Stevie.
That is one of my favourite poems. How accurate you translation of the stanzas was!!! You know...I cried while reading them. You have captured Fitzwiliam's thoughts, I am certain, And mine ,too. Now, Mrs Darcy...you will have to open a new thread with favourite poetry of PP.

Isn't this wonderful? All this beautiful poetry?

Of course we can open a special poetry thread, by all means, girls, go right ahead!

Since I was a mere lurker for so long, I had various thoughts on P&P I never shared. So, when we starting talking poems, quickly I was reminded of my thoughts on that topic which I had never shared. Anyway, see below 3 more poems.

POEMS THAT REMIND ME OF THE DARCY/ELIZABETH RELATIONSHIP
I. Sonnet 17 By Pablo Neruda has always reminded me of Darcy’s ill-conceived and executed offer of his love to Elizabeth. Although the poem is beautiful, Darcy’s problem was that no woman wants to be loved in secret without any attempt at courtship to show the depth and strength of the professed love. Nevertheless, the poem is illustrative of his view of his ardent love.

Pablo Neruda - Love Sonnet XVII
I do not love you as if you were a salt rose, or topaz
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
______________________________________________
II. This poem reminds me of Elizabeth’s lament, post Lambton/Pemberly, as she awaits Darcy’s return to hopefully tell her his love is unchanged or not:

"If You Forget Me" By Pablo Neruda
I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists:
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners [definition of banners: a guiding principle, cause, or philosophy]
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.
__________________________________________
III. My final poem is a Shakespeare sonnet, which very obviously suggests Darcy’s approach to “courtship”"

Sonnet CII
1. My love is strengthened, though more weak in seeming;
2. I love not less, though less the show appear;
3. That love is merchandized, whose rich esteeming,
4. The owner's tongue doth publish every where.
5. Our love was new, and then but in the spring,
6. When I was wont to greet it with my lays;
7. As Philomel in summer's front doth sing,
8. And stops his pipe in growth of riper days:
9. Not that the summer is less pleasant now
10. Than when her mournful hymns did hush the night,
11. But that wild music burthens every bough,
12. And sweets grown common lose their dear delight.
13. Therefore like her, I sometime hold my tongue:
14. Because I would not dull you with my song.

STEVIEB

Stevie...where are u from? I did not know you are a spanish speaker! Great! Arriba latinos! Fine. Now one of my favourite poets is Mr Benedetti, Uruguayan. He wrote a most sexy poem about a naked woman in the dark. I have always pictured my very naughty and beloved Colonel Fitzwilliam in his amorous mood with this poem

A Naked Woman In The Dark

A naked woman in the dark,
possesses a clarity that enlightens me,
so come what may, say grief or sorrow,
a black out or a moonless night,
it is most convenient and even essential,
to have a naked woman at hand,


A naked woman in the dark,
generates a radiance that gives me confidence,
It is only then that my almanac lingers on,
and webs tremble in their corners,
and both happy and feline eyes,
seek and keep seeking in the dark,

A naked woman in the dark,
is a call for my hands,
for my lips she is a destination,
to my heart she is a spend thrift,
A naked woman is a riddle,
which is always a joy to decipher,

A naked woman in the dark
generates her own light and turns me on,
the ceiling becomes heaven,
and it is a glory not to be innocent,
a beloved woman or any woman,
may for once even put a stop to my death,

Eli,

First, I really like both of the poems you shared--"Those Little Things by Machado" & "A Naked Woman in the Dark" by Benedetti. Regarding "A Naked Woman in The Dark," love it! It really fits the colonel as yes he seems to have a naked woman on hand all the time .

No. I don't speak Spanish. But, I wish I did. I have not acted on my desire to take classes for years. I have always had Spanish-speaking colleagues--Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, Cuban-American, and Argentine-American + my best friend from Law School is bi-lingual/bi-cultural. I mention that fact only because in my professional and personal life, if I took classes or used tapes, etc. I would have ample, daily opportunities to practice. Everyone who starts to learn a language does not have that avenue to practice and improve. But, I have not given up on learning Spanish.

