Sir Richard Carlisle softly tapped his pen against his oak desk as he leaned back in his chair. The large clock against the wall softly chimed, and the bustle of London could be heard through the closed window behind him. But he paid attention to neither. With a furrowed brow he looked down at the typed page laying on top of the mountain of others, taking paramount over everything else.
To say he was angry to read about her engagement, so close after breaking with him, and with Matthew Crawley to boot, would be a gross understatement. In his rage he sat and typed out the story, slightly embellished of course, that would bring such scandal on the Grantham house, they would not be likely to recover.
As an experienced business man, he knew better than than to write anything in anger and then submit it right away. He needed to step away, usually to the whiskey on the table against the opposite walk, to cool his mind before returning to the task. Two glasses and an hour later, here he sat, no edits made although his pen was in his hand ready. Everything was written down, in a way he felt needed no edits.
Tossing the pen on the desk, he gruffly stood and walked to the window. As it had stopped snowing, more people had made their way out, rushing around to their own business, no one really sticking out. Leaning against the frame, Richard thought of Mary and their last conversation. He was ashamed of his actions the night before, as they were spurred by his emotions and not rational thought. He had told her the truth when he said he loved her, because he had, so much. In a way he still loved her.
A knock on the door brought him out of his reverie. Turning he saw his assistant standing in the doorway. "Sorry to bother you Sir, but we're ready to send everything to print. Was there anything else to send down?"
"Yes." He moved back to his desk and picked up the paper. Holding it for a second, he looked it over and sighed. In one motion he crumbled it and threw it in the fire. "Never mind. Get everything to the printers, and have the first copies on my desk." His assistant nodded before exiting, closing the door behind him. Turning back to the window, Richard chuckled to himself. "Well my dear, consider it a wedding present." With a soft smile, he sat back at his desk.

I couldn't resist! While I never liked him, this was just sitting in my head! Enjoy, and please review :)