La leçon de piano (English: The piano lesson); Collection privée Photographie by P.F. Rieder; Marcel Rieder (1862-1942) [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons
~*~*~
“I have one more duty to perform before I will allow you all to eat and be merry as is required on a day such as this,” Mr. Bennet said. “My youngest, along with the assistance of Miss Darcy, has prepared some music to start us off while we eat.”
“Did you know about this? Did Georgiana tell you?” Elizabeth whispered to Darcy.
“I did know about it, but it was not Georgie who told me.”
[from Loving Lydia, book 3 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
Sketch of the church at Allington, Kent; from Notes on the churches in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey; Arthur Hussey [Public domain]; via Wikimedia Commons
~*~*~
“You are looking handsome, as always,” Lady Matlock greeted Darcy. She motioned for him to stand in front of her so that she could straighten his jacket, though it did not need it.
“Your mother would be pleased to see you so happy.” She placed a hand on his cheek. “Your father, too, but I think a son’s wedding day is more a time for a mother to be nostalgic than it is for a father.”
[from Loving Lydia, book 3 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
Fashion Plate (Promenade Dress). England, London, October 1, 1824. Rudolph Ackermann. Los Angeles County Museum of Art [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons
~*~*~
“Oh, do skip over the people I know, Reginald.” She huffed. “Why must you insist on being such a trial?”
“Because I am much like you?”
“Reginald Arthur Fitzwilliam, do your duty as you should,” Lady Matlock retorted.
Westonbury chuckled. “My full name and not even five minutes have passed. That must be a record.”
“Indeed,” his mother replied dryly but with a smile for her eldest son. “Now, get on with it. And do it properly.”
[from Loving Lydia, book 3 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
A doctor placing his hand on the head of a sick boy, outside a country cottage. Photogravure after R. Hedley, 1898. Iconographic Collections Keywords: Ralph Hedley. Wellcome Images (public domain) via Wikimedia Commons.
A/N: We are not going to meet Lady M this week. The residents of Netherfield and Longbourn are just preparing for her arrival, and this image made me think of her.
~*~*~
“It is good to see you in the drawing room,” Darcy looked up from the book he was reading as Richard entered the room with his brother standing watchfully at his side.
“I hear Mother is to arrive. I thought it best to look as fit as possible so that she would not send for every doctor in London.”
“And a few from other locales,” Westonbury quipped.
Lady Matlock had never been one to just allow her children to recuperate as the good Lord deemed, as her husband said it. As certain as her husband was about the fact that medication and doctors were not needed for every ailment, she was equally as certain that if doctors and medication were not needed then the good Lord would not have allowed them to exist. Therefore, if her children did not regain their health and vigour within a specified window of time – more or less mutually agreed upon between Lord and Lady Matlock – a physician would be sought.
[from Loving Lydia, book 3 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
“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.
