"The post, sir. A letter from a Mr. Farrier in Bath."
"I don't know, my lord." Drake went over to the bookshelf and swiped it for dust. Behind him he could hear the Earl searching for the letter opener, then finding it, and the the slicing of the paper. The Earl was unfolding the paper now, and from the sound of it he was tapping the letter opener on the desk, which was bad for the wood...
Suddenly the tapping stopped.
"My lord?"
Suddenly the tapping stopped.
"My lord?"
"Good God."
There was a definitive silence which Drake seriously hoped could be acounted for solely by one of the Earl's excessive bouts of melodrama. He rather felt he shouldn't ask, however.
"Poor Edward..."
"Is the Gentlemen alright?"
"He's--engaged."
"You don't seem pleased."
"Only worried, Drake. He's engaged to Davina."
There was a definitive silence which Drake seriously hoped could be acounted for solely by one of the Earl's excessive bouts of melodrama. He rather felt he shouldn't ask, however.
"Poor Edward..."
"Is the Gentlemen alright?"
"He's--engaged."
"You don't seem pleased."
"Only worried, Drake. He's engaged to Davina."
"Mrs. Wells?"
"Precisely. It appears they met in Bath."
"She's a bit old for marriage, wouldn't you say, my lord?"
"41. Two years younger than him. But they're both old. I--I suppose he'll lend her his purse, and she'll leave him to his books, and it will be a marriage of the utmost convenience."
"Surely it could be something more..."
"You have not seen the lady, Drake. She's formidable. Edward was probably just crushed by the weight of her presence and proposed as a defence mechanism..."
Drake realized the Earl had indeed gone off on a fit of melodrama after all, and turned to see if the books themselves needed dusting.
"Precisely. It appears they met in Bath."
"She's a bit old for marriage, wouldn't you say, my lord?"
"41. Two years younger than him. But they're both old. I--I suppose he'll lend her his purse, and she'll leave him to his books, and it will be a marriage of the utmost convenience."
"Surely it could be something more..."
"You have not seen the lady, Drake. She's formidable. Edward was probably just crushed by the weight of her presence and proposed as a defence mechanism..."
Drake realized the Earl had indeed gone off on a fit of melodrama after all, and turned to see if the books themselves needed dusting.
"They've invited me to their wedding in the spring. In London. Imagine it!--with Davina's taste it will be an atrocity, no doubt."
Drake wondered if the Earl would really go. "What will you do, my lord?"
Drake wondered if the Earl would really go. "What will you do, my lord?"
4 comments:
Ha! He'll dance I bet. That is one set of clutches into which he will not be falling. :-D
I like how you used Drake to show the Earl's "progress" lately.
I can't wait to meet this Davina. She does sound like a formidable woman.
Oh boy! More of the infamous Earl! He is really growing on me--so cheeky. I am happy to see he is 'coming out' a bit more then earlier times.
Don't despair, guys! I just took pics for another post last night and I've got two more planned around that one. So you can expect three posts all around the end of this week...
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