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The morning had been lovely, with Martin reciting a poem that Emily had always loved. And to hear him saying it was so wonderful, and it made her cry tears of joy that he had learned it off by heart, just so he could speak it to her.
“Truth and wisdom are but thieves in a life without love. For the truth shall earnestly set you free and your wisdom might bring abundance more fully, but not without a keenness of heart. For the heart longs to know more than truth and wisdom, but alas, it is sheltered by the brain that disallows its continuity, and lets it marvel in things which may prejudice its full trajectory. And how I love thee, my love. How I long to know you in the depth of my yearning. But love cannot take me to all, can it? Or perhaps it can. If I allow it, it will surely sing as birds do, with the loveliness of tune and the scourge of their feathered flurry. And how I could understand it, perhaps by looking at the rain, the pitter-patter of wonder that greets me as I walk in it. But the mountains, the streams, and even the lakes show me love and wonderment too, in all of their magnificent and intrinsic beauty. And the rocks and the eagerness of the winter snow also showeth me. But without the one I love I cannot enjoy these things so fully, for my love must experience them with me so that I may enjoy her longing face, needing to be captivated and entertained so well by the looking upon it. Oh my love, I love you like no other mountain or river or stream, and all of nature combined could not give me what you do. Thank you, my love, for showing me all that you are, for life is not anything if I do not have you. I love you, my sweet thing, and may God bless you and keep you all the days of your life. For I know my purpose now, and yes it is to love. And of all of the things to love, you are the most blissful, and I cannot last another day without you, my dear one. So come to me now so that we might experience this life together, and let me watch you be as happy as can be, with me feeding into you the esoteric essence which God hath caught up in me. For to live another day without you would be like living in hell fire and damnation. I cannot express how much you mean to me. Oh, my love. You are the only real thing in my life, and oh what a life it is with you so fully in it.”
“Oh husband, you do spoil me so.”
***
Emily felt good now. She had given birth to their beautiful little girl the prior week. She had named her Nancy, and all was well with the baby, and her husband doted over her and the baby so well. She felt as if she were in heaven. In fact, she had never felt as happy as she was, especially as Lydia was helping so much too. It was such a welcoming and beautiful addition to their lovely family. The baby had lovely blue eyes and was good at sleeping right through the night; Lydia loved to tickle her and hold her to burp her after Emily breastfed her with care.
“We’re going to have such a lovely time in the heart of London, the villa that we have has beautiful with views over the River Thames,” said the Duke.
“Really?” asked Lydia. “I love the river; I have read all about it with Governess Anne.”
“Have you?” asked the Duke.
“Oh yes, I can tell you all about it; would that be alright, Emily, Uncle? And Nancy will hear it too!”
“Yes of course, sweetheart, tell us all,” Emily said kindly, knowing how much Lydia enjoyed retrieving the information she had memorised.
Lydia stood up straight and took a deep breath. “The River Thames is known alternatively in parts as the Isis which is a river that flows through southern England including the capital of London. At three hundred and forty-six kilometres, it is the longest river in all of England and the next longest after the River Severn. The lower reaches of the river are derived from its long tidal reach up to the lock at Teddington. It also rises in Gloucestershire and flows into the Thames Estuary via the North Sea.”
Lydia took a breath as Emily and the Duke smiled at her. “And its tidal section reaches up to Teddington Lock, which includes most of its London pathway, and this has a rise and fall of around seven metres, which may fluctuate. Additionally, and along its course, are locks of navigation with accompanying weirs. Here, the catchment covers a broader part of south-eastern and a small part of western England where the river is fed by at least fifty tributaries all told. The river contains over eighty islands too. And amazingly, its waters vary from freshwater to almost seawater. Many species of birds feed from the river or nest on it; some being found both at sea and inland as well, which is truly remarkable. Some are: the cormorant, the black-headed gull, the mute swan, and the herring gull. Non-native geese can be seen too, and ducks and other water birds live along its route. The Thames, as it contains both seawater and fresh water, supports seawater and freshwater fish. It really is so fascinating. And that is all I can really remember about the river for now,” said Lydia.
“Look at that, the baby is asleep now. She loves the sound of your voice, Lydia,” said Emily.
