He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 37

37. The First Meeting

◈ London, Lord Palmer’s Residence

Contrary to the Baroness’s expectations, arranging the first meeting between Louis Palmer and Ashley Clifford proved surprisingly easy.

Louis, whom they anticipated would object, surprisingly agreed to the meeting without resistance.

For the Baron and Baroness, who were accustomed to battling him every time they arranged a matchmaking opportunity, their son’s compliant behavior was quite unexpected.

Lord Palmer couldn’t hide his delighted, yet puzzled, feelings at his son’s sudden change of heart.

On the other hand, the Baroness, who harbored a dislike for Ashley, couldn’t share the same sentiment. Deep down, she had hoped her son would refuse once again.

Leaving her son’s room, Lord Palmer tilted his head, a gesture of confusion.

“I don’t understand why that stubborn fellow agreed to meet so easily this time.”

“It’s probably because of Mr. Sanderson. It seems he promised Louis would meet her at least once.”

“So easily swayed by just a word from Mr. Sanderson?”

“From what I observed last time, he seems to respect Mr. Sanderson quite a bit. Mr. Sanderson’s name seems to carry considerable weight among the young people in London.”

“Still, agreeing so readily without even batting an eye is strange, don’t you think?”

“Who knows what he’s up to? Maybe he’s planning to use the failure of the famous Mr. Sanderson’s matchmaking as a shield, declaring that he won’t even consider anyone brought home from now on.”

“What? That won’t do!”

“Of course not! If that happens, I’ll never let that Sanderson fellow get away with it.”

“…?”

◈ Two days later

Clatter. Clatter.

A little past noon.

Tae-oh was on his way to Miss Ashley Clifford’s house with Louis Palmer.

“The flowers are beautiful,” Tae-oh commented, glancing at the gift box and flowers beside Louis.

Louis shrugged and replied, “It’s our first meeting, and we’re visiting a lady’s house. Plus, it’s a thank you for inviting my mother and sister last time.”

Louis was about to meet Ashley for the first time, but showed no sign of nervousness.

Perhaps his emotions had become dulled by countless matchmaking attempts and social gatherings, making him feel as though he were simply meeting a new acquaintance.

Normally, there’s a strange excitement and anticipation before being introduced to someone of the opposite sex.

It’s an instinct stemming from the pleasant anticipation of meeting the ideal type one has been imagining.

However, it’s extremely rare to be introduced to someone who captivates you beyond mere liking.

Moreover, matchmaking often takes into account each other’s circumstances and status, making it even less likely.

Furthermore, Louis Palmer had been effectively blocked from meeting his ideal type from the start, due to his mother’s biased pre-verification standards.

Rather, he was often forced to meet women who were the complete opposite of his taste.

“Even if matchmaking is like that, haven’t you ever met a lady you liked at social gatherings?”

“No. Maybe I just have unnecessarily high standards… Strangely, there’s never been anyone who caught my eye. Honestly, I find such meetings just bothersome now.”

Even when walking down the street, one occasionally spots their ideal type, only to find them vanished when looking around.

That ordinary phenomenon seemed to be consistently at play in Louis Palmer’s social life as well.

Now, Tae-oh was even feeling uneasy about Louis’s carefree attitude.

‘It seems the Baroness has lowered his expectations too much? Even if she’s just a little closer to his ideal type, it could be quite a shock to Louis.’

If Miss Ashley is Louis’s ideal type as Tae-oh suspects, a great storm could rage in his unprepared heart.

**

Lord Jim Clifford’s residence.

The coachman, having stopped the carriage, announced their arrival at Lord Clifford’s house.

“Whoa there, whoa. We’ve arrived, sir.”

Following Louis, Tae-oh got out of the carriage and said, “The weather is really nice today. How wonderful would it be if it were like this all year round? Haha.”

Louis, looking up at the sky, nodded.

“Yes, it is. The sky is so clear it’s almost dazzling. It’s been a while since we’ve had weather like this.”

Louis, carrying the flowers and gifts, seemed to be in a very good mood thanks to the pleasant weather.

England had many people with depression due to its cloudy and humid climate.

Moreover, on some days, it was even difficult to breathe due to the smoke emitted from numerous factories.

‘Good weather means that emotional states also rise more positively. It seems good luck is following Louis.’

As if to bless the two’s first meeting, London’s sky was clear for the first time in a long while.

Thump, thump, thump-

Approaching the front door and knocking on the large knocker, a person who appeared to be a butler soon appeared.

