Chapter 82. Chapter 82. Mary was writing that...
When Mary wrote that letter, she was prepared that she might not be able to remain friends with the Duke. She would certainly be saddened by the loss of such a friend, but not to the extent that the Duke was heartbroken.
In fact, she was somewhat puzzled by the speed at which relationships developed in the nineteenth century. She and the duke hadn't had much contact, so how did he propose to her?
Compared to other women, Mary had an advantage: just as she had commented on men's relationships before, she also had many things to distract her, leaving her no time to worry about it.
She recently bought a plot of land in St. James Square near St. James Street, where Richard lives, with the intention of building her own house. Her initial plan was to buy a small, not luxurious, house and then renovate it herself.
However, the houses that the real estate agent showed her on the market were often not designed to her liking from the start. If they were to be renovated, it would be very expensive. So she thought it would be better to just buy a piece of land and build her own house.
Properties and land in the St. James' Square area have always been in high demand, and if this particular plot of land had been smaller, Mary might not have gotten her turn.
The original owner of the land was a friend of Colonel Brandon. The colonel learned from Richard that Miss Price wanted to build her own house in a suitable location, and immediately told Richard, which is how Mary acquired the land.
Although the exterior retains the Georgian style, the interior has been redesigned to include the bathroom inside the house, in line with current trends. With the widespread adoption of flush toilets, there is no longer a need to design the bathroom outside the house, but the old houses and lingering old ideas have prevented this new design from becoming popular.
Since an indoor bathroom was designed, the drainage system naturally received Mary's attention. She put so much effort into the design of the house that Anne said she was putting the cart before the horse, since she could have easily continued living with them and didn't need to buy her own house.
When William returned from the sea, Mary's house was barely even a basic structure. As soon as he returned, everyone began to busy themselves with Susan's marriage. At Sir Thomas's insistence, Lady Bertram, accompanied by Tom, Edmund, and Fanny, came to London.
In Mary's view, nothing else mattered; ensuring Susan's financial independence after marriage was the most important thing. She didn't want her sister to live a life dependent on others after marriage.
“A prenuptial agreement? Mary, my annual income is only about two hundred and fifty pounds, is it really necessary to sign such an agreement?” Susan laughed when she heard her sister’s words.
Mary took out a check for five thousand pounds and handed it to her sister: "With this money added, do you still think it's unnecessary?"
“I can’t take your money, Mary. You’ve already taken so much care of me.” Susan didn’t take the check. “It would be really inappropriate for me to accept this money.”
"Susan, don't think of marriage as something so sweet. What Mrs. Hawthorne said when she came last time was quite telling!"
Mary was determined to give the money to her sister. Initially, only her son knew Mrs. Hawthorne's intentions, but as Charlie Hawthorne and Susan became engaged, Mrs. Hawthorne inevitably revealed her desire for the two to acquire property after their marriage, which made Mary, who already had grievances against Mrs. Hawthorne, even more dissatisfied.
“So that’s what you’re worried about. Don’t worry, I’ve already told Mr. Hawthorne about my situation. As for Mrs. Hawthorne, she’ll be living in Devon after we get married, so the situation you’re worried about won’t happen.” Susan’s lips curled up slightly as she recalled the gentleman’s promise.
“Even without Mrs. Hawthorne, I would have given you this money long ago. When Fanny got married, my financial situation was limited. Now that I am so wealthy, am I going to just stand by and watch my sister suffer?”
“Suffering? Mary, you’re exaggerating. Mr. Hawthorne and I earn nearly a thousand pounds a year. If that’s suffering, what kind of life did we have at the Price’s house?”
"You have to accept it, or you won't treat me like your sister." Seeing that she couldn't persuade Susan, Mary had no choice but to use her authority as the older sister to make Susan accept the money.
The next day, Susan received another thousand pounds from Sir Thomas. Sir Thomas may not have loved Susan as much as he loved Fanny, but he also liked this hardworking niece very much, so he gave Susan a sum of money just as he had given Fanny when she got married.
Susan accepted the money without feeling guilty; she felt embarrassed to accept her sister's financial assistance, but she didn't think much of Sir Thomas, whom she already regarded as a reliable elder.
Richard added another thousand pounds to his sister's dowry, which, together with the thousand pounds Susan had saved herself, gave her a total of eight thousand pounds, plus a one percent share of the sewing machine company each year. This dowry was quite substantial, and a prenuptial agreement was indeed necessary.
