This little tidbit was inspired by the flower shoots in front of the library. 🙂
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Signs of Spring
Elizabeth Darcy wandered the paths of Pemberley’s gardens. She was experiencing her first spring season in Derbyshire, and she was relieved that it was here. Well, I suppose it is still winter, but there are signs of spring everywhere.
Elizabeth and her husband, Fitzwilliam, had married just three months ago, shortly before Christmas. After a brief wedding trip to the Lake District, they had retired to their estate for the holiday season. The weather had turned bad just after Twelfth Night, and the newlyweds had been forced to remain in the country for the entire winter, instead of returning south to London for the start of the Season.
Never in her life had Elizabeth seen so much snow, or felt so cold. Most of the rooms in the large house had been shut up for the winter. Darcy had explained to her that it was too difficult to heat the entire place, when there were so few in residence. They principally lived in their suite of rooms, and the dining room and library. Not one to enjoy being cooped up inside at the best of times, the two months or so of staring at walls had led her spirits to be lower than they generally tended to be. So, now that there was a break in the weather, Elizabeth was out in the gardens, enjoying it.
She stuck close to the house this time; she had only been to Pemberley once or twice prior to her marriage, and after that event, had only been out of the house a few times. She did not feel that she knew the grounds well enough to wander far. However, the gardens closest to the house provided ample beauty, even at the end of winter. Suddenly, Elizabeth stopped, her spirits instantly rising with the understanding of what it was she saw.
There, in the flower beds, were small, green shoots. Daffodils! What a lovely sight!! Elizabeth knew without the shadow of a doubt that spring was near. There might be more snow and cold, but it would not be long before the weather turned warm once more.
The End
Copyright 2017 by the author
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