Thank you all so much for your support. I want to send a special shout out to all the lovely people who seem to post reviews for almost every chapter: Dizzy Lizzy.60, lizzybet, nessy22, NYT, Sacredwoman2k, Lily Draco, Laure Saint-Yves, and Colleen S. (hope I didn't forget anyone). Yamauchi, glad you like my frequent, short chapters. Colleen S., thanks for your support.
Do any of you have advice/resources to recommend that would help me figure out how to publish this?
And now, a little bit of cuteness with ODC and Anne's reaction to seeing Elizabeth. This is really Thursday's chapter that I'm posting a bit early.
After the visit Georgiana told me, "Those little chicks are surprisingly engaging, all fluffy and wandering in various directions, however Miss Elizabeth paid them no mind when I told her how you had asked me if I had ever been scared of you and what I had remembered then."
Fortunately after their exchange and the reassurance my sister offered and additional suggestions for handling Anne, Miss Elizabeth had agreed to try resuming their practices together. "I think she is still wary of seeing Anne again," my sister added, "but not you. She understands what we are trying to do for Anne and why we feel compelled to do so and will assist while here in Hunsford if Anne will warm toward her once more."
It would not have been proper for the ladies to practice the piano forte on the Lord's day, so I had to wait until Monday to see Miss Elizabeth. I knew it wasn't entirely proper, but I thought if I set out for a walk a half an hour before she was due to arrive, perhaps I might be able to accompany her back to Rosings.
While I was walking, my hand strayed often to my pocket to caress the ribbon concealed there. I kept thinking of her whose dress it belonged to and what it would feel like to glide my finger over the other parts of her dress while she wore it that were festooned by its mates, all likely cut from the same spool of ribbon. It wasn't nearly so improper to imagine lightly touching the ribbon encircling her wrist as that of the one near her neck. Thoughts like this kept me occupied on my walk.
Luck was with me as I was close to the Hunsford parsonage when I spotted her walking toward me with a basket of flowers, coming not from the parsonage, but the woods. I greeted her and she rewarded me with a bright smile. She let me carry her basket and which was filled with wildflowers. She told me she collected them for Anne. She took my arm and we walked together down the lane.
"You may think it is silly," she told me, "given that she was the one who was mean to me, but I feel better having something for her even though these combined would not make a good arrangement."
I did not think it strange at all, instead it was just another sign of her kind heart wishing to resume a good relationship with my cousin. Could perhaps this effort be for me, I wondered, or did she simply seek to help my cousin and spend time with Georgiana once more? I knew it was silly to seek any sign that someday her heart might belong to me.
While I recognized many of the flowers, I did not know the names of most, besides the daisies and the bluebells so I asked her which flowers she had found. She paused walking, I stopped also and the two of us looked into her basket. I could not help but think of how our posture resembled two parents peering into a cradle to admire their sleeping babe.
"I do not know all the names myself," she told me, "but this one is a bluebell and this other one is a foxglove. I was particularly happy to find these flowers," she said pointing to two kinds. "These yellow flowers are kingcups. I think she will like the name. These blue ones are forget-me-nots. They are associated with King Henry the Fourth. I hope she has no problem with him!"
"What is the association?" I asked her, peering at the tiny blue flowers. I was trying to determine whether anything in the association would create a problem for Anne.
"When he was Henry of Lancaster and banished, during his year in exile, 1398, the forget-me-nots became his emblem and motto. His supporters would wear embroidered forget-me-nots on their clothes to show their support."
"I cannot see anything in that which should cause a difficulty," I answered. "I do not think the fact that he was also named Henry should be a problem. What a thoughtful gesture to have incorporated her interest."
"Do you think she will like them?" She persisted.
"I imagine so." Although a woman would never pick flowers for a man, I could not help but be wistful and wish that her regard for me was such that she would had collected the forget-me-nots for me. While I had not known the King Henry the Fourth's story, I knew that these flowers were a symbol of true love.
Then I realized I had never given a thought to giving her flowers. While it was not entirely proper, maybe I could select some for her. I would have to talk to Georgiana to see if she thought I should do so or not. Would Miss Elizabeth recognize what I was thinking of, if I brought forget-me-nots to her?
By agreement with Georgiana, Anne was fetched before they went to play piano forte so both Georgiana and I could be present when they met again. The basket lay forgotten on a side table when Elizabeth rose to greet her.
Anne said, "I am sorry," as she was obviously coached to do, but then added, somewhat angrily, "Anne was right. I know she was right, she was right! King Henry the Eighth was wrong."
"Of course he was!" Miss Elizabeth cried out loudly. "He acted very wrong indeed."
Anne seemed pleased and rushed to embrace Miss Elizabeth, who startled momentarily with the speed of Anne's action, but quickly placed her arms around Anne. "I missed you," Anne confided, looking Miss Elizabeth right in the eyes for a moment before laying her head down on Miss Elizabeth's lower shoulder, snuggling her face against Miss Elizabeth's neck. Miss Elizabeth patted Anne somewhat awkwardly as Anne spoke once more, "Glad you are here, can we play some more?"
Miss Elizabeth assured her that they could and then seemed to relax when Anne loosened her hold. Far sooner than I had expected, the ladies began leaving the room. I realised I had been completely superfluous, but as they left Miss Elizabeth glanced back at me, smiled, and mouthed the words, "Thank you."
I smiled back, uncertain as to what I had done. Perhaps it was just accompanying her back to Rosings, listening while she talked about the flowers? Whatever it was, I felt a wave of gratitude that she was here, thanking me.
I wished that I could just embrace Miss Elizabetg as Anne had done, rather than hoping to just feel her hand on my arm or to hold her hand for a moment. Someday, I told myself, when we are married and together alone, I may embrace her. I settled in with a book to wait until they would return for tea.
