Elizabeth Lawton sat nervously. She waited in a large ornately decorated room, she was alone. Despite her uneasy predisposition, she sat up straight with her head held high, her arms folded on her lap. Elizabeth Lawton after all was still a princess. Her face was powdered white, her hair was made up in the usual "egg-shape" fashion of the time. Elizabeth's voluptuous lips were adorned with dark red lipstick. Elizabeth wore a gold dress, that gracefully descended onto the floor, it had taken Elizabeth hours to get ready for this occasion. It was pressed upon her that, she was to look and act her finest and that this day was dramatically important for both her and her family.
It was the 1790s and times were changing. No longer did her family enjoy collecting taxes from the peasantry, no longer did her family's land holdings stretch the distance of her eye's gaze. For the last fifty years, her family had sold off portions of their sizable estate in order to continue to live a life without want. Now it had come to this, the desperate family was now forced to sell their large stately manor. It was Elizabeth's childhood home, a place where she rode and bred her large stable of horses, where servants followed her everywhere, eager to be at her beck and call. Now it was all disappearing, the family would have to move to some smaller estate and then after that, yet another even smaller estate. Elizabeth shuttered at the thought of her family descending into the ranks of the "commoners."
But alas there was one last hope. His name was Robert Lee, he was a young man, a few years younger than Elizabeth, he was self-made, he soared from the bottom of society's dredges to the upper echelon of the merchant class. Now he wanted to buy the Lawton Manor, most likely because, like Elizabeth he grew up on the Manor's premises, although he did so in a very different way. You see Lee was a "bastard son" of a lowly maid and he had spent the first nineteen years of his life as a servant for the Lawtons.
Elizabeth tried to remember Robert, she racked her brain, throughout her life she barely noticed her servants, she never gave a thought to their names and avoided looking them in the eye, for she did not believe that they deserved her respect. As a girl she was never allowed to play or associate with the children of the adult servants, unless of course she was ordering them to do some sort of task. The children of the servants were expected to be mostly invisible, they would be harshly punished if they were even gazed upon by a guest of the manor, they were instructed to be "invisible," and to never under any circumstances speak without being spoken to first.
The world had changed so much since Elizabeth was a girl. The nobility's power had slowly been eroded in favor of an elected parliament, the noble families didn't lose their heads like elsewhere, but they did lose their rights. As the feudal system was abolished the peasants no longer gave the nobility tributes of grain or livestock. Peasants were also free to travel away from their former fiefs, and many of them did, straight into the now exponentially growing cities.
Robert had been one of those "commoners" who left the countryside to find fortune in the city. Elizabeth had heard horror stories of the living conditions in the overcrowded disease infested cities. She had heard debauched tales of drunkenness, gambling and whoring. Most fortune seekers found themselves even more destitute than they had been in their country estates. Factory owners became their new masters. Yet, some strong willed and lucky individuals managed to rise up and become barons of industry themselves. The cities represented the potential for upward mobility, however small that potential really was, did not matter to the former feudal peasants, they had fled in droves.
Robert had somehow become exceedingly wealthy in a few short years, going from a penniless peasant, the bastard son of a maid to a wealthy businessman. Elizabeth had learned from her father that Robert's fortune began in shipping and since then Robert had invested his money in many lucrative factories. Robert seemed to have more money than he knew what to do with, and because of this he was one of the most sought after bachelors in the entire country.
It was Elizabeth's father who first inquired with Robert about the prospect of him courting his eldest and most beautiful daughter. Despite being nearly 30, Elizabeth had avoided marriage. Marriage was after all a suffocating prospect. The relative freedom she enjoyed on her manor would be taken away from her. She had seen it many times before. Wives of wealthy men were merely progeny creators. Elizabeth had witnessed her aunts go from carefree youths, to constantly pregnant women, who at the moment after they gave birth to a child, would hand the child over to a servant woman to raise. She heard her aunts gossip about their unsatisfying sex lives, of how they were treated as receptacles for their husband's seeds, meanwhile their husbands would save all the "good stuff" for whores. Inevitably these women would either live past the age of fertility and become overwhelmed by bitterness, or they would die while giving birth to a child. Elizabeth was certain that she did not want this life, so she made herself hopelessly picky. No man was good enough for Elizabeth, either too poor, too old, too young or too unsightly. This frustrated Elizabeth's father to no end. He wished Elizabeth to marry some wealthy man who would support and maintain the family wealth, for he was hopelessly behind the times, refusing to invest money in the burgeoning industrial economy and instead opted to live above his means with the hope that the feudal system would be reinstated. Elizabeth traded near total chastity for some semblance of freedom from being controled by a man. Yet even still as a single woman, the expectations of her would be that she be constantly elegant and polite, constantly demure and reserved. Underneath her elegant gowns, Elizabeth often times felt like an animal in a cage.
