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Chapter 5
Three weeks after Michael had left his home with his family with the plans to journey all the way to Bath, Fitz sat in his study reviewing the letters for the day. As agreed, Fitz had written to all the lords he knew about in the neighbourhood with the goal of finding a young lady to marry by ways of an arranged marriage.
Fitz hadn’t paid any attention to rank when constructing his letters, simply addressing each gentleman by their surname instead of their title. He’d followed Michael’s advice and tried to focus on succeeding more than arranging the best match for his own title.
But even though Fitz had lowered his standards when writing to all the lords in the area, only one had replied to his request with the willingness of offering his daughter for an arranged marriage. All the other lords either didn’t have a daughter or currently had their daughters in Town to enjoy the Season. Fitz hadn’t even taken into consideration that many of his prospective brides wouldn’t even be close by because of the Season. But at least Fitz had one certain option as he analysed Lord Casey’s letter.
Lord Mavis,
I have reviewed your request, and after discussing the opportunity with my daughter, whose name is Diana and is nineteen years of age, I will agree to the event of an arranged marriage. Diana is not only of age but of good disposition. Educated, humble, and with a good sense of purpose. She would make any man a happy husband.
Sincerely,
Lord Casey
Fitz read the letter a few times, trying to piece together a picture of this Diana between the roughly written words and sentences. He wondered why she wasn’t attending a Season in Town, even though her father was only a marquess. However, with no other offers, Fitz had to accept this one if he was going to succeed at producing a large family one day.
Trying to view his reply as though it was a business arrangement, Fitz constructed a letter to be delivered to Lord Casey at the earliest convenience. He wanted to meet the family, and more importantly, his bride to be. With that in mind, Fitz wrote to Lord Casey, inviting him and his family to dine with him in a few nights.
The two estates were relatively close by, and the journey would be a short one for the family. But besides hosting Michael and his family, Fitz hadn’t invited a family to dine with him in a very long time. He knew he should be contemplating what he would wear and what Cook should prepare for the dinner, but the only thing that Fitz was really concerned about was getting along with whom he was about to marry.
When Fitz had finished his reply to Lord Casey, agreeing to marry Miss Casey, and to have the family for dinner, he tried to turn his mind to other matters of business. He opened all his other letters for the day, making adjustments in his ledger when there were numbers to subtract or add. He tried hard to place his total focus into his work, trying to fill his mind with letters, replies, and adjustments. But more than anything, Fitz’s mind kept returning to the letter he’d just written to Lord Casey. He’d even started to glance at it more and more as he lay at the front of the mahogany desk with the rest of the letters that would need posting for the day.
Knowing that he wouldn’t be able to focus today, and that the letters he received didn’t need to be opened right away, Fitz left his office and made his way through the house towards the gardens. As he stepped out onto the well-kept lawn, he made his way past the finely trimmed hedges and towards the rose bushes that had just started to bloom.
The air was filled with the scent of spring, of flowers blooming, and all manner of foliage growth. A warm breeze swept through the gardens, drifting by and causing Fitz to finally take a deep breath and relax with the passing of the wind.
The one thing Fitz had worked on doing was keeping his mind blank as much as possible. He didn’t like to dwell or think about personal things too often because he didn’t want to become depressed or start sulking again. But he couldn’t ignore the small feeling of panic that was working its way through him. Fitz undid his leather vest and set it on the marble bench that had been positioned between two hedges to allow the user to sit and look at the flowers without being disturbed. Fitz used it as a place to keep his clothes tidy as he also pulled off his boots and stockings, placing them beside his vest so he could feel the cool grass against his bare feet.
In this manner, Fitz started walking around the flower beds and rose bushes. His mind was filled with all manner of sensations, to the delicate strands of grass underneath his feet, to the soft petals as he ran his fingers over the blooming roses.
Fitz took several deep breaths, filling his lungs with the scent of spring and the warmness of the day. He lived a simple life, having no need of a companion when he found such simple pleasures as these. But that particular thought led to another, and he was back to thinking about the appearance of Diana Casey.