I shared one of my favorite collections of Pablo Neruda poems with my friend. One side of each page is the poem in Spanish and the other side is the same poem in English. She told me that his poems are richer and more beautiful in Spanish in that there are shadings in meanings of words that don't come through in English. I only understood what she meant when I found on-line different English translations of the same poems I posted here. I posted his poems with the translations I liked in that I felt that the words fit the mood of the poem. However, use of different English words here and there change the mood, texture or meaning of a line.

ONE MORE POEM—THIS ONE WAS RECITED IN BRIGET JONES’ DAIRY II. IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED, THE STORY OF UNREQUITED LOVE/MYTH BEHIND THE POEM IS ON-LINE.

Again, regarding your story Eli, this Thai poem applies to Darcy, Elizabeth, Colonel, Jane, Bingley, Georgie, and even Wickham (surprise there) but at different points in their story line.

THAI POEM—"O, Suwannamali"

O, Suwannamali,

Why can't you not see
that I adore you?

Why do you avoid and scorn me?

If you cast me off and leave me,
how shall I live another day?

STEVIEB

Great stevie. I just loved the thai poem.
As you said, it is very difficult to convey the exact meaning of the poet in a translation of his/her work. The ones I posted are my own translations, mind you!!!I suppose a real translation might convey more meaning to the beautiful lines.Imagine...
I love the lines
...ojos felices y felinos...
y es una gloria no ser inocente...

Thanks to all you ladies who have shared these poems I have acquired a new appreciation for poetry, especially those in my native language...

...ojos felices y felinos...
y es una gloria no ser inocente...

Beautiful.

Fine Frances...
Since the translation is above I will transcribe the original Spanish. It is sooo sexy.

Una Mujer desnuda y en lo Oscuro

Una mujer desnuda y en lo oscuro
tiene una claridad que nos alumbra,
de modo que si ocurre un desconsuelo,
un apagon o una noche sin luna,
es conveniente y hasta impresindible,
tener a mano una mujer desnuda,

Una mujer desnuda y en lo oscuro,
genera un resplandor que da confianza,
entonces dominguea el almanaque,
vibran en su rincon las telaranas,
y los ojos felices y felinos,
miran y de mirar nunca se cansan,

Una mujer desnuda y en lo oscuro,
es una vocacion para mis manos,
para mis labios es casi un destino,
y para el corazon un despilfarro,
una mujer desnuda es un enigma,
y siempre es una fiesta descifrarlo,

Una mujer desnuda y en lo oscuro
genera una luz propia y nos enciende,
el cielo raso se convierte en cielo,
y es una gloria no ser inocente,
una mujer querida o vislumbrada,
desbarata por una vez la muerte,

For your enjoyment, see links to videos showing the poetry I mentioned above recited.

"Poetry" -- By Pablo Neruda, recited by Jennifer Beals
http://youtube.com/watch?v=BzjoHjDgCcc

Sonnet 17 Pablo Neruda Recited by Robin Williams from “Patch Adams”
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Revb4nRa0GI

Poema 20 Saddest Poem/Tonight I can Write the Saddest Lines
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hWoR0DQpimM

http://youtube.com/watch?v=7BFaNDesLSw&mode=related&search=

"If You Forget Me" By Pablo Neruda recited by Madonna
http://youtube.com/watch?v=k5fIyqOe7kE

Neurda’s “LA MUERTA/THE DEAD WOMAN” recited in the film “Truly, Madly & Deeply” by Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Aj1BlyOcmBs

LA MUERTA [DEAD WOMAN]
Pablo Neruda
Si de pronto no existes,
si de pronto no vives,
yo seguiré viviendo.
No me atrevo,
no me atrevo a escribirlo,
si te mueres.
Yo seguiré viviendo.
Porque donde no tiene voz un hombre
allí, mi voz.
Donde los negros sean apaleados,
yo no puedo estar muerto.
Cuando entren en la cárcel mis hermanos
entraré yo con ellos.
Cuando la victoria,
no mi victoria,
sino la gran victoria
llegue,
aunque esté mudo debo hablar:
yo la veré llegar aunque esté ciego.
No, perdóname.
Si tú no vives,
si tú, querida, amor mío,
si tú
te has muerto,
todas las hojas caerán en mi pecho,
lloverá sobre mi alma noche y día,
la nieve quemará mi corazón,
andaré con frío y fuego y muerte y nieve,
mis pies querrán marchar hacia donde tú duermes,
pero
seguiré vivo,
porque tú me quisiste sobre todas las cosas
indomable,
y, amor, porque tú sabes que soy no sólo un hombre
sino todos los hombres.

