Settle into a comfy reading spot. This is a long one. 🙂
Summer is here in Nova Scotia, and there is no denying its arrival as the weather has let us know, without question, that a new season is upon us. (We’ve had several hot days which is a little earlier than normal for us.) I have had my first osteopath appointment since the clinic was shut down because of the pandemic, and while it was helpful, I still have a long way to go to get all the kinks worked out. However, I now have a treatment plan in place, and that feels good.
As I mentioned in the last Saturday Broadsheet, I am cutting back and taking it a bit easy this summer for health reasons. This will include some changes to what is being posted each week on my blog and the frequency of this newsletter. Starting in July, the Saturday Broadsheet will be delivered once per month.
I have added a new change to my summer business plans.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE ON MAY 15, 2020, BY LUKA SULIC
This was another one of those just happened to see it recommended on YouTube songs. I have listened to a lot of Luka’s music both as a solo player and as part of 2Cellos, and I have like nearly everything I have heard. This was no exception. This song is originally by a heavy metal band, so I was interested to see how the song was played on a cello. The results are simply beautiful in my opinion, and I had to share it with you.
I have paired it with a chapter from Waking to Mr. Darcy because in this story nothing else matters as much as seeing to Elizabeth’s well-being.
Darcy rolled the sleeves of his shirt, which were several inches too long, so that Elizabeth’s hands were visible. He straightened the collar and pulled the bedclothes over her, making sure to place her hands and arms outside the quilt as he tucked it around her small frame. He brushed a stray strand of hair away from her pale face. She was still not warm, but she was clean, and she was dry, and Darcy hoped that the two would be enough to stave off any fever. “I am sorry,” he repeated yet again. How many times had he said those words? He felt as if he could never say them enough. “If there were any other way….” He sighed. “But there was not. I shall be good to you.” He gathered her clothes. “I am sorry,” he whispered it once more before he exited the room.
“You still do not look well,” said Bingley from where he sat near the fire. “Although you are not so pale as you were.” He tipped his head. “In fact, you look rather flushed.”
Darcy chose not to acknowledge the comment or the teasing tone in which it was said. He was feeling rather flummoxed. His heart had already begun to betray him before this evening, but now it seemed to have utterly abandoned all sense of reason. He pulled on his coat and turned toward the door.
“Are you going for help?” Bingley jumped to his feet.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY PIANO TIME ON MARCH 23, 2020.
I find it mesmerizing to watch the lights dropping down, showing the notes. That is why I chose this video to share today. The reason I chose the song is for the title, for today, I am sharing a chapter from my very first published book, Oxford Cottage, which is where the dark part of the tale begins.
Darcy looked across the assembly hall and watched the dancers as they wound their way through the steps of a country dance. His eyes followed Elizabeth for a few moments before he pulled his attention back to the rest of the people standing around him.
Just to his left, Mrs. Bennet fidgeted and fussed with Kitty’s dress. “Stand up straight, Kitty,” she scolded. “No man wants a woman who is all bent and crumpled.”
“Yes, Mama,” said Kitty.
Darcy suppressed a chuckle as he watched Kitty roll her eyes before she pulled herself up, squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. It reminded him of Georgiana. How often had he, when watching Miss Kitty, noticed similarities between the two young ladies? Both shared an exuberance for life that was infectious, and neither appreciated the reminder to carry themselves in what society deemed a ladylike fashion. Miss Kitty was a bit silly, but she was a sweet and caring young lady. She was the sort of young lady with whom Darcy did not mind having his sister associate.
Having seen to her daughter’s lack of posture, Mrs. Bennet had moved on to discussing with several local ladies her very good fortune of having “three daughters so agreeably attached.” Mr. Bennet was attempting to calm his wife’s happy nerves in order to keep her voice at an acceptable volume. Darcy shook his head slightly and smiled. How a man as intelligent as Mr. Bennet could abide such a fluttering wife was beyond his comprehension.
