Chapter Three
There comes a certain time in a young
gentleman’s life when he begins to contemplate marriage. Thomas Sterley had
woken early and had spent almost an hour in front of the mirror dressing; while
he dressed, he had been contemplating this very subject “For he reasoned that
as a member of the aristocracy he should play his part in the furtherance of
his family’s good name. Thus, he had concluded that he should find himself a
wife. However as he contemplated this he began to find that his options were some
what limited, Not been a man with an abundance of bravery for he very much the
romantic could write about men dieing on battle fields. However, he felt no
compunction to do this himself. He had dismissed out of hand the idea that he
might rise through the services in any military fashion. The church he found
did not offer to him the sort of life, which he expected as the elder son of a
large and noble family. Thus Thomas began to meditate on the matter of finding
a woman of noble birth who in due season would bring forth heirs and in the meanwhile
be his companion and soul mate. For Thomas reasoned that any lady of a noble
house should be of fair dispersion and have a fortune or at the very least be
of independent means. Of course, a dowry would be most welcome.
For to his way of thinking Thomas wanted a
young woman who would be his fair Juliet to his Romeo and who would not find it
unpleasant to accompany him to the continent. Italy
would be a good place to start for Thomas had heard of late that Lord Byron had
spent some time in Italy and
found that Rome
had been a city worth visiting.
He furthermore bethought that Rome would be a good and
respectable place to begin his own serious writings in romantic poetry. for he
had already put down in his note book the beginning s of a poem which showed
promise of which he had not yet begun to read to the family lest they mock him
for his romantic notions for until now most of his writing had been half in
Jest and half serious.
Now as he tied the final knot of his cravat
he began to wonder what his Mamma, would have to say if she knew of his idea of
finding a wife. Of course, like any good and noble lady she would be overjoyed
that he had finally begun to grow up. For as she put it for Lady Ann had for
quite some time berated her first born son to do exactly that.
Of his father, he was more then a little
concerned that the old gentleman might take offence and buy him a commission in
the guards or some other frightful regiment. Thus, Thomas reasoned that before
the morning was out to have a few word in the privacy of the drawing room with
his Mamma to forestall any plan that his Papa might have in mind for sending
him to the war front.
It was a little after 11 o’clock that the chance came for Lady Ann was arranging
flowers in a verse when Thomas came upon her “
“Mamma I would like your opinion upon a
matter of the heart” he said “Oh Tom what is it now another verse that you
cannot find an ending to?” she enquired with a pained look upon her face. for
the dear woman was used to the young man asking advice in fact many of his
verses had shown a little of her talent not that the good lady would ever have
made it known for she kept a diary in which she wrote much and which she never
showed to any one least of all her husband. Whom she considered would take
affront at some of her more forward thinking writing. For on occasion, the
heroines of her short stories would be swept of there feet by young knights
while the young ladies in her stories would invariably be that class of woman
who had a heaving bosom, which grew, flashed as her cheeks when confronted by
the hero of the story.
“No Mamma, I have decided that it is time
that I take a wife and I need your help deciding on who the fortunate young
woman will be” he said “ “Oh Tom you must not jest so with me for a moment I
thought that you might just be serious” said Lady Ann.
“Indeed Mamma I am most serious otherwise I
would not have sort you out to ask for your assistance” replied the young man
now blushing and loosening the necktie from his neck as his anxiety grew.
“Tom this is wonderful news” said Lady Ann
rising from her place at the table and coming over to take him by the hand
“pray tell who the young lady shall be? She inquired of him. “I have not yet
set my mind upon any particular lady as the thought only occurred to me this
very morning,” he said.
“I see,” said Lady Ann as she once more
took a seat at the table and took up her pen “I shall have to write to a number
of our relatives and hear which of there daughters are of marriageable age” she
said. “Mamma please do and may I make so bold as to ask only those of a clear
dispersion further more they should have a large dowry” the young man
said. “Very well Tom leave me to think”
she said it worried her to find that the
whole matter on which her first born son had sort her out was not really a
matter of the heart but more a matter of economics. For it was true that most
people in her class married with a fortune in mind she was more inclined to the
romantic nature of the event. She would however apply her mind and considerable
though to the matter at hand.
No comments:
Post a Comment