Leonora's Journal Volume 1 Chapter 18

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Leonora's Journal Volume One

leather journal.jpg


The Sequel to 'Ring of Stone' by Bronwen Welsh


Copyright 2022


Chapter 18 Our portaits are painted, and Lucy and Freddie's wedding

Thursday 2nd July
Mr Northcote the artist arrived today to commence our portraits. Richard had to attend his office on an urgent matter, so he will make a start on my likeness. It is a tradition at Grasmere that life size portraits of family members are hung in the main hall, but Richard would also like a smaller version to be hung on either side of the fireplace in our main sitting room in Oxford, so Mr Northcote has kindly agreed to paint two versions.

I welcomed him to the house and following his enquiry, described how I would like my portrait to be painted. We decided against artist’s materials and instead I will be posing next to the harp which I am currently learning. Mr Northcote examined several rooms which might be suitable as background for the painting and finally decided upon the dining room which has large windows which will provide the lighting that he seeks. We have no formal banquets scheduled in the near future, so the background and harp can be left set up until his work is completed.

Mr Northcote looked at some of my sketches and water colours, also the drawing of the Druid's Circle which I wish to be hung on the wall in the position he recommends. He was kind enough to compliment me on my attempts which I know to be no more than those of a mildly talented amateur, but it was still very gratifying to hear his remarks. He also agreed that unlike most of the people who sit for him, I would be able to view the portrait as it progresses, not that I have ever attempted a portrait, but perhaps I should.

I had decided to wear the gown in which I was married, not that anyone viewing the portrait in the future will know that, but it does have especial significance for me and for Richard.

I consulted Richard concerning how much hospitality should be afforded to Mr Northcote. It was my feeling that despite the fact that he is being employed by Richard to paint our portraits, he should be treated in a superior manner to a regular tradesman. For example, rather than being expected to take his meals in the servants' dining room, I thought that perhaps he should be invited to take tea or have lunch with us. This would be advantageous in giving him the opportunity to understand our characters more, which might help in the painting. I was very pleased when Richard agreed with me.

You who may read this far into the future may wonder at my deference to my husband in such matters, but for members of the ton, it is the convention that the husband is the master of the household, and his decision is accepted without question. Things may change in the future but that is how things stand now. In return, I cannot deny that I live a very comfortable life so I can hardly complain.

Mr Northcote made a start on sketching my outline, which took about an hour before he paused for lunch which we ate at the further end of the large dining table. I had a most pleasing conversation with him about his career to date and he told me of some of the portraits which he has painted, some of very well-known people, including Sir Joshua Reynolds, Admiral Hood, Mrs Elizabeth Banks, Samuel Whitbread, and others with whom I am not acquainted.. I was interested to hear that he was originally apprenticed to his father, a watchmaker, while painting and drawing were his chief recreation. Later, showing artistic promise, upon leaving his father's employ, he studied under the late Sir Joshua Reynolds, the noted portrait painter, and later still, went to Italy to study. I confess I would love to travel overseas but of course that is at the discretion of Richard, as I could hardly travel without him.

After lunch, Mr Northcote continued with his sketching for another two hours before concluding for the day. He has a sister Sophie who lives with her husband in Oxford with whom he has arranged to stay for the week or so while he is fulfilling his commission with us, before he returns to his studio in London to complete the portraits. He makes no mention of a wife, so it does not seem appropriate of me to enquire if there are more members of his family.

Richard arrived after Mr Northcote had left for the day. He has left the canvas with a sheet over it and Richard acceded to my request not to view it at such an early stage. I confess I did look at it myself and could already see that he was making good progress.

Friday 3rd July

Mr Northcote spent the entire day working on my face and I must say that he has made a tolerable likeness of me. As he pointed out, we are used to seeing ourselves in a looking glass and the image we see is actually in reverse of how others see us.

Today I received a very nice letter from Mr Wordsworth, thanking me for my letter of condolence. That was so kind of him, and I will keep it amongst my personal papers. I still think of the family often. Perhaps it is because I am now sure that I am with child, that I sympathise so much. I can scarcely imagine how the loss of a child would affect particularly her mother, and hope and pray I am never in that situation.

Monday 6th July,
Mr Northcote is close to completing the initial stages of my portrait, and I am very pleased with it. I think he will complete it tomorrow and then start on Richard's portrait. I have the feeling that I am starting to exhibit the smallest sign of the baby developing within me, but perhaps I am mistaken.