But he knew it to be true that Mr. Bennet did not just abide his wife, he loved her and showed it through his solicitous attentions and patience. Although some might only see the man who teased and laughed at his wife’s silliness, Darcy had observed the soft glow of his eyes and an occasional touch that accompanied such teasing. Mrs. Bennet often responded in a huff of emotions but there was always a twinkle in her eye, a little wink, or a slight upturn of her mouth which let him know she was not truly put out by her husband’s comments. It was a dance of words and actions, a game they played, a game he was just beginning to learn to play with his beloved Elizabeth. He allowed himself the pleasure of once again watching her dance.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY JJHELLERMUSIC ON AUGUST 7, 2015.
I thought we should have a happy, catchy, upbeat tune today to go with a happy chapter of Her Father’s Choice. 🙂
In Her Father’s Choice, Darcy and Elizabeth’s freedom to choose each other is taken from them as they are forced together through a planned compromise. However, as you will see in the chapter below, Darcy is quick to realize that even if he had not been forced to offer to marry Elizabeth, he still would have chosen her — they were meant to be. (Elizabeth will figure it out later.) And that’s the reason I picked this song.
Lady Sophia tapped her toe as she waited in the sitting room with Georgiana at Darcy House. “He should expect me to be early. I always am.” She straightened her sleeve. “I am curious to meet the lady who has finally captured your brother.”
“Captured would be the proper word for it,” said Richard, entering the room and giving first his aunt a kiss and then Georgiana. “I did not realize you were coming today, Georgiana.”
Georgiana pursed her lips and looked at her aunt. “I was not supposed to come.”
“An omission made in error, I am sure.”
Georgiana looked at her aunt doubtfully. “My brother does not make errors of omission. He is the most fastidious correspondent.”
“Ah, well, your brother does not get married every day, either.” She smiled and raised her brows, which combined with the twinkle in her eye, made her look very impertinent. “He will see his error as soon as I have explained it to him.” She patted Georgiana’s hand reassuringly before turning to Richard. “Now, tell me why captured is the proper word.”
“It seems –” began Richard.
“That I am the topic of gossip within my own home,” finished Darcy as he entered the room and gave Richard a stern look. “Georgiana! It is a surprise to see you.” He placed a kiss on his sister’s cheek while giving a questioning look to his aunt.
Clicking this image will take you to the Historical Romance 40% off page where my book is listed. Use the code FEBSALE at check out for the discount.
Kobo has included Persuading Miss Mary in its February 40% off sale! So from now until Monday is a fantastic time to pick this book up if you are a Kobo reader. You must use the code FEBSALE at checkout to take advantage of the special pricing.
About the book:
Reginald Arthur Fitzwilliam, Viscount Westonbury, has never met a lady like Mary Bennet. Most debutants would be happy to have his attention, and who could blame them? He’s titled, wealthy, charming, and handsome — everything one could want for in a husband unless you’re Mary Bennet.
From their first meeting when she scolded him for his behaviour and made it perfectly clear that she did not care one jot for his title or fortune, Wes has known that Mary is no standard-order, ton-approved debutant. She is something far better. She is a lady who sees him for himself and not his accouterments.
However, there are two things that Mary Bennet absolutely despises — a flagrant disregard for the rules of propriety and disrespect, and Lord Westonbury, who has treated her sisters ill, embodies both. She would rather he ignored her, but sadly he seems bent on provoking her at every turn. It is, therefore, with trepidation that her father allows her to accompany her sister to town.
When Wes discovers that his mother is hosting Mary and her sister at Matlock House, he sets about the task of persuading Mary that he is not so bad as she thinks, for he would dearly love to court her. However, he will soon discover that even his charm is not going to be enough to sway her. She demands more than pretty words, which will require him to take a serious look at his life of pleasure and weigh it against those demands and his growing love for her. But can he make the necessary changes to prove his devotion, and if he can make them, will they be enough? Or will he always be found wanting in her eyes?
You may like to also know:
Persuading Miss Mary is book four in my Marrying Elizabeth series and was a Thursday’s Three Hundred weekly work in progress before it was published. Book 5 of that series is now posting on Thursdays.
