"Seeking the Niceties of Marriage", by Gratiana Lovelace, 2021 (Done)

Ch. 08: Dowry and settlements negotiations

"Seeking the Niceties of Marriage", Ch. 08: Dowry and settlements negotiations,
June 05, 2021 by Gratiana Lovelace (Post #1387) 

(An original Regency Romance story copyrighted by Gratiana Lovelace, 2021; All rights reserved)  [(1) story cover above left]

[Illustrations: I cast my stories as I write them. So from time to time, I will illustrate my story with actors and such, including: Richard Armitage as Lord Edward Carlisle, Daniela Denby-Ashe as Lady Emily Creighton, Blake Ritson as Lord Kittredge Wells, Polly Walker as Lady Patience Creighton, Bill Nighy as Lord Nigel Creighton the Earl of Stoke, and others as noted.]

[Author's Note: This original Regency romance is a work of fiction, and as such, any character names, scenes or other descriptions were made at the creative discretion of this author. And this is a gentle romance (G to PG-13), but with some frank discussions about love and marriage put to humorous effect. This is my disclaimer.]

Ch. 08: Dowry and settlements negotiations

One of the niceties of marriage in many a titled gentleman's mind is the prospect of receiving his wife's dowry upon the occasion of their marriage. And too often, that would be the last that the lady bride would see or hear of her dowry. And though Lord Edward the Viscount Carlisle had received and then honorably returned his late wife Edith's dowry funds to her parents when she died whilst eloping with her lover but four months after her unconsummated marriage to Lord Carlisle, he wants to handle the situation differently this time, in the hope of producing a better marital outcome for he and his new bride.  

[P] And more forward thinking—and non-financially diminished—gentlemen like Lord Edward believe in protecting their lady's funds for that lady. Shockingly progressive!  So it is upon the following day after the Friday night Henderson Ball when Lord Edward Carlisle definitively proposed marriage to Lady Emily Creighton and she delightedly accepted, a Saturday at 11 o'clock in the morning—but seven days before Lord Edward and Lady Emily are to be wed next Saturday—that Lord Edward the Viscount Carlisle solemnly and hopefully mounts the steps to the Creighton's London townhouse to discuss her dowry and the marriage settlements for he and Lady Emily Creighton with her father.

And just as Lady Emily will join the discussion by her father's side, so too does Lord Edward have a supporter at his side—in the person of his longtime good friend and Lady Emily's cousin, Lord Kittredge Wells, who will also serve as his wedding attendant, Best Man.

Entering into marriage negotiations for settlements and such involving two individuals and their families can be frought with the rules of etiquette and the demands of rank and privilege. Lord Edward hopes to dispense with such formalities and to neatly arrange the particulars to everyone's satisfaction. Yet he is not the administrator of today's discussions and will need to bow, literally, to Lady Emily's father in this matter.

As Lord Edward Carlisle and his best friend Lord Kittredge Wells are ushered into Lady Emily's father Lord Creighton's Study, of this distinguished Earl of Stoke, the three gentlemen bow to each other deferentially. Lord Edward bows to Lord Creighton the Earl of Stoke, Lord Kitt bows to Lord Creighton the Earl of Stoke, then Lord Creighton the Earl of Stoke bows once to both young gentlemen.

Then Lord Creighton gestures for the two younger men to sit in the two club chairs in front of his desk, as he leans against his desk front. This attitude gives the older man and father a temporary height advantage over the two seated gentlemen. It is a small point of distinction, but a deserving one for a Papa about to relinquish his beloved daughter to another. For though Lord Stoke is a distinguished man of 65 years, time has made Lord Creighton much wrinkled about the face and his body slightly stooped over due to arthritis. But he is determined to ensure his daughter Lady Emily's choice for her husband is a worthy one.