Today I received a letter from Lucy informing me that they had arrived back at Grasmere late last Thursday evening. For my eyes only she confessed to be missing Frederick very much and begged me to pass on any news of him. I hope he writes frequently to her, but I know that men do not tend to write letters with the frequency that women do.

Tuesday 7th July,
Richard sat for his portrait today. I confess that he looks so handsome – I do hope Mr Northcote can capture that look he has which stole my heart. I asked him if I could watch while he was being painted, and upon receiving his permission, I made the same request of Mr Northcote, since I am interested in seeing how a portrait painter approaches his subject. I wasn't sure if he would agree, but he informed me that he has students in London who observe him painting, so he was comfortable with me sitting behind him to see how his work progresses. I promised not to interrupt or distract him.

Wednesday 8th July
As we were having lunch today, Mr Northcote made a proposal. He said that since my sketches and paintings of rural scenes showed talent, had I considered attempting a portrait. When I confessed with a blush that I had not, he suggested that I might like to take the opportunity of Richard posing for his portrait to attempt capturing a head and shoulders sketch of him.

My initial reaction was to decline the suggestion, but when I looked at Richard, he was encouraging, provided that it was my wish to attempt it, so I thought 'Why not?' and sent for my sketch pad, pencils and rubber, which I suspected would be in great use to make corrections.

I spent a very enjoyable afternoon sitting at the back of the room behind Mr Northcote and occasionally observing his progress as I attempted my own sketch of Richard. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I captured a tolerably close impression of his features and wondered why I had never tried portraiture before.

Friday 10th July
Today I visited Mama and told her there is no doubt in my mind that I am to have a child. She hugged me and exclaimed her pleasure at the news, but I am not sure how she feels about becoming a grandmama, perhaps she will feel old! We will not tell Emma yet, but the time will come when it will be obvious even to her, and we will explain it then. She will become an aunt at a very young age.

Friday 17th July
Today Mr Northcote completed his painting of the two portraits. He is taking them to his studio in London where he will apply the finishing touches and also paint a smaller version of both paintings for us to hang in the house at Oxford. The large versions he will return to Oxford for our final approbation before they are dispatched to Grasmere to be hung with the other family portraits. At the same time he will send the smaller versions for display in our house.

Monday 20th July.
I am feeling tired to a greater degree than usual and suspect it is due to the new life growing within me. I find it amusing to speculate on how a man would cope with the production and birth of a baby – not well I fear. This afternoon I was sitting in the drawing room, working on my sketches and to be honest, dozing a little, when I heard the sound of a horse on the driveway, and after enquiry by the maid, Mr Fanshaw was shown into the room. He made his bow and said he hoped he was not disturbing me.

“Not at all, Mr Fanshaw,” I replied. “A visit from you is always most welcome. Will you take tea with me?

Upon his acquiescence, I rang the bell and then asked, “How is Lady Susan and your sisters?”

“They are still suffering greatly from the loss of my father, as indeed am I,” he replied. “I often see from their eyes that they have been weeping, which is understandable, and I try not to show my distress. They visit his grave on an almost daily basis to deliver fresh flowers.”

I paused for a moment's reflection and then said: “Mr Fanshaw, I hope you will not be insulted if I say that you are looking very fatigued?” Indeed, he look quite exhausted.

“Alas, I cannot deny it, ma'am,” he replied with a tired smile.. “I have only now realised how much work is involved in being master of a large estate. I wonder now how my father coped, especially in recent times when he was not well. There is so much to do, sometimes I hardly know where to start. Indeed, I feel guilty in taking a few stolen hours away from the estate to visit you, but I really felt I needed a short time of relaxation..”

“Mr Fanshaw, I hope you will not take it amiss if a woman offers you advice?”

“Not at all, Mrs d'Anglais, any advice would be most acceptable.”

“Very well, I will tell you the advice my Mama offered to me when she knew I was to be married, advice she herself received from her own mama, which had been passed down through the generations. What she told me was that the important thing when becoming mistress of a great house, and I'm sure it applies just as well to the master of a large estate, is to learn the art of delegation of duties.

“She pointed out that although I was to be the mistress of Marston House, my senior staff, in this case my butler, Mr Anderson, and my housekeeper, Mrs Danvers, have many years of experience in the running of a large household and that it is best that I do not interfere in their duties; indeed, they might feel insulted if I did. Of course, if any circumstance arises which is out of the ordinary and requires a decision from Mr d'Anglais, then they will come to me and we will resolve the issue. That is what I mean by delegation.

