The London Affair

Chapter one: A Dream

The London Affair

Note: This work is not meant to glorify colonialism, Queen Victoria or war. This work is meant as a critical criticism of the Victorian age and Victorian thoughts and assumptions. 

Chapter one: A Dream

London 1873:

The handsome Prime Minister Peter Thomas stared at his beautiful wife formerly Lady Maria Grey, now Lady Maria Thomas. He gathered her up into his arms. "I love you Maria Thomas!" He kissed her lush lips!

She giggled at him. "I love you too! I've always loved you!"

"Not always but I'm so glad you chose me," replied Peter as he began caressing Maria's soft face. But as suddenly as his dream woman appeared in his arms, she drifted away as he awoke.

He sat up in his bed alone realizing that it was just a dream, he was not married to the beautiful Lady Maria. No, on this late hazy August day, she was marrying another, his rival no less. He loved Maria. He wasn't sure if she was the love of his life but he did love her fully and truly.

Not that long ago, the Prime Minister himself had been engaged to the beautiful Maria, granted it was an engagement of convenience at first. However, he fell fast and fell hard for the feisty Maria. She was clever, witty, graceful, and beautiful but she was not in love with him. He needed her father's support to become Prime Minister and Maria's family needed his vast wealth to be saved from financial ruin. Maria and her family were in a precarious position since though her father Lord Andrew Grey was a powerful and influential member in Parliament, he was losing influence and wealth due to his alcoholic and gambling ways. The twenty-one-year-old Maria was the eldest in a family consisting of five girls, Maria, Ginerva, Philippa, Persephone, and Ottlilie. Maria and her sisters' chance at social climbing and wealth was for Maria to make a good marriage. Because of this Maria's father had arranged a marriage between her and Peter. From the moment, she met Peter she resented him, with good reason! Peter did not care too much for Maria at first, but her love of family and strength won him over.

With love, he discovered that though it would break his heart, he had to end the engagement she would never be happy with him. He would still support her family financially, but Maria was free. She soon fell in love with a general in the royal army and was out of his life forever.

The sun shined through the decaying estate of Lord Andrew Grey that warm late August day. However, to Lord Grey's eldest daughter Victoria Maria Grey, whom everyone called Maria, it could have been raining. She was marrying the man whom she thought was the love of her life. But he was not the love of her life. She loved Peter too. After all this time, she realized she did love him. However, the question pressed against her mind, did she love him more than the man she would at noon vow to love for the rest of her life? She had discovered that she was in love with him, when she attended a ball celebrating his elevation as Prime Minister, a few weeks past. But now it was all too late, at noon, she would be Victoria Maria Taylor, not Thomas!

Peter realized he had to stop this or at least let Maria know that he loved her and that she could be happy with him. He had already lost one love before, he wasn't going to lose Maria. With this thought, he began to think of how he came to fall in love with Maria!