Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
I chose today’s picture because these Wednesday Story Connection posts (along with the What’s Up Wednesday ones) are going to take a siesta during the month of August. My hubby is on vacation, and I plan to take a few days off to do things with him. I am also behind on writing projects, so I need to free up some time for that. I plan to pick up the Wednesday posts again in September – probably mid-month.
I was able to remember a story where Mr. Darcy sleeps in a chair next to Elizabeth’s bed, and I have extracted a portion of that story below for your reading pleasure.
Waking to Mr. Darcy is in Kindle Unlimited, so it is only available on Amazon. If you don’t already have this book in your library, I decided just now to set it to free for one day — TOMORROW, August 8 — as a totally random surprise.
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.
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.
I’m trying some changes. Here’s what they are and why.
Have you ever been so tired that you put the jar of protein powder in the fridge instead of in the cupboard next to the fridge? I have been. Several times lately.
The lockdown is taking its toll. Later this month, I will get to return for an appointment with my osteopath. I have not seen her or any of the health care team at her clinic for more than 6 months now. This, coupled with just the stresses we all face during our current world situation, has not done my health any favours. Much of the progress we had been making on correcting some sleep issues while still keeping me relatively free from pain (I have some disc issues) has been lost.
I know that getting in to see my healthcare team will be even trickier now as appointments per day for the clinic are being restricted due to health measures that are in place. This means it will be a while before a regular pattern of treatments will resume for me.
With this in mind, I am looking at ways to adjust, rearrange, and/or lessen my workload, thereby easing some of the stress on my body at least for the summer months and possibly longer if I find the changes work well. Rest assured that creating stories for you to read will remain my priority.
Trust me. Cutting back is not something I find easy to do (I am a bit of a workaholic), but I know it is necessary. Here are the changes I have planned at this time:
Grace Love was not the sort of lady who sat on the side during dances. She was not the sort of lady who stayed at home when there was an outing to the park. She was not the sort of lady who avoided any sort of fun. Or, at least, she had not been such a lady until now. And all it had taken for Grace’s world to change had been one house party.
With eyes narrowed, she watched the progress of her sister’s hat as the carriage Felicity was perched in made its way down the street.
“Grace, dear, do not spill your tea on that chair.”
“Of course, Mama.” Grace pulled her attention back to the sitting room in the house they were renting for the season and away from her treacherous sister.
[from Her Secret Bea, Touches of Austen Book 3]
Provided to YouTube by CDBaby. Published on YouTube on July 5, 2015.
I had considered attempting to find songs with either the word secret or whisper in the title for each week that this story posts. However, I do not know how many weeks that will be, and I thought I might get bored of that. 😀 So, I might toss in a few secretively titled songs over the weeks but not every week. This week, I have selected a song that is on my Music to Write By playlist on Spotify that has a title which reflects what must happen as a story is being written. The imagination must dance! 🙂
And my imagination has been dancing. I am not sure how many conversations Mary and Wes have had in my mind this week. It all has to do with future possibilities, however, and not the portion of the story I am currently writing. They are even making it a bit of a challenge to focus on any other story but theirs. But then, we should expect Lord Westonbury to be a bit troublesome, shouldn’t we? LOL Continue reading Music Monday: Dance of the Imagination (Greg Maroney)
