Chapter 68 William Cavendish's mouth...
William Cavendish verbally refuted his cousin's remarks, but inwardly he resented Sir Edward for not being careful enough, allowing Lady Marxwell to reveal to her friends that her goddaughter had a dowry of at least £60,000, which attracted playboys like Baron Brook and the youngest son of Fitzwilliam to attend the ball in Grosvenor Square.
"You know what, Frederick did consider going with the Fitzwilliam family to join in the fun, but my father would never allow him to marry a commoner, even if Miss Price had a much larger dowry."
Lord Althorp's words were loaded with meaning: after the unfortunate death of his wife, he was depressed for a long time and had no intention of remarrying. His younger brother, Frederick Spencer, had become the next heir to the Spencer family.
Of course, Count Spencer, the father, would not allow his second son to marry a commoner. Otherwise, it would have been fine if Frederick had chosen a wealthy country gentleman's daughter instead of a noblewoman.
By the same logic, his father would never want to see his nephew, the Duke of Devonshire, marry a commoner; such an unsuitable marriage would tarnish the splendor of beautiful Chatsworth House. Therefore, Lord Althorp observed his cousin's expression as he spoke.
William remained calm: "John, you've always known my thoughts. I don't plan to get married. Anyway, like the Spencer family, the Cavendish family isn't short of heirs."
Lord Althorp exclaimed, "What do you mean 'not lacking heirs'? Your situation is different from mine. At least I have a younger brother, but you are my aunt's only son..."
“Nothing is different. Don’t forget I have many cousins and two sisters. I’m considering setting conditions for the future: the heir to the Duke of Devonshire must be engaged to my niece.”
William Cavendish's words left his cousin John Spencer speechless. Ever since his cousin came of age, too many people had wanted to introduce their daughters to him, but William had remained unmoved. Even his father, Earl Spencer, had considered marrying his daughter to his nephew.
He had initially thought his cousin had wavered and been swayed by Miss Price's beauty, but now it seemed he had been mistaken. Lord Althorp hadn't come to his cousin's place just for the gossip; the two men quickly turned their attention to matters of the council.
John Spencer had been planning to propose a more efficient bankruptcy court in the House of Commons to expedite the recovery of small debts. Although the Whig-supporting regent had ascended the throne as the new king, his actions during his regency showed that he merely used the Whig party as a tool to undermine his father.
As expected, after the new king ascended the throne, he did not expel the Tory cabinet as the Whigs had anticipated. Instead, he retained the Earl of Liverpool. Lord Althorp did not trust the Tories and needed his cousin's support. Although William disliked politics, he greatly admired his noble cousin and was therefore willing to discuss these matters with him.
Although Lord Althorp wasn't too bothered by his cousin's scandals, his sister Margaret wasn't so indifferent. When she heard that a Miss Price had caught the eye of her cousin, the Duke of Devonshire, she threw a huge tantrum at home.
“Hey, Margaret, didn’t William say he treats you like a sister, just like we do? Why are you throwing a tantrum?” Frederick asked, puzzled.
Margaret said sullenly, "Anyway, my cousin is still not married. Why can't the Cavendish and Spencer families form a second marriage alliance? He'll have to get married eventually."
"Then don't worry. In my opinion, your cousin is just infatuated. I initially thought of going with Richard Fitzwilliam to join in the fun. The Price family are just nouveau riche who made their fortune through their brother's business. William isn't the penniless Baron Blake; how could he possibly marry her? What, you're still not happy? How about this: you have John invite your cousin to Althorp Manor in May, so Father can test him again, isn't that enough?"
“Frey, you’ve finally come up with a good idea. Thank you, my dearest brother.” Margaret finally smiled.
Mary had no idea about the intricacies among these nobles. Although she had been frequently accompanying Mrs. Maxwell and her sister-in-law, Mrs. Price, to various banquets and balls these past few days, their social circles were not the same as those of Earl Spencer's daughter.
Countless people were curious about the young lady who had danced with the Duke of Devonshire. When the ladies of the house saw her, they admitted she was indeed beautiful. However, the Price family, wealthy through business, was clearly not a match for a duke, and everyone believed His Highness had only been infatuated. Some even thought he would keep Miss Price as a mistress, just like his father had done; it all depended on Miss Price's choice.
Just as Mary was making more and more appearances in London's social circles, and the phrase Anne had used to praise her as a laurel wreath was spreading, William Price returned to London, and Mary and Anne immediately moved from Grosvenor Square back to Harley Street.