DEAD WOMAN [LA MUERTA]
translation Brian Cole
If suddenly you do not exist,
if suddenly you no longer live,
I shall live on.
I do not dare,
I do not dare to write it,
if you die.
I shall live on.
For where a man has no voice,
there shall be my voice.
Where blacks are flogged and beaten,
I cannot be dead.
When my brothers go to prison
I shall go with them.
When victory,
not my victory,
but the great victory
comes,
even if I am mute I must speak;
I shall see it coming even if I am blind.
No, forgive me.
If you no longer live,
if you, beloved, my love,
if you
have died,
all the leaves will fall in my breast,
it will rain on my soul night and day,
the snow will burn my heart,
I shall walk with frost and fire and death and snow,
my feet will want to walk to where you are sleeping,
but
I shall stay alive,
because above all things you wanted me
indomitable,
and, my love, because you know that I am not only a man
but all mankind.

Bridget Jones: TEOR - The Smooth Guide hits Thailand; Daniel Cleaver recites The Thai poem “O, Suwannamali” http://youtube.com/watch?v=2zDETt_55K8

STEVIEB

Renée, Eli et al,

More poetry thoughts__

The Colonel’s thoughts on Elizabeth, Jane and . . . all the women he has love before

Darcy’s thoughts on Elizabeth

Bingley’s thoughts . . . well that’s an oxymoron

“I LIKE MY BODY WHEN IT IS WITH YOUR” BY E.E. CUMMINGS

i like my body when it is with your
body. It is so quite a new thing.
Muscles better and nerves more.
i like your body. i like what it does,
i like its hows.
i like to feel the spine
of your body and its bones, and the trembling
-firm-smooth ness and which i will
again and again and again
kiss,
i like kissing this and that of you,
i like,, slowly stroking the, shocking fuzz
of your electric fur, and what-is-it comes
over parting flesh . . . . And eyes big Love-crumbs,

and possibly i like the thrill

of under me you quite so new.
___________________________________________
Darcy and Elizabeth’s thoughts on each other:

E.E. Cummings i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Qe1jh6jNljM&mode=related&search=

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart)
i am never without it (anywhere i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling)

i fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet)
i want no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;
which grows higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)
___________
"SOMEWHERE I HAVE NEVER TRAVELED, GLADLY BEYOND" E.E. Cummings

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IFheU-D-W2Q

somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands

STEVIEB

My dears, I've just posted chapter 46.

Eli, my lovely Eli, I sort of wish this story would never end. It's getting lovelier by the chapter...

You'll understand that Mrs Darcy was pretty touched when reading the last part...

I liked the addition of the historical facts about Elinor. Love such information interweaved.

Find out about some interesting new developments, dear fans!

Thanks Eli for another great chapter. Things continue to get interesting. Like, Renee, I love the last part where the Darcy's are discussing possibly being parents. I'm anxious for some interaction between Jane and Bingley to see what he is thinking. There's a lot to think about with this story. Thanks again! Cindy

Oh, I'm afraid that when Darcy picks up his clothes at Rosings it will include the coat with the letter in it...I sincerely hope that even so it will all be quickly resolved...

I love this story Eli! Wow, I wonder what Wickham wanted? Darcy is rather rash and I could see him divorcing Lizzy over this letter (good point Dana bout him finding it at Rosings). Hopefully, he will come to his senses since it "appears" she is with child. Can't wait for more but cracking my knuckles from the antipication and nerves...

Indeed dearest Renee. I sort of wish it never ended. But end it must. And we are just about to reach the last chapters.

To tell the true I must confess I too I like these last chapters better than the whole story.The have a lot of feeling and angst and emotions. Especially this so long delayed letter. Next chapter is called. Postmen Always Call Twice

Postmen Always Call Twice

OMG, one of my all time favourite movies!

Lovely Eli!

Lorena

I love this story! And I am particularly loving the scene with D&E discussing the possibility of being pregnant!! Too sweet. I am torn about Jane and Bingley and Fitzwilliam. I'm afraid she may end up with no one.

