.. but then there's still the gay, and the 1800 not being all so happy about the gay.

Ah, that's why marriage of conveniences are a great thing! Way to keep the community from the scandal, and since romantic friendship between girls were considered all right, and the manly men went off hunting together up on the moors and the abandoned hunting lodg and spent time locked up in the study (or whatever) discussing very important manly things, it's not like they didn't have lots of opportunity (especially if you pay the servants well).