Richard called in a lawyer he knew and asked him to draft a prenuptial agreement. The agreement stipulated that Susan's dowry could not be used arbitrarily during the marriage (such as using the principal or selling shares), and that it could be distributed according to Susan's wishes only after Susan's children reached adulthood.
Mr. Hawthorne had no objection to the agreement. He hadn't considered money when pursuing Susan, and the unexpected news that his future wife was about to receive a large sum of money from relatives and friends didn't make him overjoyed. However, when he thought about the possible children in the future, he couldn't help but feel happy for the children like most people.
The wedding took place in April. Susan wore a yellow silk gown designed by Mary, looking like a saint draped in a shimmering golden sand, and smiled happily at her beloved Mr. Hawthorne.
Seeing the first person she saw after opening her eyes in this world get married, Mary felt both joy and melancholy. This was already the third wedding she had witnessed, and perhaps there would be a fourth soon, because John was pursuing his boss's daughter, a naive and lovely sixteen-year-old girl.
"Charlotte, lately everyone around me seems to be either getting married or dating. Don't people have anything else to do?" Mary complained while checking on production at the garment factory.
“It’s social season now, and most people don’t have much else to do besides getting married and dating. What else can they care about? At least in Manchester, that’s what all the young women my age care about.” Charlotte had the factory worker bring in the sample garment. “Mary, your agitation is a bit strange. Wasn’t London always like this?”
"It was like this before, of course, but I didn't pay attention then. Perhaps it's human nature to be like this; I can't let go of things I might have but have lost."
Mary had recently met many mediocre men at the ball, which inevitably reminded her of the Duke of Devonshire, whom she had heard had left England in January and had not yet returned. Charlotte was unaware that Mary had rejected the Duke of Devonshire's marriage proposal, and naturally did not understand what she was lamenting.
Anne, who knew a little about the situation, assumed that the duke had been interrupted once during his proposal and, after much thought, had not spoken up again, and could only feel sorry for Mary in her heart.
As for Mary's theory that she didn't want children, Anne considered it naive. Faced with the immense temptation of inheriting a title, who would willingly give up what rightfully belonged to them for such a small risk? If Mary married the Duke, she would certainly change her mind.
Anne's recent physical condition made her especially certain of this, and she told William and Mary some good news: "The doctor came this afternoon and told me very confidently that I am more than two months pregnant."
“This is wonderful news! I remember you and William have been married for two years.” Mrs. Price was overjoyed.
“To be precise, it’s one year and eight months, Mom.” William walked over to his wife and carefully inquired about her health. He learned that Anne was experiencing some morning sickness. “It seems this baby has disrupted our travel plans. We can’t go to Devon for our holiday. I have to stay in London with Anne. Mary, you can go with the Hawthornes.”
“I’d better not disturb that sweet newlywed couple and stay in London with you,” Mary smiled.
Now Mrs. Price's only worry was Mary. After Susan got married, her second daughter's seat had been moved below Mrs. Hawthorne's (Susan's), and she was happily going out every day. When Mrs. Bertram got married, her eldest sister, later Mrs. Norris, was anxious for a long time because her younger sister had married before her.
Mary was unaware that her mother was worried about her; the biggest problem with staying in London was having to endure the city's stench in the summer. Although the "Great Stink of London" of the Victorian era hadn't yet occurred, London's notorious stench in the summer was already quite well-known, otherwise wealthy people wouldn't have been leaving London to escape the heat.
So once Anne's health improved slightly, William and Richard took their mother, wife, and sister to Brighton for a summer retreat. They rented a villa there and enjoyed the beautiful seaside scenery. As for urgent matters, William and Richard could ride back to London to handle them.
At this time, Mary was always very envious of her two brothers, and she also had many things to decide on in her clothing business in London. However, a lady had to be accompanied by a man when she went out, and it would take at least a day to travel from Brighton to London by carriage, which would be too late in an emergency.
Fortunately, Charlotte remained at the factory, allowing her to make some decisions. After a considerable period, with women's clothing sales improving significantly, Charlotte finally accepted the shares Mary had gifted her, in addition to her initial salary. She and Mr. Smith were now Mary's right-hand women, and Mary couldn't do without either of them.
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