Published to YouTube The Alena31 on February 13, 2011.
I was listening to this song last week — watching this video, actually — and it brought to mind Jack and Georgiana’s story. I think you’ll recognize why this story came to mind when you read the chapter I am sharing below. 🙂
Enticing Miss Darcy, Chapter 3
“I am expected?” Jack asked with a surreptitious glance toward Georgiana.
“Not so much expected as hoped for,” Lady Margaret said with a smile. “Now, come sit here, my boy.” She motioned to a chair that was between her and her granddaughter.
“We are always pleased to have you call, Mr. Ralston,” Elizabeth said as she rose to pour the tea.
Jack did not miss the relieved look that passed between Georgiana and Mrs. Darcy. Perhaps not everyone was hoping to see him as much as Lady Margaret implied.
“I am always delighted to be accepted into your drawing room,” he replied. “It is the expected thing for a gentleman to call upon a lady after a soiree, is it not? They have not changed the rules of propriety and politeness on me since last season, have they?”
Lady Margaret chuckled. “They have not.”
“It is lovely of you to have called,” Georgiana added. “Did you enjoy the ball last evening?”
Jack inclined his head indicating that he had enjoyed himself. Calls, even when made at the home of someone whom you knew, were not particularly enjoyable. The conversation was always so stilted – for propriety’s sake and all that nonsense.
“It was a very enjoyable evening, although I did leave with emptier pockets than when I arrived.” His lips quirked up into a half-smirk. “Not that I minded so much. I had every intention of leaving my money with Mrs. Pratt.”
“Diana,” he called to his sister before he followed the Uptons into the library.
She turned toward him.
“I’m sorry.”
She stood looking expectantly at him.
“For making a mess of things.”
She smiled at him.
“You will tell Victoria that?
[from His Darling Friend, A Touches of Austen Novella, and the current Sweet Tuesdays story]
Published to YouTube by xxnumber27xx on February 10, 2013.
Tomorrow’s chapter of His Darling Friend is the final chapter. The book will be going on pre-order tomorrow, and so, ahead of that, I have password protected most of the chapter posts so that Amazon will hopefully not flag the story as being available elsewhere and refuse to list it until the story is removed. The password for all protected chapters of His Darling Friend is ROGER2019.
“Is that so?” Carlyle taunted. “Exactly how good a friend is she, Shelton? We all know your reputation with the fairer sex.”
“Mr. Shelton.” Grace was at his elbow. “Please, do not hit him.”
“Why not?” He pulled his arm away from her. “Even you must know what he is insinuating about Victoria.”
“I do, and it is most improper. But think of the explanation that will be required if Mr. Carlyle returns with a black eye or bloody nose.” She looked at Carlyle and added, “Not that he does not deserve both.”
From the vehement tone she used to say that last bit, it appeared to Roger that there was some fire hidden within Miss Grace Love. Hopefully, she would learn to use that fire when dealing with her sister, who was smiling behind her fingers as if what was happening was the most amusing things she had ever witnessed.
“Do you find me entertaining, Miss Love?” Roger asked. “Or do you find it diverting when someone accuses another lady of impropriety?”
Felicity gasped. “You are very forward, Mr. Shelton.”
“And you are a conniving wench, Miss Love.”
[from His Darling Friend, A Touches of Austen Novella, and the current Sweet Tuesdays story]
Published to YouTube by SaraBethie on July 20, 2012.
I thought it imperative that I use and Emma video this week since His Darling Friend is nearly over since that story has touches of Emma in it. There are only two chapters left. 🙂 And I thought the title of the song went well with the snippet I shared above as well as the cliffhanger last sentence of tomorrow’s chapter. 😉
He glanced down the table at Victoria once again. She had taught him many things over the years. Was there ever a better friend that anyone could have? She leaned toward Clayton again. Roger caught his scowl before it could form and turned back to his soup.
“If she is such a good friend,” Grace whispered, “why do we not attempt to find her a husband? Every young lady needs one eventually.”
“She does not wish to marry just yet,” Roger answered.
“But she does look very pretty sitting next to Mr. Clayton and talking as she is. I know he has his heart set on my sister, but…” she let her words fall away, replacing them with a simple shrug.
Victoria looked pretty no matter who was sitting next to her or whether she was talking, being silent, or scolding him. Roger applied himself to eating his soup and attempted to keep his eyes from too often wandering down to where his friend sat.
[From His Darling Friend, A Touches of Austen Novella]
Published to YouTube by elementoffun on January 4, 2010.
Roger is just about to start listening to his heart in our Sweet Tuesday story, so I thought this would be a good song for this week. The video is a bit fuzzy, but I found it enjoyable anyway.
