A Marquess to Remember

January 1814

As Marquess, your first and most urgent task is to secure the future of Rainton through marriage and the siring of an heir.

Therefore, act swiftly and with discretion.

Select a bride whose fortune will enhance the estate, whose temper will benefit your domestic harmony, and whose bloodline is worthy of our illustrious family.

Above all, choose with your head, not your heart.

Any mistake in this matter could lead to the ruination and collapse of everything I have spent so many years striving to achieve…

Extract of a letter from Augustus Claridge to Leopold Claridge upon the latter’s elevation to the marquessate,