“Now I am assuming that you have competent and honest staff who are running your estate and your house under your direction, since they were employed by Sir Frederick, so by letting them carry out their duties without interference, not only are they satisfied, but you will not feel so overwhelmed with all the minutia that running a large estate entails.”

I paused at this point. Frederick had been listening intently to me, and now for the first time he smiled with some warmth

“Mrs d'Anglais, would you be insulted if I told you that you are probably the most extraordinary woman that I know?” he asked.

“Since I presume you mean that as a compliment, Mr Fanshaw, I can hardly feel insulted,” I replied with a smile.

“You have told me in a few words exactly what I needed to know. Perhaps my Papa thought it too obvious to mention, but I must confess that the thought of delegating responsibilities had not occurred to me, and as a result I felt the need to involve myself in every detail of the estate. Well, starting immediately I will take up your suggestion.”

“One further point, Mr Fanshaw, make sure that your staff know that you appreciate the work that they do for the family, and then you will find that they strive even harder to do the best that they can. One thing more, I have a regular monthly meeting with Mr Anderson and Mrs Danvers, to discuss the running of the house, with the option for additional meetings if ever they are required, and for us that seems to work very well.”

We then took a cup of tea and continued our conversation on more general topics.

“Have you received any letters from Miss Lucy?” I asked, never doubting the reply.

“Oh yes! I do write to her quite frequently, but I confess she writes at least two letters to every one I send her.”

“Do not let that upset you, Mr Fanshaw, we ladies are inveterate letter writers. I know that Lucy is missing you greatly and finds it hard to wait until you can be married.

“I know that my Mama is in frequent contact with Lady d'Anglais and I hope that a suitable date can be arranged soon which my Mama feels is suitable.”

When Freddie Fanshaw took his leave, I felt very satisfied that I had been able to provide him with some positive advice, and I hope that when I next see him, he will be looking a lot better in himself. However, I know that the event which will most cheer him is his marriage to Lucy.

Wednesday 5th August.
For some time now I have felt the babe move within me. What a strange and wonderful experience it is! It is very obvious that it is growing. Last week I visited Mama and Emma and as is my wont, I gave Emma a hug. When she stepped back, I could see her eyes widen with astonishment, and I have little doubt that after I had departed, she would have been asking Mama 'why is Leonora so fat. Is she eating too much?' It would be at this point that Mama would have explained to her that I was carrying a baby in my tummy, which in turn no doubt led to enquiries about how it got there, and possibly how it was going to get out! I'm so glad that it is Mama's responsibility to explain it in words that Emma could understand.

While Emma was not present, fetching her music to give us a short recital, Mama asked how I was feeling and I told her I was very well, although I had developed a craving for apples. Mama laughed and said that when she was carrying me, she had craved grapes and Papa had gone to a great deal of trouble to find some from a gardener who grew grape vines in a glass house which kept the plants sufficiently warm to produce fruit all the year round. Apples can at least be stored in a cool store and be available any time.

“What about when you were carrying John and Emma?” I asked.

“Oh, potatoes for John and strawberries for Emma! I couldn't get enough of them. Papa again found the gardener a great source of them, and I was satisfied. As you can see, my cravings did result in very fine children!”

I must confess her explanation did much to reassure me as I thought I was reacting in a very strange manner to carrying a child.

Thursday 6th August.
The portraits have arrived! They were brought in a dog cart and well wrapped up in material to prevent any damage to them. I had them stood up against the wall of the drawing room, but contained my impatience until Richard came home, and we could view them together. Mr Anderson supervised the unveiling and we were extremely pleased with the results. Mrs Danvers was also present and complimented us on the portraits as being excellent likenesses. The smaller version which we are to hang in Marston House were also of very high quality.

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Tomorrow, I will write to Lady Elizabeth to inform her of their arrival. I know that she and probably Sir John will be coming to Oxford for Lucy's wedding, and they may wish to view the large portraits before sending them to Grasmere to be hung there.

Friday 7th August.
A letter from Mama arrived today. After enquiring about my health, she informed me that as I predicted, she had had to explain to Emma about the baby I was carrying inside me. Emma is such a sweet innocent child and I'm sure the news came as something of a surprise to her. At least I will not be obliged to make an explanation when I next visit her and Mama!