“Awww, I love her so much. She is so beautiful.”
“Just like you,” added the Duke.
Before Emily knew it, they were on their way. And the trip to the heart of London was not too long, being about forty-five minutes in total. And Governess Anne was readying Lydia as Ruth helped Emily and the baby. Emily was excited to go on a little adventure, with a new view to look at each day with excitement for the next nine days. The Duke had some business to attend to while there, but would mostly spend time with his family on their holiday, and only tend to what was absolutely necessary in the business sense.
The view from out the window of the villa was certainly very lovely. Emily felt fresh and renewed just being there. The weather was warmer, and the nights were cool. Emily could see that her husband had made a lovely effort so that they could all enjoy something different and so very beautiful, and it made her feel good. The nights had been full of charades by the beautiful open fireplace that had an open plan where you could still see the river Thames from the window before it got dark. There was so much birdlife, and there were people dotted below too. Lydia and the governess had planned an outing, a picnic at the River Thames for the whole family the very next day.
Emily was excited to take Nancy there, even though she would never remember it when she was older. But there was just something about the river; it seemed to have a life of its own, like Jesus roaming on the Earth when he had loved it so well. She remembered her mother talking to her one summer day in the garden. Emily had been speaking about getting married someday to a man who might enjoy chasing butterflies, which, at the time, had been something she, herself, was delighted to do. And Emily’s mother had smiled at her that day, possibly realising the naivety of her daughter.
“The man you marry should be similar to God’s son who walked the Earth. Like Jesus, your husband should be compassionate, kind, loving, and most of all, he should be humble and peaceful. You will know him by the way he looks at you, and he shall see all of you, even your soul.”
Emily had been sixteen when her mother had spoken these words to her. “My soul?” Emily asked curiously.
“Yes, my dear. Your soul is the essence of you, the light that shines through your heart and makes you who you are.”
“Mother, where did you learn this; is it something Father told you?” Emily asked.
“Well, not really. My own mother was very much like me. And she always told me to look at a person’s soul, and that the window to the soul is through the eyes. You can tell a lot by looking at someone eyes.”
“You’re so clever, Mother. Although I do not think that Jesus is possible as a husband. Can men truly be Christ-like?” Emily asked.
“Well yes they can. But it is a conscious effort on their part, and so you will need to look at the soul which occurs in deed and you will know it in their eyes too.” I
“I guess Father is, in so many ways. But sometimes, like when he waits for us to get ready before we leave for church, he is quite truly annoying.”
Emily’s mother had smiled broadly at Emily’s statement towards her father. Emily had always understood the essence of her words, and she seemed to have a way of connecting them more fully after she had heard them too.
“One day you will have a beautiful baby. A daughter I think, and if you like, you may name her after my mother, Nancy. She was the most beautiful and loving, kind and courteous lady that you could ever meet. And she always had time for me and my siblings,” Emily’s mother said.
Emily could remember this conversation with her mother, and she had always wanted to call a baby girl Nancy, and now she had done, with her newborn angel. Her love for Nancy was the same as the love she had for her own mother, who had been so beautiful and kind, and gracious and righteous in all ways.
She thought about her husband now, and how grateful she was to have a man who loved her. He had been her protector and her lover, and he had loved her even though he had been through an awful lot in his life so far. He loved how gracious and kind he had been to Lydia, and how brave he had been in the face of adversity. He was humble and kind, and he was peaceful and loving, and he was the man of her dreams, a man that she might one day write about in the novel she was bound to start someday soon.
Her thoughts moved to the past, and she felt so content that this was where it had brought her to now. And at that moment she began to write the beginning of her novel, based upon her husband’s love for her …
She was a good woman, highly intelligent, beautiful, lovely, insatiably-annoying, and her body was young and viable, the perfect motherly figure in all of its resonance. He wondered how he had done so long without such a beautiful woman in his life. And although he had left another woman at the altar, the circumstances had been difficult, and his age had been far younger at the time. And society had been cruel, and they had severely judged him for something they could never possibly understand. So now he felt as though he should pinch himself, knowing that one day he would solidify his own vows by bedding the woman, and fall for her so desperately hard, without realising he would.
