Author's Note: I have been gone for a little while. In my defense, I've been very busy working on my book and actually going to work. not to mention that school starts in a week. That is coming up way too fast! Not sure when the next chapter will be, but enjoy. This chapter is a change in perspective and will be told from Blaine's which I thought would work a little better than just sticking to Kurt.

On another note, although this is set in the regency era in the early 1800s, I have changed a few things such as the perspective that people had about sexuality, so you may think of this as an alternate reality. That will also explain anachronisms that might appear in the future.

Summary: Based off of Jane Austen's Emma. Regency era fic. Kurt Hummel is a well off gentleman with the idea that he is good at matchmaking, except that as he soon learns, he is not always correct on affairs of the heart, especially when it comes to his own.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Fox does...and RIB

Chapter Three

There was a small study in Dalton Abbey that was the shabbiest room in the otherwise great house and it was the favorite of one Blaine Anderson and it was in this room that he spent his time doing things for his own pleasure. Reading, writing to his brother and sister-in-law, and sometimes in the quiet of the night he played the piano. It was his small secret, kept from everyone in his household and his family. The only person that Blaine had ever considered telling was Kurt. He'd stopped himself from doing so only because the young Mr. Hummel would have taken pleasure in making fun of him for it and that just wouldn't have done. It was in this room that Blaine sat when he heard someone at the door. Not having been expecting anyone, Blaine stood up and walked to his door.

"It's Mr. Hudson," his butler told him.

"Mr. Hudson?" Blaine asked.

Mr. Hudson was one of his tenants. He was on the younger side but the sole provider for his mother and two sisters. Blaine liked Mr. Hudson. He was a hard working man that always paid his rent on time and often came to ask Blaine for his opinion on certain matters.

"Show him into my office."

His office was different than his study. It was a more formal setting and it was where Blaine entertained people for business. His study was private and apart from his brother no one knew it existed.

Mr. Hudson was moving his left leg up and down. The man had never before shown himself to be jittery, and yet here he was the very picture of a nervous man.

"Mr. Hudson," Blaine said, "how may I help you?"

"I had the pleasure of hosting a young lady this summer," Mr. Hudson said.

"Yes, I know. Miss Berry. I saw her with your sisters often and have recently found her at Hartfield."

"Indeed?"

"Mr. Hummel has found her to be a good companion."

Blaine had an idea as to why Mr. Hudson had come. He waited until the man brought the subject up on his own.

"And what did you think of her, Mr. Anderson?" His leg was shaking up and down again.

Blaine had to choose his words carefully, sure as he was that Mr. Hudson was here to ask if Blaine thought it a good idea to ask Miss Berry to be his wife.

"I did not dislike her. She is a pretty sort of girl, I will say that, and she is accomplished enough at music though I cannot say that she will be at the running of a farm. It might be wiser to wait maybe a year or half a year an get to know the girl better."

Finn had smiled a smitten kind of smile at first, but that soon changed into a frown.

"I love her," he stated, "I am not in any doubt of the emotion I feel when I am with her. My regard for Miss Berry is..." He choked on his words, "she is upon mine eyes an angel. Her voice and her sweet temper is all I could ask for in a wife. My sisters and mother like her."

Blaine was surprised at the emotion in Mr. Hudson's voice, the trembling that came over it and the absolute surety that he loved the girl in question. Blaine could never imagine loving that way, so whole heartedly, at least not when it came to someone outside of his family.

"If you are sure that those feelings you express are returned, then I cannot object and truly you do not need my opinion."

Mr. Hudson grinned. "Thank you, Mr. Anderson."

After Mr. Hudson had left, Blaine retired to his study thinking about how Mr. Hudson's proposal might affect Kurt. Mr. Hummel and Miss Berry had become quick friends, and Blaine was positive that Kurt would be trying to make a match for Miss Berry. Mr. Hudson's proposal might even be approved by Kurt, and really it would make for an advantageous marriage for Miss Berry. Mr. Hudson might not have been a real gentleman, but he was doing well enough for himself and he didn't seem to mind everything to do with Miss Berry's situation. Kurt was bound to see how well a match it would be.

The next afternoon, he walked to Hartfield, whistling as he walked. Dalton Abbey was technically the neighboring house to Hartfield, but with so much land between them belonging to both houses, it was a bit of a walk from the Abbey to Hartfield, but Blaine enjoyed the exercise that it offered him.

When he arrived, Mr. Hummel was wrapping a shawl around his shoulders.

"Oh, Mr. Anderson," he said, "you have come just as I am to take my daily walk. Won't you join me?"

Blaine had been eager to speak to Kurt, but he never minded spending any time with Mr. Hummel either. The older man had always impressed Blaine in a way that his father never had, and Blaine had often gone to Mr. Hummel when he was younger and in need of advice, and in turn Blaine had always felt like he needed to be a friend to Mr. Hummel.

"Of course I will," he said, "I'll be glad to walk with you, Mr. Hummel. How many turns will you take today?"

"Two," the older man said, "my usual, you know. I am very glad you're here, Mr. Anderson, Quinn wrote just this morning to say you would be visiting in London again."

"Yes," Blaine said, "I will be. My brother wishes for me to be there for the birth of our new family member, they think it will be a boy."

