Letters From the Heart

by Kay Bea

  I loved you then, I love you now, and I shall love you to the end of my days.

  Your hopelessly besotted wife,

  Elizabeth

  November 26, 1841

  Pemberley, Derbyshire

  My dearest, loveliest Elizabeth,

  Even as I write the words, I can see your curls bounce as you shake your head at them and I can hear your sweet voice decry their veracity. But I can attest you are still by far the handsomest woman of my acquaintance, and as you know that I abhor disguise of every sort, you must accept my word in this.

  I was first struck by your beauty on that twenty-sixth of November so many years ago, and on our wedding day I thought you would never again be so beautiful as when you were standing at the altar with the light of the stained-glass windows dancing off your hair. I believed the same when I beheld your exhausted, joy-filled eyes after the birth of each of our children and again as each of them wed. I thought it once more today as I watched you hold our first grandson in your arms.

  But your beauty is not only in your face and figure. It is in your strength. It is your grace in the face of trial and grief. Together we have experienced love and loss, and in each moment, you emerged triumphant. It was you who comforted Anne when she lost her mother, and you embraced our children when their hopes for another sibling continually ended in disappointment and grief. It was to you our sisters turned for guidance in navigating the treacherous waters of love, courtship, and motherhood. And it is to your account I might credit my every happiness.

  So on this thirtieth anniversary of our first dance and the first time I was overwhelmed by your presence, allow me to tell you again how ardently I admire and love you.

  Forever thine, forever mine, forevermore,

  Fitzwilliam

  About the Author

  Kay Bea is an administrative assistant and Jane Austen lover living in Kansas City with her husband of 25 years, her mother-in-law, and her fur kids. She has written several short stories and drabbles on fanfiction.net as I Found My Mr. Darcy and on A Happy Assembly as MrsDarcy2032.

  Kay grew up in Wyoming, enjoyed a two-year adventure in Maryland, and now calls Missouri home. When she isn’t writing, Kay enjoys photography, cooking, and spending time with her adult children and three granddaughters.

  This is Kay’s debut publication. Her second book, Love Unsought, will be released in Summer 2020.

  For more information about new releases, sales and promotions on books by Kay and other great authors, please visit www.QuillsAndQuartos.com.

  Acknowledgments

  I started this story on a whim and could never have imagined it would end here, so thank you, Amy, Jan, Kristi and the team at Q&Q for taking a chance on me. There are so many people who helped along the way: Liz, who said she loved my voice; Jesse Jo, who waited for each new letter and was the first to get them in print; Heidi, who asked, Why don’t you just do it?; my incredible husband, who dreams big and sacrificed sleep to listen to whatever new story plan I’d concocted; and Devika, who always wanted to know when I would be writing more. Thank you for pushing me, for believing in me, and for listening when it mattered.