Forefathers - Chapter 2
Six months after Naseby, and after recovering from the broken leg he had sustained early in the battle, Charles married Sophia Nicholson. Sophia was from a northern landowning family whose roots stretched back almost as far as the Le Grande’s, and her father was an old college friend of Charles’ father.
Charles and Sophia only had one child, a son and heir named James. Sadly James was orphaned by the age of 21, as his mother died after giving birth to a stillborn daughter when was James was five years old, and his father was a victim of the plague which swept the country in 1666. However James married well, and his descendants flourished at the Manor well into the 1700s with a succession of strong male heirs.
The heir that would ensure the family’s successful entry into the 19th Century was Frederick. Normally very outgoing, he was very nervous on the day that he invited his prospective bride, Caroline West, to the Manor to meet his parents during the spring of 1785.
Named as one of the region’s most eligible spinsters, Caroline was everything that Frederick could hope for in a future wife. As well as being beautiful and wealthy, she was a talented artist and cook - no local function was a success without one of Caroline’s special cakes.
"I won’t know how she feels about marriage unless I ask," Frederick told himself as they played chess. So after summoning every drop of courage that he possessed he made a nervous, but very heartfelt, proposal to Caroline which she accepted straight away. Later that summer Frederick and Caroline were married in the family church, the scene of most of the family weddings since medieval times.
Frederick and Caroline went on to have twins - a first for the Le Grande family. First to be born was a daughter, whom they named Sarah. The second twin was a son they named George. Both children had their mother’s chestnut brown hair, and their parents couldn’t have been happier or prouder.
Now that the family fortune had been increased considerably by a succession of profitable business deals and equally profitable marriages, Frederick and his family could spend most of their days at leisure. In Frederick’s case that consisted of playing chess and enjoying long afternoon naps.
Caroline was very happy as she had more time to devote to her painting, although much of the task of raising her children had been left to nurse maids and governesses since the day the twins were born.
George however would rather have had more to occupy his mind, as he was unhappy with the thought of spending much of his day at home. At the age of fifteen he longed for adventure, and enjoyed reading about the voyages of the late Captain Cook. Unfortunately for George his parents didn’t agree that a life of exploration was suitable for the future Lord of Normandy Manor, and swiftly packed him off to London to work for his mother’s uncle, an auctioneer.