Okay, so I have been reading this story with bated breathe. Poor Bingley. I sense his kids are gonna get the shaft in upcoming chapters. There've been a lot of great moments, especially the ones where Fitzwilliam is like, "WTF? Why won't all the women I'm sleeping with, have slept with, or flirted with leave me ALONE?" Georgiana trying to get into a compromising situation with him was just hilarious. "No, sorry person I think of as a daughter and cousin, I'm shutting the door. I have standards. They're low, but I have them."

Also, big fan of a reformed Wickham. It's so rarely done in fanfic.

I have to say, though, I've been a bit confused about some issues that were brought up in this story, so I actually went and asked my gynecologist, and I'd like to share what he told me, as I had to go through the embarrassment of asking. I apologize to those of you out there who do not like extremely technical discussions of reproduction and reproductive organs, but then again, why are you reading LCT if don't?

1. The initial act of penetration does not necessarily mean the piercing of a hymen. Sometimes the guy doesn't go far enough, or the hymen is particularly elastic (they differ), or the woman has no hymen to begin with (rare but does happen). So, it actually is feasible, if highly unlikely, for Elizabeth to have sex a ton of times and not actually lose her "maidenhead." That said, she's had sex. I think by ANYONE'S definition of the term, Elizabeth was not a virgin on her wedding night and neither was Darcy. She wasn't a virgin when she slept with Fitzwilliam. I don't know where any other line of argument could come from. "I was penetrated, he came, but hey, my hymen's intact!" "Uh, okay. That doesn't mean it doesn't count."

(Women who have intact hymens when pregnant get it ruined when the baby comes out the other way, obviously)

2. Elizabeth sure lucked out with all of that pre-marital sex (and I will call it that) with two different partners, because she could have gotten pregnant by either one of them. The hymen is perforated, allowing for the coming and going of fluids, because women need to have their periods. In extreme medical cases where a woman doesn't have a perferated hymen, she usually gets an infection during her first period and dies if she doesn't get immediate medical attention. So, assuming that's not an undiscovered subplot, Elizabeth had a normal hymen and was perfectly capable of getting pregnant, and happened to just not be ovulating any of the times she was penetrated, whether they came or not (you can get pregnant from pre-cum).

3. Knowing what I know about the Regency understanding of the body, I know they weren't TOTAL idiots. Elizabeth would know if she was pregnant within a few weeks by asking, say, ANYBODY but a guy, because she would miss her period. In fact, by the time her body actually starts changing (as it has), she's probably already missed a period, is about to, unless she's extremely irregular (and generally women who are irregular don't go more then 7 weeks without menstruating). So, it won't take months. If she didn't know that, anyone could have clued her in. Or maybe she was just messing with Darcy; I don't know. Either way, they knew enough about women to know that (1) they bled about once a month (2) they lost their virginity when a man put his penis inside her, and (3) if a married women having tons of sex abruptly stops getting her period, she's pregnant.

Sorry. I just had to get that out. Looking forward to the big confrontation between Bingley and his wife. Darcy was smart to run away!

Great explanation! Still she had a great time! And I guess you all had it too!

Thank you for sharing such thoughtful reflections.
However, one must be aware that even in our times, incredible as it might seem, there have been girls , not so long ago, giving birth without ever knowing they were pregnant, simply because they were uninformed about these issues.
I do not mean to say that girls in Regent England were stupid. But my character had a very silly mother and so, I made up my mind she should be thoroughly uninformed. However, sometimes menses do not come without a pregnancy, due to some kind of extreme stress situation one is facing.So the only factual manner of making sure one was expecting must have been when the baby quickened.

I am glad you have enjoyed reading the story. You are most welcome to the club!!

Thanks Dana for reminding me about that *expletive* letter. I can't wait for the postman to ring twice.

Clawson's comments have me wanting to rush back to the beginning of the story because I can't recall all of the details of the early Darcy-Lizzy encounter at Darcy's london house. I didn't think Darcy pierced her hymen then. Also, I thought the Colonel never pierced her hymen, even when she was drunk.

Exciting story! Eli, may I be so bold as to plead for 2 chapters at once, maybe, would be nice, can't wait. . . because it is so good.

STEVIEB

I am afraid that would not be possible. Next chapter is a very decisive one...Besides are but a few to go already.

Eli,

OK. Just begging for more--as your readers are want to do from time to time. I believe you even have a special smiley for such situations. :)

Looking forward to the next chapter.

