Work Text:
When Mr. Willoughby brought his wealthy young wife to her new home at Coombe Magna, she was not caught unawares by the frosty reception she received from nearby society. Her nearest neighbors were, after all, connected to her husband’s unfortunate flirtation with the Dashwood girl.
Sophia felt somewhat sorry for the girl in question, who was by all accounts a charming example of her sex, and particularly for her own part in the destruction of all hopes where Mr. Willoughby was concerned. She knew Miss Dashwood was better rid of him, however, and would more than likely find another gentleman who would both suit her and be less likely to open her to ridicule.
Sophia herself had been searching for just such a man. She was grateful that her fortune and lack of near relations had made the selection all her own. Mr. Willoughby’s desperation at the time of their engagement had made him more open than expected to the restrictions her solicitor had placed on her income, and so Miss Grey had accepted his offer of marriage with equanimity.
Mrs. Willoughby had not expected to love her husband, and so it did not surprise her when he elected to spend most of his time in the management of his estates and visiting his friends in London. She did not care over much how he spent his time, so long as it did not infringe much upon hers.
It passed without comment when she invited a disadvantaged female relation to stay with her as a constant companion. Her husband was often away, and the country society was perhaps not what one could wish. As the relation was something of a bluestocking, and very interested in her own studies, no one in the immediate neighborhood rushed to introduce her to their sons.
If they did not participate in all of the local festivities and instead preferred to keep their own company whenever possible, it was assumed this was out of delicacy for the lingering notes of scandal that had surrounded the Willoughbys’ marriage.
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Mrs. Palmer commented to her husband one night that the new Mrs. Willoughby must be lonely in her new neighborhood, for all that she and her companion were said to be very close. The former Miss Grey had been at the center of London society for two seasons, and was unlikely to find the solitude of a country estate to her taste.
Mr. Palmer, who had somewhat more knowledge of the world than his young wife, lifted an eyebrow and continued to read.