The young lady above could be Miss Mary in my book Christmas in Gracechurch Street.
(Even if, as I look at this image while typing this, the dress reminds me a bit of one that Wes did not approve of Mary wearing in Persuading Miss Mary, but I digress. LOL)
You see, the Mary in Christmas in Gracechurch Street changes when she gets to town with Elizabeth. She becomes more fashionable, and well, as you can see from this excerpt, much more proficient with music. She’s been hiding a quite a few things actually, and discovering this new Mary was fun when I was writing.
Well… it was fun for me. It might have been a little less fun and more shocking and occasionally disconcerting for her sister. But then, I suppose that made it more fun for me. 🙂 Ah, my poor characters. Forced to entertain me before they entertain you.
In this excerpt, which is set in a music room at Matlock House, we are at the darker part of the romance for Elizabeth, which is why the first line is what it is. To find out what has happened to make Elizabeth wish to cry, you’ll have to read the book. 😉
The music room at Matlock House was not the proper place to dissolve into tears, especially when she could feel Lady Matlock’s eyes observing her.
“Do you sing, Miss Elizabeth?”
“Yes, I do.” She was certain she had never been happier for a change of topic.
“Then, you may choose which accomplishment you prefer to display for me: your singing or your playing.” She lifted a hand to signal Georgiana as the song Mary was playing drew to a close. “Miss Elizabeth must have a turn next,” she instructed before turning back to Elizabeth. “Which will it be? Singing or playing?”
“I suppose I shall sing?” Was that the best choice? Her voice was not dreadful, though it was not the sort that people paid to listen to at a concert hall either. It was easier to perform a piece vocally than to play anything without stumbling. Therefore, it was the right choice, was it not?
“Oh! What will you sing, Lizzy?” Mary asked eagerly. “I love listening to her sing,” she told Lady Matlock.
“You do?” Elizabeth had never seen any evidence of it. Mary had always appeared bored when listening to anyone sing.
“I could not let Mama know that I enjoyed it.”
“Why ever not? I do not see how that could have caused Mama to put your forward when you did not wish it.”
Mary’s brow furrowed. “I suppose you are correct, but I have admitted it was perhaps not the best-thought-out scheme.”
Lady Matlock looked between the two of them. “I admit to being consumed with curiosity. What scheme is this?”
Elizabeth was sure her eyes were as wide as Mary’s. In her surprise over Mary’s admission to liking to listen to her sing, Elizabeth had forgotten that Miss Darcy and her aunt did not know about Mary’s change from who she had been in Hertfordshire to who she was now.
“I apologize Mary. I was not thinking.”
“Think nothing of it. The whole thing is going to be revealed when we get home. I might as well confess to it now, especially since Lady Matlock and Georgiana will be joining us in Hertfordshire for Christmas.”
“This is only making me more curious,” Lady Matlock said.
“Me, too,” Georgiana added.
Are you curious, too? (It’s quite the scheme.)
Mary gets her own happily ever after in a short sequel called Midnight with Mary. The final chapter in that story, which is just after the chapter that makes me cry every. time. I. read. it. (EVERY TIME!), was inspired by a painting I shared some time back on a Wednesday called “Christmas Prayers” by Henry Bacon. You can see that picture at this link if you’d like.
Midnight With Mary is probably my favourite Mary story – and yes, the penultimate chapter makes me cry every time. It is a fine piece of writing on every level.
I must admit to envisaging the neckline on Mary’s dress in Persuading Miss mary to be a little lower even than that but maybe that’s because of Wes’s reaction to it; I seem to remember he is perfectly happy with it later in the novel
I’m happy to not be alone in crying over that chapter 🙂 I’m glad you like that story. It is definitely one of my favourites for Mary. (I struggle to pick “a” favourite lol)
Yes, Wes was perfectly happy with that dress later in the novel. LOL Funny how his point of view of it shifted as soon as she was “no longer on the market.”
I love that painting. And I love both of those Mary books. Which one is my favorite depends on which one I’m reading.
Love the one you’re with is a perfectly acceptable philosophy when it comes to books. 😉