Deux Soeurs (Two Sisters), William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1901. [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons
The relationship between sisters sure does go through changes as they grow up. Mary and Lydia's relationship is shifting in this story -- especially in Chapter 7 from where the excerpt below is taken. It's a bit of a role reversal as the little sister is stepping up to care for the big sister.
~*~*~
Lydia threw her arms around Mary and pulled her into a tight hug. “Oh, Mary! Being alone in the middle must be dreadful! How you must suffer for it. I will not allow it to be any longer,” she said, and then, she did something she had not done since they were both very young. She kissed Mary’s cheek.
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
Pearson Scott Foresman [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons.
Isn't this a smart looking carriage? I am certain there must be vehicles equal to this one in the park when Wes goes out for a ride and meets Darcy in chapter 6, from which the excerpt below is taken.
~*~*~
“I had not thought to see you out driving,” Wes said to Darcy.
“Ah, but I have sisters and a wife who must see and be seen.”
“It is not a very good day for it,” Wes commented, looking at the darkening clouds.
“But the canopy can be put into place quickly,” Darcy assured him. “You, on the other hand, will be fortunate to arrive home without being thoroughly soaked.”
“I think I can manage a bit of a drenching.”
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
[I think she could be reading to an elderly employer or just enjoying herself as she waited to be summoned to do something for her employer. Don't you?]
~*~*~
He took his wife’s hand again. “I actually had to travel all the way to Scotland just to find her.”
“Scotland?” Lydia cried. “But you do not sound Scottish.”
Lady Matlock laughed. “I am not. My father had died, you see. His estate passed to my uncle, and my uncle thought that it was far better that I take a position as a companion than attend school. As he saw it, I could learn all I needed to about how to behave as a proper lady while earning my keep and costing him not a cent.”
“Fortunately, years earlier, my great aunt had married a Scottish landowner,” Lord Matlock added. “And when he died, she had the great good sense to employ the prettiest companion I have ever seen.”
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
Grace pasted a smile on her lips. She had been doing her best to not meet up with her mother, for doing so would inevitably lead to having to speak with her sister. And, she was not wrong, for Felicity was at her mother’s side, looking all eagerness.
“He was very nice looking and exceptionally light on his feet,” said Mrs. Love.
“Oh, indeed!” Felicity cried. “He might be one of the best dancers here.”
“Even better than Mr. Ramsey?” Grace asked. Her sister should be thinking only of Mr. Ramsey, but, of course, she was not.
“Yes, I do believe so, though I would not for all the world tell him so,” her sister replied.
“What was his name?” her mother asked eagerly.
“Mr. Norman,” Grace replied. “He is a physician.”
Her mother gasped and blinked. “A physician? He has no estate?”
A wicked thought captured Grace’s imagination. “None of which I know, but he has a home here in Bath. Some rooms somewhere. I really do not know where. There is still so much to learn about Bath.”
[from Her Secret Beau, Touches of Austen Book 3]
The Dance by Doug Hammer, Provided to YouTube by CDBaby on July 2, 2105.
I chose this song from my Music to Write By playlist because of the title and because of the playful tone. Tomorrow’s story begins with the clip above in which dancing is mentioned and where a dance all of Grace’s own making begins. 🙂 The question is — will the dance go as planned or will some stumbling and tripping happen along the way causing some ungraceful moments or worse, a catastrophe?
I’m also going to share a scene from a previously published book below. In this scene, there is also a game or dance set to begin, but first, let me update you on the progress of my current writing projects. Continue reading Music Monday: The Dance (Doug Hammer)
Woman Playing a Mandolin, De Scott Evans. [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons.
~*~*~
What had his mother done to Miss Mary? Her hair was piled loosely on her head with a few curls arranged in a becoming fashion to frame her face, and her dress was neither somber in color nor fit. Had he ever seen a lady with a complexion so well-suited to that shade of pink?
Lady Matlock coughed softly, and Wes darted a guilty look at her. However, it was not he who was the subject of his mother’s displeasure.
“The lace.” Lady Matlock extended her hand in Mary’s direction.
Surely, she was not going to make Mary discard that lace, was she? The neckline of Miss Mary’s dress was tantalizing enough with the lace where it was.
Mary drew and released a breath in a heavy sigh as she did what Wes feared she would and removed the lace she had tucked into her dress to cover herself.
The effect was pleasing, but…
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