He wanted to know her so intimately, and he had spent time thinking about her figure underneath her clothing and in the warmness of the bed that they would share someday soon. He wondered whether she also daydreamed about such taboo things. He knew he was still handsome to some degree, but he was unsure as to whether his figure appealed to her in the same way that hers had to him. And it did, although he had not known it fully, not yet …
Lydia was excited to read her entire story at the River Thames picnic that day.
“One day there was a lovely princess with hair so golden it shone like the sunshine. It was so beautiful that everyone who saw her marvelled at it, and they wondered how anyone could have such wonderful hair. She spent hour after hour washing and brushing it each day. And sometimes, she even sang while she did it.
“Her mother would watch her caring for it so, and sometimes she would offer to brush it too. And the princess, Princess Guinevere loved it when her mother helped her.
“One day, though, her mother was so happy about her daughter’s care for it that she told her how lovely she looked, and she did not just mention her hair, but she went on to tell her daughter how her skin was creamy and soft and how her deep green eyes were round and bright in their colouring. More green than emeralds from the finest jewellery store.
“The princess smiled as she listened to her mother’s words. And she felt very beautiful when people walked by her in the castle and pointed at her, even though they had tried not to.
“She always wondered why everyone cared so much about how she looked, and although she was exceptionally beautiful, she had barely talked to anyone, except her mother and her sister who was jealous of all the attention Princess Guinevere was getting all of the time.
“She asked her mother if she might spend some time with other people around her own age, so they might also get to know her personality more fully, and her mother agreed that it might be a good idea for her daughter to have more friends. And so her mother agreed to it with a big, wide smile.
“The princess was allowed to meet Kina that very next day, a lovely girl who lived close by and whose parents were friends with the royal family. Kina and the princess became instant friends on the day that they laid eyes upon one another. Actually, they loved the same things, including drawing and arts and crafts, and they also loved going on outings for picnics, and even staying indoors to play with the princess’ beautiful ginger cat. The cat was called Prince Henry, and he loved getting scratched underneath his scruffy chin, and he purred very loudly when he was petted.”
Lydia smiled. “And when the princess’ mother and father passed away, she was so lucky, because her loving uncle took her into his home. And in that home, she found herself still feeling very sad, but after a time, the love that was given to her was overpowering it, and so she began to enjoy her life very much indeed. In fact, she studied hard and enjoyed memorizing new information, and she was spoiled with love from her uncle’s new wife too, who treated her like a daughter. In fact, her new mother was so lovely that she cared about the princess’ education and even came and listened to her stories and her Math lessons too. She gave her all to love and cherish the princess who felt so lucky that she slept with a smile on her face each night, pinching herself each morning to make sure that the life she was leading was, in fact, real. And it was, very much so. It was beautiful, and real, and perfect. She loved her new life where everyone had her best interests at heart. And even when something important happened, like her new mother going to the ball, well, she got to watch her open the new dress, or talk at dinner time about her full day, even if her uncle was tired and liked to sit in silence. In fact, her uncle was so much like her father that sometimes the princess imagined that he actually was him, and that his wife was her mother. It would be something she would always long for; wish for. Because, after a time, her new mother had a little baby girl with sparkling blue eyes and a perfect face like an angel’s. Another princess, but a sister for her, and one that her friend Kina also adored …”
Emily had tears in her eyes as she looked to the Duke. She realised that Lydia had added she and her husband into the story to tell her own, and her friend Kina was obviously the governess in this scenario.
“… And so the princess felt good; she knew that she would have a wonderful life with her uncle and his wife, and with Kina and the baby too, and one day she would even get to have a family of her own, when she met the right gentleman. And so she would be allowed to go to the balls and dance, and look as beautiful as her new mother had done, and she would be free to choose a good life for herself because of the wonderful love and kindness of her new family. And this was something she would never forget; she would be forever grateful for the family that loved her and took her in so well, and she would always love them with her whole, entire heart.”
Emily looked to her husband who had a tear rolling down his cheek. Emily was smiling broadly as she listened to Lydia’s beautiful words too.
