*WARNING: This blog is intended for a mature audience. Its contents may include adult situations, violence and sensitive issues that some people might find disturbing. Please read at your own discretion.

3 November 2013

A Pair of Brown Eyes: Chapter 13

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Claire had been pacing the room nervously for a while now. Why had she agreed to that? For some strange reason, the idea had pleased her when Andrew... -Andrew? she had meant Dr. Stuart, surely-, had first suggested it, but why she had actually accepted going to that concert with him was now beyond her. She should have said no straight away, there was no way this could be right. But he had been so polite, so attentive, since that evening when he had kissed her, that there was no denying him. And she didn't dare, nor want to, deny him.

She was grateful he hadn't tried to kiss her again, but also disappointed. Perhaps it had meant nothing to him? It shouldn't matter to her one way or the other! But it did! It did matter to her! And now she was even eager to spend some leisure time with him. What was she doing? Why was she looking forward to this? It was wrong, wrong, WRONG!

Maybe it wasn't too late to back off yet. No, she couldn't; he would be here any moment, and there was no excuse she could give him, anyway.

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Dr. Stuart had made it very clear that it wasn't going to be a very sophisticated affair, just a small gathering where one of his oldest patients was going to perform. That's why Claire had chosen this simple but charming outfit, which had immediately captured her attention when she first saw it in that little shop around town. It was the first clothing she had bought with the money she had earned working as a nurse, and it made her extremely happy.

But now that she found herself actually clad in it, she was afraid it left much of her skin exposed. Her ugly skin. As she adjusted the bow in her blouse she fretted at how low the neckline was cut. Was she really appropriately dresed? What would he have said about it? No, she should stop that train of thought! From then on, she would dress the way she chose; having to dye all her clothes black was punishment enough for her.

She was still lost in her thoughts when she heard a knock on the door. He was here already. Claire straightened her clothes one last time and went to open it.

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There he was, indeed, as good looking as ever. She hadn't seen him dressed in evening clothes before, and the dark suit he had chosen to wear fit him like a glove. And he was giving her that look again. How did he manage to make her feel confident and anxious at the same time? She felt those, now familiar, butterflies in her stomach again.

"Are you ready, madam?" He gallantly asked her from the other end of her threshold. "Am I allowed to tell you how gorgeous you look today? Is that a new dress you're wearing?" Oh, no, he had noticed!


"Y-yes, and thank you." She smiled coyly. "I'd invite you to enter, but..."


"Let me guess. Your landlady doesn't allow for her tenants to have male visitors." Claire nodded and had to chuckle inwardly at how close to the truth he had come.

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The piano recital was to be held in a small concert hall downtown which was intended, as Dr. Stuart himself had explained to her, for intimate musical soirées.

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They arrived a little early, so there were still very few people there, and as soon as they entered, Claire was taken by the beautiful appearance of the room. It was but a small mirrored room decorated for the occasion with some plants and a tapestry which hung on one of the walls. The piano, in all its glory, was displayed in the middle of the floor.

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The place was nothing compared to the lavishness and grandeur of the theatres to which she was accostumed. Of course she had only gone to those hateful opera premières he used to take her to, just to show her off. And she wasn't even expected to enjoy herself in any of those occasions. But never in her life had she attended a solo instrument concert, and that instrument being her beloved piano, she knew she was going to love the evening.

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A while afterwards, the staff working at the theatre dimmed all the lights in the room, leaving the piano alone illuminated, and everyone took that as a hint to be seated and wait for the concert to begin.

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The programme was very appealing to Claire -a selection of some piano works by Robert Schumann- and she was sure she could have played every piece by heart herself. Besides, the performer's subtle rendition tugged at her heart in a way only music could make her feel.

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But all the while Claire couldn't help but notice Andrew's eyes fixed on her rather than on the piano across the room from them. Normally, she would have shuddered at having a man pay so much attention to her, and trembled in fear for the outcome of such an audacity. But there was no one to torment her now, and she was even tempted to look him back. She lacked the courage to do so, however, not completely trusting her composure if she did. She just kept staring directly ahead of her, and she felt herself blush as the tiniest of a self-conscious smile slowly spread across her lips.

