little miss austin

"Engaged?" Ivo was surprised, "With whom?"

"A Marquess, Lord of Clydesdale, son of the ninth Duke of Hamilton."

Ivo thought about it and said, "I remember the Marquis of Clydesdale is very old, right?"

"Yes, he's an old man." Alice made a grimace, and said disgustedly, "He's 19 years older than Susan! It's terrible! The Marquis is enough to be her father!"

She called Byron's servant, told him to bring the writing-table, and quickly wrote a note which she sent to the Hobhouse house.

"I don't understand what she is thinking. Maybe she is used to Mr. Beckford's care, so she wants to find a husband who is old enough to be her father. But her grandmother's surname is Hamilton, and she is actually a distant relative with the Duke." She said Sighing, "I also know that it is the best choice for her to marry the Marquis. The Marquis will inherit the title of Duke in the future. The title is high enough to protect her and her father, but what about love?"

"Sometimes, there are many people who cannot be united because of love."

"How sad that would be!"

"Maybe Miss Beckford doesn't feel very sorry."

"You're not her, how do you know?"

Ivo pursed his lips.

To say that he has finally figured out one thing now is that Alice thinks love is very important, and it is impossible to consider marriage without love.Speaking of marriage, she is not afraid of it. What she fears is the birth of a child that must come after marriage.At the end of last year, her third sister-in-law Elizabeth died of puerperal fever after giving birth, which further deepened her fear.

In the first three months of this year, she went undercover in a textile factory in the suburbs of London, but the informant Wesley found looked at her hands and said she was unqualified. No matter how you look at it, it is not the hands of a pair of working people, so she was forced to give up the idea of ​​trying the hard life of a female factory worker.

Although I didn't really enter the textile factory, I went to live in a worker's family for a few days to experience the daily life and three meals of the real working people. Unfortunately, I didn't persist for a few days and was defeated by fleas. , bathed, washed my hair, and changed into clean clothes from inside to outside. Finally, because my hair was too thick to dry, I simply cut it short. It took me a week to get rid of fleas.

After that, Alice could only admit it, and it went on and on, mainly in interviews.

She told Byron about the flea incident, and complained that the flea bites made red packets all over her body, which took a long time to disappear, but still left scars.Henry said that she was too troublesome, and Wesley also felt that she was too troublesome, and kept saying that she could do what she wanted to do without so much trouble.

Byron made fun of her and was almost pinned down and spanked by her.

She used to be a girl who could think very well. She often had new ideas, knew how to play and loved to play, so they were able to play with her, instead of being like other girls who could neither play nor play together. I think they are too delicate and busy.

Alice is also "too busy," but that is of a different nature.

They weren't lovers anymore, but it didn't seem to be any different, except that he couldn't kiss her anymore.

He figured it out on Madeira Island. According to Alice’s thinking, before she recovered, she would not even be willing to stay in the same room with you, for fear of infecting you, so she and Oliver were lovers before. , but Oliver must not have kissed her.So he was the only man who had ever kissed her.

This made him very happy, and felt that he was still different in her heart.The sisters all said that a girl will definitely remember the first boy who kissed her. Alice was definitely the first kiss, and so was he.

Byron said he should meet other lovely girls, they don't have to be special, they just need to be gentle and beautiful.

There are many gentle and beautiful girls, but no one can impress him like Alice. If he looks for his future wife according to her appearance, it is basically impossible to find him.

Since she decided to go to Susan Beckford's engagement banquet, she had to give her a gift, not an engagement gift, but a future wedding gift. Susan wrote to her, saying that the wedding date would be in April next year.Alice has been busy these days trying to find a suitable wedding gift.

But for a girl who grew up very rich, I really don't know what kind of gift is suitable.It should be precious, not too shabby, but not too expensive. After all, the Austin family is just an ordinary bourgeois upstart, not a rich man.

She was busy writing another note, which was sent to John Hobhouse, asking him to inquire about the Marquis' temperament and preferences.

The Marquess of Clydesdale, the future Duke of Hamilton, is very famous.Also luck.