“But then … something happened, and the princess swallowed thickly, and she knew that she might never be the same, not ever again unless something changed that very day. They had been together as a family and looking out at the lovely birds near the river. She felt her stomach get butterflies as she got ready for it, and the princess’ uncle and new mother looked at her to see what she was going to say. She was quite nervous now, knowing that her words might not come out right or expressed properly, but she swallowed and took a deep breath, and then she looked to her uncle. ‘Uncle, can I please call you … Father?’” Lydia asked, moving to her real uncle with a smile on her beautiful face.
The Duke was already crying. “Yes, my dear one; oh, yes, you definitely may.
Lydia smiled and moved to Emily, and Emily already had tears at hearing the words she had said to her husband. “And Emily, it would give me great pleasure to call you, Mother. May I call you that?”
“Oh yes, my sweetheart. I was always hoping you would do,” answered Emily, now hugging Lydia tightly for a long embrace.
The governess was clapping, obviously having known what Lydia was going to do. And Lydia walked over to the pram where Nancy laid, and was still awake and gurgling. “And Nancy, will you be my sister?” Lydia asked, and the baby cooed as if she might’ve known what Lydia was asking.
And they all laughed, and Emily felt the happiest she had ever been before. It was the loveliest, most beautiful day she could remember for the whole family, and she felt whole now, knowing that she would always have them to love so fully. It was all she could ever need.
The Duke came over to Emily after he wiped his tears from his cheeks. “Well, I must say, that was, by far, the best story I ever did hear. And I think Lydia might even become a published author someday. What do you think, Emily?” he asked.
“Oh yes, most definitely, and I need to begin writing too. She makes me want to write again, our beautiful, wonderful daughter,” Emily said.
“Oh yes, she is a very beautiful daughter,” added the Duke. “And so intelligent too.”
“Daughter?” asked Lydia, turning almost immediately on the spot after she had heard the words.
“Oh yes,” said the Duke. “You are our beautiful daughter.”
And Lydia’s tears flowed and her smile broadened. It seemed that she too was caught off guard by the emotions of the day.
And the River Thames looked glorious as the birdlife flocked to it, making the beauty seem endless and timeless in all of its magnanimity and abundance. And the governess held the baby and smiled too, and they all enjoyed the remains of the day as a family. It was the most blissful time they had ever known, and love reigned in all of their hearts and made them whole again. And Emily would write about all of it soon, in her times of reverie.
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OFFER: A BRAND NEW SERIES AND 2 FREEBIES FOR YOU!
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Hello, dear reader! I hope you enjoyed this story and the Extended Epilogue! Please feel free to leave your comments below. Thank you 😊
I liked parts of the story. Telling the dreams,repeating the attack several times,& the readings took up too much. Words were misspelled, name were mixed up.
Thanks for letting me know, my dear Gail!
I agree! I did not like the poems or the religious meanderings. Took away from the story.
I will keep that in mind, my dear Lezlie!
I agree
Ha, I was about to write my comments and saw what Gail & Dawn wrote. It verified my observations. At least I wasn’t alone! (I strongly disagree that this is your best!!! ) I’ve read and enjoyed many of your books, most of which have a few typos, misspellings, poor grammar in spots, but not one other disappointed me as much as this one! I got to writing down the location numbers of things that were just WRONG! It’s a LONG list! You need to fire your proof reader because spelling and grammar errors abounded and words in sentences went missing or were written in reverse order of what they needed to be to make sense! The story line was FINE, but I totally skipped portions that were a waste of time and/or boring!!! SO MUCH unnecessary repetition. Really! Why? Just a brief reference to that particular portion would have sufficed! It was as if you cut and pasted the very same words….numerous paragraphs….to lengthen the book! It made reading tjis one a taxing job! I hope this remains the EXCEPTION to your usual.
My dear Ginnie, thank you so much for your honest feedback!
Whilst I enjoyed the story I skipped over the poetry, readings etc. There was too much repetition
Thank you for your message, my dear Isabel.
You’re right and I really appreciate your comment! I will keep that in mind for my future stories.
Make sure to stay tuned because I have more coming!
I did not like all the other books read through out the story also was very repetitive.