He wondered all manner of things about her. What did she look like? Did she have a decent temperament? Why was she not married if she was already nineteen years old? Perhaps she was not a beauty or of good company? Could he make children with a woman he wasn’t a little bit attracted to?
“Come now, Fitzwilliam. Get a grip on yourself,” Fitz said out loud to himself as he raised his arms over his head and stretched, the bottom of his muslin shirt pulling free of his trousers and sagging a bit around his middle as he lowered his arms again.
He felt more comfortable and relaxed after doing away with the vest and just enjoying the freedom of the loose muslin shirt on his torso. He knew he was becoming tanner from all the outdoor exercise and hoped that his appearance would be as equally appealing to Diana as she might be to him.
Feeling like he had some control over his thoughts once more, Fitz returned to the marble bench and put back on his stockings and boots. With his vest draped over his arm, he made his way back inside and towards his study to finish up the day’s work. There, he found Mr Bingley picking up the outgoing post for the day.
“Your Grace, are there any letters you’d like me to have posted for you?” the butler asked as he bowed towards him. Mr Bingley was an older man and new to his household. Though well into his years, he was well experienced in his duties as a butler and did a wonderful job at foretelling his needs.
“I may have a few more later, but they can be posted tomorrow,” Fitz replied. “There is one particular letter there, one made out to a Lord Casey. He’s local, and therefore I’d like one of the footmen to go and deliver it right away.”
“Of course, Your Grace,” Mr Bingley replied, though he looked a bit surprised by the request. Fitz figured that it would be somewhat surprising since he’d never made such a request before.
After the butler left, Fitz took to his chair behind his desk and placed his leather vest on the back of the wing-backed chair made of burgundy fabric. As he made himself comfortable, he once more began to look through the letters of the day, making adjustments where needed.
The next time he was interrupted, this time it was Mrs Stanley coming into the room with an afternoon tea tray. She set it on the edge of the large desk and began to serve him a cup of tea before arranging a few sandwiches and pickled cucumbers on a plate for him. Fitz knew that the time was now or never to announce Fitz’s decision to host a family for dinner.
“Mrs Stanley, would you please let Cook know that we are to be expecting guests in two nights for a small dinner party,” Fitz said as he kept his eyes on the letter he was reading. When Mrs Stanley set the porcelain teacup and plate on the desk, she did so with a loud clank. Fitz looked up to see the curious look upon Mrs Stanley’s face and did his best not to smile. It wasn’t often he could surprise his housekeeper or butler, and he found it a little amusing at the moment.
“Are Lord Douglas and his family expected back so soon?” Mrs Stanley asked as she returned to her task and finished fixing him a plate of food from the tea tray.
“No, I don’t expect them back till the fall. I’ve invited Lord Casey and his family to dine with me in two nights,” Fitz explained as he carefully picked up the teacup and took a few sips of the hot drink. Aromas of lavender and black tea wafted into his face as he drank. It was his favourite combination, and he appreciated Mrs Stanley for always paying the highest detail to his preferences.
“That sounds quite lovely, Your Grace. I think a good bit of company will do you good,” she replied in a cheery voice. “Just ring the bell if you need anything.” Mrs Stanley had been the housekeeper in the home since he was a small child. She’d always been very dutiful and cheerful to add.
“Thank you, Mrs Stanley,” Fitz commented before the older woman left the room. With the news of him hosting a dinner party, he was sure that by the end of the day the entire household would know of the details. The servants would all speculate as to why he had chosen now of all times to host a dinner party. And once he had officially met Miss Diana Casey, he would send a letter to Town to post an announcement of their engagement.
Wanting to keep his mind busy, once Fitz had finished with his tea and meal and had opened up all the letters of the day, he turned his attention to writing any other reply letters in reference to business. And when his tasks all seemed to be completed, he put away all his important paperwork and his ledger before stepping out behind the desk to wander down the hallway to the library. There, he found a book of interest and pleasantly filled the rest of his day with reading a book so his mind could not wander or fear.
