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.
~*~*~
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]
Pearson Scott Foresman [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons.
Isn't this a smart looking carriage? I am certain there must be vehicles equal to this one in the park when Wes goes out for a ride and meets Darcy in chapter 6, from which the excerpt below is taken.
~*~*~
“I had not thought to see you out driving,” Wes said to Darcy.
“Ah, but I have sisters and a wife who must see and be seen.”
“It is not a very good day for it,” Wes commented, looking at the darkening clouds.
“But the canopy can be put into place quickly,” Darcy assured him. “You, on the other hand, will be fortunate to arrive home without being thoroughly soaked.”
“I think I can manage a bit of a drenching.”
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
A quarter of an hour and two days was a long enough wait to find out who the mysterious Grace Love was. Her secret smile had taunted and tantalized him since he first saw it in the park. He would be put off no longer. And so, he urged his horse to traverse the short distance between orchard and house as swiftly as possible.
“Why are you here?” Mr. Norman whispered to Walter when Walter took a seat next to him in the sitting room at Erondale.
“You were late.”
“It could not be helped,” Norman returned.
“So could not my arrival here.” He turned a smile on his hosts who were looking at the two gentlemen curiously. “I beg your indulgence of my poor manners. My friend is somewhat startled to see me as I was supposed to have been engaged elsewhere. However, plans change.”
“I hope it was not anything unpleasant which caused your change in plans.” Grace was looking at him with concern.
“A prodigious lack of patience,” Mr. Norman muttered.
Walter chuckled. “My friend is correct. I seem to be incapable of waiting very long for anything.” He looked pointedly at Grace. “Especially if the longed-for item is of great intrigue.”
[from Her Secret Beau, Touches of Austen Book 3]
Published to YouTube by Austenita30 on January 9, 2009
Can you see the connection between the song title and the excerpt? Someone has a crush on Miss Grace. He finds her fascinating and tantalizing, which I believe is a bit like how Henry Tilney starts out with Catherine Morland. And that is why I chose this video to share with you today. Continue reading Music Monday: Northanger Abbey – Crush (David Archuleta) +Cover Reveals
[I think she could be reading to an elderly employer or just enjoying herself as she waited to be summoned to do something for her employer. Don't you?]
~*~*~
He took his wife’s hand again. “I actually had to travel all the way to Scotland just to find her.”
“Scotland?” Lydia cried. “But you do not sound Scottish.”
Lady Matlock laughed. “I am not. My father had died, you see. His estate passed to my uncle, and my uncle thought that it was far better that I take a position as a companion than attend school. As he saw it, I could learn all I needed to about how to behave as a proper lady while earning my keep and costing him not a cent.”
“Fortunately, years earlier, my great aunt had married a Scottish landowner,” Lord Matlock added. “And when he died, she had the great good sense to employ the prettiest companion I have ever seen.”
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
Woman Playing a Mandolin, De Scott Evans. [Public domain] via Wikimedia Commons.
~*~*~
What had his mother done to Miss Mary? Her hair was piled loosely on her head with a few curls arranged in a becoming fashion to frame her face, and her dress was neither somber in color nor fit. Had he ever seen a lady with a complexion so well-suited to that shade of pink?
Lady Matlock coughed softly, and Wes darted a guilty look at her. However, it was not he who was the subject of his mother’s displeasure.
“The lace.” Lady Matlock extended her hand in Mary’s direction.
Surely, she was not going to make Mary discard that lace, was she? The neckline of Miss Mary’s dress was tantalizing enough with the lace where it was.
Mary drew and released a breath in a heavy sigh as she did what Wes feared she would and removed the lace she had tucked into her dress to cover herself.
The effect was pleasing, but…
[from Persuading Miss Mary, book 4 in the Marrying Elizabeth Series]
