From the hand of Lady Eleanor Whitehall to La Contessa Maria Theresa Isabella Emilia Lucia Gabriella Rosalina Liliana Paloma
Port Dominion, Saturday, April the 22nd.
To the Most Esteemed and Distinguished Lady, La Contessa Maria Theresa Isabella Emilia Lucia Gabriella Rosalina Liliana Paloma,
It is with the sincerest pleasure and no small degree of anticipation that I take up my pen this morning to extend to Your Ladyship an invitation to dine with His Lordship, the Governor, and myself at the Governor’s Mansion upon the evening of Saturday next, the twenty-ninth of April, at the turning of the eighth hour.
Your arrival upon our shores has, I confess, lent our modest colony a certain refinement to which it has long aspired. The tales of your grace and accomplishments have reached even the quiet parlors of our household, and both my Lord and I would be most honored to make your acquaintance in the more immediate and agreeable setting of our own table.
It shall be an intimate gathering — a few friends of discernment, good conversation, and such fare as our island may provide in its humble imitation of European luxury. We flatter ourselves that amidst the flicker of candlelight and the murmur of the sea, Your Ladyship might find a moment’s comfort and perhaps a touch of familiarity, even at so great a remove from the world you have so lately left behind.
Pray consider this invitation not merely as a formality of courtesy, but as the expression of a genuine wish for acquaintance. There is much, I think, that our shared understanding of the world might find to admire — and perhaps, if Providence allows, to learn — one from the other.
I shall hope for the pleasure of your reply at your earliest convenience, and with it, the assurance that you will favor us with your presence.
With the highest regard and esteem,
I remain, Madam,
Your obedient and most humble servant,
Eleanor Whitehall
(Lady of Port Dominion)
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