Author: Leenie Brown

Leenie Brown fell in love with Jane Austen's works when she first read Sense and Sensibility followed immediately by Pride and Prejudice in her early teens. As the second of five daughters and an avid reader, she has always loved to see where her imagination takes her and to play with and write about the characters she meets along the way. In 2013, these two loves collided when she stumbled upon the world of Jane Austen Fan Fiction. A year later, in 2014, she began writing her own Austen-inspired stories and began publishing them in 2015. Leenie lives in Nova Scotia, Canada with her two teenage boys and her very own Mr. Brown (a wonderful mix of all the best of Darcy, Bingley and Edmund with healthy dose of the teasing Mr. Tillney and just a dash of the scolding Mr. Knightley).

MM: Always (Peder B. Helland)

UPLOADED TO YOUTUBE BY PEDER B. HELLAND ON JANUARY 18, 2018

Today’s musical selection is one of those songs which I can put on and immediately my mind calms and my imagination begins to play. I often listen to this song while writing, but it is also a favorite to listen to while taking a walk. And that is the reason I have chosen to pair this song with the story excerpt below because, in this section of Matching Mr. Darcy, which releases tomorrow, Mr. Darcy is out on a walk and trying to clear his mind.

Matching Mr. Darcy, Chapter 6 Excerpt

Darcy reined in his mount so that he could take in the view before him. The ground rose and fell in gentle swells and small undulations. There were stands of trees that interrupted fields and stood in both great and small gatherings. The countryside was beautiful but lacked the sharp edges that surrounded his home, which was utterly unfortunate, for, he thought to himself, a good rocky crag right in the middle of Longbourn’s garden would have come in handy yesterday for disposing of the insufferable Mr. Newell. That man would not allow himself to be separated from the side of Miss Elizabeth. Not that Miss Bingley would have allowed Darcy to leave her side either.

TSB: Three Books – One Free; One New Release, One Soon-to-be-Unpublished

Settle into a comfy reading spot. This is a long one. 🙂

Summer is here in Nova Scotia, and there is no denying its arrival as the weather has let us know, without question, that a new season is upon us. (We’ve had several hot days which is a little earlier than normal for us.) I have had my first osteopath appointment since the clinic was shut down because of the pandemic, and while it was helpful, I still have a long way to go to get all the kinks worked out. However, I now have a treatment plan in place, and that feels good.

As I mentioned in the last Saturday Broadsheet, I am cutting back and taking it a bit easy this summer for health reasons. This will include some changes to what is being posted each week on my blog and the frequency of this newsletter. Starting in July, the Saturday Broadsheet will be delivered once per month.

I have added a new change to my summer business plans.

Young Lady Putting on a Pearl Necklace (Albert Friedrich Schröder)

Albert Friedrich Schröder (1854–1939) / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

~*~*~

“Which necklace will you wear?” Kitty asked.

“I thought to wear the pearl one.”

“This one?” Kitty held up a string of pearls that had a pearl pendant suspended from it and intricate metalwork between each stone.

“Yes, that was the one. Do you think it will go well?”

“I do.” She placed the necklace on the dressing table and ran a finger over the stones. “It is beautiful.”

“Thank you. Fitzwilliam gave it to me.”

[from Protecting Miss Darcy, Marrying Elizabeth book 6]

~*~*~

Marrying Elizabeth, books 1-5

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MM: My Father’s Son (The Tenors)

PUBLISHED TO YOUTUBE BY THE TENORS VEVO ON JUNE 18, 2015.

Isn’t this a perfect song for the Monday after Father’s Day Sunday? I thought it was. 🙂 I have paired it with an excerpt from At All Costs. Bingley looked up to his father and learned many good lessons from him. In fact, one of these lessons is where the title of this book comes from. It’s here in this line, which is from very, very near the end of the book: “My father taught me many things, but the one he stressed more than any other was that a man must protect that which is dear to him at all costs.” Below is another place in this book where Bingley is thinking about his father.

At All Costs, Chapter 4 Excerpt

“Harris is to leave with you when you leave Derbyshire, is he not?” Bingley cut a sidelong glance at Richard, who nodded, as they walked. Harris was an ever-present annoyance that Bingley would gladly see gone. “Is it not possible to send him back to Brighton early?”

Richard laughed. “I have no reason to do so.”

Bingley sighed. “That is unfortunate.”

And it was unfortunate indeed, for that very gentleman happened to be the one that brought Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth to Pemberley. It was also Harris who took Jane’s arm as they strolled around the garden, and it was Harris who claimed the seat next to Jane when they all finally paused for a rest. And it was also Harris who was now monopolizing the conversation.

“It is a lovely day, is it not?” Harris asked as they sat in the shadow cast by Pemberley across the side garden at this time of day.

It was the consensus that it was indeed a fine day — for the weather was pleasant. However, for two of the party, the day was not so fine as it could have been. Bingley was in general annoyed by the presence of Harris and, in specific, irked by Harris’s attentions to Jane.

1823 Ball Gown

Unknown 1823 artist / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

I decided to include a longer story excerpt today because I wanted the bit about the assembly (to go with this picture) and I also wanted you to see how this information is perhaps going to be used to push Alfred a little further. And that meant, I needed to get the part where Wes enters this part of the conversation. 🙂

~*~*~

“One does not pursue such a fellow just as one does not flirt with such a fellow unless one wishes to marry him,” Lydia said.

Alfred’s brow furrowed. Miss Lydia was perhaps the most difficult of the Bennets to understand. “Does that mean none of you pursued him because you did not wish to marry a handsome gentleman with a reasonable fortune and who is all that is proper?”

“No,” Mrs. Bingley answered. “I would have married Mr. Webb if he had stirred my heart in such a fashion, for I did consider it. However, my one advance of greeting him upon his entry to an assembly was met with his customary friendliness and exclamation of pleasure at having secured the first dance with me, which I told him I had saved for him, but that was it. He made no effort to encourage my pursuit.” She shrugged. “I supposed it was his way of saying he was not interested in me, and so, I let it be what it was.”

“Oh, yes!” Mrs. Darcy cried. “A fellow must not hold his cards too close to his chest if he wishes to encourage a proper young lady to reveal her desires. I know my friend Charlotte has always said that a lady should not be too circumspect with her feelings when hoping to secure a particular husband, but it is not just us females who should be so open. Would you not agree?”

“I would,” Wes answered readily. “Though I would caution that arguing and provoking the lady who interests you is not the best way to reveal your affections.” He chuckled and several chuckled along with him, including his wife. “How about you Young Alfred? What are your thoughts on the subject? Your answers are always interesting, and since you are the only chap here who has yet to find a wife, I think we should all like to know how you see such a thing from your point of view.”

[from Protecting Miss Darcy, Marrying Elizabeth book 6]

~*~*~

Marrying Elizabeth, books 1-5

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