Un Adieu Poignant, Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons.
Tomorrow's story begins with a parting so I thought this painting would be a good one to pair with the short prologue to this yet unnamed story.
~*~*~
“Are you certain this is what you want?”
Langley turned away from Lady Matlock to find Mr. Bennet observing him with great interest and a hint of compassion. He allowed himself to glance at Kitty…
He nodded as he turned back to her father. “It is.” This lie did not fall more easily from his lips than any of the others had so far today.
Pride and Prejudice Chapter 15 Illustration by C.E. Brock (public domain) via Wikimedia Commons
~*~*~
An officer stood near the youngest Bennet sisters, while two other gentlemen stood on either side of Miss Elizabeth. The first was dressed in the dark garb of a parson and the second–Darcy clenched his jaw to keep from speaking.
[from Two Days in November, A Pride and Prejudice Inspired Short Story]
A Meeting by the Stile, Heywood Hardy [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons
This attitude in this picture is a brighter than the one in the first part of Two Days in November, but the title was perfect. :) This painting also has too many sisters in it because there are two, not three, sisters in my story and only one of those sisters is sitting at the stile when Darcy comes upon her during his morning ride.
~*~*~
She hoped he would exchange a few more pleasantries and be on his way, but he stopped, swung down from his horse, and came to stand across the stile from her. “Please, be seated. I do not wish to take you from your repose. Might I join you for a few moments?”
[from Two Days in November, A Pride and Prejudice Inspired Short Story]
Engraving from La Belle Assemblée, February 1, 1817. Unknown artist [Public domain] via Wikimedia.
The couple in the two lines below are not in the ballroom where the assembled masses are dancing, but rather tucked away in a music room where they can have a private conversation. This story, A Music Room Meeting, is one of six short Austen-inspired stories that comprise the book Teatime Tales, which is one of the books given as a welcome gift to those who join my mailing list. (It is also available for purchase so look for it at your favourite ebook retailer.)
~*~*~
She moved to stand near him. “Is this why you play instead of dancing?”
He closed his eyes. “How can I dance when others cannot?”
[from A Music Room Meeting, An Oxford Cottage Inspired Short Story]
~*~*~
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Signing the Register, Edmund Leighton [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons
Mary doesn't do things flippantly. She considers consequences and motivations. She ponders things deeply, filtering them through her beliefs. And that is not going to change on her wedding day. Putting her name in that church register and saying her vows will all be done with the respect she feels is their due.
~*~*~
“I, Mary Amelia Bennet,” she repeated, “take thee, Reginald Arthur Fitzwilliam to my wedded husband.” Mary glanced at the minister who prompted her with the next words. Her hand was trembling slightly in his. Wes squeezed her hand and was rewarded with a smile before she said the next words.
“To have and to hold, from this day forward.” She paused to take a breath. “For better or worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health.”
She once again paused to breath. She was nervous, but it was not because she was marrying him. Nor was it the size of the church and the crowd within it which had her trembling. She had confessed her trepidation over the service to him just yesterday, and he knew that she was not only repeating words and pledging herself to him, but she was also speaking to God.
[from Persuading Miss Mary, Marrying Elizabeth book 4]