The Duke of Hamilton is a Scottish nobleman. Originally, the Marquis—named Alexander Douglas-Hamilton—was not the heir of the Duke. Hamilton’s surname was Douglas. The blood relationship of the Douglas family can be traced back to King James IV of Scotland, Alexander’s grandfather His grandfather, Earl William Douglas, married the daughter of the first Duke of Hamilton. Because the first Duke of Hamilton had no male heir, the duke title was given to his younger brother. After his younger brother became the second duke, he had no son, William Douglas Changed her surname to Douglas-Hamilton after marriage and inherited most of the titles of her late father-in-law;

Later, the title passed to Alexander's uncle, the sixth Duke, but neither of Alexander's two cousins ​​had a male heir, so the title went to Alexander's father, Archibald. Pile of titles: Duke of Brandon, Marquess of Clydesdale, Marquess of Douglas, Earl of Arran, Earl of Lanall, Earl of Cambridge, Lord Arwen, etc.Tradition is that the father inherits all titles, but he is generally referred to only by the highest title, and his sons may be addressed by other titles of lower rank, so Alexander is sometimes called Marquess of Clydesdale, sometimes Also known as the Marquess of Douglas, but not the Duke of Hamilton or Brandon.

Alexander Douglas-Hamilton was born in 1767, 1786 years older than Susan Beckford, who was born in 19. He is 42 years old now. He is still a handsome man in his middle age; and his future father-in-law, William Beckford, was born in 20, which means that the age difference between the husband and wife is only 1760 years——

With so many titles and territories in the Hamilton family, there must be no shortage of money. Alexander is not only a good lover, but also an art collector, which he has a lot in common with his future father-in-law.

Alexander is already a member of the House of Lords and a Whig. Beckford once served as a member of the House of Commons and is also a Whig; including George Byron, who just won a seat in the House of Lords in March this year, is also a Whig, and John Hobhouse was not yet an MP, but his political leanings were also Whig.

So except for Alice who is a little dissatisfied that Alexander Hamilton is too old, everyone else is quite satisfied.

Even Susan has nothing to dissatisfy.She invited Alice to her residence before the engagement banquet, and Beckford bought her a manor outside London as part of her dowry.

She happily told Alice how Alexander was so talkative, so chic, and dressed very fashionable, no, he was fashionable, whatever he wore, the upper-class men in London were busy imitating him ;Whatever he played, soon a large group of people were busy imitating him.She recommended her friend's works to Alexander, so the nobles in the whole of England were busy ordering books in bookstores.

"But he has been talking sweet words to other women for 20 years. If he can't even impress you, then he has failed too much." Alice said objectively.

"Then I don't care! Even if he says a lot of sweet words that can fill the English Channel, isn't it true that no one can be his wife? Think about it, I will become a duchess in the future!"

"Then do I want to salute you when I see you?"

"No, but you may have to bow to Alexander, I mean, after he inherits the dukedom, and that may be years away."

"How old is the Duke?"

"69 is old."

"That's really not young!"

Indeed, in this era of underdeveloped medicine, a cold may kill you, and an inexplicable fever may kill you quickly. To live to 70 years old is definitely a long life.

"Does Mr. Beckford like Hamilton?"

"It's okay. You know him. He's always been a bit weird. Anyway, he agreed to the proposal, which means he doesn't object."

This is true.Beckford has always been reckless, rich and self-willed. If he really didn't like Hamilton, he would not agree with him to propose to his daughter.Perhaps the two became friends because of their common interests, and then Beckford persuaded Hamilton to marry his daughter.Anyway, if marrying an unreliable earl with little money, it would be better to marry a man he likes.

The advantage of a playboy is that he knows how to please women. It is normal for Susan to be fascinated by him. It cannot be blamed that Susan can't resist sweet words. A man's sweet mouth is indeed very deceptive; Susan is from appearance, family background, and wealth. It is said that they are all top choices. If Beckford hadn't been tricked so hard back then and failed to get the title of Lord, Susan would be a Lady now, and she would be even more matched with the Duke's son.No matter how rich Beckford is, he is still a commoner.

"Didn't you say before that you don't like men who are much older than you?"

Susan sighed, "I said that, but don't you think young men, no, boys, are too indeterminate? Hamilton is a playboy, but the good thing is that he has seen all kinds of women, It’s unlikely that any mistress will have an illegitimate child after marriage.” She smiled bitterly, “I also want to have a boy who loves me like a fool like Ivo, or a handsome young man like Oliver, but even if you grew up together Big, it's hard to guarantee that he won't have an affair in the future."

"There is really no way to solve this problem. Who can know the 'future'? People's hearts will change. Unlike you, I dare not try."

"Well, I don't dare. But think about it, Hamilton is 42 years old, and he will be 50 years old in a few years. At that time, what he should worry about is whether I will find a young lover, and I don't worry about him!"

