Meet Philip Dobney

Painting of the parish church of St James the Greater, Stirchley, Shropshire, seen from the southeast. Circa 1850. John Holmes Smith, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

I liked sharing a full chapter last in the previous Story Connections post, that I decided to do it again. 🙂 I’m also sharing the full chapter to give you a good understanding of who Philip Dobney, the hero of And Then Love, is — just in case you haven’t already met him. If you have, it’s always fun to revisit an old friend.

Philip, as well as Lucy, in this story are good friends of Fitzwilliam Darcy. They’ve grown up together, so the friendship is of long standing. Philip is the person to whom the living at Kympton fell when Wickham refused it.

The fact that Philip is a parson is why I picked the painting above to share with this post today. I thought it was a pretty little church, even if it is in Shopshire and not Derbyshire. 🙂 I also liked that it includes a graveyard because that is the setting for the excerpt below that sets up why Lucy needs Philip’s help.

Oh, and one more note about the setting of this story. It begins at the time when Wickham is petitioning Darcy to give him that living he refused. Between him and Lucy’s uncle (who is far worse than Wickham), there’s most certainly going to be some trouble in this story.

Enjoy!

Continue reading Meet Philip Dobney

A Cottage in a Cornfield (John Constable)

John Constable, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This painting made me think of Mr. Dobney’s cottage in So Very Unexpected. It is the first place where he and Lydia really meet — even if they had been introduced the day before. Below is how that meeting started. (And it really did not get any better for some time — though eventually, Lydia finds that the fellow who owns the cottage into which she crept when running away has decided to be her friend, a real friend, unlike any she has ever had before.)

Continue reading A Cottage in a Cornfield (John Constable)

The September 2022 Saturday Broadsheet

This month’s Saturday Broadsheet, with all my writing life updates, is now available at the link below.

In this issue of the Broadsheet you will find:

  • a llama
  • a chamber horse
  • my writing news
  • and a few books that are on sale

Have a great weekend!

I hope you have time to read a book.

I’ll be back on Wednesday (hopefully) with a Story Connection, and then again, on Thursday with the final chapter of His Inconvenient Choice.


The June 2022 Saturday Broadsheet

The Saturday Broadsheet, with all my writing life updates, is now available at the link at the bottom of this short post.

In this issue of the Broadsheet you will find:

  • Info about what is posting on my blog. (As if you didn’t know, right? LOL)
  • Info about what will be posting at Patreon, starting next Friday
  • Info about the two books I have on sale for $0.99 this month and one boxset that is on sale for this weekend only.
  • Info about some other books, which are not mine, that are either free or on sale.
  • And in the something interesting section at the end of the newsletter you will find, a video that has been paired with an excerpt from one of the books in the boxset I have on sale this weekend.

Have a great weekend!

I hope you have time to read a book.

I’ll be back on Thursday with a new chapter of His Inconvenient Choice.


A Wedding Reception (George Cain)

“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]