Christian Grierson married Robert Speid in the 1760's. She brought a substantial dowry to her husband, which enabled them to build a new house, furnish it, and improve the surrounding park by adding a walled garden and a tree plantation. Christian and Robert had no children. After his death in 1793 she retained Ardovie in liferent until her death in 1823. The heir, another Robert Speid from Edinburgh, was kept waiting for 30 years to gain access to his inheritance. Christian wrote the heir many letters, mainly concerned with shopping. In one letter she asked for Robert's friend Miss Ramsay to purchase nine separate items: silk for a nightgown, two suits of Indian muslin for her cap, frills, handkerchief and apron, black Mankie for a flounced petticoat, two pairs of long silk gloves, eleven yards of a mourning print, an umbrella, samples of the best tea plus a dark printed cotton to line her chaise. On other occasions she begged Robert to have three mourning rings made up with her husband's hair. Even seed cakes and silver coffee pots were purchased in Edinburgh and sent to Brechin by the public coach where they were collected by an Ardovie servant. Christian enjoyed visiting friends and was especially friendly with the Southesk family at Kinnaird. They invited her to spend some time with them at their Montrose town house. Christian wrote to Robert immediately ordering fashionable new clothes for the visit as "the Montrose people are so vain and dress so well". Angus Archives MS413/12/1