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The concert went on for a little longer and all the audience seemed to be having a great time. They all sat in awe and silence, no doubt enraptured by every note as they reverberated and filled the room with that beautiful music.

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Once the recital was over, Dr. Stuart insisted on them going to meet the performer, since he was an old acquaintance of his, after all.

"Oh, Stuart, there you are." The man said, recognising him immedialy, as he rose from the piano stool. "I'm glad you could finally make it. And I see you haven't come unaccompanied."

"I'm glad we came, you outdid yourself today, Williams." Both men shook hands. "May I introduce you to Mrs. Claire Parker? Mrs. Parker, this is Mr. Edgar Williams."

"Enchanté, madame. A beautiful name for a charming lady." Mr. Williams took her hand in his to kiss it as he spoke, and she slightly lowered her head in acknowledgement of his compliment. "Claire, Clara. Perhaps you know that Mr. Schumann's wife is called Clara."

"Yes, yes I do. And I've even learnt some of her compositions," she answered spiritedly.

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"Mrs. Parker is a very accomplished pianist herself, and also writes her own music." Dr. Stuart added, and Claire felt flattered that he should think so.

"Is that true, Mrs. Parker?" Mr. Williams asked her, apparently interested.

"Oh, well, I'm afraid that Dr. Stuart exaggerates a little."

"Nonsense, madam." He was curt but his statement was accompanied by a warm smile. "Stuart is not at all prone to exaggerating. If he says you're talented, I'll just take his word for it. I'd love to take a look at those compositions. Is there a chance that you might show them to me?"

"I think... I could find some things, yes." But in truth Claire had no clue as to how she could find some sheet music to show him since everything she had written was penned under some alias or other.

Their conversation lasted for some more minutes, after which Dr. Stuart, being the gentleman that he was, offered to accompany her to her lodging.

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"Now m'lady is safely back home," Dr. Stuart said as they walked along the corridor that led to Claire's rooms. "I hope the evening was as pleasant for you as it was for me."

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She averted his gaze before answering. "I loved going to that concert with..." She stopped herself as she was about to say 'with you'. She didn't even know why she would want to say anything like that. "I... I just loved going to that concert. Mr. Williams' performance was exquisite. Thank you for inviting me, Dr. Stuart."

"Wouldn't you call me simply Andrew? At least when we're not working. I'd love to hear that word coming from... your lips." He moved forward, slightly leaning in closer to her, but then he frowned, and retreated back again, as if having second thoughts. "And you gave me leave to call you Claire, isn't that right?"

She had to nod her agreement, remembering that in fact she had done just that. But somehow, her throat refused to let his name escape her lips out loud. She shouldn't take that step. She knew she shouldn't, but... "Thank you... Andrew," she finally uttered under her breath.

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Once Dr. Stuart said his goodbyes, Claire shut the door behind her and let herself drop against it. She had so much enjoyed her evening she felt like laughing. And she decided then and there that she'd make the most of these new experiences and emotions for as long as she could.  She knew far too well they wouldn't last forever...



Chapter 14Chapter 12



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Author's note: Not much I wanted to say here except once again thank you all for giving this little story a chance. Your continued support and feedback is what keeps me motivated in those moments when I feel this is too heavy a load for me and I won't be able to make it to the end. So, a big THANK YOU to all my readers, you guys are awesome! :-D

50 comments:

  1. aww, all smiles during this update! I loved their date. She'd never really been on a date before and this was the perfect first one for her. She was so worried about her neckline and how Andrew would perceive her, I'm glad she pushed those thoughts away. She deserve these little bits of happiness because I have to agree with her, I think something bad may come her way again. :( I hope we are both wrong!

    And damn it Andrew, you should have kissed her again!

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    1. Hehe, it was a happy update, I guess :-D. She's experiencing a lot of "first times" with Andrew, and that's sooo good for her, imo. I spent quite some time choosing her outfit to make sure she was actually NOT showing too much cleavage, because I think then it makes the more impression that she should think so; but of course we already know what happened to her in the past when that "someone" thought she wasn't properly dressed ;-) :-(. And I think (hope) she's coming out of her shell little by little. True, she deserves all the happiness she can get :-D, but oh! that last sentece didn't sound too good, right? *whistles while trying to divert the attention elsewhere*

      See, Andrew? Did you hear that? You should have kissed Claire again! :-P I suppose her reaction to that first kiss DID scare him somehow ;-).

