Rereading Iron Kissed for the 100th time and still wishing just somehow maybe it will will go differently this time. Don’t go Mercy! Call someone! Don’t do it!! 😥
Five Times Aristocrats Shared a Bed and One Time They Didn’t*
(*where “they” have delusions of grandeur)
1.
“If it is your preference, I shall give you your privacy and I will seek your permission before entering your chamber,” Fitzwilliam said stiffly, reminding Elizabeth so much of the aloof stranger she’d first seen at a Meryton dance that she could not keep from laughing.
“Madam?” he asked, taken aback.
She had learnt him well enough to wait to speak until she’d laid her hand upon his chest, where he could not fail to see his ring upon her finger.
“I’ve never slept alone in my life and I shouldn’t like to start now,” she said. “I warn you and Jane will confirm it, my feet get cold but I despise bed-socks.”
“It will be my pleasure to keep you warm, Elizabeth,” he said.
2.
“I’ve made sure your suite was entirely redecorated, all in the loveliest shades of green and indigo, and I spoke with your housekeeper, to ensure your mattress here is just as you like it,” Emma said.
George raised an eyebrow in inquiry. It was quite the most devilish expression and she wished she were capable of matching it.
“You have already undertaken so much, leaving Donwell Abbey and coming to live at Hartfield, you deserved to have a place of your own, a retreat when you cannot bear another second of Papa’s exhortations about the risk of cold lettuce on a young man’s chest or my silly prattling,” she explained.
“Mrs. Knightley, what I cannot bear is to be apart from you at night,” he said, moving closer as he spoke. “To wake without you in my arms.”
“Well, you needn’t,” she said, while she could.
She was not sorry when she couldn’t. Not one bit.
3.
“If you’d like, my dear, I’ll sleep in my dressing room,” Charles said. “I know aristocrats don’t share a bed. My parents did but of course, Father was in trade, for all that Caroline wants to pretend we’re the obscure cadet branch of some viscount from the North. I asked Darcy and he turned rather puce but he did say it was so—”
“We’re not aristocrats, Charles,” Jane replied.
“You’re a gentleman’s daughter, Jane, a lady to the very tips of your toes,” Charles replied.
“Whoever the Bingleys are, we’re only Charles and Jane here,” she said. “And whatever you consider the tips of my toes, I’m your wife first and last.”
“You’ll send me to my dressing room if I snore, though. You must promise me that, you’re too good a creature to complain about anything but I shan’t have you exhausted,” Charles said.
“If you snore, I promise, I’ll wake you,” Jane said.
She’d learnt quite quickly how her husband took his tea and how to lie to him.
4.
“When we choose an estate, I’ll make sure there’s a separate chamber for you, sweetheart,” Frederick said softly. “You’ll want that after being crammed into this crowded little cabin—”
“It’s snug,” Anne said, turning slightly so she might see his dear face better. The moonlight from the porthole took him from the epitome of a British sea-captain and changed him into a figure of romance or myth, a god all silver and shadow. “I shouldn’t like anything better than this, this perfect refuge that’s ours alone and the sound of the waves.”
“We’ll choose a place by the sea,” he said. “A house with a view, plenty of space, light and airy.”
“But I don’t care to sleep apart, no matter had bad Ton it is,” she said. “We were apart long enough.”
5.
“Don’t say we must be stuffy aristocrats about it and sleep in separate rooms and you’re to knock at my door and wait there in a banyan and slippers for me to bid you enter,” Marianne said in a rush, exhilarated by the fresh air, the vista before them, Colonel Brandon’s arm around her waist. He did not yet believe she was steady on her feet after her illness and she could not convince him otherwise, had she been inclined to try. “There is nothing romantic about that, nothing ravishing—”
“There will be ravishing, my dear,” he replied. “In one room, one bed, if that’s what you want.”
“I quite fancy the contrast, how splendidly massive Delaford is and then to imagine the two of us tucked away, almost in a garret,” she said dreamily.
