“No, do not turn your head,” Mr. Blakesley scolded as he once again sat in the drawing room at Erondale two days later — this time without Mr. Norman and with a screen and drawing paper in front of him.
“But I wish to see what you are doing,” Grace replied.
“I am taking your likeness, and I am not very accomplished. Therefore, I beg of you, stay still, or I shall not be responsible for your face looking more like an apple that has been trampled by a herd of pigs than the pretty shape that it is.”
“Are you truly so bad?” Grace peeked around the screen.
Truth be told, she did not care what the drawing on the paper looked like. She was far more interested in seeing his face while he sketched, and if that screen was not in the way, she could also see how his mouth moved and eyes narrowed as he shifted his head while studying her. The thought of a gentleman such as Mr. Blakesley studying her likeness so intently was both unsettling in a nervous sort of fashion and exhilarating in a rapid heartbeat that made one smile and sigh sort of fashion.
“You have ruined it.” Mr. Blakesley favoured her with a scowl. She was certain she had never met a gentleman who looked so dashing when he scowled.
[from Her Secret Beau, Touches of Austen Book 3]Published to YouTube by anickamilujefilm on February 18, 2012
I have used this video before on a Monday. However, it had been over a year since I did so I thought it would be fine to use it again. 🙂 I was writing a Dash of Darcy Companion story when I used it last time. Therefore, today, I will share an excerpt from that book at the end of this post as I am not quite far enough along in my current work in progress to share from it.
Maybe after this week, I will have enough of Addie’s story written so I can share some of that story with you on Mondays as well as posting it on Patreon.
This past week, along with writing and getting some more of the Willow Hall series proofread, I took a day to go on a road trip with a friend to visit a lavender farm.
The flowers were just starting to bloom, and I picked up some lemon and lavender shortbread as well as some lavender honey at the gift shop at the farm. (We also stopped at a farmers market, and I go some more treats, including some cashew butter for me. It is a favourite. 🙂 )
In the first image above, there is blue at the horizon line. That is the Northumberland Strait that divides Nova Scotia from Prince Edward Island. In fact, the farm is not very far from Pictou where you can catch the ferry to PEI.
This week, I don’t have any day trips planned aside from the standard appointments or grocery trips. So, I should get more time to write…should is the operative word in the summer. 😀
I have a book included in a Kobo promotion starting on Wednesday. There will be a code to be entered at checkout on the Darcy and… bundle of stories. This is a world-wide promo EXCEPT for the US. The promotion will run from July 25 to July 29. I will share the code with you in a post on Friday and likely on social media earlier than that. They never give the authors the code until the sale has started.
There will also be a second promotion on a book this week, but I’ll save that until Friday. 🙂
Now, for an excerpt from the story I was writing the last time I shared the music video above.
AN EXCERPT FROM Master of Longbourn:
Mr. Collins opened the door for her and then, after closing it, scurried to walk next to her.
“I must apologize for taking you away from your father.”
“I am happy to be of service,” Kitty replied with a smile she hoped would help him feel more at ease.
However, it seemed to have the opposite effect on him as he started straightening his coat. He was such a nervous gentleman. But then, if his father had been unkind, how else might he be?
Her brows furrowed at the thought. The cats at the inn had grown less friendly and slightly mean since Tommy Archer had begun tormenting them. Recalling one particular little tomcat, however, caused her expression to smooth. Not all of them were so unfriendly. That one timid little tomcat, who was not yet a half year old, was just as gentle as ever when you could find him. He spent much of his time tucked into some shadow as if he were afraid to be seen. In fact, Shadow is what she had begun calling him when she saw him prowling the streets.
“What sort of book do you wish to read?” Kitty asked as they descended the steps.
The gentleman near her stumbled but caught himself. “I.. I.. am not certain. I will know when I see it, I suppose. I am uncertain what sorts of books your father has.”
Kitty stepped down the two steps to join him at the bottom of the stairs. He really was a very tall gentleman.
He pushed back the hair that fell forward on his forehead. It was a lovely shade of brown. Not dark, but not too light either. In her opinion, it suited his colouring quite well.
“Are there any topics in particular which you enjoy studying?” Kitty asked as they walked down the short hallway to her father’s study. For a talkative fellow, he currently seemed to need a great deal of prompting to speak.
