I saw this picture and thought of this rather memorable ladies having tea scene below. Here, Mary Ellen Dobney is sharing the true story behind a story that Lydia heard Captain Harris tell in Brighton. Captain Harris is Mary Ellen’s cousin, and Lydia has never liked him. Enjoy!
Continue reading Ladies Having Tea (Albert Lynch)
I thought the picture above of a young woman in a garden would go well with the excerpt of Elizabeth in a garden below from The Tenant’s Guest.
Elizabeth stood just beyond a low border, watching Cecily play with her children in the garden. The ball rolled toward the large tree that shadowed the far corner, and Lucas Abbot, the elder brother at nearly four years of age, ran after it while Aiden Abbott, the younger brother and just three months past his first birthday, swayed slightly and then took one wobbly step followed by another equally unstable step before falling with a plop to the ground. The action of dropping so ungracefully to the ground did not please the young child. His scowl before he took to crawling after his brother made Elizabeth smile. He was a determined young man. A little fall was not going to stop him from pursuing his goal, which at this moment was the ball with which his brother was taunting him.
Cecily waved to Elizabeth. “Come, join us.”
Elizabeth, having just returned from what had proven to be a rather disturbing call at the parsonage and wishing for some time to think about all Lucy had shared with her, would have made her excuses and gone into the house. However, the motion of his mother had turned Aiden toward Elizabeth, and the ball was seemingly forgotten in favour of the new arrival.
“Izabef!” Lucas, ball in hand, reached her before his brother could. “Will you play ball with me, Izabef?”
Elizabeth tousled the boy’s hair. “Of course. Do you wish to run before I throw it?”
The young man’s head shook furiously from side to side. “I want to race it.”
“Very well.” Elizabeth took the ball from his hands and squatted down. “Ready,” she warned. “Go.”
The ball rolled along the grass, passing just beside Aiden, who stopped and sat, looking first at Elizabeth and then the ball — clearly unsure which should get his attention.
“Lucy, I am here to offer comfort to you, not garner your praise.” He (Philip) chuckled.
“Passing on my father’s praise gives me comfort. It makes it seem less like he is gone.”
“Then, I shall attempt to receive his compliments graciously.” He leaned back and looked toward the grave next to which she had been kneeling. “You said you were sharing news with your father. Is it anything with which I could be of assistance?”
She tilted her head and gave him a searching look. She had promised her father that she would speak to each of the men on his list. However, she had intended to do so with her Aunt Tess present, not while alone in a churchyard.
[from And Then Love]
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY ROBIN SPIELBERG – TOPIC ON JUNE 23, 2015
This week’s choice from my Music to Write By playlist on Spotify, After All*, seemed well-titled to go with today’s short excerpt from The Tenant’s Guest.
In this excerpt, Darcy and Elizabeth have met to talk the day following their surprise reunion at Willow Hall.
“What do you wish?” Her heart drummed fast and heavy in her chest as she voiced the question.
He smiled sadly. “My wishes and desires remain as they were.”
Her cheeks reddened, and she had to look away as she asked, “And what if my wishes have changed?” She looked back at him briefly before looking away once again. “Is there any hope that we might ever be more?” She shook her head. “I know I do not deserve it, but might I have a second chance?” Nearly before she had finished speaking the words, she found herself wrapped in his embrace, and then just as quickly, she was standing on the path looking at his back.
“Forgive me. I should not have — ”
“I am uninjured, sir,” she interrupted.
“But I had no right — ” Her smile as he turned toward her snatched all thought from his head.
“I am uninjured, sir,” she repeated. “In fact, I find I am quite well — more well than I have been in months.”
[from The Tenant’s Guest]
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*The link in the first paragraph is to the song on Spotify. This is not an affiliate link. It is just my way of attempting to help out the artists whose music I share.
PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY THE TENORS VEVO ON JUNE 18, 2015.
Isn’t this a perfect song for the Monday after Father’s Day Sunday? I thought it was. 🙂 I have paired it with an excerpt from At All Costs. Bingley looked up to his father and learned many good lessons from him. In fact, one of these lessons is where the title of this book comes from. It’s here in this line, which is from very, very near the end of the book: “My father taught me many things, but the one he stressed more than any other was that a man must protect that which is dear to him at all costs.” Below is another place in this book where Bingley is thinking about his father.
At All Costs, Chapter 4 Excerpt
“Harris is to leave with you when you leave Derbyshire, is he not?” Bingley cut a sidelong glance at Richard, who nodded, as they walked. Harris was an ever-present annoyance that Bingley would gladly see gone. “Is it not possible to send him back to Brighton early?”
Richard laughed. “I have no reason to do so.”
Bingley sighed. “That is unfortunate.”
And it was unfortunate indeed, for that very gentleman happened to be the one that brought Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth to Pemberley. It was also Harris who took Jane’s arm as they strolled around the garden, and it was Harris who claimed the seat next to Jane when they all finally paused for a rest. And it was also Harris who was now monopolizing the conversation.
“It is a lovely day, is it not?” Harris asked as they sat in the shadow cast by Pemberley across the side garden at this time of day.
It was the consensus that it was indeed a fine day — for the weather was pleasant. However, for two of the party, the day was not so fine as it could have been. Bingley was in general annoyed by the presence of Harris and, in specific, irked by Harris’s attentions to Jane.
Continue reading MM: My Father’s Son (The Tenors)