STEVIEB

"I am afraid that would not be possible. Next chapter is a very decisive one...Besides are but a few to go already."

Indeed Eli...my concern is Darcy & Richard together, alone at Rosings, with the letter. Darcy 's valet will be packing his clothes there, he'll find the note...a confrontation and confession will ensue!

And then there's the conversation between Darcy & Wickham. Did Wickham just bring Bingley back from town, or is Wickham acting as Bingley's "second"? Will Bingley divorce Jane, or will they live out their marriage in misery just as Caroline predicted?

Ah...the suspense!

Those are indeed many questions...And now that you have already said what the new chapter will be about I do not need to bother to post it. I think I will skip that part altogether and pass to chapter 48!

Very nice! Darcy & the bay talk was so funny! Glad he appreciates "these."

"The great Canadian-American physician Sir William Osler (1849-1919) once referred to the menstrual flow as "... the tears of a disappointed uterus."

If you'd like to know more about the history of menstruation, well, what people knew about it in the past etc. Visit this site, it's awesome:

The Museum of Menstruation

A huge directory will lead you to everything you've always wanted to know!

Very interesting. As I have suspected, rural people knew very little of the topic. Thus , I adhere to the notion that Mrs Bennet would be willing to slap her daughter over her first menstruation rather than sit by her side and explain the process of procreation.

Eli, I have still been reading your story / stories, even though RL has been keeping me very busy. I just love this story after it is over I will re-read it as I am sure there are some things I have forgotten, with one exception, the Letter. Which chapter was it where Elizabeth wrote it I would like to read that chapter over before you post the next. Oh gotta go I have an appointment that has just arrived. I'll drop in a little latter. LOVE YOUR STORIES julia42

julia42....Chaper 21 has the letter in it. Quite incriminating...wonder if Lizzy or Richard will confess the extent of the "liberties" which they took!?! In all fairness tho, it really isn't any of Darcy's business. And if Darcy or his valet finds the letter, if it's addressed to the Colonel, shouldn't it be given to the Colonel?

Please post soon....

Well, it seems Julia, Frances has very devotedly answered your query. Chapter 47 is in the hands of my beta for grammar and typo correction. I expect to have it ready any time soon. And then the posting date will entirely depend on my dear friend, Mrs Darcy.

Eli, I finally read this story from beginning to chapter 46 in a few days( several chapters I have to read twice because I can't believe what was happening).To say that this story is compelling is an understatement.I never said OMG countless times in a chapter.I'm reading it in my sleeping hours(meaning when America is working)and needless to say have few hours of sleep only. I cannot put down the binder(mine is printed).I hope you forgive me if I ramble along.So many issues that needs to be resolve, my gosh
only a talented and creative writer like you can create them and unravel them. I can't help to think that Col. Fitzwilliam instigated this domino effect of reaction to D & E and on top of it complicate things with Jane and Bingley such a wicked character (well not entirely).I really like it when he was contemplating on things between D & E and said that he's not going to make the same mistake twice.The next few chapters I'm sure will carry the bulk of the story since it will definitely test the very essence of their characters.Can love withstand betrayal and indiscretions. So many secrets hidden & hopefully will be revealed. If Darcy finds out about the letter, if E. finds out Janes first lesson on passion was learned from her husband,Jane is pregnant with Col's. child, can Bingley forgive Janes transgression or divorced her.It never ends but Eli you hold the answer to the puzzle therefore I am anxiously waiting (with Mylanta on hand)for your next post.

OMG. I re-read the ltr.

Dear Richard,
I hope the liberties I have taken upon your person this evening might not place you under the incorrect assumption that I still hold to our vows made before your parting. . . . I must confess I have endeavoured to put my past behind me, and as we have arranged, attempted to find felicity in life without you by my side. . . .I shall return the ring I have worn dearly and proudly all through the year of our engagement. After the troubles you have been through, you deserve to love and be loved in return.

I had re-called that the ltr would make Darcy angry but I did not remember that, along with the horror of the liberties she took with Richard, he could construe the ltr to mean that she really was or is in love with Richard and is not totally committed to him in that she never says I reject yours suit Richard because I am in love with Darcy. Wow! [invision here a picture of a nuclear blast's mushroom cloud with Darcy's head on top of it].

