HAPPY EASTER 2011!
Wishing all of my readers and supportive fans a marvelous holiday weekend!
A snippet from The Trouble With Mr. Darcy~~
Baskets of eggs sat among the bowls of paints, dye, and adhesive to decorate with the glass pieces, feathers, beads, seeds, ribbons, lace, and more. Adult supervision was essential, especially for the littler children. Artistry was encouraged, some eggs a masterpiece of precision adornment and painting while others were sadly lacking any finesse, but each an expression of individuality and definitely colorful. The fathers aided the procedure for a time, managing to decorate one or two eggs themselves, before retiring to Darcy’s billiard room and leaving the chaos to the women.
By late afternoon the last colorful egg was placed carefully into a basket awaiting Easter Day festivities and the exhausted children were returned to their respective homes. A purse-lipped Mrs. Smyth oversaw the dining room restoration, her abrupt manner noticeable to the maids and footman as indicative of her irritation, but the Darcys were unaware as they settled in for a quiet night alone.
On Easter Sunday Lizzy stood in the small dressing room attached to their bedchamber, staring out the wide window facing the backyard garden. She clipped the pearl necklace—which once belonged to her husband’s mother and was gifted to her on her first night at Pemberley as his wife—around her slender neck, followed with a pair of pearl and diamond earrings as she watched the glittering waves of water cascading over the marble rocks in the fountain. The sun was shining, bathing the grass and spring flowers with warmth and light.
Fortunately the inclement weather on Good Friday had passed without a single drop of rain. Hopefully this meant the lawns and ground of Hyde Park would be relatively dry and free of fresh mud patches for naughty boys to discover.
She turned at the knock upon her door, pleased but not surprised when Darcy entered carrying an enormous bouquet of flowers. “Happy Easter, my love,” he said, smiling as he bent for a kiss and handed her the white flowers.
“Happy Easter to you as well, dearest. Thank you. These are exquisite!” She pressed her face into the petals, breathing deeply. “So sweet,” she sighed, closing her eyes in delight. “I saw some of these at Covent Gardens earlier this week. They are quite unique.”
“The florist said they are Lilium longiflorum, a newly discovered lily bulb from a cluster of islands off the coast of China.” He shrugged. “That was all he knew and I have not had the time to delve into the topic further.”
Lizzy reached to stroke over his cheek, a gesture difficult to accomplish, as the bouquet was large and heavy for one arm. “Poor Mr. Darcy forced to smother his unquenchable curiosity! I am surprised you were able to sleep.”
“Mama! Papa! See my flowers for Jesus? Papa say we give flowers to God.”
Darcy scooped the toddler into his arms, flowers and all. “It is true, Son. We will pin the flowers onto the tall wooden cross we saw outside the church on Friday. Once everyone decorates the cross with fresh flowers, it will be beautiful, busting with color as a symbol of God’s life-giving nature.”
“And then they will open the box so Jesus go free?”
“The box will already be empty, Alexander,” George said, his voice dropping into a whisper. “It is like magic! The lid will be raised and, poof! Jesus will be gone!”
“Where?” Alexander asked, his eyes round with awe as George commenced a discourse on the Resurrection melding fact with fascinating hyperbole, keeping the youngster entertained during the carriage ride to church.
Happy Easter Sharon! I recieved my autographed copy today. What an amazing Easter gift! Thank you.
Happy Eastern to you Sharon!
Happy Easter to you Sharon, too!
What a nice way to wish Happy Easter, these beautiful cards and the Darcys!
Thank you.
Susanne