It really was very good. And yet there is the but, the going on for pages about tadpoles, amphibians and the philosophical parts that went on for pages. Honestly, I never want to discourage a writer but I had to skip a few pages. But,
the epilogue brought it all together and had me in tears.
I hope.this helps.
Thank you for your honest feedback my dear Melony! I’m glad to hear that you enjoy my stories! Stay tuned, there’s more to come! 😉
I have always enjoyed your books, but I must agree with others comments on this book. The storyline appeared to be good, however, the repetitive book readings, Lydia’s ability to remember and repeat every piece of information she learned, and Emily reliving her abduction in her dreams – night and day – were very distracting and boring! There were many mix ups with names, typos, words BOLDED and words left out of a sentence which became confusing. Also, didn’t quite understand how the Duke could continue to live as “the Duke” rather than himself when Deville knew the truth. You would think if he was such a good man and wonderful example, he would want to tell the truth regardless of society. Also, hard to believe Emily would want to continue to live under false pretenses, as well. Look forward to the next book showing your great story telling skills.
I must say this was definitely not my cup of tea. It was like another wrote this. I’ve notice several of your books felt like they were written by others but not as noticeable as this booked seemed.
The other distractions were the errors. I am the worst at writing but dang, who proofed this book. All in all a 1 out of 5 and I’ve read 10-15 of your books at 1 per day. As it was free perhaps I should say nothing.
I loved the book. What a wonderful man he was. A beautiful coup!e. What a surprise that he wasn’t the real duke. Good story.
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, my dear Susan! I’m glad you enjoyed my story.😊
I thought the book to be brilliantly written with some great surprises. The extended epilogue is great 👍as usual, but I felt that an opportunity was missed to complete Ruth and Luke’s story. Look forward to the next book.
Thank you so much for your comment and honest feedback, my dear Stephen! I’m glad you enjoyed my story.😊
This is a beautiful story with many twists and the couple finding true love and in the extended epilogue is very good and emotional .This is a very well written story Best by this author
Thank you so much for your lovely comment, my dear Gwen! I’m glad you enjoyed my story.😊
The extended epilogues fulfill the need to add the finishing touches to the story and are always welcome. The story had the twist of the Duke’s hidden identity. I personally felt the story contained some overly repetitive sections, and the names of Emily and Lydia were incorrectly switched in several instances. However, the story was entertaining.
Thank you so much for your comment and honest feedback, my dear Ann. I hope you have a lovely day! 😊
I also found the repetitive scenes were overdone. The switching of the names would break up my flow of reading with annoyance. I think what bothered me most was the inconsistency about Lydia’s age. Was she 9 or 14. Despite these things, the storyline was good, and because of this fact I felt compelled to read it until the end, including the extended epilogue. I’ll try another book by Emily Honeyfield, but hope the writing has improved.
Thank you very much for your comment and honest feedback, my dear Dawn. I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy the story. I look forward to receiving your feedback when you read another book. I hope you have a lovely day! 😊
The story itself is simple enough for children but not appropriate for children due to the mature sexual content. The overly extensive use of material should require it to have margins indented and placed into a block. The use of external material is really excessive, so much so that it really needs to be put into appendixes. As it is, the ebook appears to be a reference book masquerading as a romance. Also, there is too much repeating of story material to an excessive extent.
The setup for the story is promising but does not deliver. It avoids the usual trope of having the heroine being informed that she must marry and having her bolt for parts unknown or coerced under protest to endure a marriage. Instead, Emily is intrigued to be a mother for an orphan niece, and Emily responds in a lovely way. The development of characters is adequate for children to read and to enjoy if the explicit sexual content were removed and if the reference materials were placed into appendixes. The reference material is at too high a level for children.
Quite frankly the story needs to be reworked. Also, the title of the duke needs a placename such as His Grace Philip Keats, Duke of Erehwon. (I invented the placename by reversing nowherE.) The cover is beautiful.