“Lord Louis Palmer and Mr. Sanderson, correct? Lord Clifford is waiting for you. Please, follow me.”

“Yes.”

Guided by the butler, they entered the living room, where Lord Jim Clifford, his wife, and his eldest son, Henry Clifford, a member of the House of Commons [the lower house of the UK parliament], were sitting side by side.

Tae-oh and Louis Palmer first greeted Lord Jim Clifford and his wife politely, and then paid their respects to Henry Clifford as well.

“Yes, welcome. Please, have a seat, haha.”

Lord Clifford, with a kind demeanor, seemed pleased with Louis Palmer’s manly appearance and polite manners.

Lord Clifford’s wife and Ashley’s older brother, Henry Clifford, also seemed to like Louis Palmer very much.

“Will Miss Ashley be down soon?”

Lord Clifford’s wife answered Tae-oh’s question.

“Yes. I’ve already told her, so she’ll be down soon.”

Just then.

The door opened, and a young lady entered the living room.

Clunk-

It was Miss Ashley Clifford.

She elegantly walked in, her beautiful and abundant blonde hair neatly tied with a ribbon, and dressed in a pure white dress adorned with lace made by French Valenciennes artisans [lace originating from Valenciennes, France, known for its fine quality].

The white dress harmonized with her fair face, making her even more radiant, and her healthy and voluptuous figure created a dramatic contrast with her slender waist, leaving Louis speechless.

“Miss Clifford, it’s a pleasure to see you again,” Tae-oh said, approaching her, and she bowed politely with a bright smile.

“Mr. Sanderson, it’s a pleasure to see you too.”

After greeting her, Tae-oh subtly examined Louis’s expression.

The easiest way to gauge a man’s attraction is through his ‘gaze’.

A person’s gaze is more honest than one might think, seeking to see what they desire even for a moment longer, and conversely, avoiding looking again at what they dislike.

In particular, men react sensitively to sight, making this characteristic even more pronounced.

After an initial glance, Louis Palmer strongly cast a second glance towards Ashley as she approached.

If the first was a casual glance between acquaintances, the second was an instinctive gaze towards a member of the opposite sex exuding strong charm.

‘He’s fallen in love at first sight.’

The bored expression Louis had worn just moments ago was nowhere to be found.

The emotions emanating from his face and body had changed so drastically that it was hard to believe he was the same relaxed and calm person from just a moment ago.

His face was flushed red, and his slightly parted lips hinted at a throbbing he had never experienced before.

Having encountered his ideal woman for the first time in his life, Louis was caught between his biological instincts, which were already imagining grandchildren far into the future, and his reason, which was urging him to pull himself together.

Even though Ashley had come right in front of him, Louis stood frozen like a statue, staring blankly.

“Lord Palmer, you should greet her,” Tae-oh prompted, and only then did Louis Palmer snap back to his senses.

“Ah, yes, yes.”

His awkward posture, as he took off his hat with trembling hands and bowed his head, was almost comical.

Louis seemed to have no ability to calmly cope with the unexpected tension and trembling.

He seemed to have received a much stronger shock than Tae-oh had anticipated.

‘This is worse than I thought? At this rate, not only Miss Ashley but also Lord Clifford and her older brother might see Louis as a bit lacking?’

A person’s first impression is formed in just a fraction of a second. Judging from Miss Ashley’s subtle facial changes, her initial reaction to Lord Louis Palmer’s appearance was positive.

However, if she were to talk to Louis in his current state of mental blankness, there was a very high possibility that he would make a terrible first impression.

Tae-oh had directly witnessed the first meetings of countless couples.

He knew all too well from experience that it takes several times more effort and time to change a first impression once it has been made.

Moreover, Lord Clifford and her older brother were watching with hawk eyes, scoring each and every move.

It seemed that he had to quickly take psychological measures to bring Louis’s rational thinking back.

Tae-oh quietly told Louis Palmer.

“You should give her the flowers and gifts you brought, shouldn’t you?”

“Ah… yes, yes. That’s right.”

When Louis, who was out of his mind, frantically took out the gifts he had brought and placed them on the table, exclamations erupted from all around.

It was because of the small porcelain sent by Lord Palmer.

Lord Clifford’s wife covered her face, unsure of what to do.

“Oh my, such a precious thing?”

“Oh my, is that porcelain? To bring such a wonderful gift. Oh dear…”

There was a good reason why Lord and Lady Clifford were so surprised.