“I draw the line at a garret,” he said. “And I do wear a banyan and slippers when it’s chilly.”
6.
“Some would say we’ve pretentions beyond our station, Mrs. Collins, yes, some would say that very thing, but for someone, if you will, attached to a lady as elevated as Lady Catherine de Bourgh, for a clergyman with refined taste and a sense of elegant delicacy derived from a close association with an aristocrat like her Ladyship, well, it hardly seems the argument that we’re aping our betters should be given the least credence,” Mr. Collins declared, speaking much as he would giving one of his sermons. Anything to do with Lady Catherine called for that tone of voice, a fact Charlotte had gleaned after three days in the vicarage.
“As you say, Mr. Collins,” Charlotte replied.
“It’s a squeeze, I’m quite aware of that, but I had the box room fitted out and the alcove in the larger room can serve as a dressing room, if it comes to it,” he said.
“I’ve no complaints, sir,” Charlotte replied.
Indeed, her husband’s announcement that they would have separate sleeping chambers had made her nearly as happy as his offer to wed and might very well be her salvation.
Posted late for Janeuary 2025 @janeuary-month Day 21, prompt: aristocracy
I’m just a girl purusing through the mercy Thompson tag on this site every so often just to check on the 5 other people on here who actually like this series.
Eomer and Eowyn only talk to each other once in the films
but they communicate so much.
When Eomer first returns with a wounded Theodred, an entire dialogue is shared between Eomer and Eowyn without a single word passing between them.
This mutual look of concern, they're both on the same page.
Eowyn then goes on to look at Theodred's wound. It's interesting that Eomer now looks curious above all things, he's waiting on Eowyn's judgement.
Eowyn looks at the wound and grimaces. It's bad. Theodred isn't going to survive this.
She looks to Eomer, who looks back at her in grim resignation.
They go to Theoden to inform him of the situation. As Eomer walks by Eowyn, he doesn't speak to her or interrupt her, but he puts his hand on her back as he passes. Even when the focus is on other things, he is giving her that gesture of support and fondness. That it is done without fanfare shows that this sort of affection is commonplace.
They both stand before the throne, both of them united in their attempt to reach through to their uncle. They're a team, a unit.
Eomer throws down proof that Saruman, who Grima is trying to portray as a friend to Rohan, is sending his soldiers to terrorise their people.
Eowyn gives Grima a death glare, challenging him to refute her brother's accusations. She's on Eomer's side, Eomer's team.
Eomer sees Grima looking at Eowyn, and knows what he wants. It fills him with fury.
Eowyn sees her brother choking Grima against the wall. She looks on in cold silence, then walks away.
When Aragorn reveals that the beacons have been lit, Eowyn rushes into the throne room, drawing to a stop at Eomer's shoulder. They wait together for Theoden's judgement.
When it comes, and Theoden sends Eomer to muster the troops, Eomer bows, but even before he has fully straightened up, his eyes go to his sister.
Again, no words exchanged, simply a look of common understanding. They both know what the risks are, they both know what is at stake, for the world, for their country, for their family.
Before Eomer leaves, he touches Eowyn's arm, before walking away.
With Eomer gone, we see a steely determination come into Eowyn's eyes. Now there's something Eomer's missing, now Eomer's back is turn and there's something about his sister that she's keeping from him. She's riding to battle.
The one time they speak to each other, they're in opposition. About Merry, about Eowyn, about war.
The words are harsh. Eomer is stern, Eowyn is defensive.
But Eomer puts his hand on Eowyn's shoulder. He doesn't say "I don't want you to get hurt, I don't want you in battle", but that hand on her shoulder, tells the audience that's exactly what he's saying.
Those small moments of physical affection culminate in one great moment, when stern, stoic Eomer discovers Eowyn on the battle field, and breaks down in tears, cradling her and rocking her like she's a child.
And his devotion to her is ultimately shown in him sitting small and hunched, tucked in on himself, crouching down in armour for what seems to have been a lengthy space of time, as he sits by her side, waiting for her to be healed.
