Mr Curtis is one of three major potential suitors in Regency Love. The path involves themes of the value of literature, access to education and lost love.
Description[]
Meeting Mr Curtis[]
You and your mother are visiting your dear friends, the Worthingtons. Shortly before dinner, Mr Worthington introduces you to an old friend of his, Mr Curtis. Mr Curtis is an older gentlemen of 39, handsome, but rather dour and austere in his appearance. He has a great love for literature and though he is a little rigid in his manners, there is something endearing about him.
The protagonist first meets Mr Curtis at Castoridge Court.
Due to your intimate friendship with the Worthingtons, you see Mr Curtis fairly often at dinners and balls. He loves to discuss poetry, particularly the sonnets of Shakespeare, and it becomes clear through your frequent conversations that he is passionate about the accessibility of education and ensuring that all people are given ample opportunity to learn.
Mr Curtis becomes a regular visitor of yours and even gives you a very rare book to enjoy. It is apparent that he is beginning to admire you and his formality of manner is softening a bit. You, your mother, and the Worthingtons even enjoy a visit to his lovely estate, where you admire his incredible gardens. It is during your visit here that you also learn that he is the mysterious and anonymous benefactor of the school for underprivileged children that is currently tended by Mr Simmons and where you and Mary once visited. He wants all people to be able to learn to read and write and have the opportunity to be educated.
Crossing paths with Mr Everett[]
During a social event hosted by the Earlwoods, you are introduced to a disarming and good-looking man named Mr Everett. He invites to get together with him and a few other close friends and you are somewhat surprised since you do not know him well. However, you are even more taken aback when he abruptly rescinds the invitation upon gaining the knowledge that you are a friend of Mr Curtis. It is a baffling interaction and you are unsure of what to make of it.
A little while later, you and Mr Curtis are enjoying a walk together in the woods. You are becoming even closer and he has even written some sonnets for you. However, you unexpectedly cross paths with Mr Everett. It is an awkward exchange and Mr Curtis is clearly rattled by the meeting. As soon as Mr Everett is out of sight, he angrily accuses you of paying Mr Everett undue attention, or even of deliberately planning this interaction. He leaves you and you are unsure of if you will ever see him again.
Pursuing Mr Curtis[]
It seems as if your relationship with Mr Curtis has dissolved. He no longer visits and does not participate in functions hosted by the Worthingtons. You then learn that Mr Curtis is gone from Darlington. You decide to throw caution to the wind and pursue him, despite the fact that it will likely erupt into scandal and you may be forever tainted and considered ineligible for any decent marriage.
You find Mr Curtis at his estate, in his garden, mourning the loss of Olivia. She was once the love of his life, but she chose Mr Everett over him. He was charming, youthful, and gregarious; all that Mr Curtis was not. She died shortly thereafter and Mr Curtis has never healed from the loss.
You leave Mr Curtis without feeling any great resolution over the matter and come home to find your mother desperate, frantic with worry, and grieved over your actions. She mourns the loss of any real possibility of you marrying well, considering you are now the subject of rampant gossip.
Proposal and epilogues[]
A complete, verbatim set of epilogues associated with Mr Curtis can be found here. (Warning: spoilers!)
It appears as if you may become a disgraced old maid, but then one day, Mr Curtis appears at your doorstep. He extends to you a small gift, a slightly crumpled rose from his garden. He has realized the depth of his affection for you and wishes to marry you. You may either accept or refuse his affections.
The epilogues vary based upon your decisions and personality. In happier versions, you two live happily ever after and your marriage is one of great affection. You enjoy your husband's library and play music for him on the pianoforte. In less happy ones, you bring out the worst in each other, and rankle the servants with your continuous disagreements and flaring tempers.