Now Elizabeth had no excuse. Her family was desperate and by all accounts Robert met all of her criteria. He was unimaginably wealthy and by all accounts handsome. Newspapers even published gossip about his various supposive love interests.Yet Elizabeth shuddered at the thought of marrying a "commoner." Elizabeth's father had made it very clear unless she wanted to eventually live a life of relative poverty she would have to marry Robert. Elizabeth's father had spoken for Elizabeth and agreed that Elizabeth would meet with Robert, alone in one of the manor's many large rooms. Elizabeth was taken aback by this request, as it was not the usual courtship ritual to do this. Normally it would be months before two noble people in a courtship were allowed to be alone together. So Elizabeth waited nervously, with her hands folded for Robert Lee to arrive, she had no idea what to expect.
Suddenly as Elizabeth sat she heard the large door creak open and a man let himself in. He was tall, with broad shoulders. He did not sport the stylish white powdered wig, that most nobility wore and instead wore a tricorn hat and a handsome black suit adorned with ornate gold threading. The man removed his hat and bowed slightly.
"Miss. the name's Robert Lee, it is a pleasure to make acquaintances with you." Robert sat down directly in front of Elizabeth.
As was the custom, Elizabeth reached out her gloved hand and Robert gently touched it and kissed it. Under Elizabeth's powdered flesh she blushed, looking away after she looked at Robert's piercing dark eyes, their intense stare was intimidating, but also undeniably apealing. Robert certainly was handsome, he had dark hair and a strong jaw.
"Miss, so you know why you're here in this room alone with me?" Robert went straight to the point, he still spoke like a "commoner" despite his wealth.
Elizabeth stuttered but eventually said, "My father said you would like to court me."
"Correction, your father clearly want's you to marry me, he wants me to support your fledgling estate, I came to buy his manor and he wanted to sell me his daughter."
Elizabeth swallowed, "He finds you to be a suitable, suitor for me."
"Because I am rich! He wants my money. I just want to know if you are interested in my courtship?"
Elizabeth did not expect this direct line of questioning, she did not want to make it be known that she, like her father was desperate to save her family's wealth and lifestyle, she did not want Robert to know how much sway he held over her.
"Possibly," Elizabeth said trying to hold on to some level of mystery, she did now want Robert to see her desperation.
"I need to know, cause I am going to ask you to do some things for me if you find me acceptable," Robert said.
Elizabeth let out a deep breath, "I find you acceptable." She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Okay then, that's good, will you be willing to disrobe for me?"
Elizabeth's eyes widened she was shocked by the audacity of Robert's question, "What? Why!"
"You see all these clothes don't give me a good picture of your body, they hide your flesh, if I am to marry you, I need to know what I will be getting."
"I never!" Elizabeth quickly looked away from Robert and covered her chest with her hands. She made a shocked expression.
"Well, I'll be going then," Robert replied and began to get up.
Elizabeth grinded her teeth, she was seething, failing to marry Robert might lead her family into poverty, he was handsome and rich, it was likely no one else would ever know about this day besides herself and Robert, so Elizabeth decided to embarrass herself by disrobing, in front of this man whom she just recently became acquainted with.
"Stop!" Elizabeth cried out, causing Robert to sit again.
Robert stared at Elizabeth. Elizabeth's hands shook as she pulled off her gloves and then began to unbutton the top of her dress.
"You know Elizabeth, I do know you." Robert's tone suddenly changed, he seemed to become more self assured.
Elizabeth swallowed as she methodically unbuttoned her dress, slowly revealing a sliver of her undergarments.