Thank you so much for your detailed feedback, my dear Gayle. I will keep your comments in mind for my future stories. I hope you have a lovely day! 😊
I enjoyed the storyline about Philip (Martin) and Emily but all the extracts spoilt it for me. They were too long and repeated too often making it hard to fully enjoy the story. I found myself flipping the pages to get back to the storyline. I’m confused how Martin was able to remain being the Duke as he was illegitimate. I’m surprised the man who attacked him let it rest. How could he be Martin at home and Duke Phillip to his peers.!! I’m sorry to say had I known how repetitive this book was I would not have purchased it. Reading it was hard work and not as enjoyable as your other books I have read.
Thank you for your honest feedback, my dear Nora. I will take your comments into careful consideration before writing my next story. I hope you have a lovely day! 😊
I enjoyed the book and story line.However, there were inconsistent part ‘s with wrong names and ages. The retelling of the dream was redundant ,and it was verbatium from earlier in the story . There were 2 such places that that was done. If you ever need someone to proof read it, type it, for Amazon I would be willing to give it a shot.
Please continue to write such sweet romantic stories for us readers.
Thank you so much for your comment, my dear. I will keep that in mind! I’m glad you enjoyed the book😊
There was some beautiful writing from one section to another. I felt the story contained too many repetitive sections repeated word for word. The names of Emily and Lydia were incorrectly switched in several instances. I thought at the beginning of the story that Lydia was much younger than 14. The overly extensive use of passages from books took away from the great story writing. The book appears to be a reference book masquerading as a romance. Emily didn’t seem to really grow – she accepted marriage to a man she didn’t know and took to look after his niece – perhaps too easily?
I do agree with other readers about certain parts being told over again not the best book thatihaveread by this author buying didfinish it
Thank you so much for your comment, my dear. I’m always trying to become better and better!😊
I liked this story thought the history about Feminine ,Patriarchal was highly informative and relevant.
Also noticed the parts that were not correct but loved the narrative anyway!
Thank you so much Emily appreciate your ingenuity!
You’re welcome, my dear Kathy!
I agree with many of the comments mentioned above. Too much of the content was long quotes from extraneous material, and most often it was repeated. The religious discussion with Roger lent nothing to the story line and I found all of the lengthy memorizations from Lydia monotonous as well. I enjoyed the story line, but would have preferred much more substance instead of what appeared to be filler material. I too found myself skipping pages to get back to the story line. Proof reading was also an issue. I too have read other books from you and enjoyed them more than this one due to the issues mentioned above.
Thank you for the detailed feedback, my dear Reva!
I have read several of your books and enjoyed all of them. I read the entire book, but did not care for it. I agree with other reviewers about grammatical mistake. If I wanted to read philosophers, then I would read their own books, adding so much of them made the book drag.
Thank you so much for the detailed feedback, my dear!
I agree with all of the above! I WAS SO BORED , I was jumping 5 or more pages at a time, just to get back to the storyline, which I did enjoy
I also didn’t like all the outside references. I also skipped through them. Overall I enjoyed the story but would have liked to have just had the story without all those references to other things.
Thanks for letting me know, my dear!
I agree with other comments regarding repetition, too much material excerpted from other books, mixed names & ages, and unresolved issues of the attacker and of the bastard retaining the title & property of the duchy.
I had to force myself to finish the book.
As an author, you have produced many books with better storylines that are well written.
I felt like you were trying to educate or deliver a very complex treatise in the guise of a romance novel. I feel like it just didn’t work.
The good news? You are getting good feedback and accepting it graciously.
Thank you
Thank you so much for the detailed feedback, my dear!
Hi Emily
I’m sorry to say this , but I have to agree with all the others. I too enjoyed the story with the twist about the Duke/ none Duke. But did not like all the repetitions of references and the mix up of characters names. This did make fore hard reading causing me to skip pages many times which is something I don’t generally do. Thank you for your efforts though. X
The story line on it’s own would have been ok, but the amount of poems & readings completely outnumbered the story lines. I am sorry to say I skipped through 50% of the book
You are a good writer. I have read several of your books. This story was good. I also had to skim over parts of the book. Use fewer and shorter quotes, less memorized examples and no repeates of sections of the story. You went too far with Martin permanently being Philip. He would have ended in jail. Please don’t stray so far from reality. It makes breaking the law look acceptable. I took the time to write this because I like your other books.