Well, it will be interesting to see how they work their way back from that disaster.

Fine original story telling Eli!

STEVIEB

I thank you annj, and I am glad you have come aboard before it is over, and enjoy the fun. Yesterday I have been working on the last adjustments of chapter 49,(chapter 47 is due at any moment, still in the beautiful hands of my dear friend, Mrs Beta)and really enjoying myself thinking of your reaction with anticipation!There are great surprises in these last chapters.I am sure you will enjoy them as much as I have. I am going to miss all this when it is over...

Stevie
It seems you are sort of wishing sth awful happened to Darcy. You no longer like him?

Eli,

I still very much like your Darcy and Richard as well. It is just that I had forgotten that "the letter" made reference to much more than Lizzy & Richard were engaged [i,e,, "liberties I have taken upon your person. . . shall return the ring I have worn dearly and proudly all through the year of our engagement."] YIKES-CUBED! [to the 3rd Power]

I have told you before you do a wonderful job with interjecting humor into your writing. Here are some lines that made me throw my head back and laugh. I don't think I caught the humor when I read it the first time as I recall excitedly reading through very quickly.

"Kitty, Kitty, Kitty..." he called tentatively searching the bushes that surrounded the house.

The response that he got was not the one he had expected, and the purring did not come from a cat's throat. Looking up to the balcony, he saw a conspicuous shadow. It was a gentleman in the middle of amorous congress... or would soon be.

Ponsonby immediately glued himself against a wall. Despite his discreet character, he could not help to recognise that was Mr Darcy's mouse that had been cornered by someone else's cat. LOL!
___________________________________________________

On hearing the name of the gentleman from the lady herself there was little gap for mistaken identity. Well, who would have thought that? Betrayed by his own blood. Ponsonby could hardly believe what he had witnessed. The Colonel had always struck him as a loyal fellow, incapable of wrongdoing. The lady... well, the lady had already been involved with Mr Darcy. But he had thought better of her. He would have wagged his wig she was to be the next Mistress of Pemberley.

Well, I suppose I was wrong.

He decided he would continue his search for the cat in another part of the garden. Still, he wondered if his task was still worth accomplishing. Had the mouse not already been caught after all?

Hilarious!! Also, great how you go beyond the canon and give craft new interesting characters like Mr. Ponsonby.


Thanks,

STEVIEB

Oh yes!
I remember those lines. I still chuckle when I read them. It is true. Many times one is so eager to get to the juicy parts that one passes the real juicy words unnoticed. Thanks for reminding me of one of them

Eli,

Yes. You are exactly right; I missed some of the good writing because I was speeding through to reach the "juicy parts." During my first read of those chapters, I was focused on waiting to see what would happen next with Darcy/Lizzy/Colonel [i.e., waiting to see if there would be a confrontation between the Colonel & Darcy or how much would be known by all the parties or would you take us directly to the "big reveal"]. So, in real time when the chapter was first posted, I got some of the humor behind Darcy giving Mr. Ponsonby a mission to find the cat to catch the mouse by way of a subterfuge to mask Darcy's activities. I missed, however, the full extent of the humor and creativity of the discreet and funny Mr. Ponsonby you crafted as I raced through to find out what would happen next with the major characters.

That entire cat-mouse scenario, in the midst of everything going on, is just hilarious.

STEVIEB

Darlings, chapter 47 is up. Enjoy!

The dreaded letter finally surfaces. Great chapter! I hope Wickham is genuine and I'm anxious to see how the whole Charles, Jane, and Fitzwilliam thing works out. Keep those chapters coming. I love it! And, Renee, I'm glad for your quiet Pemberley house. Thanks for posting! Cindy

Wonderful chapter, but painful! Perhaps Darcy will recant when he remembers his little tete a tete with Mrs. Bingley! We are not all perfect.

Lorena

That was a truly intense conversation. My heart goes out to both of my favorite guys, what suffering they have both been subject too by one woman. What will they do know, will Darcy hold this over Lizzy forever or will he realize what he had put her through when he married Anne, the heartache she had suffered.
And for our most Gallant Colonel, will he be able to go on and possibly marry Jane and love her the way she should be, or is his love still too strong for her sister Lizzy. Oh these poor people will anyone end up truely happy?
Eli I take my hat off to you once again, love your story!!!!!!