Alice burst into laughter immediately, "You're absolutely right!"

These days, there are not a few aristocratic women who have lovers. King George III and his wife, Queen Charlotte, are deeply in love with each other, and there are no common scandals in the royal family such as mistresses and illegitimate children. However, his sons are from the Prince of Wales and below. It's all messed up, and mistresses range from duchesses and countesses to actresses; even in other European countries, it is not uncommon for kings or princes to have openly married mistresses.This is still the royal family that has attracted much attention. If you are not related to the royal family and have any mistresses in private, even more.

This shows that whether it is the law or moral standards, it has nothing to do with the powerful and rich. Those who make the rules do not need to abide by the rules. The rules can only be used to restrain those who are powerless to resist. You may not be able to do whatever you want, but if you have the power and money, you will be able to do whatever you want.

Alice then said that she had already set a time to travel, and she would not be able to come back when she got married.

"I'll give you the wedding present first in a few days."

Susan was very sorry, "You should see my wedding, the wedding will be officiated by the Archbishop, and the Prince of Wales will also be present."

"The Prince of Wales is so fat, can he go out?"

Susan laughed happily, "Maybe I can't come, just let his agent represent it, don't care about him. But I heard that the Prince of Wales likes Jane's novels very much. copy of all Jane's novels."

"I've heard about it. His agent came to ask Henry, which wife of my family is J. Austen?"

"Don't tell him!" Susan said hastily.

"Yes, I won't tell him." If the Austin family refuses to tell, the Prince of Wales has no choice but to let it go.

"It's a pity that I can't go with you. Tell me, you've recovered from your illness, and you didn't say you went to Fengshan to stay with me for a few months. Now you have to go abroad for several years. When you come back, I might have children." .”

Alice sighed, "You know that's what I'm most afraid of, don't tell me anything, don't make me worry about you. You said, why are the most dangerous things in the world only women can do, and those damn men think it's A piece of cake?"

After thinking for a while, I added, "Including my brothers think so too. Look at Elizabeth, she got married at the age of 18 and had 35 children by the age of 11. Oh, no, it was 12 children. They How terrible it is! Also, Anne, the first wife of the eldest brother James, died when the second child was born. The current wife, Mary, gave birth to only three children and gave up. It's not that they don't want to keep having kids, it's that Mary hurt her body when she gave birth to Carolina and couldn't have any more kids."

Susan's face turned pale, "Stop it, stop it!"

"Anyway you know what I mean, get some exercise, go for more walks, go for a jog, get a good doctor, have fewer babies, and space the kids out longer."

"You are an unmarried girl, you are not ashamed to say this!" Susan was a little shy.

"This is what my mother usually said to our sisters, except for the last two sentences. Your aunts should have someone tell you this, or find a doctor to ask for clarification—" But think about it, doctors are still using bloodletting therapy to treat All diseases, hot spring bath cures all diseases, it feels really outrageous, not reliable at all, so I have to sigh and give up.

When it came to Susan's engagement party, Alice, Ivo Gordon, George Byron, and John Hobhouse were all there.

British upper class society is strictly hierarchical, and other guests know that Alice is only "Miss", Ivo and Hobhouse are only "Mr", and they know that they are not of high origin; Byron is Baron Baron, and he is qualified to attend the engagement banquet .But since Susan is only "Miss", there is no problem.

It is said to be a banquet, but it is actually a ball, held at the London palace of the Duke of Hamilton.Alexander Hamilton introduced his fiancée, Miss Beckford, and her father, before leading Susan to the first dance before the guests entered the dance floor.

Byron and Hobhouse, without chaperones, took turns dancing with Alice.

Susan called Alice over, introduced Alexander to him, and her fiancé invited Alice to dance.

The temperament of the 42-year-old experienced and well-spoken senior aristocrat is indeed different from that of Ivo's young people. He is mature, personable, and extremely charming.Alexander also mentioned 3 young people. He is not very interested in politics and indulges in pleasure, but his political inclinations are there. Of course, he hopes that his party will grow stronger and stronger.George III suppressed the Whig Party in the early days of his accession to the throne. That is to say, the king's health has failed, and he has not cared about politics for many years and has no energy to suppress political opponents.

The topic of young men was briefly mentioned, and Alexander said that Susan attached great importance to her as a best friend, and when she returned from traveling in Europe, he invited her to live in the palace where they lived after marriage for a few months.

