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

Ch. 15 (PG): Betrothal Ring and Such

"Encouragement", Ch. 15 (PG): Betrothal Ring and Such, November 07, 2016 Gratiana Lovelace (Post #996) 

(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 and 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, Corin Redgrave as Squire Sutton Sinclair, Amanda Root as Mrs. Russell, 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 returned from Lady Madeline's country home of Watford Hill to London with her father Squire Sutton Sinclair in his carriage, Christian Lord Sussex was eager to see his betrothed since Squire Sinclair had not yet given his approval for the betrothal to proceed. However upon finding Lady Madeline and then Lord Christian comforting her after her revealing the she wants to honor her late Mama by having yellow roses in her bridal bouquet—and she become weepy for not having her Mama with her on her wedding day—Lord Christian and Lady Madeline were found embracing by her father, Squire Sinclair. At first enraged by the indecorous intimacy and liberty that Lord Sussex was taking with his daughter, Squire Sinclair soon calmed down when it was explained why Lord Sussex was embracing—and thus comforting—Lady Madeline, his daughter.

"Encouragement, A Regency Tale of Love and Romance", Ch. 15 (PG): Betrothal Ring and Such

A betrothal needs a betrothal ring to seal the promise of love and fidelity. And after Lord Christian Blount the Earl of Sussex scoured his family jewelry vault in their London mansion Sussex House Monday evening after his return to London from meeting his future father-in-law Squire Sutton Sinclair—and then meeting up with his betrothed Lady Madeline Sinclair--Lord Christian was underwhelmed, with his betrothal ring options. That is not to say that the heirloom jewelry in the Sussex House vault was not expensive, nor beautiful, it is just that Lord Christian felt the jewelry to be too large and gaudy for his young bride to be, Lady Madeline.

Lady Madeline Sinclair is an exquisite and rare human being in her betrothed's eyes and in his heart. And Lord Christian wants to match his betrothal ring to her sensibilities. And Lord Christian was slightly worried that he would have to seek to extend his already thin credit with some tradesmen by buying something new. For until he receives Lady Madeline's dowry payment on their wedding day in under two weeks, he needs to be cautious with their remaining funds.

Happily, Lord Christian's grandmother the Dowager Countess of Sussex Lady Catherine Blount will intervene—eventually--whilst Lord Christian has tea with her today. He knocks upon her bed chamber's adjoining sitting room's door to join her for tea on Tuesday February 13, 1816, since she is too infirm to traverse the stairs to take tea in the main floor's drawing room of Sussex House. When he opens the door, he finds his Grandmother in an entirely feminine room of pink and cream chintz and gilt dusting several furniture edgings. But it does contain several comfortable chairs as well—including one man sized chair that Lord Christian generally uses.