Monday 17th August
A letter arrived from Lady Elizabeth today. It appears that she has been in frequent contact with Lady Susan, and between them they have decided that the wedding of Lucy and Freddie can take place in October. This is sooner than I expected, but I am pleased to hear it as I would like to attend the ceremony and if it was much later, it might not be practical for me to do so. It seems that Richard's Uncle David has again been prevailed upon to obtain a special license for the ceremony through his friendship with the Archbishop, which means that it can take place privately in the family chapel at Studleigh Park with only family and close friends present. It also means that there is no impediment to my attendance as would have been the case if the wedding had taken place in such a public place as the parish church. It is not considered seemly for ladies in an advance stage of bearing a child to appear in public. Fortunately, Marston House has pleasant gardens at the rear of the house with seats and arbours where I can walk on fine days, and occasionally I take the coach out for a drive in the countryside which is looking particularly beautiful at present..

Wednesday 19th August.
I visited Mama and Emma today. I was surprised when shown into the drawing room to see Emma alone, but the reason was soon explained. As soon as I sat down and was informed that Mama would be down shortly, Emma has a question to ask me.

“Mama tells me that you are carrying a baby inside you,” she said.

“Yes, that's right,” I said. “He or she is quite lively today. I can feel the baby kicking. Would you like to feel it?”

Emma's eyes widened. “Oh yes!” she exclaimed, so I beckoned her over and placed her hand lightly on my stomach.

Suddenly she gasped: “Oh! I felt it kick!” she exclaimed. “Is it alright?”

“Oh yes, that is a good sign that it is healthy and growing strongly,” I replied.

“Mama says that when it is big enough it will come out through your belly button.”

I did not confirm an untruth, although I understood why Mama had said it, so I changed direction: “And do you know that when it is born, you will be its auntie?” I said.

“But aren't aunties old ladies?” she enquired.

“Not necessarily. An auntie is the sister of a lady who has a baby, and you are my sister, so you will be the baby's auntie.”

Emma's eyes were growing to the size of saucers. “I've never been an auntie before,” she murmured. I refrained from telling her that it is something that will probably happen many more times, not just with my children but also with her brother's children when he finally marries. Perhaps I will be an aunt to her children some time in the future.

(Note from Dora Longfort: For the next two months it seems life progresses without any particular episodes of note, but then came news of Lucy's marriage to Freddie Fanshaw. DL)

Friday 1st October.
A letter arrived from Lady Elizabeth today confirming that she, Sir John, Lucy and Sarah, together with their maids and Sir John's valet and a footman will be arriving at Marston House on Friday 16th October, a week prior to the wedding ceremony which is scheduled to take place at Studleigh Park on Saturday 24th. Lucy's bride maids will be her sister Sarah and Freddie's sisters, Phoebe and Eloise. In order that there should be no jealousy between the young women, none of them will be designated as principal bride maid. In addition, since my parents will also be attending, I was very pleased to see that an invitation had been extended to Emma to act as flower girl, something which she was very happy to accept.

The house will be quite crowded, but I'm looking forward to that, since I haven't been socialising very much, for obvious reasons. I spoke to Mr Anderson and Mrs Danvers who already anticipated the influx, in order to acquaint them with the date of the d'Anglais family arrival. Mrs Danvers informed me that she already had the matter in hand, with the rooms allocated and prepared, and extra provisions ordered, as well as some extra kitchen help for Mrs Walker. There will be several celebratory dinners and Mr Anderson will make sure that the serving staff are prepared. I am so fortunate in having Mrs Danvers and Mr Anderson. They are both utterly reliable.

Friday 16th October.
The d'Anglais family arrived this afternoon. I am feeling more and more tired, and so instead of greeting them at the door, I sat in the drawing room to receive them. When Sir John and Lady Elizabeth entered the room, I carefully stood up and made my curtsey Lady Elizabeth walked over, kissed me on the cheek and urged me to sit down again.

“You are blooming my dear,” she said. “But you must rest.”

I blushed of course and replied “Lady Elizabeth, I have been given to understand that ladies in my condition do tend to look fresh of face.”

Then Lucy and Sarah stepped forward and kissed me on the cheek. “You look lovely my dear sister,” said Sarah. “It's so nice to see you again.”

“Yes, you must sit there and rest,” said Lucy. “We will go upstairs to our rooms now and change for dinner.”

I smiled. “If you require anything, Mrs Danvers will be sure to see that you are satisfied.”