Upon learning of the sensation his sister had caused in the city, William regretted that he was not there to see Mary and the Duke dance.
He was always lively, and immediately suggested to his wife, “Annie, you must throw a ball on Harry Street before we go to the countryside. It’s obviously impolite of us not to have invited any of our neighbors to a ball yet.”
“You’ve had so many parties already, why do you have to dance? I really don’t like dancing with a bunch of strangers,” Mary protested from the side.
Clearly, she was no match for the combined efforts of two people. Before her masters departed for Mansfield, William still hosted a ball on Harley Street, inviting not only the neighbors but also John, Richard, and Colonel Brandon.
The neighbors were all looking forward to the Price family's ball, and what everyone was most excited about was Miss Price's appearance, especially the men who had never seen her before.
On the day of the ball, Mary did not disappoint those who were looking forward to her. She appeared in a golden gown, with a silk satin skirt covered with a layer of tulle embroidered with clusters of flowers and leaves, and the hem embroidered with moons and stars. Around her neck was a necklace made of diamonds and pearls, in the naturalistic design style that she always liked.
During a break in the dancing, William said to the colonel, "Colonel Brandon, I'm truly surprised to see you at the ball."
"Why do you say that, Captain Price? I'm not the kind of person who likes to spoil other people's fun."
"Perhaps it's because I haven't seen you dance many times at the balls my father throws. I'm not saying you dance badly; the one you danced with Anne was excellent."
The colonel suddenly smiled and said, "That's because you've been paying attention to your wife, Mrs. Price. If you had been in Grosvenor Square last time, you wouldn't have thought I danced so well. His Highness the Duke and Miss Price's dance was truly beautiful. I'm glad I didn't leave Miss Maxwell with any bad memories."
After saying this, the colonel went to invite Mary to dance. William, who was left behind, looked at the colonel, who was suddenly walking briskly, and his beautiful sister, and a thought popped into his mind.
Clearly, William wasn't the only one with these thoughts. After the ball, Mrs. Dashwood seemed rather listless on her way home, and Mr. Dashwood asked his wife what was wrong.
“Oh, John, I don’t think Edward has a chance. He’s been held up in town and won’t be able to come. He’ll definitely regret it. Colonel Brandon is said to be a wealthy man with a lot of property in Devonshire. I think his attitude towards Miss Price is unusual.”
Mr. Dashwood was good at comforting his wife: "He is fourteen years older than Miss Price. She may not choose him. Instead of worrying about that, you should worry about Miss Price's other suitors. Her brothers must want her to marry a nobleman, which is why they are willing to give her such a large dowry."
The next day, Anne said something similar to Mary: "Dear Mary, I think Colonel Brandon's attitude when he danced with you was very different. He must like you."
"Colonel Brandon likes me? How is that possible?"
"Why not? You're so pretty and cute, it's only natural for a man to fall for you."
At the time, it was because Colonel Brandon was in love with Marianne in the original novel, because Marianne resembled his first love's cousin. This man, who had been hurt once, had closed himself off for a long time before meeting Marianne, Mary thought.
After careful consideration, Mary said, "I think he's a person with a story, and he doesn't easily open up to people."
Anne laughed: "Someone with a story? Mary, you're paying way too much attention to him. As your sister-in-law and your friend, I must remind you that you're much more relaxed around him and another man than around others, except for your brothers. Given that man's status, I can only ask you, do you like either of these two men?"
"Like? I certainly prefer a gentleman with manners to someone like Baron Blake, but this is purely a friendly liking, just as I like you all." Mary knew who Anne was referring to, but she only regarded the prince as a friend with whom she could discuss art and literature. As for the colonel, she had no romantic feelings for him, only respect.
Although this conversation between the sisters-in-law didn't reveal Mary's true thoughts to Anne, she was quite confident that Mary couldn't keep quiet forever. William thought Mary's idea of marrying the Duke of Devonshire was wishful thinking, but she believed that anything was possible, and even if it didn't work out, there was Colonel Brandon and other suitors waiting for her.
Not long after the ball on Harry Street ended, Mary explained the next steps for the clothing factory to Thomas Smith, and then went to Mansfield with William and Anne.
Richard stayed in town this time. Most of the sapphires had been bought up by a jeweler, but not all of them had been sold yet. Besides, he wasn't comfortable leaving Smith alone in town to manage the sewing machine company and Price Garment Factory.
News of Miss Price's departure from the city quickly reached Piccadilly Street, where they were sent to Northamptonshire. William Cavendish instructed his butler to inform his cousin that he would definitely visit Althorp Manor in May.
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