He Opened A Matchmaking Agency In 18Th Century London [EN]: Chapter 120

120. The Duchess’s Granddaughter

Theo was discussing the building at the Kensington High Street intersection with real estate agent Brooke Morgan.

“She said absolutely not?”

“Yes, I spoke to the butler again yesterday, but it was no use. He got annoyed, asking why I kept bringing it up, and told me outright not to come back regarding the Kensington building. I think the duchess must have scolded him.”

It was the perfect building for a ballroom, so he offered three times the market price, but was rejected again.

He even heard that they had no intention of selling, even if he offered more than ten times the amount, and that he shouldn’t inquire any further.

It seemed clear that they had no intention of selling at all.

“I appreciate your efforts. I understand. It’s a building I really like, but I think I’ll have to change direction and look for another suitable building across the street.”

“Yes, I think that would be best.”

However, just as he was giving up on buying the building with a heavy heart, something unexpected happened.

◈ A few days later. Theo’s Marriage Agency, 5th floor CEO’s office.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Yes, come in.”

Theo looked up at the sound of the knock.

It was Isabelle Moore, the matching manager.

“Mr. Theo, Mr. Theo! I think a very important person has come!”

She, who was usually so serious that it was frustrating, was unusually excited today.

“An important person? Who is it?”

“I’ve never seen her before, but she only said she was Mrs. Price. The carriage she arrived in and the servants accompanying her are all quite impressive. And the person who seems to be her butler kept calling the noblewoman ‘Duchess’.”

“…Duchess?”

“Yes, anyway, that lady said she wanted to have a marriage consultation with you, so I escorted her to the VVIP consultation room on the first floor.”

Theo, who frequently met with King George, wasn’t too surprised that a duchess had come.

However, it was the first time they had a marriage consultation with a duchess’s family.

“Okay. Serve her coffee from the Juba collection first. I’ll be down soon.”

“Yes, I understand.”

* * *

“This is the Duchess Price.”

The butler politely introduced Duchess Price, who, despite being in her seventies, exuded a dignified and imposing presence.

Despite her high status, she wore a simple and calm dress and coat rather than expensive and flashy attire, which seemed to reveal a more restrained authority.

The duchess, who exchanged greetings with Theo, did not spare her compliments on the coffee.

“I was surprised by the aroma and taste of the coffee. I had heard rumors, but after coming here and smelling and tasting it myself, I feel that the rumors don’t do it justice.”

“You flatter me.”

Theo asked about the purpose of her visit.

“May I ask who you are here for a marriage consultation for?”

The duchess wiped her mouth lightly with a handkerchief and replied.

“I came because I want to find a marriage partner for my granddaughter.”

“Ah, yes. I see.”

Theo picked up his notebook and pen to take notes on the consultation.

But then, the duchess said something incomprehensible.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Pardon?”

“Have you heard my name for the first time today?”

“……?”

Theo wondered if she was someone he knew, so he carefully examined the duchess’s face. But it was definitely a face he had never seen before.

Besides, there were only about 30 dukes in all of England, so if they knew each other, there was no way he wouldn’t know.

“No, I don’t think I’ve ever met the duchess before. Did we perhaps meet at the palace?”

At the palace, he often exchanged formal greetings with many nobles, so he might not remember.

“That’s not it. I’m asking if you’ve ever heard my name.”

“Ah… No. I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard that name before.”

Then the duchess scolded him reproachfully.

“Really? I’m a little disappointed that you don’t even know the name of the owner of the property you’ve inquired about buying so many times.”

“The owner of the property?”

“I am the owner of the four-story building at the Kensington intersection.”

“……!”

Theo had entrusted all the building purchases to Brooke Morgan.

Besides, he was buying so many buildings these days that he didn’t remember the names of the owners unless the contract was completely signed and finalized.

“I’m sorry. I knew that the building was owned by a duchess, but I didn’t realize it was Duchess Price.”

The duchess savored the coffee, took a few more sips, and continued.

“Actually, I had heard that someone had been trying to buy the Kensington building for some time, but I didn’t know who it was. I just received reports and firmly instructed them to refuse. I had no intention of selling it, no matter how much they offered.”

“Yes, I heard that as well.”

“But a few days ago, I happened to meet a married child among my granddaughter’s friends on the street. She had formed a family with a very well-suited man. She was close to my granddaughter when she was young, so she was quite close to me as well, and to be honest, I was envious of how good their relationship looked.”

“……”

“I wondered who had arranged such a wonderful marriage, and I found out it was Lord Sanderson. I also learned that Lord Sanderson is famous in London for marriage matchmaking, and that he is the one who has repeatedly inquired about buying the Kensington building.”

“Haha, I see. And the friend of your granddaughter…?”

“It’s Miss Ashley. She married Lord Louis Palmer.”

“Ah – Miss Ashley Clifford, or rather, Mrs. Ashley Palmer now.”

“Yes, that’s right. Anyway, Ashley seems to be leading a very happy married life.”

“Yes, she even came to our cafe with her beautiful baby a while ago.”

After talking about Ashley for a while, the duchess cautiously brought up what she wanted to say.

“I would like to make a proposal to Lord Sanderson.”

“A proposal?”

“If you find a suitable son-in-law for my granddaughter, I will have the building that Lord Sanderson wants so much sold to you.”

Theo tilted his head at the sudden proposal.

“Pardon?”

“But you must find a son-in-law for my granddaughter who meets the conditions I present. If you do that, I will not only give you a sufficient reward commensurate with that, but also have the Kensington intersection building sold to Lord Sanderson at the original market price.”

“……!”