Richard arrived home early from his office and changed for dinner, while Marie helped me to my room in order to dress. The evening meal was Lady Elizabeth's preferred meal after travelling of a soup and some cold meats.

“May I ask how Lady Ellen is keeping?” I enquired.

“She is remarkably well,” replied Sir John, and Lady Elizabeth added: “we did invite her to come with us as a courtesy but I was not surprised when she declined. Four days on the road is somewhat taxing for a lady of her age. She does insist that we tell her all about it when we return.”

It has occurred to me that Grasmere Hall is going to be very quiet with
the last of the children leaving home. It might have been better if Sarah had stayed there, but she and Lucy are so close that they cannot bear to be parted.

Monday 19th October.
A few weeks prior to travelling to Oxford, Lucy wrote to me to request that Freddie's sisters be permitted a visit Marston House, so that she could display her new wedding clothes to all the young ladies. After speaking to Richard and obtaining his approbation, I wrote to Phoebe and Eloise, inviting them to visit, and received by return mail their enthusiastic acceptance. There are few things that young ladies enjoy more than viewing the latest fashions. Richard's cousin Cecily was also invited to attend and to stay with us until after the wedding.

Today was settled upon as the day of the visit, and Mrs Danvers was requested to arrange tea to be served in the afternoon in the drawing room. Lucy has brought down a very large trunk of clothes, not all of which are newly bought, but her father Sir John, is a generous man and she was encouraged not to stint on her purchases. As a result, Lucy had invested in gowns in the style of 'undress', 'half dress', 'full dress' and 'evening dress', as is appropriate for a new mistress of a household. As is generally known, those of us in the 'ton' change our dress two or three times during the day, depending on how we might be occupying ourselves. Most of her gowns were in soft shades of pink, blue and lilac as befits a young woman, In addition, Lucy had purchased a number of chemises, pelises, bonnets, shoes and stockings, as well as a number of stoles. There was only one item held back and that is the gown in which she will be married, and she wishes that to be a surprise, which was perfectly understood by the company present..

At the conclusion of a most enjoyable afternoon, we all agreed that we should meet on a regular basis for tea and conversation, even if there was no special event to be planned.

Saturday 24th October (written on 25th)
Today was Lucy and Frederick's wedding day and while I have of late tended to stay abed until about nine o'clock, today I asked Marie to make sure I was awake at eight o'clock in order that she and Anna could help me to prepare for the wedding. When I was finally dressed, my hair arranged and makeup applied, I was assisted downstairs to the dining room where I breakfasted on a soft-boiled egg, toasted bread, marmalade and hot chocolate. If that sounds a great deal, my excuse is that I am eating for two!

The two coaches were ordered for half past the hour of ten, with Sir John, Lady Elizabeth, Lucy, (her wedding gown concealed under a pelise) and her sister Sarah in the first coach, with her maid riding with the coachman. Richard, his cousin Cecily, and I travelled in the second coach. Richard had ordered the coachman to drive as smoothly as possible in view of my condition.

We arrived at Studleigh Park in good time for the ceremony which was to be held at twelve noon. Sadly, the day was overcast with occasional drizzle of rain but both houses having a portico before the front door, we were not affected by the rain. We were shown into the main drawing room and served some refreshing tea while Lucy's maid and Sarah made sure that she was in perfect appearance for the ceremony.

Studleigh Park is a very large house and has its own chapel built beside the rear, north facade, with a covered walkway between it and the house which is useful in inclement weather. We had been joined in the drawing room by various relatives of the Fanshaws, and some of their friends. Frederick appeared and effected the introductions. He looked a little nervous, which is understandable. I remember how nervous Richard appeared at our wedding. However I did notice with pleasure that he no longer looked tired like he did at his previous visit to see me, so it seemed that my advice had been useful, something he was able to confirm in a whisper to me when a chance arose.

At fifteen minutes to twelve, we were ushered into the chapel which is a charming building which I will do my best to describe. The walls are painted a pale cream colour and various details are picked out in gold leaf. There is a high vaulted ceiling, and seating for about fifty worshippers in wooden pews which had been polished to a fine finish, although there was only about twenty guests on this occasion, and before the congregation there are choir stalls to seat a dozen choristers, who today, were young boys from the local grammar school choir.

Behind the altar there are beautiful stained-glass windows in the east wall. At the rear of the chapel, above the entrance door, is the organ loft. The organ is a very fine instrument with a beautiful tone, and on this occasion was played by an organ scholar from the university (I only found this out later). He is very skilled, and played a march as Lucy walked down the aisle on the arm of her father Sir John, preceded by Emma scattering rose petals, and followed by the three bride maids.