Ivo, Byron, and Hobhouse all spoke highly of Alexander Hamilton. They thought he was very charismatic, with a calm and elegant attitude, strong social skills, and high artistic accomplishment. The palace was full of artworks. All European countries have them, from ancient Greek marble statues to paintings by well-known and unknown European painters, in short, they reveal low-key magnificence everywhere.

After meeting Alexander, Alice also felt that the age difference of 19 years was not a big deal. Mr. Beckford was a smart man, and the husband he chose for his daughter would not be so bad; After giving birth to a few children, he has no energy to go out and do things, and the safety factor is greatly increased; besides, he also has a hobby that consumes a lot of time and money: art collection, this kind of person is also very artistic. Gao, most people with high artistic accomplishment have the stink of self-proclaimed aloofness, that is, only carefree girls like Susan whose biggest task in life is how to spend money can get into his eyes, and he doesn't like that kind of vulgarity woman.

Susan, who has never been worried about money, has a kind of natural demeanor, which is very rare, and girls from other rich families have to worry about the future dowry, because there will always be heirs in the family who want to take it away. Most of the family property, Susan has no brothers, so she doesn't have this kind of trouble.

However, the girl before marriage is a pearl, and the woman after marriage may become fish-eyed. Let's see if Alexander will suddenly realize that the little fairy will care about money with him in the future.

Alice’s wedding gift to Susan was a few sets of earrings that she made herself. The earrings can be worn without having pierced ears. Always new.

The gift for the future duchess should not be too simple, the material must be selected well, so I went to a goldsmith to order a gold wire, because the gold is too soft, a little brass is added inside, otherwise the hardness is not enough; I chose a few of the gemstones that Francis brought back. Alice put away the big gemstones by herself. Mrs. Austin felt that the small gemstones could not be sold at a high price, so she never took them out for sale. It was when Francis got married. , gave him more than half, and Alice kept the smallest batch at that time, which happened to be useful now.

The hardest gemstone is diamond, followed by ruby, sapphire, sapphire and other colors, but they are collectively called sapphire and emerald.Red sapphire is aluminum oxide, and emerald is beryllium-aluminosilicate mineral, which is not as hard as red sapphire.The small gemstones in Alice's hands come in all colors, and the earrings are also very beautiful. They are not very expensive, but they are very special.Rich people, what they want is not how expensive, but unique.

However, the earrings have no technical content and are easy to imitate. Alice never thought about developing a jewelry brand.

The day after the engagement banquet, Susan wrote to her, saying that the earrings were very beautiful, she liked them very much and had already put them on.

In addition, the Alexander Hamilton police sent a bank draft of 1 pounds.

The 1 pounds should have been when she was first diagnosed with tuberculosis. Susan gave her 1 pounds, but she didn't want it. Before going to the Isle of Wight, she sent someone back to Fengshan.Now they changed hands and asked Alexander to give it to her. Alice was not hypocritical and accepted it happily.In this way, he would not have to pay for the trip out of his own pocket, and he could even take care of Byron.

When she mentioned the money to Byron, Byron first lamented that the Duke's family was rich, super rich, and gave away 1 pounds casually without frowning.Then I asked her to borrow money and said to pay off the debt.

"Is someone looking for you to collect debts?" Alice cheerfully imagined the situation where the creditor chased him for eight streets.

"No, they are all very relieved. Anyway, my family's manor is there and I can't escape. But you also know that the interest is a bit scary. I don't want to really have to sell the manor to pay off the debt in the future." Byron said very It doesn't matter, it seems that being in debt is not a problem at all.

The author has something to say:

*It is said that Beckford liked his son-in-law very much, and he was also a well-known British art collector at the time, so it is really possible that they knew each other before.

*The eldest son of Susan and Alexander is called William Alexander Hamilton. William should be taken from his maternal grandfather. The Hamilton family used names such as James before. Although the ancestor was called William Douglas Hamilton, not many generations were called William.William Alexander married Princess Mary of Baden, whose mother was the adopted daughter of Napoleon I and Empress Josephine, so the family of the Duke of Hamilton was connected with Napoleon I;

The two sons of William Alexander and Princess Mary have no male heirs, and the title has passed to other male descendants of the Hamilton family. The current Duke of Hamilton is not related to Susan Beckford.

Mary Victoria Hamilton, daughter of William Alexander and Princess Mary, married Prince Albert I of Monaco. Mary Victoria's granddaughter is the mother of Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who married Oscar-winning actress Grace Kelly in 1956.

Thus, William Beckford is the ancestor of the current Prince Albert II of Monaco.