Bagnères de Bigorre – Le Casino, Henri de Montaut [Public domain] This file was provided to Wikimedia Commons by the Bibliothèque municipale de Toulouse as part of a cooperation project with Wikimédia France.
The dresses in this image are obviously not Regency gowns, however, I think this gives a good representation of the busyness of the ball which Wes is attending.
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“That young woman across the way. The one next to the silver-haired matron with the blue fan. She’s pretty, is she not?”
“Do not attempt to change the subject,” Langley grumbled but then added, “Yes, I do believe she is. I’ve never seen her before.”
“You should seek an introduction. I had thought to, but I have duties to perform tonight before I am allowed to sneak back to my bed. My blasted head keeps hurting.”
Photo taken by Leenie Brown during a tour of Uniacke Estate Museum Park, July 1, 2019. [Clicking the image will take you to the museum’s website. ]
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Fatherly advice from Richard John Uniacke (1753-1830) to his son James (1799-1858). [Image found on Uniacke Estate Museum Park’s Facebook page. Used with permission. Clicking image will take you to the museum’s Facebook page. ]
I thought these images went well together and with this chapter as we are in a library and it appears Wes is taking his father's advice. While his father's advice was not the same as in the letter above, I did think the subject of that letter was appropriate for this story, don't you? I also wonder if Mr. Richard John Uniacke wrote his advice to his son at that desk or not. :)
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“Please, grant me your friendship so that I can prove to you that I am a better man than Wickham.”
Her left brow once again arched skeptically.
“I have not been to Sally’s since before I arrived in Hertfordshire.”
She had not expected him to share such information with her. It was startling and caused her cheeks to flush.
“I know it is not proper to discuss such things,” he said before she could inform him that he should not be sharing such things with her.
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
Frederick Morgan [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons
Can't you just imagine Lady Matlock doting on her little boys, and they returning the love and giving her kisses? I'm thinking Wes would be happy to be less well-loved in this chapter. ;)
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“You are not leaving.” Lord Matlock stood in front of Wes’s door the following morning, blocking Wes’s path. “Your horse has been returned to the stable. Your mother will not be persuaded to let you leave until you are completely well, and I will not be persuaded to go against her in this.”
Wes sat down on the edge of his bed. His father was actually forbidding him from leaving Matlock House? That was new. He had expected his mother to be put out with him for leaving before she declared he was well enough to do so but not his father.
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
An Interior with a Curtained Bed Alcove; Unknown Artist; ca 1853; Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons
I really doubt that Wes's room was either this small or this full of furniture, but the bed is close enough to the door for Wes to listen to a conversation just outside that door -- a conversation that starts like this:
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“Oh, Mr. Darcy!”
Wes opened one eye and peeked at the door to his room which was partially open. Was that Darcy at the door?
“Good day, Miss Lydia. How might I be of service?”
Apparently, Darcy was at the door. Wes groaned and rubbed his aching head. Two days in bed and the blasted thing still hurt – despite his mother’s best attempts to do him in with potions from the apothecary.
“I was wondering if you had any friends.”
Wes chuckled at Miss Lydia’s inquiry. He’d give anything to see Darcy attempt to not look offended at such a comment.
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
Deux Soeurs (Two Sisters), William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1901. [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons
The relationship between sisters sure does go through changes as they grow up. Mary and Lydia's relationship is shifting in this story -- especially in Chapter 7 from where the excerpt below is taken. It's a bit of a role reversal as the little sister is stepping up to care for the big sister.
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Lydia threw her arms around Mary and pulled her into a tight hug. “Oh, Mary! Being alone in the middle must be dreadful! How you must suffer for it. I will not allow it to be any longer,” she said, and then, she did something she had not done since they were both very young. She kissed Mary’s cheek.
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