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The ceremony was conducted by Mr Alselm Howard of St Aldgates and followed the usual pattern of the Book of Common Prayer, with hymns, including 'Jerusalem' in memory of Sir Frederick, prayers, the bride and groom taking communion, and at the end as they walked down the aisle arm in arm, another wedding march was played.

As I was attending to the service, I confess my mind wandered at one point, and it occurred to me that it might be nice to make a drawing of the chapel interior and sketch in Lucy, Frederick and the wedding party as a present for the married couple, and maybe make an extra copy to send up to Grasmere so that Lady Ellen could view the scene, and as a souvenir for Sir John and Lady Elizabeth. This is dependent on if I a satisfied with the quality of my drawing of course.

After the service, we all retired to the dining room which had a very large table, capable of seating about thirty people, and there we partook of a lavish wedding breakfast with dishes too numerous to mention. I ate sparingly as I find that carrying a child can lead to indigestion. At the conclusion, the newly married couple, who had slipped away to change before departing on their honeymoon, reappeared and bad everyone farewell before being taken by a coach to one of the inns where they would spend their wedding night and then take a stagecoach to London. I have been told this in strictest confidence by Lucy. They are going to visit her two aunts Henrietta and Juliana, in addition to some relatives of Frederick, and will be away for about two weeks before returning to Studleigh Park. I'm pleased that Frederick has been persuaded that he can leave the estate in the capable hands of his mother and the senior staff for that time.

We did not stay too late as I find myself getting increasingly tired as the baby grows larger. Lucy has promised to call upon us when they return to Oxford. Sarah also came back to stay with us until Lucy and Freddie return, at which stage she will move to Studleigh Park. No doubt Grasmere will seem empty without them. Sir John and Lady Elizabeth will stay with us for another week, and a day before they leave, Richard and I will host a dinner for them. My parents will attend and also some of their friends from Oxford.

Wednesday 28th October
This evening Richard and I hosted the dinner for Sir John and Lady Elizabeth and I am happy to record that it was a great success. Some of their friends attended, and also my parents. It was a pity that Lady Susan and her daughters could not attend as it was thought inappropriate as they are still in mourning. I cannot help feeling that Sir Frederick would have loved them to attend, but I must keep such thoughts to myself.

Friday 6th November.

A few days ago, we received a letter from Lucy and Frederick saying that they expected to arrive in Oxford yesterday and would call around to visit us and take Sarah back to Studleigh Park with them. This in fact eventuated and we entertained them to tea and received a report of their honeymoon in London, where they stayed a few days with aunts Henrietta and Juliana who are both well, in good form.and wished to be remembered to us. They also went to the theatre and ballet on several evenings and had an excellent time. I am sorry to see Sarah go as it is pleasant to have a young woman on the same social level in the house to converse with.

I must record that both Lucy and Freddie seem to be enjoying married life very much, though even my most discrete enquiries resulted in Lucy blushing scarlet! We asked if Lady Susan intended to stay in the main house and it appears that she intends to move into a small house on the property, not wishing to 'be in the way' as she put it. So now Lucy will be the mistress of the house and I expect to receive enquiries from time to time on how best to fulfill this role, even though my own experience is fairly limited.

To be continued

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Comments

New Lives

terrynaut's picture

We got another treat this chapter. I loved seeing another wedding.

The newlyweds are living a new life but the best new life is still growing within Leonora. I can't wait for that.

Thanks and kudos (number 9).

- Terry

Choreography

joannebarbarella's picture

It seems that every event and occasion must be planned and executed like some extended minuet. There is nothing impromptu in the lives of the gentry.
Everything must be executed with the utmost delicacy, even the eminently sensible advice from Leonora to Frederick on how to best run a household. Modern management techniques existed even in Regency times.

Lucy marries..

Lucy Perkins's picture

I am absolutely thrilled that the lovely Lucy has married Freddie Fanshaw.
I also absolutely loved that Leonora gave Freddie that very twenty first century "work life balance" talk,, just what was needed.
And little Emma? I think that she will make a lovely Aunty. From the state of Lucy's blushes, can I conjecture that it may not be long before Leonora and Sarah are Aunties either?
Another lovely slice of regency life..
Lucy xx

"Lately it occurs to me..
what a long strange trip its been."