The duchess’s building, located at the entrance to the intersection, was perfect as a ballroom, but it was also essential for the completion of Theo Street.

He had given up on that building and was looking at the buildings across the street, but he couldn’t help but feel regretful every time he passed by.

Theo was eager to buy it, no matter how many times the price was called.

But now, she was saying that she would give it to him at the original market price, not two or three times the price, so it would be a lie if his heart didn’t waver.

“Are you wondering why I’m making this offer?”

“Yes, honestly. Because you’ve always said you would never sell it.”

“You can see that I’m that desperate. I’ve been trying all sorts of things to find a son-in-law for my granddaughter who meets the conditions I’m thinking of, but it hasn’t been easy.”

“What kind of conditions…?”

He wondered what kind of amazing son-in-law she was looking for.

The duchess calmly recited the conditions.

“He must have or be scheduled to receive a title listed in the nobility registry, he must not be greedy for dowry or money, and finally, he must be a gentleman who can make my granddaughter helpless.”

The last part was strange.

“Make your granddaughter helpless?”

“She lost both her parents early, and she grew up too preciously in her grandmother’s hands, so she grew up with a very selfish personality. In particular, I’m most worried that she might inherit her father’s blood and live a dissipated and promiscuous life. I need a young man with a strong and resilient character who can hold on to such a granddaughter. Instead, he must be a gentleman who loves my granddaughter and doesn’t want a penny.”

Theo also found it strange that she kept emphasizing money.

In this era, the demand for a dowry was, in a way, too natural.

Besides, according to Brooke Morgan, the duchess was incredibly wealthy.

But he was curious as to why she was reacting so sensitively to the dowry.

“Is there a special reason for setting the condition that you will not give a dowry?”

“Because there are more than a few who are trying to commit fraudulent marriages for the purpose of money.”

“We can verify that for you.”

“Huhu. I, too, went through more thorough verification than anyone else, but I was backstabbed. I can’t trust anyone.”

It seemed that the duchess had a story to tell.

‘I need to hear more details.’

Theo explained his matchmaking method.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but I do matchmaking by listening to the family’s story or the person’s circumstances in detail and finding a partner that suits them. That way, we can know each other’s tendencies and find the best match for each other.”

“What do you want to know?”

“The more I know about your granddaughter’s detailed growth process or her parents’ story, the easier it will be to find a suitable partner. Of course, I won’t tell anyone the personal stories I hear here, so don’t worry.”

The duchess gave a hollow laugh as if it was the first time she had experienced this.

“A matchmaker listens to the detailed growth process, it’s really unique as rumored. Does that really help in finding a good partner?”

“Fortunately, it seems that many people have been satisfied so far.”

The duchess sighed. As expected, there seemed to be a story in the family.

After hesitating for a while, the duchess brought up the story of her granddaughter’s parents as if she couldn’t help it.

“When I first saw my granddaughter’s father, Baron Robert Riley, he seemed to have a gentle heart and no greed. Moreover, as he came in as a son-in-law, he acted affectionately as if he would serve me like his own mother.”

But after the marriage, the son-in-law changed 180 degrees. He spent money like water and caused trouble every day with gambling, alcohol, and women. It turned out that the baronet title was also fake.

Because of the swindler son-in-law, not only her daughter but also the duchess’s heart was burning black day by day.

But she had no choice but to endure it for the sake of her only daughter and granddaughter.

But the misfortune did not end there. Her son-in-law died of a deadly infectious disease, and her only daughter even contracted the disease and passed away.

The duchess raised her granddaughter, who had lost her parents, with great affection as if she were raising her own daughter.

Out of pity, she tried to always give her the best of everything without lacking anything.

But whether it was because she raised her too preciously in her grandmother’s hands, her granddaughter gradually acted arrogantly, and she was often talked about in a bad way.

“Now that she’s older, she doesn’t even try to listen to me. If I say anything, she just creates a cold atmosphere and goes into her room.”

The duchess tried to make her granddaughter come to her senses, and to prevent her from repeating the same unhappy life as her mother, she looked for a decent groom.

She mobilized all the famous matchmakers and tried very hard to find a noble man who was not greedy for money and had a firm heart.

Above all, she was looking for a gentleman with a strong personality who could correct her granddaughter’s rude personality and behavior at once.

But it was never easy to find a man from a noble family who had a recognized noble title, was not greedy for money, and could handle her granddaughter’s strong personality.

In addition, with the public declaration that she would give almost no dowry, most nobles did not even try to meet her granddaughter.

Occasionally, a young noble man who was really not greedy for money would appear, but such a man did not like her granddaughter, and even if he liked her a little, he could not handle her strong personality.

“In the meantime, I have mobilized many matchmakers to find men who would be a match for our granddaughter. But with the condition that I can’t give a dowry, almost all of them turned away.

Moreover, it was not as easy as it sounds to find a man from a noble family with a stronger and more excellent character who could catch the granddaughter’s rough personality.”

To Duchess Price, her granddaughter seemed to be more affectionate and desperate because she was the only bloodline left by her dead daughter.

“How much longer will I live now? I just want to make my granddaughter a decent person and have her form a good family before I die. That way, I won’t be ashamed to meet my daughter even after I die, will I?”

Theo, who had organized the contents, closed his notebook and said.

“Okay. Then, I’ll try to make time as soon as possible to visit. I need to meet your granddaughter in person and hear what she has to say.”

The duchess, with a slightly relieved expression, smiled and replied.

“Okay. Please come by as soon as possible. And… to be honest, I came without much expectation, but after seeing you in person, I think I have a little hope. Please take good care of me.”