      Thank you so much for reading and commenting.

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  2. I feel as giddy as Claire feels in that closing shot. Yeeps. So happy for them! I'm glad she gave Andrew a chance to take her out and she enjoyed herself. It must be a great feeling for Claire to be treated as her own person and not like some trophy wife. She'd better get rid of her negative thoughts, I don't want any more sadness for her. She deserves to laugh and smile and fall in love and be happy, and if given a chance, I'm sure Andrew, I mean, Dr. Stuart would be more than willing to make her happy.

    Lovely update. Enjoyed very much!

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    1. Aww, that was exactly the "feel" I was going for in this chapter, so I'm so glad for your giddiness :-D. Everytime I write all these sweet interactions between Claire and Andrew, I mean Dr. Stuart ;-), I end up with my eyes all watery *blushes*, because I can ACTUALLY imagine what it must feel for her to be treated so respectfully and nicely. She's working really hard in erasing all those negative thoughts from her mind, but unfortunately it's very difficult for her :-(.

      Aww, that's so sweet of you :-D, thank you so much for reading and commenting.

      PS: Reading your comment has made ME feel giddy ;-).

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  3. Yay Claire! Bless her, so nervous and anxious and excited to the point she doesn't know which way is up. I love how she's almost as nervous and excited just about her dress, which is fashionable, and looks lovely and is purchased by herself. Hopefully as well as all that went she'll get a little boost in her confidence also. And I love how Andrew was also quick to praise her abilities as a pianist to the evening's musician. Maybe another shot of confidence to give her a little more courage?

    And Andrew, yummy! It looks as if the good doctor put a lot of thought into that outing as well. I can't wait to see how Claire and Andrew's relationship progresses from here. Yay!

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    1. Hehe, she was a bundle of nerves, wasn't she? She's always anxious and unsure about so many things she shouldn't be, like her dress, which, as you said, is very fashionable and lovely and suits her so well... And hopefully her self-confidence will have improved after the evening, she does need it. LOL, the good old doctor is always ready to praise "his" lady, right?

      LOL, I see you're Andrew's number-one fan! ;-) Oh, he sure did, he had everything planned out, always the hopeless romantic that he is... They have a long way to go yet, though...

      Thanks so much for reading and commenting, you put a smile on my face just now.

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  4. This girl is so sweet ^^
    Seriously, I just read some other writers updates and it´s all drama, drama and more drama. Why not give the characters a break now and then, eh? Love this ^^

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    1. She is, isn't she? :-D

      LOL, I honestly don't know how to answer to your comment, I think I'll stick to the part where you said you loved the update :-D. But, hey! I did give my characters a break... well..., for this update... at least... *looks unsure* LOL

      Thanks so much for reading, I loved your comment.

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  5. Aww :D I still feel awful that she expects the worst from everything Andrew does, but I'm happy she had a great time and felt like laughing at the end! Andrew is good for her, and I hope she realises he isn't like *him* before it's too late!

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    1. Yes, old habits die hard, right? :-( But I think she's beginning to understand him better, and learning that his intentions are good. Too bad she's still anxious about so many things, and that's not going to change easily; hopefully she'll come to realise how good Andrew is for her soon enough.

      Thank you so much for reading and for your comment :-D.

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  6. I'm so glad she accompanied him to the concert, and that she ended up enjoying it so much. Determining to wear the clothes she chooses, and to make the most of these experiences, will help her find herself. She still has a lot to learn, where Andrew is concerned, and I'm glad he's not pushing himself on her. She needs to see some consistent behavior from a real man, and maybe then she can see that not all men are the same.

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    1. It's sad that even the most simple things (like choosing what clothes to wear) are so difficult for -and alien to- Claire :-(. Luckily, she enjoyed her evening. Poor Andrew, if he knew he's treading on dangerous ground... One false step and both of them might be ruined for good, and he wouldn't even know what he's done wrong! Hopefully, he'll continue behaving himself, or else...

