“Eine Hochzeitsfeier unter dem Direktorium” Georges Cain, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
She (Lydia) tipped her head as she smiled up at him. Tears hung on her lashes. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?” he (Marcus) asked.
“For loving me.” She blinked rapidly to keep the tears in their place.
“How could I not,” he pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. “Are you certain you cannot desert our guests even for a few moments? I should very much like to kiss my wife.”
She giggled. “I think we might be able to slip into the garden for a few moments.” She arched a brow. “I know which paths are not well lit.”
“Have I told you how brilliant you are, Mrs. Dobney?” he asked as he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and led her onto the terrace.
“No, I do not believe you have,” she replied. “Down this path.” She pulled him off to the right and around a corner behind a bush.
He pulled her into his embrace. “You, Mrs. Dobney, are brilliant.”
She smiled. “Not many have ever called me that.”
“I suppose not everyone can be as wise as I,” he tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. “If they saw what I see, they would agree.”
“Are you going to kiss me?”
“Are you eager to return?” he teased, caressing her cheek with his thumb.
She shook her head. “No, just to be kissed.”
[from the epilogue to the Willow Hall series by Leenie Brown]
Shall we begin the final Monday in February with the final Love Song of the month and an excerpt from one of my books?
I heard this song while wandering a grocery store aisle a week or so ago. I had not heard it for some time and had forgotten about it, actually. However, while choosing a bottle of salsa for my youngest son and singing along with the radio, I decided it would be a good song to share today.
Later, I listened to it again at home to pick a story to go with the song. The story that came to mind first was So Very Unexpected because that is a story where the hero stands next to the heroine and protects and guides her into their happily ever after. The hero also has a wonderful model of marriage to use as his guide — that of his mother and father.
In fact, the line below is spoken by Marcus’s father, who falls in love with the idea of having Lydia for his daughter.
Yes, this Lydia is a very different sort of Lydia, but then, when do I write standard-issue characters. 😉 LOL
So Very Unexpected, Lydia and Marcus’s story, is book three of my Pride and Prejudice variation series Willow Hall.
Click to find all of Leenie’s books at your favourite retailer.
This was one of those songs that I just happened upon while doing some random listening and the dishes. The line in this song “I like you walking next to me” made me think of the scene from And Then Love that I am sharing below. At this point in the story, neither Philip or Lucy has figured out that they might more than like each other — although Darcy seems to see it. 🙂
The rain had only started to fall lightly as the parishioners began to file out of the small church in Kympton. The migration of people from pew to door was a slow one as each took a moment to comment on Mr. Dobney’s sermon and to congratulate him on his upcoming marriage.
Rather than joining the numbers that lined the aisle, Lucy remained seated near the front of the church but turned so that she might watch the man she would soon call husband. He smiled and laughed. He ruffled the hair of children and shook the hands of their fathers. He had always greeted people with such ease and welcome — as if he had always known them.
She rested an elbow on the back of the pew and her head lightly on her hand as she watched him nod his head and tap his lip with a finger before replying to Mr. Evans. She knew from the actions that he was giving some bit of advice, for he never did so without at least a moment’s thought. Even when they were children, he had been the one to whom the others had looked to for guidance, and he had provided it without ever making one of them feel as if they were lacking in any way.
She smiled as he leaned his tall frame down to speak closely into Mrs. Walcroft’s ear. Others might have raised their voice to talk to the woman, but he never did. Philip was cautious not to injure the dignity of others, no matter their age or frailties. It was something she had always admired about him; however, not all had found the trait admirable. In fact, there were those who, at one time, had thought it a weakness and had teased Philip relentlessly.
It was not the only thing about which Philip had been teased. He had been gangly as a young man. His arms and legs seemed to grow rapidly, much more rapidly than his ability to use them with grace and dignity. He had also been rather skinny until he had gone away to college. However, during those years, his body had finally righted itself. He had not added another inch to his height, and he was no longer skinny.
She ducked her head as she felt a bit of colour creeping into cheeks when she realized just how fine he now appeared to her. He was still taller than most, but his clothes no longer hung on him. She turned her mind away from admiring how his jacket now stretched across his back and wrapped snuggly around arms that were well-muscled and strong.
Lucy rested a gloved finger on her lips. She had chosen him for his admirable character, but since that kiss two days ago…
She swallowed and rose from her seat. This was not the place to be contemplating fine figures or kisses. However, she could not resist taking one more look at Philip before she ducked out the side door.
A pained expression created a great furrow between Grace’s eyes. “Then, how is one ever to know if one is in love enough to marry?”
“That is an excellent question,” Roger replied, turning to Walter. “Do you have an explanation? You always had some reply when we pondered such impossible things in school.”
[from Her Secret Beau, Touches of Austen Book 3]
Published to YouTube by TheAlena31 on February 7, 2011.
Today marks the beginning of my husband’s vacation time, which means a reduced number of work hours for both him and me. There will be a full week of blog posts this week, but next week the blog will be rather bare with only a Monday post.
The song title for the video today, I think, goes well with both tomorrow’s chapter of Grace’s story and the excerpt from a previously published, currently being updated book at the end of this post because only time will tell how each of these situations is going to work out. (They will work out. That’s not the question really. It’s more how will they work out.)
Can you believe it is August already? July certainly seemed to fly by. This upcoming month will be a busy and fun one for me as my husband will be off from one of his jobs for part of the month. So, I’ll be cutting back on some of my work time while still attempting to keep a few projects on track.
Published to YouTube by YirumaVEVO on July 12, 2019.
And that cutting back means there will be some impact on the blog — but it should be minimal. These Monday posts might end up being abbreviated and there will be one week (August 19-23) when there will be no posts at all. Yes, there will be a two-week wait between chapters for both the Sweet Tuesdays story and the Thursday’s Three Hundred story. However, I will make sure our couples are in happy places the week prior. So, there will be no cliffs to hang off of for those two weeks. 🙂