Wow this was the chapter i have waited for a long time and wow lived up to my all expectations.
With Darcy finding out i dont think he will be able to keep this in i honestly dont think he can forgive Lizzy.I dont think Lizzy can stay in a relationship with this Darcy as a result or i dont think she can go to the Cornal beacuse she doesn't love him.So what do i hope, i hope she leaves them both they dont deseve her.i hope that your big suprise in your following chapters
I quite like Jane and Colonel think it would be sweet.
I really can't wait to see what happens next
Niketa

Eli

You have surpassed my expectations! What a great chapter...finally its out in the open!

Darcy is justifiably upset knowing his cousin's past dalliances with women...he can only imaging what occurred between Lizzy & Richard. I do feel sorry for him, because no matter what it isn't easy knowing the one you love was "intimate" with someone you know! How will Darcy get past this???

Bingley's a fool! I'd have more respect for him if he just confronted his wife and kept his self-respect. Now they're all to suffer, primarily his children...and if Jane is pregnant, there is the very real possibility that it belongs to Richard. Bitter shame that the comfort of love has such a high price.

When Richard says he gave Lizzy up for Darcy's sake, I'm a little muddled. True, he could have married her before going to Spain, but he didn't break with her...they were still engaged and he was still writing to her even tho she didn't receive any of the letters. When he saw her at Rosings he still thought they were engaged and acted accordingly; it was Lizzy who broke it off with him in favor of Darcy. He finally let her go when she called him "Fitzwilliam" the night he got her drunk and in his bed.....but he could have made Lizzy marry him by revealing their intimacy and engagement at Rosings before she and Darcy had a chance to gain an understanding, so I guess I'll give him brownie points for that.

Darcy thinks that Bingley is divorcing Jane for the actress; will anyone find out about Jane & Richard?? Is Bingley willing to safeguard Jane's reputation for the sake of his children??

Eli, you are a fabulous storyteller!! Thank you for this story and I can't wait for more!!


Frances

OMG ,finally it rained and I hope it will pour. The best chapter it exceeded my expectation. Very painful but revealing at the same time-it needed to be.I nearly cried for Darcy,(he does not know until that time). My hope is he will get past this and able to find it in his heart that E. acted on the situation she was in at that time. Darcy married to Anne therefore unreachable for her she got a proposal and tried to move on with her life. It changed when the Col. was sent to war and Darcy became a widow.The most painful part is the secrecy Col. and E. kept from Darcy.True he said he doesn't want to know the identity of the guy but he did not know it's his own relative, a very close one at that.There still more secrets to be revealed. I hope Darcy doesn't think that E. was having a affair with the Col.(after all the Col confessed to D. that he was having an affair with a married woman without mentioning Jane's name).
Perhaps now that Jane is getting a divorce Col. and Jane will have a second chance,even more so now that she is pregnant.The title is love calls twice-it should for Col. and Jane too.
Eli you have succeeded, you are brilliant storyteller. I bow and hats off.
annj

Eli,

You stopped there! He picks up the letter the Colonel dropped; reads it and then . . . and then. . .

I need inserted here a picture showing me being tortured on a rack.

Great chapter!

STEVIEB

I am in total agreement with Stevie... tortured on the rack! Post another soon. What agonies we suffer! I just hope poor Darcy can "get over" the letter and the past engagement to Richard. Richard did admit he gave her up for him. That has be worth something. And she is pregnant now. Be gentle.

Thank you all my friends. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all your comments. I am thrilled that the chapter was up your expectations. We are in the last metres of this race and I sincerely hope you keep having a great time!!!

Great cleffhanger, once more! Is this the eye of the storm? Slight rage, before the full fury with all the turbulance and great winds/ Classic! I agree with them about the torture rack

We are in the last metres of this race and I sincerely hope you keep having a great time!!!

It's so hard to believe, dear Eli, but unfortunately to everything there's an ending sometime...



This chapter was breathtaking. I so felt for Darcy, his jealousy, worry, fear... but I don't like his lack of trust... (Evil doers are evil dreaders? ) and unreasonable behaviour. ...And what about the colonel's embarrassment. I perfectly understand his anger... ...But...but to throw the letter in front of Darcy's feet... This is almost too much angst for this old heart of mine!