Pride and Prejudice Variation – Page 8

Music Monday Revisited (August 24, 2015)

I know I said I was only going to post Music Monday posts every other week, but I’ve been missing them. 🙂 So, I’m breaking that rule for this week and revisiting a post from five years ago.

On August 18, 2015, I published my fourth book. That book was Listen to Your Heart, which happens to be on sale at present. I thought it might be fun to look back at the Music Monday post from when that book was published. So, here it is below (with a little bit of an excerpt tacked on under the video, which is where the original post ended).

A friend had this video posted on Facebook last week (back in Aug 2015), and I thought it was just so beautiful that I had to share it here.

I love this phrase in the song,

“People fall in love in mysterious ways,”

or as Mr. Darcy says it in Pride and Prejudice,

“I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”

which also made me think of Anne in Listen to Your Heart

Preparing for the Ball (Franz Xaver Simm)

Oh, the details in this painting are fantastic! And, I think, the way she is looking at the gentleman who is reading to her is sweet. However, those are not the only reasons I chose to share this picture this week.

We are starting a new Thursday’s Three Hundred story tomorrow, and in it, Mr. Bingley is getting ready for a ball. So, yes, 🙂 the title of the painting is my justification for pairing this image with the short story excerpt below.

~*~*~

“That is the plan. If all goes well, I shall host a Yuletide ball to celebrate my betrothal to Miss Bennet. Darcy will, of course, attend, and he and his sister will join me for Christmas. And then, well, then, I suppose, we shall see what can be done about improving Miss Elizabeth’s opinion of my friend.”

“Well, then.” Mr. Bennet stood and straightened his jacket. “I feel a need to visit my friend Sir William and share some gossip concerning a particular officer.” He lifted a hand to forestall Bingley’s comments. “I shall not reveal my source, nor will I mention the attempted seduction.”

“I had not thought you would, sir. I was only going to agree that indeed, a little gossip might be our solution.”

Mr. Bennet chuckled. “Do not let the parson hear you say so.”

[From Mr. Bingley Plans a Ball, a Teatime Tales novelette]

~*~*~

MAILING LIST PATREON

Haymakers (Frederick Morgan)

Engraved by C O Murray after a picture by Frederick Morgan (1856-1927) / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

In tomorrow’s chapter of From Tolerable to Lovely, we are no longer at the ball. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to give you another image to hang the story one. As you can see from the first few paragraphs of chapter 3 below, Darcy, Elizabeth, Bingley, and Jane are on a walk in the country. They will be on a walk again in the final chapter as well, though they won’t be alone for all of that walk, which is why I have chosen to share the image above.

~*~*~

A well-worn path winding its way through the Hertfordshire countryside lay before Darcy, and a pretty lady walked at his side. This was not how Darcy had imagined his call at Longbourn going. He had expected to spend fifteen minutes to half an hour in the sitting room feeling very ill-at-ease and struggling to engage in polite conversation, which he hoped he might be able to turn toward things which were not merely common topics of conversation so that he could learn more about Miss Elizabeth.

Instead, he had found himself standing in the sitting room at Longbourn for only five minutes while Bingley arranged to go for a walk with Miss Bennet with Darcy and Miss Elizabeth as proposed chaperones. Mrs. Bennet was so far beyond delighted to have Bingley showing such interest in her eldest daughter that neither Darcy nor Miss Elizabeth was given an opening to refuse being included in the walking party.

And that had brought Darcy to this wonderful prospect of fresh air, good exercise, and Miss Elizabeth’s companionship.

[From Tolerable to Lovely, a Teatime Tales novelette]

~*~*~

MAILING LIST PATREON

Napoleonic Ball – Regency Dances: Cotillion and Reel

Welcome back to Wordless Wednesdays. As I start these up again after my summer break, the plan is to not post every week. I have not settled on a frequency yet. This week’s post goes well with both the first and second chapters of From Tolerable to Lovely since the story begins at the Meryton Assembly and this was the video I had playing on repeat while writing chapter 2’s dance scene. 🙂

~*~*~

“Do you dance, Miss Elizabeth?”

“I do when asked, Mr. Darcy.” She quirked an eyebrow and waited.

“My apologies, that did not come out as I meant.” Darcy gave a small self-deprecating laugh. “I believe what I meant to ask was, do you wish to dance, Miss Elizabeth?”

The half-smile that she wore twitched, and Darcy was sure that she was going to laugh, but she managed to suppress the urge. Her eyes, however, danced in merriment.

“Indeed, I do wish to dance. Did you have a particular partner in mind for me?”

[From Tolerable to Lovely, a Teatime Tales novelette]

~*~*~

MAILING LIST PATREON

Screenshot: PMD Pinterest Board

You will recognize some of the images on this screenshot of my Pinterest board for Protecting Miss Darcy (PMD) because they are pins of the images I have shared here on Wednesdays. However, mixed in with those Wednesday images are other images and/or articles that helped me visualize what I was writing. (Like that pearl necklace or the stockings with flowers on them.) I’ll let you guess which two images on the screenshot above helped me with this week’s (final) chapter of PMD. 🙂 I think I will be pretty obvious. They are front and center.

~*~*~

He was gone and back so quickly that Georgiana suspected that the gift he held had been waiting next to the door.

“It is nothing overly extravagant, but I think it is fitting.” He opened the box he held in his hand, revealing a small flower pendant made of five diamond petals and a diamond center on a gold chain.

“Oh, it is lovely!” She ran a finger over it.

“That is not all.”

Her eyes lifted from their study of the beautifully delicate necklace he had presented to her to his face.

“Take the necklace.”

She did.

“This is for your hair.” He took a small bag from his jacket pocket. Then, he took the box from her hand and replaced it with the bag.

Georgiana peeked into the bag. “Is that…?” She could not believe what she was seeing. “A bee?”

[from Protecting Miss Darcy, Marrying Elizabeth book 6]

~*~*~

Marrying Elizabeth, books 1-5

MAILING LIST PATREON