She’d been lovely the first time he’d spied her, distant and disapproving in church. She was lovely each time he peeled away her clothing, and when she lay in his arms, and when her features went dim and unfocused as he lost himself. But she was never lovelier than when she spoke this way, all afire with the knowledge of wrongs to be righted and good to be done.
Lovely, lovely writing.
So, I think I was right on the whole curate trying to edge in there for a love triangle. The curate caught a little something between Martha and Theo and Theo has caught a little between Martha and Mr. Atkins.
With the move to Theo spending the night, we are getting some good sharing of confidences before sleep and you can see how that has brought these two together even more. Discussions, actions, and emotional sharing, not just sex scenes and I think this couple is all the better for it.
But one bore what one had to bear. Could never entered into the bargain. Though sometimes…perhaps…one might share out one’s burden among friends and well-wishers, and feel it lightened by the sharing.
In the previous chapters, when Theo was going around his estate and such, he started to talk to the women and obviously was gently directing them towards Martha. Here, they visit her and Martha gets friends and it's one of the best presents and things a hero has done for his heroine, he got her friends, which is really a support system.
“My Livia worked there for a time. Has she mentioned it?”
Livia is Mrs. Weaver and ooofff, we get some background information on her and how it fills out her role of secondary character even more is such a delicate thing to see. Really impressed with how secondary characters are utilized here.
“She was lucky to make any marriage at all, after what befell her. No one expected Mr. Weaver to renew his proposals. No one would have blamed him if he turned his back on her. But he loved her just that much.”
Mmmkay, really going to need that Mr. and Mrs. Weaver novella now. Please put in the pig too.
There's more estate management talk in this section, a dairy scheme Theo comes up with and while it does show Theo growing and becoming the man he can be, this late in the book, it felt kind of meh. I'm ready for our couple to be hammering on the emotion. At 70% there is what I'll call their big sex scene, Martha finally orgasms, which is what we've been waiting for because it's a little tie-in to alerting to their emotionally connection but it felt like this puzzle piece didn't quite fit right. There was more land management focus leading up to it and that kind of threw off the transition to the bedroom scene for me, just didn't mesh.
“One day Mother simply told Father he’d agreed to Oxford. And his memory was such that he never knew he hadn’t.”
Her gloves might split along the seams, she was clenching her fists so hard. Her heart might crack her ribs. She would be candid now. They would build a better friendship, a real one, with truth and forthrightness where deceit and evasion had been. “Mr. Atkins.” Her voice vibrated with hope.
“Mrs. Russell.” His hand came up, palm toward her. His face didn’t turn her way. “I cannot know. You understand, do you not? I cannot know.” Gradually, in response to her silence, his hand slid back down to the grass as the shears snipped on.
But he did know, obviously. Perhaps she’d never deceived him at all. And the message was plain: openness between them could go only this far
Holy shit, this scene!!! I mean, is Martha going to end up with Mr. Atkins??? Because this scene had me thinking it could maybe, possibly be a better choice for her??? It ends with them choosing a not honest relationship but if they had a romantic one, they could be honest? I don't know, this scene shook me, lol.
“Then I have only to wish you happy.” One more ignoble sentiment came, settling like a sharp missile in his throwing hand. “And wish the curate happy too, I suppose.”
BOOM. Theo throwing down!! At 70% Martha has finally orgasmed and they've achieved some great closeness and at 80% Theo says "I love you" out loud. Martha thinks she's pregnant now and is tied up in securing her estate to save the tenants and housemaids from the villainous bro-in-law. With only 20% left, I'm all anxiousness over here for how this is going to end.
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