Thirty-One | The Right Honble. The Earl of Ralston
Earldom of Ralston, Barony Wexford
Formally Announced or Addressed on Social Correspondence: The Right Honble. The Earl of Ralston
Informally Announced or Addressed on Social Correspondence: The Earl of Ralston
Formal Correspondence Salutation: “My Lord,”
Informal Correspondence Salutation: “Dear Lord Ralston,” or more familiarly “Dear Ralston”
Addressed in Speech: "Lord Ralston" the first time in conversation, followed by "my lord" or, more familiarly, "Ralston"
Referred to in Speech: “(The) Lord Ralston” or more familiarly “Ralston”
Social Correspondence Signature: Ralston
Biography
Byron was born to do much more than endure the life of an Earl. Truly he knew he had had the privilege of being born the second twin three decades ago. That and that sheer luck had always been on his side, not so much his brother’s to his dismay. Charles and Byron had done everything together; attended Eton and suffered their Mathematics professor’s boring classroom as a pair and sailed through the years together thick as thieves. They thought, as young men did, they would share every escapade and misadventure for all the years of their lives. But the one thing that they would not do together was share an Earldom, and for that Byron had no qualms. In fact, he relished in the freedom of being a second son given his affinity for shirking responsibilities.
When Charles was being primed to take on his station, Byron had yearned to explore the world. He would spew nonsense ( according to Charles, at least ) about learning the art of life and living the art and, one day, finally come to the decision of leaving home to carry out those intentions. Their father did not approve and was of the inclination that Byron should remain in England to find a wife and not go gallivanting across the Atlantic to an end that the 4th Earl of Ralston knew Byron would never deem satisfactory. Alas, a few months into his travels, Byron’s father passed suddenly. Charles had henceforth inherited the lands and titles of their father, sealing his fate as the 5th Earl of Ralston.
Halfway through his adventure across the continent, Byron returned to England to mourn and stayed upon his brother’s silent request. No words were needed between them, almost as if they could each read the other’s mind. However, Byron could not deny the call of the seas and the beckoning of the marble museums of Paris for long. The art in Italy were as pretty as the women but none had compared to the sights of Greece where he spent quite some time—more than the other cities. At the ripe age of 30, Byron had thought life was grand and that he had all that he needed and wanted. At least, that’s how it should have been.
Tragedy struck a second time and this time it claimed the one person in his life Byron had never been without—his twin brother. The grief was unbearable and yet, life had to go on. That is the art, isn’t it? Life went on whether he did or not. The things he had never wanted in life had now become his and the things that he did want had to be relegated. His priorities had changed almost overnight, making him into someone new, someone other. Now, a year into his Earldom and a year of answering letters and maintaining the land, Byron’s finally starting to settle the deep quake in his heart. But of course, bad things come in threes. This time, in the form of his younger brother’s mistake of inadvertently gambling away their only sister’s hand in marriage.