Mr. Hummel grinned. "She wrote so in her letter. Of course, one can never be too sure. We – that is Mrs. Hummel and I – were convinced that Kurt would be another girl. Mrs. Hummel had even picked out a name. Emma. Then, of course, Kurt graced us with his presence."

Blaine smiled a little. "I remember him as a baby."

"That's right," Mr. Hummel said, "you were just a boy when he was born, but you did come to visit with your mother and brother."

Blaine remembered the day perfectly. He'd been twelve and Cooper nine, and they had both been far more interested in playing with Quinn because it was a change from just being with each other, but then they had seen the baby.

Like all babies, Kurt hadn't been specially different. He was a tiny bundle with a tiny upturned nose, a bald head, and the smallest fingers and toes that Blaine had ever seen. Blaine had even gotten to hold him.

They took the two turns around the garden and then Blaine helped Mr. Hummel back inside and insisted on removing the extra shawls himself before making sure that fire was comfortable enough for him before settling down into another chair.

"Is Kurt out with Miss Berry?"

"I imagine not," Mr. Hummel said, "the girl called this morning, but left rather quickly. Kurt was – well, I don't know what he had planned for the day."

Kurt entered the room right at that moment holding a vase of flowers and he seemed surprised to find them both in the room.

"Mr. Anderson, I thought you were coming to dinner tomorrow night not tonight."

"I am to depart for London tomorrow," Blaine said, "I imagined that you or your father might have missives or other tidings to pass on to your sister."

Kurt was happy with the answer, Blaine could tell, but he could also tell that it wasn't all Kurt was feeling. After having known Kurt for his entire life, Blaine had come to read his feelings well and he could tell that there was something plaguing him.

"I will write a letter directly," Kurt said, "so you might take it with you. You will have to hug and kiss all our nieces and nephews and tell them all how much I miss them and eagerly await their holiday visit."

Kurt sat down at the writing desk which was on the opposite side of the room and the scratch of his quill on the paper was the only thing that could be heard for the moment. Blaine stood up and walked to the seat next to the desk.

"There was something else," Blaine said, "something that I am sure you will become aware of soon enough. I do not wish to take the news telling from someone else, but I find I cannot help myself."

"With what?" Kurt asked and he looked up.

Blaine had always loved Kurt's eyes. They expressed his every emotion, but it wasn't just that which Blaine loved but the color that they took in certain settings. Right at that moment they were green, specks of blue weaving into them.

"Well, I have it on good authority that Mr. Hudson is set on asking your Miss Berry for her hand in marriage."

Kurt smiled a little and Blaine began to think that he was right. Kurt did approve of the match. Except that Kurt didn't look surprised, he just looked pleased.

"What?" he asked.

"The gentleman in question has asked his question," Kurt said, "he wrote her this afternoon."

"So she has accepted him, then?"

Kurt shook his head, and now his eyes had taken on amusement. "Why should she? Should young women be ready to say yes to anyone that asks? Mr. Hudson is not the kind of man that a girl like Miss Berry must want for a husband—"

"What is this nonsense? I thought that you would be happy for your friend. Mr. Hudson is just the kind of man that would make a perfect match. I thought, even Kurt would approve of it."

"And why should I?" Kurt asked, "why should I be expected to be friends with a farmer's wife? No, she is a gentleman's daughter and she is meant for more than that man."

Blaine couldn't believe what he was hearing. It had always been clear to him that Kurt could be a bit shallow and invested in his own superiority, but he had never expected that it might be displayed in such a way.

"So she has refused him," Blaine said.

"Rightly so."

"And you all but wrote her answer to him."

Kurt didn't respond, instead his pen moved over the paper and he ignored him. Blaine knew he could turn away and go to Mr. Hummel and ignore Kurt, but his anger was too great, his disappointment felt too deeply because he'd seen Finn Hudson's love filled eyes. His hand grasped Kurt's wrist.

"Come with me," he said.

Kurt looked like he was going to argue, but one look at his father and he stood. Mr. Hummel didn't even say anything as they stepped out of the room onto a dark hall.

"What is it, Mr. Anderson?" Kurt asked.

"I am angry, Kurt, so angry with you and this need of yours to insert yourself into the lives of others. They aren't your dolls to be played with under a table. They have feelings! Mr. Hudson assured me of his love for Miss Berry and he is not the kind of man to propose without knowing fully well that his feelings were returned. He expected a yes, and I suspect that if it hadn't been for your influence, Miss Berry might have answered in affirmative."

Kurt's face which had twisted into annoyance, changed and he was smiling smugly. "I see," he said, "it isn't about Mr. Hudson at all – and why should you care for a farmer – indeed, this is about my advice prevailing. I said my part and you said yours and—"

Blaine shook his head. "No, Kurt," he said, "if you think that, then you don't understand anything. People's lives are not a game."

He stopped himself from saying anything that might truly offend Kurt and then he walked back to where Mr. Hummel was seated. He made up an excuse, promising to stop by before he left for London the next morning. He hated leaving Mr. Hummel without a full explanation, but it was better than letting him see that he and Kurt had quarreled.

Author's Note: So, there it is, chapter three. Hope you all liked it.

You will also find me on tumblr as: emquin

Thank you for reading. Hope you all liked it.

Please Review.

-Erika