From the book The Quiver of Love: A Collection of Valentines Ancient and Modern, a collection of love poems published in 1876, illustrated by Walter Crane and Kate Greenaway (source) . The illustration was created for “The Surprise”, a translation of a German poem by Heinrich Heine (source: Google Play eBook edition page 44, 45) . It reads:
THE SURPRISE I dreamt I saw you yesternight, And claspt my hands about your eyes, Nor dared to venture in your sight Until you pardoned the surprise. So take my letter, Valentine, My name and mission quickly guess — I fear to offer word or sign; I wait until you whisper “Yes.”
(Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)
“You knew she was behind me?” There was a bit of venom in Darcy’s whisper.
Fisticuff might not happen in the garden, but Bingley was not certain he was going to survive this bit of trickery without some damage to his person.
Let’s begin our week with a love song and story pairing, shall we? The moment in the story I’m pairing with this song has been a long time in coming. Both Darcy and Elizabeth wanted this moment to happen five years earlier than it did, but in this variation of their story, it did not happen that way.
The snippet below is from the proposal that happens in chapter one. Yes, you read that correctly. They are going to start this story out with a proposal and then work their way through the reason they had to wait five years for this moment.
Finally Mrs. Darcy is the first book in my Dash of Darcy and Companions Collection and is a stand-alone short and sweet novella.
It is currently free in ebook format at all retailers.
Click to find all of Leenie’s books at your favourite retailer.
Microcosm of London Plate no. 021, House of Commons. Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827) and Augustus Charles Pugin (1762–1832) (after) John Bluck (fl. 1791–1819), Joseph Constantine Stadler (fl. 1780–1812), Thomas Sutherland (1785–1838), J. Hill, and Harraden (aquatint engravers)[1], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
“Do you truly love me?”
He held her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. This woman, who lay beneath him, whose hands had slid from his hair to rest on his jaw as a finger traced his ear, was all he wanted. Not a seat in parliament and definitely not some lady of the ton even if she had bags of money. “Yes, very much. Marry me.”
I love this song. It is truly one of my favourites. As I was listening to it and looking at a list of my books just last week, the one that seemed to match best with this song, especially the lyrics below, had to be…
I keep spinning around until you slow me down You make me real, when you make the world stand still
and
I wouldn’t have believed it ‘Cause I never used to see it You give this life meaning around me When you make the world stand still
…Charles and Evelyn’s story. I think Charles is one of my most “spinning around” sorts of heroes until he meets Evelyn, and she shows him the life that is happening around him and that has more meaning than his current life does.
The few lines below are found in a scene where Charles admits (to his best friend, Henry Crawford) that he has fallen for Evelyn.
Charles: To Discover His Purpose is book 2 in my Other Pens series. This series is a sequel to Mansfield Park that follows Henry Crawford and his friends and relations as they find their happily ever afters. Charles Edwards is just one of the many original characters that are part of this series.
(And no, you don’t have to like Mansfield Park to like this series, although you may want to, at least, watch an adaptation or read a plot summary before beginning reading.)
For those following Charles’ story on Fridays, the quote above will show up in one of the chapters this Friday (Feb 12). 🙂
Click to find all of Leenie’s books at your favourite retailer.
The Saturday Broadsheet, with all my writing life updates, is now available at the link at the bottom of this short post. In this issue of the Broadsheet you will find:
Info about what is posting on my blog — which you probably already know. 🙂
My progress on several writing and publishing projects (If you are an email subscriber, there will be an exclusive excerpt from a story to read in this section.)
Info about three books that are on sale — one is mine, two are from Shannon Winslow
A video of review clips that I just recently made for Mr. Bingley Plans a Ball
A video about King Alfred and Anglo-Saxon Oatcakes
Hopefully, you will find something of interest and perhaps a book to add to your TBR (to be read) pile. 🙂