“I would rather not say.”
Kitty’s eyebrows rose, and she looked at him curiously. What topic was so dreadful that he could not share it?
“It is not an inappropriate subject. No, no. It is not that at all.”
It was, however, a subject that stirred the man’s nerves from the way words were falling from his mouth in explanation.
“How could the subject of a book cause offense to me?” she asked, interrupting his litany of words.
“No, no. I did not say that properly. It is not that it will cause offense. It is rather that the topic is about a subject that might stir emotions.”
Kitty’s brow furrowed. “It would be far easier for me to help you if you told me what the subject was.”
A severely pained expression crossed his face as he whispered,“Estate management. Perhaps something on agriculture.”
“Oh.” Now, she understood. He did not wish to bring up the fact that her father was gravely ill. It was awkwardly endearing. “I understand. You studied to be a parson, not the master of an estate.”
He nodded. “I took some classes because I knew one day I might need them. But, I thought I had years to learn from watching parishioners and spending quiet evenings reading.”
The image of this large yet gentle man sitting before a fire on a winter’s evening with a book in his lap and a mug of something warm at his side reminded her of her father and wrapped her heart with comfort. It was good to know that her home would be left to such a man.
“I think Papa keeps those books on these shelves.” She led him to a bookcase just to the left of her father’s desk and opened the doors.
“Thank you,” Collins said, stooping down to look inside. “Ah, this might be a good place to begin,” he said as he pulled out a large tome.
“You should take a moment or two to look around, so that if you come down in the middle of the night with just a candle, you will be able to find what you seek.”
“An excellent idea,” he mumbled.
She watched him walk around the room, stopping now and again to peer at some title or another.
“Are there any novels?” he asked.
“I did not think you enjoyed novels.” Had he not said so this afternoon?
“I do not on most occasions, but I have been considering your sister’s words and find that I cannot appropriately evaluate my like or dislike if I do not read some novels.”
She tipped her head and looked at him curiously. “You would read a novel to please my sister?”
He nodded. “She is not the only one who admitted to liking them.”
“Do you mean you would read one for me?” She could not contain her surprise.
“Should I not discover the things that my cousins enjoy?”
He was looking a bit like he was going to sink into a shadow just as Shadow did when there was a loud noise.
“Why, yes, of course.” Her brows furrowed. “Should I then read a book of sermons?”
She blinked. His smile when he was not in company with her sisters and mother was rather attractive.
“Only if you wish, Miss Kitty. You need only ask, and I shall lend you one of mine. However, you may find it dull, and I would not wish to task you with something arduous.”
Kitty returned his smile. “That is very kind.” She waved a hand to a shelf next to the door. “Papa keeps the novels near the door with the poetry books, so that I do not need to disturb him when I wish to return one and get another.”
“How wise,” Collins said crossing to the shelf. Then, turning to her, he said, “No, I shall not select it. I shall trust you to choose one for me that will please both yourself and your sister.”
“You are certain?” she asked as she began looking through the books on the shelf, trying to determine which novel might suit a man such as Mr. Collins. “Oh,” she said as her eyes fell on a book she felt was perfect for him. “Evelina,” she said, handing him the book. “There is a parson in it.” A very kind parson, much like she imagined he would be.
“Indeed?” He took the book from her and tipped it this way and that as if it were some sort of oddity.
She nodded when he looked her direction.
“How interesting,” he muttered as he paged through the book, looking rather pleased.
That look of pleasure, for some reason, made Kitty inexplicably happy, and as they parted ways — he to find a place to read, and she to return to her father to let him know that she had completed her task — she sincerely hoped Mr. Collins would enjoy the novel and not just suffer through it on either Lydia’s or her account.
~*~*~
Goodness, I’m being fashionably late in responding to this post. Whew! I was out and about yesterday so I missed responding. I love that music video. That is my favorite NA movie. The casting of those two was pure magic. They work so well together and are as cute as a bug. I love your photos… lavender fields… oh, my. That is a trip I would love to take. Blessings on all your hard work. I wish you much success in your new ventures and look forward to reading them.
Thanks. I have actually now seen this NA movie, and it is lovely and agree that these two worked very well together.