This is such an effective way of showing to an audience that two characters love each other, when there is a limited time window. The movie needed to crack on to cover the ground it needed to cover, and with so many important dynamics to reveal to the audience, the creators needed to be time effective. Eomer and Eowyn don't share much screen time, but the looks exchanged, the passing moments of intimacy, tells us clearly that these are two people greatly fond of each other, and have been fond of each other a long time.
The lack of spoken dialogue almost enhances it. Little is said between them because little needs to be said. They already know. The one time they do speak, it's when they're quarrelling, because that's the only moment when they need to use words. The rest of the time, a gesture, a look, is enough.
I have known myself to be divided from Edward forever, without hearing one circumstance that could make me less desire the connection. Nothing has proved him unworthy; nor has anything declared him indifferent to me. I have had to contend against the unkindness of his sister and the insolence of his mother, and have suffered the punishment of an attachment without enjoying its advantages.
For the purpose of this poll, “OC” means “Original Character” or “Outside Character” because we’re including crossovers here. If I had to write out every crossover ship, I’d lose my mind trying to keep track.
That said, I’m not listing OC names. There are too many. Just “OCs, General”. OC here is going to reduce the number of tags so that I don’t have to sift through every Xover in existence.
Again. Doesn’t mean I’m writing it. I’m just polling the people out of sheer curiosity.
I feel like a traitor because I voted for Bran/OC— meanwhile I have a WIP that very much needs attention that is a Ben Shaw/OC… I’m so sorry, Ben! I promise I have an abandoned you forever.
At this point why am I surprised by fandom anymore? I don’t know. But I have loved this character since I was kid and it delights me to discover there are people out here rallying behind this good man!
The very best thing you can do for an author is to comment on their fics! Kudos, too, of course, but if you read something, get in the habit of commenting even if it's just 'I loved this!' Or 'this was great!'
I binged this entire 4 book series and the two currently released spin offs in a week’s time. If you love the shifter romance genre, urban fantasy, werewolves, and paranormal romance you’ll like this. What makes this series unique:
It’s a well written self pub KU series that’s entirely FADE TO BLACK. If you like your romance books to keep the door closed on spice, then you’re gonna love this. Also important to note— I have no idea why the main character is so young but this definitely reads like adult fiction, not YA, IMO.
Author’s blurb:
“Emma's a human girl on the run from an abusive home. Garrett is the alpha of the strongest wolfpack in the Midwest. Their worlds are about to collide in a way neither of them saw coming.
Emersyn’s heart was shattered when her father died when she was just twelve years old. If that weren’t enough, her mother married a man less than twelve months later, bringing her cruel step-brother into her life.
On her eighteenth birthday, she finally finds the courage to run away. She leaves behind the only life she’s ever known with just the clothes on her back and three hundred dollars in her pocket. She begins her new life under her new name—Emma.
For the first time in six years, Emma is finally free. She starts her new job, and her life begins to finally start tracking in the right direction. That is until the day she meets Garrett, the most gorgeous, intimidating man she's ever met. Unnerved by their connection, she tries to keep her distance. Little does she know that Garrett is the Alpha of the Northwoods Pack. She’s his mate, and he has no intention of letting Emma out of his sight.
Garrett isn’t the only wolf who has his eye on Emma, though. Things are about to get heated, and Emma is at the center of it all. When danger hits too close to home, Garrett pulls Emma into his world. She’s going to find out she has a lot more to do with his world than either of them realized. She's the Finder, and it's her job to find other humans with special abilities, like herself, who have been gifted by the wolf creator to help the wolf race. Change is coming to the Northwoods Pack and leading the change is Emma. She just has to survive first.
**If you like paranormal romance with fated mates, protective males, and strong females, this series is for you. This is a closed-door romance series with fade-to-black scenes. Each book in the series is full-length (95,000+ words) and features a different couple. Each book can be read as a stand-alone but is best enjoyed as part of the series.
jacobvanloon
