Pride and Prejudice Variation – Page 8

Walking Dress (c. 1803/1804)

Fashion Plate (Walking Dress). England, early 19th century, between circa 1803 and circa 1804. Possibly from Madame Lanchester’s 1803-1804 *La Miroir de la Mode*. The drawing was copied and reused in October 1812 in *La Belle Assemblée* with a fur-trimmed pelisse and other slightly changed details. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Mary saw the horse only a moment before it rose in the air. She had been so caught in her imagination and so certain the horses would stay to their path racing along the adjoining field that she had not expected one of them to approach her. With a startled cry, Mary jumped to the side, but not with any sort of grace. Her ankle rolled, sending her sprawling on the ground. The hedge snagged her bonnet as she fell, yanking it from her head and freeing a hairpin or two so that a portion of her hair fell in waves to her shoulders.

“Blast,” she muttered as she sat up and rotated one wrist and then the other. They hurt but had not sustained any significant damage from catching her on landing. Her gloves, however, were not so fortunate. One had a rip across the palm, and both were covered in soil, as was her skirt, which she flicked quickly to cover her legs.

“Are you injured?” Fred knelt beside her. “I did not see you there.” He took Mary’s arm as she attempted to rise with some grace.

“My glove is ruined.” She winced as she stood. “And my ankle…ooh,” she moaned a bit as she tried putting her weight on it. It was tender but not broken.

Fred wrapped an arm around her waist.

Mary pulled away. “Sir, please.”

“I only wish to help.”

“Then fetch my hat while I straighten my clothing and assess if there are any further injuries.” She gave him a stern look that begged him to comply. It was the look she had used with limited success on Lydia. Thankfully, this handsome young man did not seem so stubborn as her younger sister and complied. Mary brushed dirt from her skirt and took a limping step. Her left hip was nearly as sore as her ankle.

[from A Very Mary Christmas by Leenie Brown]

*A Very Mary Christmas* is one of the five novellas in this Cottage Collection.

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Walking Dress (1814)

Fashion Plate (Walking Dress). Rudolph Ackermann. England, London, August 1814. Hand-colored engraving on paper. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

“I had thought her father would bring something for her to wear.”

“If she wakes before he arrives, she cannot get out of bed.” He intentionally looked away from Bingley as he said it. He could feel his face and ears growing warmer as he thought of why she could not get out of bed. His shirt was plenty large and hung to her knees or nearly so, but the way it draped around her body and its ability to only mask what lay beneath made it far from decent. “She is not exactly dressed for company.” He pulled his hat down as Bingley chuckled softly. “I will rinse her clothes in the rain as best I can and then wash them in the water you prepare.” He opened the door and stepped outside.

Darcy placed a bucket of rainwater inside the door and waited while Bingley found a basin and then emptied the water into a large pot for heating before returning the bucket to Darcy.

Darcy tugged the door shut and returned the bucket to where it could collect water and be reached without venturing too far into the rain to retrieve it. Then, he placed Elizabeth’s clothing on the portion of the woodpile that was exposed to the wind and rain where the roof of the structure built to keep the wood dry was broken and partially missing. Bingley would need to fix that as soon as possible if he wished to have a place to escape his sister and enough wood to keep him warm and fed while hiding.

Darcy rubbed the fabric of Elizabeth’s stockings, trying to help the rain remove the stains of mud and blood. Then, setting them aside, he attended to her chemise and petticoat before working on her dress. Try as he might, he could not keep his mind from wandering to the wearer of the garments.

from Waking to Mr. Darcy

*Waking to Mr. Darcy* is one of the five novellas in this Cottage Collection.

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Lavender’s Blue Dilly Dilly (Cinderella 2015)

I thought we would start this week with a lovely song from a screen version of my favourite fairytale and a few lines from a story where a lady with little by way of fortune finds an unlikely “fairy godmother” who provides her with the opportunity to marry her very own ~~prince~~, I mean, colonel. 😉

Not an Heiress is part of my Dash of Darcy and Companions collection and is a sequel to Discovering Mr. Darcy. This novella is available as a single title and also as part of Cottage Collection 1.

I would say Not an Heiress falls in the realm of being rom-com and pushes at the upper end of my PG-13 rating since an actual compromise does happen. (Not on the page, but it does happen.)

Currently, you can get Cottage Collection 1 for the same price as Not an Heiress by itself. Cottage Collection 2 is on sale for 40% off at Kobo, so I decided to lower the price of Collection 1 at the same time. More info and links can be found on the Current Book Promotions page.

Morning Dress for April 1801

From *The Lady’s Monthly Museum*. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

She looked at the faces which stared back at her in disbelief. “I am not fit for bedlam, if that is what you are thinking. I know it is a sudden turnabout, but a turnabout it is. I have made my choice and am moving forward. How is it you said it, Richard? The past is in the past? And that is where it shall stay.”

“And you are certain of this, Catherine?” questioned Lady Matlock. “You are not just taking the role expected of you for the sake of the family?”

“Good heavens, no!” Lady Catherine shook her head. “I have spent far too many years doing as the family expects. Is not a lady in her dotage allowed to do the unexpected? In three weeks, I shall hand over the care of Rosings to the younger set and shall begin to take my ease.”

[from Listen to Your Heart]

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Vauxhall on a Gala Night (Richard Phillips c.1804)

Image extracted from page 503 of *Modern London; being the history and present state of the British Metropolis. Illustrated with numerous copper plates*, by Richard Phillips. Picture dated as published June 11, 1804. Original held and digitised by the British Library. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Elizabeth placed her hand on Darcy’s arm and allowed him to escort her from their supper box and toward one of the numerous paths in Vauxhall Gardens. The vast number of people that filled the supper boxes and paths was astonishing, and then when the torches were lit, and the orchestra was playing while waiters scurried back and forth making certain that all in attendance were happy, it was nearly overwhelming. She had heard stories of this place, but until now, she had never truly imagined its grandeur.

Darcy drew Elizabeth closer to his side as they strolled. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Immensely.”

[from Unravelling Mr. Darcy]

The ebook edition of Unravelling Mr. Darcy is on sale everywhere for 99¢ USD, CAD, EUR, GBP, NZD, AUD, with all other currencies also reduced, until March 31, 2021.

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