At the time, high-end porcelain was traded at high prices, equivalent to the cost of 5-7 sturdy black slaves.

Of course, the porcelain that Louis brought as a gift was small and slightly less marketable, but it was still an excessively generous gift for a first meeting.

In modern times, it would be an uncomfortable gift that should be returned, but in this era where dowries were naturally discussed, it was often used to display wealth.

Seeing Lord and Lady Clifford showing great interest in the porcelain, Tae-oh thought it was a fortunate turn of events.

The best way to calm Louis Palmer’s emotions, which were heightened by tension and excitement from meeting his perfect ideal type, was ‘time’.

Even the most intense emotions, which seem like they will last forever, gradually decrease in intensity over time.

In particular, introducing a topic completely different from the current situation can quickly restore reason, swayed by emotion, to its proper place.

Tae-oh decided to buy time for Louis’s reason to return by talking about porcelain.

“Hmm… Judging from the blue onion pattern, this is Meissen porcelain made in the Holy Roman Empire (German Empire) [a historical region in Europe, primarily in what is now Germany]. It’s a very rare early model.”

Lord Clifford immediately reacted to Tae-oh’s knowledgeable remark.

“Oh… is that so? Isn’t Meissen the best porcelain in Europe?”

“Yes, Lord Clifford. It is the best and first proper porcelain in Europe. It was probably fired in Meissen, near Dresden.”

Tae-oh raised his finger and lightly flicked the surface of the porcelain.

Ting~♪

“Because it is fired at high temperatures, it is so hard that it makes a clear sound when you tap it with your finger like this.”

Lord Clifford, following Tae-oh’s example, flicked the porcelain with his finger and found it amusing.

“Now that I listen, it really does make a clear sound? I know that porcelain is made by baking clay, but how can it have such a smooth surface and make such a clear sound?”

“To make a clear sound, it must be fired at an unimaginably high temperature to achieve a very hard strength. It is usually called hard-paste porcelain. Soft-paste porcelain made at low temperatures is bound to be weak. The glaze applied to the surface is also…”

As Tae-oh diverted the topic by telling interesting stories about porcelain, Louis Palmer’s condition was also noticeably stabilizing.

‘He seems to have calmed down a bit now.’

*

Having regained his original composure, Louis, now calm, mixed his unique humor into the conversation as warm coffee and tea were brought in, and he carried on the conversation well.

Louis’s witty remarks and extensive knowledge brought smiles to the faces of Ashley, as well as Lord and Lady Clifford and her older brother.

‘Good, he’s doing very well. Hehe…’

Tae-oh subtly examined Louis’s lower body.

When expressing emotions, humans show more honesty in the reactions of their lower body than in the reactions of their upper body.

The farther the body is from the brain, the harder it is to control emotions. Compared to the face or upper body, which are closer to the brain, the brain’s control is less effective in the lower body, making it easier for honest emotions to be revealed unconsciously.

Louis’s legs were trembling slightly with excitement, and the direction of his navel and legs were facing her.

Ashley also did not show clear favor on her face, but the direction of her lower body was unconsciously facing Louis.

If it were someone she didn’t like, she would take an unconscious defensive posture through her arms or keep a distance, but there was no sense of defensiveness in her arms at all.

Rather, the spatial distance between the two was closer than the distance initially set.

As Tae-oh had been checking the two people’s existing physical habits and mannerisms, he was convinced that the unusual physical reactions that were now appearing were due to a strong liking for each other.

‘Both of them are showing very good reactions to each other. It seems my work here is done for today.’

Tae-oh had seen countless times that even if men and women are attractive and successful, if their personalities don’t match and their compatibility is low, they shine less than when they are alone.

People with matching personalities and feelings of attraction tend to enjoy even boring conversation topics.

It’s not because the topic is interesting, but because being together is happy and enjoyable.

Couples who have such excellent emotional exchange often emit a light that even Tae-oh could not have predicted when they are together.

Miss Lydia Godwin and Lord Monson were like that, and so were Miss Sarah Clarke and Sir Daniel Burke.

The Louis and Ashley couple were also complementing each other’s shortcomings well and emitting harmonious energy.

“Hahaha, that’s right, Lord Clifford. I always feel that way too.”

“Hoho. I also felt from earlier that my father and Lord Palmer have many similarities, and now that I hear it, it really seems so.”

The fresh sunlight shining through the window seemed to illuminate the two’s beautiful future.