Chapter 27 #3
The following morning, Lord Harold Smythe, Earl of Granville, knocked on the door of Ashbury House smartly at eleven o’clock in the morning.
He was announced to the Countess and her daughter who were sitting in a front facing drawing room that presented a very nice view of Russell Square.
He was informed that the Countess’s younger son and his betrothed were taking a walk around the square.
After the normal pleasantries, Granville asked if Lord Ashbury was home and was informed that he was in his study.
When he was shown in, the two peers shook hands.
They did not know each other well, but each respected the abilities of the other.
When the visitor requested a private interview with his daughter, Ashbury asked if a proposal was not precipitous given the length of their acquaintance.
His visitor was amused and agreed that he and Lady Sarah did not know each other well enough for such a step which was why he wanted to request a courtship, so that they could discover if they both in fact wanted to take that next step.
Lord Ashbury had no objection to the man, but he asked for an informal courtship for at least three weeks and then if they both desired it, a formal courtship would be announced.
Ashbury knew that Granville was not known to toy with any ladies.
He could not remember hearing that Lord Smythe had ever been known to pay even the slightest attention to anyone.
That he preferred his daughter above all was not a surprise as her father knew that his Sarah was a rare gem.
The informal courtship would ensure that if either side decided to end the relationship, then neither would be bound by a formalised courtship, nor would there be any embarrassment given that they met less than two weeks previously.
Lord Granville agreed to the request without reservation and was granted the interview with his host’s daughter.
The caller was accompanied to the drawing room by the master of the house who informed his only daughter that Lord Granville had requested a private interview with her and after ascertaining that Lady Sarah did not object, the lady’s parents withdrew leaving the door open.
“Lady Sarah, when I was told about you by my and your brother Ian’s common friend, Lord Hilldale, I was afraid that I would be meeting another debutant with no substance who would only be interested in bettering her position in society.
Instead in you; I met a true lady of consequence.
Not because of wealth, connections, or title, although you have all, but because of the person I am learning that you are.
” He looked at her for confirmation that she wanted him to proceed and she gave a slight nod to encourage him.
“I am sure that you have heard that I never pay any marked attention to any lady, never dance the first, and until the ball when I danced with you, outside of a relative, I had never danced more than one set.
If I had not feared moving too fast for your preferences, I would have applied for the final set as well.
“I am sure that we will always challenge each other and that you will never defer to me simply to be agreeable. I had initially come here today to request a formal courtship. I believe in us; we would make a future, which I had not believed possible for myself. It is something that I have always craved and envied in our friends and family we just parted with. However, your father asked that if you agree to anything today, that it be an informal courtship of a three-week duration at the end of which, if we both agree, we would make the courtship formal.” He took a deep breath and leapt, as his future was in the balance and no one had ever gained true happiness by being passive.
“If getting to know me is not something you desire, then I will respect your wishes and not importune you on the subject as your happiness is of utmost import to me. Lady Sarah, would you like to get to know me better with the possible outcome being a formal courtship?”
“Yes, my Lord. I too would like to get to know you. Any man who is not cowed by my opinions is worth knowing better,” she gave him a playfully challenging look much like Lady Elizabeth teased Darcy with, but she was tense as she watched his reaction to her, “and if you do not mind a woman beating you at chess, we will get on well.” She waited, and when he chuckled, she relaxed.
Humour, she had long known, was one of the traits the most successful of couples shared as they laughed together.
“I welcome the attempt, Lady Sarah, but there is no guarantee that you will prevail, Madam. I take chess very seriously,” Granville volleyed.
“As do I sir, as do I,” she promised archly, and they laughed together, the tension gone and it was Sarah and Harry bantering with one another and enjoying that they matched each other in wit and expectations.
After her parents returned to the drawing room, they were informed that the couple had agreed to an informal courtship.
After tea, the would-be suitor left for his townhouse where he would stay until the Ashbys returned to Surrey.
He would follow and be a guest at Sherwood Park, which neighboured the estate of Ashbury.
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On the third day of travel, the north-bound convoy of vehicles arrived at Snowhaven.
The manor house consisted of the old Matlock Castle, and looked like it had welcoming arms attached to the castle walls reaching out on either side of the drive.
Two wings had been added by the current Earl of Matlock to increase the living space and number of chambers for guests over the years.
Unlike many others, the Fitzwilliams had not allowed their castle to fall into a state of disrepair.
The Castle and lands had been presented to the first Earl of Matlock in December of 1485 as Sir Frederick Fitzwilliam, a knight, had supported and significantly helped the winning side in the Wars of the Roses.
As his reward, he had been elevated and presented with the title of Earl of Matlock and gifted the Castle, and the vast Snowhaven estate.
Reggie and Elaine Fitzwilliam and the rest of the family loved, and were justifiably very proud, of their home. The land was flatter at Snowhaven than Pemberley or Dovedale, as Snowhaven was farther from the peak district than the other estates.
There was an ongoing friendly rivalry between the Fitzwilliams and the Darcys as to whose estate was the better.
The Derwent River ran through Snowhaven, whose water flowed from the split with the Trent River in Derby.
One of the Fitzwilliam ancestors dug a canal that fed into a manmade lake to the right of the manor, that Sir Edward was happy to hear was a fisherman’s paradise.
In the front of the manor was the formal garden with a complex maze that the Fitzwilliam siblings and their cousins loved playing in and hiding from each other in their younger days.
William informed them that the Fitzwilliam estate had more formal gardens than Pemberley.
Lizzy was pleased to note that nature was still given free rein in the surrounding woodlands where she was certain she would discover a lot of paths where she could indulge her love of walking and riding.
As the carriages pulled up to the circular drive in front of the castle, the travellers were met by the butler, Mr Hugh Hopkinson, and the housekeeper, Mrs Loretta Sherman.
Both had been in their positions for over twenty years and kept Snowhaven running like clockwork.
As it was only an hour to dinner, the Gardiner and Darcy parties accepted an invitation to break overnight and continue the short journey to their destinations on the morrow.
The first-time guests followed the housekeeper to their chambers.
The three Bennets, one Collins, and one Jacobson were assigned chambers next to the Darcys, who always used the same bedchambers in the family wing when visiting.
Tiffany’s chambers were just the other side of the suite that Lizzy and Charlotte were sharing.
Andrew and Marie along with their son and daughter repaired to the east wing apartments, which were their home whenever they were in residence at Snowhaven. The estate of Hilldale was less than twenty miles to the east of Snowhaven just over the border in Staffordshire.
The family chambers were in the castle and the guest chambers were situated in the west wing.
The only thing that was original about the castle was the walls.
The inside of the castle had been completely refurbished and was anything but drafty and uncomfortable as many assumed a castle would be. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
After washing off the dust from the road and changing for dinner, everyone met in the large family sitting room.
Elizabeth could not but notice how much more relaxed the man that she loved was here in his home shire, less than two hours from his beloved Pemberley.
Even though they had not planned to break the journey this day, the change did not set him into a flurry of replanning showing that he was not nearly as rigid as she had once thought and that he was able to adjust plans as needed.
On the morrow, they would depart after they broke their fasts and all the travellers would continue on to Dovedale as had been originally decided.
‘The more I am near him, the more I fall in love with him. If he had shown me this side of him from the first time we met, we would be married already. Have I forced him to wait too long? Will he resent me?’ As Elizabeth thought about him, she had a beatific smile that spread to her eyes and beyond as she felt warm all over even while some self-doubt crept in.