In writing news, I am continuing to work on Loving Lydia and His Darling Friend. I got a chapter of each written this past week. So, I am still one chapter behind where I would like to be with Lydia’s story, but both stories are progressing well. 🙂
I also finished the first chapter in the new story I mentioned in last Monday’s post. I also gave the story a name, which I will keep under wraps until I have an excerpt to share from it, and I changed my mind about who the hero will be. 🙂 So progress, even if it is not in the form of written words, is being made on that story, and I am feeling excited to get elbow deep in it. I’ve only spent about 2000 words or so with Kitty, but I’m really liking her.
If you saw my Friday Feature post, I also finally got that bundle of books I have been talking about published in Kindle Unlimited, where it will be until June. Because I intend to rotate some titles through Kindle Unlimited, I have also created a page on my website which will list them and have links to their Kindle sales pages. You can find that page by clicking on the drop-down arrow on the Leenie B Books item in the menu or here.
My newest book baby, Tom: To Secure His Legacy is doing well so far. He has out-earned the other books in the series when I compare their first month numbers and that is excellent even if that number is not a large one. I am delighted to see progress. 🙂 Thank you to all who have read or purchased that story. Your support of my writing is so appreciated. It’s still hard to believe after four years of publishing (as of yesterday) that I get to play games with my imaginary friends 😀 and share those stories with you. (I dreamed about being an author when I was young, but to have actually accomplished it is a wonderful feeling of being blessed. 🙂 )
Well, I do not have any new work in progress words to share with you today, so I am once again going to share an excerpt from an already published book. This book is in the bundle I just put in Kindle Unlimited and goes with the song/theme of following one’s heart.
Roger flopped back onto the grass and placed his hat over his eyes. “You will keep me safe from marauding females if I fall asleep, will you not?”
“Perhaps,” Victoria replied.
Roger lifted his hat and looked at her. She smiled in return, and he once again put his hat over his eyes. She would not let anyone accost him – at least, not anyone he did not wish to have accost him. The thought of him finally choosing someone to be his wife pricked her heart.
“You would not consider aparson, would you, Miss Hamilton?” Mr. Clayton asked.
“No, she would not,” Roger said from beneath his hat.
“I think I can speak for myself,” Victoria retorted.
[From tomorrow’s chapter of His Darling Friend, A Touches of Austen Novella]
Published to YouTube by Val on September 24, 2007
I really do not have a tie in between song and stories this week. I just happened to like this video. 🙂 So, let’s just get right into my writing news.
First, and absolutely most importantly…
Today is release day for Tom: To Secure His Legacy!
It is available in the Kindle store and in Kindle Unlimited. Currently, the price is reduced ($2.99 USD) and will remain that way until the end of the week, when it will go up ($4.99 USD). [All currencies are reduced and all currencies will be going up. I just could not list them all.]
Tomorrow, I will have a post about Tom’s story on Austen Authors. I hope you will drop by and maybe discover a few facts about coffeehouses, the London stock market, and how the two things go together.
Of course, don’t forget to also stop by and read Roger and Victoria’s story here tomorrow. 🙂 I managed to get caught up on this story this week! (But, I fell a week behind on Lydia’s story. 🙂 Eventually, it will all get caught up.)
Aside from writing two chapters of Roger’s story and getting my Austen Author’s post written. I started a new story! It has no title, and I have only written 1000 words or so. BUT… it is started! The plan so far has Kitty Bennet as the heroine and possibly Mr. Waller as the hero.
If you have read or when you read Tom’s story, there is a scene where Tom and Faith meet the Darcy’s (from Two Days Before Christmas) at a ball, and they have Mrs. Darcy’s sister Kitty with them because Kitty is visiting the Gardiners. The story I have just started will be set during this visit. The book will (probably) be the third in the Darcy Family Holidays series even though it stars a character from the Other Pens, Mansfield Park series. I am really enjoying having these two story worlds merging in places. I just love thinking of all these characters living in one big world.
I have removed Oxford Cottage, For Peace of Mind, Listen To Your Heart, Through Every Storm, and With the Colonel’s Help from all vendors except Amazon in preparation for the publication of Darcy and… A Pride and Prejudice Variations Anthology later this week. This anthology will be available in Kindle Unlimited for a minimum of three month. I have not committed to a definite plan on this yet as this is the first Pride and Prejudice work I have offered ever in Kindle Unlimited. Depending on how it does. If page reads stay high or sales are good, I might extend the Kindle Unlimited enrollment for a second three-month period. This is all a grand experiment at this point. But I know that just as there are some readers who only read in Kindle Unlimited, there are also parts of the world where buying books from Amazon is not a possibility. Therefore, I would love to figure out some way of rotating books through the Kindle Unlimited library and then back out to other distributors. I’ll do my best to keep you up-to-date on that here as well as in my newsletter.
And, that, I believe, is all my writing news for this week. I am still not far enough along in that new story to share from it. So, once again, here is an excerpt from a previously published story, and I think this excerpt might sort of go with the theme presented by today’s music choice of “Better Together” — even if not all the participants in this scene are terribly willing to cooperate 😀 and work together.
