian's old Eton school friend. And Lady Madeline very much enjoys her waltz with Lord Christian.