      Thanks so much for reading and commenting.

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  7. I hope I'm not too late!

    Claire seems to have two minds about Andrew, part of her really likes him but the other part just doesn't trust the fact that he's male I suppose! She is right to have her doubts though.

    Oh! You took a picture of her opening a door! You don't know how many times I thought of doing this but bah you made it seem so simple! Great shot btw!

    Onto the date! Andrew is smooth! That was a great choice for a date and Claire seemed to really enjoy herself. Although she seems to keep part of herself to herself, I feel like she knows Andrew means well but her past experience has been horrible so that there is this one part of herself that is hanging onto that doubt....Andrew better not mess it up!

    Great update :D

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    1. Too late? There's no time-limit that I'm aware of :-P ;-).

      Two minds, yes, you described that perfectly. There's this side of her that's still quite not ready to trust a man, no matter how nice he seems. And she's beginning to develop feelings for him (that's what I think, at any rate), but that doesn't prevent her from fearing men at large :-(.

      I didn't think too much about that shot. It's all a matter of perspective, trust me. She's showing her back for a reason ;-). Glad you liked it.

      Andrew knew what he was doing when he invited Claire to a concert of all things! But why do I have the feeling that all of you are implying Andrew is actually GOING TO mess things up? Hmmm, we'll see, we'll see...

      Thanks so much for reading and for your feedback.

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  8. The music room was very pretty. Claire surely enjoyed herself and even felt flustered it seems when Andrew kept looking at her :)
    Maybe his gentle manner will break Claire's shell and let her see that men are not completely evil. Just a little evil. haha...
    Sharing her music does seem a bit worrisome since Mr Williams is a musician. He may know some of the pieces she shares somehow, and then if anyone is hunting her, which I get the feeling is happening, it could create a mess. Maybe I am letting my imagination run away :)

    Loved the set, it was really very pretty. Claire's nervousness and her joy was palpable. :) Can't wait to read more.

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    1. Flustered, eh? Yeah, you're right, she may have felt flustered and agitated, but in a good sense, I guess ;-). On the other hand, now that I come to think of it, perhaps she's getting accostumed to him staring at her, he's doing it all the time LOL.

      Nah, men are good (some of the time, at least LOL), haha. Hmm, a very interesting theory you've got there, I love theories! Hehe. Of course, my lips are sealed :-P.

      Awww, thanks. That set is the main reason why it took me so long to release this chapter. Were they palpable, really? Her mind was all over the place, no doubt, and I had a difficult time putting that into words, so it means a lot that you thought so.

      Thank you so much for reading and for your comment (I enjoyed it).

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  9. *big, silly grin*
    I LOVE THIS UPDATE!!!!
    I could write an essay about how much I love this update, but I'll make an attempt to sum it up.
    *happy sigh* Claire's confidence is growing, and I'm so glad. I'm also glad that Andrew senses her timidity. (I can't help but wonder what he'd do with the information about her past.) He's such a sweetheart. <3
    I can't decide if I'm happy or mildly disappointed he didn't kiss her at the end. He wanted to, that's for sure. I guess, for Claire's sake, him not kissing her was a good thing. Still, he Wanted to. :D

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    1. LOL *beams*

      No need for you to sum up, you may write as many essays as you want :-D. Claire's self-esteem is improving, no doubt, and Andrew has "sensed" something, let's say strange, about her, but he doesn't know what to make of it yet. I wish I could tell you what he'd do if he knew, but, nope, I won't say a word :-P. He's a dear <3.

      I think Andrew is asking himself the same question. He wanted to kiss her, there's no doubt about it.

      Thanks so much for reading, and for your joyful comment *beams some more*.

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  10. *jumps up and down* Claire and Andrew!! *cheers for them*
    I cannot express how happy I am to see Claire agreed to go on a date with Andrew. Despite her reservations in her head telling her things, she went for it anyway. Go Claire! I was glad to see her processing her thoughts, even though some of them are still a little disturbed from the way the other guy treated her, but she pushed them aside. It was so great too when Andrew introduced her to Edgar, and she got to talk to another man who was nice.
    Haha when Claire was thinking no I shouldn't say "with you" I was like yes Claire you should. LOL. Andrew is so nice. I love him. I wonder when he will find out about the stuff in Claire's past, or if he ever will.

