Page 19 of A Marriage is Arranged

The party trooped into the dining room, the Earl and his Lady first, and the rest according to a ranking both they and Lisle were mysteriously somehow aware of.

Since it was a wedding breakfast, the newlyweds were placed side by side at the head of the table, unlike the rest of their married life when they would sit at either end. The Earl walked Louise to her seat. Since no one could sit before she did, she quickly took her place while he stood beside her until all the other ladies were seated. The gentlemen followed. Footmen moved around filling one of the many wineglasses in front of each place, then, almost as soon as everyone was seated, they had to stand again. His lordship took up the glass and said, “Ladies and gentlemen: His Majesty, The King.” Standing, they drank the loyal toast. Then the feast began.

And feast it was. The footmen brought in a seemingly endless stream of dishes. First came two different soups, starting with a thin broth and then a sorrel soup with cream. This was removed by dishes of cod with mushrooms and prawns in pastry baskets. Then a huge haunch of venison was carved at the sideboard, together with several brace of partridges, both having been sent up from Overshott a couple of days before. These were accompanied by roasted root vegetables, pickled beetroot, a dish of stewed apples and three or four meat pies.

The numerous glasses next to the places were filled with a dazzling array of different wines, from pale hocks to deep clarets. Louise took barely a sip from each, but most of the gentlemen appeared to swallow it down wholesale, and even some of the ladies’ cheeks began to grow pink. The disappointed cousins, seated near them at the top of the table, were amongst those who ate and drank everything put in front of them, as if to gobble down as much of the estate as they could. The volume of the conversation at the table, which had started at a genteel level, began to rise.

Louise had no appetite, but covertly watching her husband, she saw he ate well. He drank moderately. At one point, when offered a new wine, he tasted it, shook his head and murmured something to Lisle, who immediately signaled to the footmen standing ready to pour. They all halted. Those carafes disappeared, and others took their place.

Just when Louise thought the meal would go on forever, the table was cleared and the footmen poured champagne. The Earl’s best man, who Louise had seen for the first time that morning, proposed a toast to the married couple accompanied by the sort of silly innuendos these occasions usually call for.

Then she and the Earl stood, and two footmen carried in a very tall, tiered cake covered with white frosting. Fully three feet high, it was held between them, and to her immense embarrassment, Louise realized she and her new husband were supposed to kiss over the top of it. For the Earl it was easy enough, but she had to stand on tiptoe and nearly overbalanced. She had to clutch at the sleeve of one of the footmen. Her husband’s lips barely brushed hers, but even so, a great surge of emotion welled up in her. An immediate outcry of acclaim and loud applause greeted the kiss and she was glad to be able to sit down while it continued.

The cake was taken away and a collection of sweets arrived: almond tarts, candied nuts, syllabub, and lemon flummery with spun sugar floss, together with a number of cheeses and huge bowls of strawberries. Then, finally, plates of wedding cake were placed in front of the guests. More toasts, congratulations, reminiscences, and increasingly ribald comments from the gentlemen ensued until it became quite rowdy. Louise was wondering how much longer it would go on until she saw her mother looking at her very meaningfully and making a slight upward motion with her chin. She realized it was she who had to bring it to an end. She stood up.

This was a signal for the ladies to leave the gentlemen to their port. The gentlemen all rose as they exited the dining room. Louise went thankfully up to her own rooms while the other ladies were shown upstairs to the bedrooms designated for their use. A general loosening of stays, a powdering of cheeks and a smoothing of hair took place amongst the older ladies, while the younger ones spent their time in a covert examination of their rivals’ toilettes, privately finding them all wanting in some particular or other. No one found fault with the bride’s appearance, however. “Absolutely lovely gown,” was the universal assessment. Louise would have been surprised to know that no one mentioned her plainness.