Viscount Saye’s First Love– Who is Florizel?

Hey all! As some of you might already know, I have recently released a book which is a collaborative effort with three author friends — A Match Made at Matlock by Jan Ashton, Julie Cooper, me, and Jessie Lewis. Each of us tackled and interwove the stories of a separate couple and while I won’t divulge all of who wrote which, its probably no big secret that I wrote about Viscount Saye and Miss Lillian Goddard!

But before there was Lilly, Saye had another beloved, a very good boy called Florizel. I thought I’d tell you a bit about him in today’s post and give you a little excerpt of Match!

First the excerpt, starring Florizel:

Four hours into his party, and nothing was going his way.

With long, angry strides, Saye entered his splendid apartment at Matlock, startling Florizel out of a nap. His apartment was done up in a baroque way, complete with an elaborate mural on the wall painted by Fragonard himself and titled The Lover Crowned. He usually found it rather inspirational, but today it could only vex him further.

Picking up his pup, he sat upon the pale blue silk of his bed and sighed heavily. It had all seemed so promising! The invitations had been somewhat last minute, but everyone had accepted—everyone, that is, except Darcy’s Miss Bennet, but a few letters and coins had fixed that as well. At least these Bennet people knew how to treat a viscount!

He had arranged for every servant to be on hand to greet his guests—all of them. From the butler to the lowest scullery maid, they came and stood arrayed behind him like an army of prepared comfort and indulgence. He wanted Lilly to see what she would have at her disposal. But Lilly was among the last to arrive, and he had been forced to release them to their duties after all, gritting his teeth tightly as he gave permission for his butler to do so.

And then there she was, shown into the drawing room where everyone had begun to gather before they dressed for dinner. And she was perfectly kind to him.

He flung himself back into the softness of his bed. “Blast it to hell!”

There was none of the delicious awkwardness of amore. She was neither too friendly, nor too unfriendly. She was pretty and sweet and thanked Saye for including her in the invitation. Including her? Wretched girl! Did she not realise the whole affair was for her? Overcome by his distress, he crawled towards his pillow, digging down in the blankets and covering himself for a moment of sheer, unabashed pity of himself. Oh, the pure misery of being denied that which he wanted!

He heard a gentle knock on the door. “Not ready, Mitchell,” he said, his voice muffled into his pillow. “I shall ring for you.”

Nevertheless, the door creaked open, and footsteps approached, and before Saye could react a large object leapt onto the bed, landing squarely atop him. For a moment, he thought his lungs were shattered. “Ahhhhhh!” Saye yelled. “What the devil? Who dares—”

Flinging himself free of the blankets, he sat up and glared at his brother, seeing Darcy had also entered but, being more civilised, had chosen to take a seat rather than attempt to break every bone in his cousin’s body. He shoved his brother, and his brother shoved him; then they began a mad tussle as in their youth which resulted in Fitzwilliam being pushed off the bed and onto the floor, narrowly missing the marble top of Saye’s night table.

“I nearly broke my skull!” Fitzwilliam protested.

“You nearly broke my skull, and you could have crushed Florizel,” said Saye, calmly straightening his waistcoat.

Pet Dogs in the Regency Era 

Keeping a dog as a pet was nearly exclusive to the upper classes in Regency England. Dogs on the estates and farms were largely working dogs, be they hunters, or herders or the like. Rarely was an animal kept whose main function was to just be a companion to a human, so to have one kept for solely ornamental purposes was a mark of wealth. Jane Austen herself seemed to have thought little of them— Willoughby is referred to as a ‘deceitful dog’ in Sense & Sensibility and Frank Churchill calls himself an ‘impudent dog’ when his deceit over his engagement to Jane Fairfax is called out. Lady Betram keeps a pug on her lap in Mansfield Park which might be seen as a sly wink, by our dear authoress, to the lady being rather spoiled and indulged.

Pomeranians were fashionable dogs during the regency era. When Charlotte of Mecklenburg married soon-to-be King George III, she brought her Pomeranian dogs along with her. For those of us watching Bridgerton these days, its fun to see this little detail brought forth into the show! Queen Charlotte’s son, future Prince Regent and King George IV was similarly fond of them (his dogs Fino and Tiny are shown in the phaeton picture; Fino is also shown in the header of this post).

Pomeranians, like many dog breeds, have undergone some evolution since those times. During the Georgian and regency times, most Pomeranians were white or cream colored, and they were larger as well, if the portraiture of the era is any indication. On a trip to Italy in the late 1800s, Queen Victoria  fell in love with a Volpino Italiano Pomeranian called Marco who weighed only 12 pounds and was the reddish hue we are more familiar with today. She brought Marco and 3 others back to England and has since been credited for supporting breeding efforts to produce the smaller, reddish hued animals, although the AKC does not support that assertion. At one point, Queen Victoria had 35 Pomeranians in the royal kennels, reportedly calling for her beloved pet Turi to keep her company on her deathbed. 

Saye’s pet is a reflection not only of his status but of the dog’s as well. Florizel was, as many might know, the son of the Bohemian king in Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale. Saye’s Florizel lives a life of comfort and indulgence that is equal to that of his master! 

Of course the major advance in British dog breeding came in 1819 when the Reverend John “Jack” Russell of Devon bred the first Jack Russell Terrier, now recognized worldwide as the very best doggo in the entire history of the universe. Ok I’m teasing… sorta! I’m extremely biased of course (see Charlotte of Pittsburgh below)  and would dearly love to have given Saye one of them—alas, A Match Made at Matlock takes place before the breed existed!

My dog Charlotte, also accustomed to a life of comfort and indulgence together with sisters Lilly and Ivy. (Charlotte of Pittsburgh versus Charlotte of Mecklenburg… see what I did there haha!)

In other news– A Wilful Misunderstanding is on sale today, only $0.99 or £0.99 if you are in the UK. Sorry we could only do the US and UK markets but if you happen to be IN those markets and want to grab a copy, have at it!!