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    1. Hehe, :-D.

      She has a lot of bad things going on in her mind still, but she's overcoming them little by little. And, hey, she's meeting a few nice men along the road. That might help her in her distrust of men.

      Hehe, she should have said that, Andrew would definitely have liked it ;-). Andrew is great <3. I'm the only one to know the answer to that, so you'll have to stick with me a little longer if you want to find out ;-).

      Thanks so much for reading and for your comment (I'm so happy right now!).

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  11. I just found this story tonight, and I read it all up! :) It's lovely and sincere and emotional, and the flashbacks and the PTSD and the struggle for healing are all just really well done.

    I noticed all the talk about period Sims stories in comments on earlier chapters. I know of TONS of period Sims stories, but most of them are Sims 2 now that I think about it.

    Anyway, this is lovely, and I will be coming back for every new update. :)

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    1. Welcome! :-D This story is some sort of a struggle for me as well as for Claire -even if I haven't experienced anything nearly as traumatic :-(- so I'm glad you think it's sincere.

      Oh, yes, you're right, I know of some period Sims 2 stories, but there are not that many in Sims 3, at least not that I'm aware of. I DO know a few, though :-).

      Thank you so much for reading and for your kind words, they've meant a lot to me :-).

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    2. I haven't been beaten while pregnant and had a miscarriage, but I do have experience with abuse and PTSD and it all rings true to me.

      I added you to my blogroll! I'll give you a shout out on my Tumblr too - I like to tell other people when I find a Sims story I like, because it's pretty rare. :)

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    3. Aww, so sorry to hear that, I don't know what to say :-(.

      Wow, thank you so much, I feel really honoured :-D.

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  12. That was the perfect first date for Claire. WTG, Andrew! Love that he couldn't keep his eyes off her during the performance and that she knew it. That's a confidence booster, and we all know Claire needs them. I do wish Andrew would've kissed her, but just getting Claire to call him Andrew was hard enough. I absolutely adore the last shot of Claire. She's positively beaming!

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    1. Awww, it surely was! Claire does need all the confidence boosters she can get, and having such a gentle, handsome man paying you so much attention must not feel so bad, after all <3 ;-). We'll get to see Andrew's side of this fledgling relationship in a while, but I think he regrets not having kissed her again, hehe. Oh, yes, she was beaming!

      Thanks for reading and for all your comments, you just made my day :-D.

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  13. This was so lovely and so sweet! I really hope things work out for Claire and Andrew!

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    1. Aww, thanks, yes the chapter was all sweetness: I needed a lighter relief myself, LOL. I hope the same thing for them too :-D.

      Thanks for reading :-).

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  14. Such a happy chapter. I agree. Its good to see a happy chapter every now and again. Don't get me wrong, I love reading about drama, but sometimes you just feel so terrible for the characters that you get attached too. I love the expression on her face at the end where she is leaning against the door. She looks so happy! And yay! I got caught up with your story. I'm so excited. I'm sorry I couldn't comment on every chapter. For some reason when I go to post a comment it takes me back to the page where I have to agree to the terms being an 18 + Site, then the screen goes white, so I have to go all the way out again, go back in, and hopefully it will let me comment again. Sometimes it takes a couple tries just to get a comment to post. I have to copy and paste the comment so I don't have to keep typing it out. I just wanted you to know, that I sincerely adore your story. :)

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    1. Yes, I know what you mean, and I have to agree. There are times when happier chapters are needed in order to relieve some tension. Claire feels so happy after her perfect date, poor thing! Yay for catching up! :-D

      And now, I'm so sorry you've been having problems commenting, I'm not sure what might have happened, but seeing as those captchas can get really nasty, I disabled word verification for comments. Hopefully that will solve the issue, I'm not sure, though. Thank you so much for letting me know, by the way.

      And thanks for reading, your kind words just put a big smile on my face :-D.

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  15. Aww i'm sorry you had to remove your captcha's. They are a pain but its better then dealing with spam comments. :) What exactly happens is I go to comment, I hit publish and then it takes me to the page where you agree to the terms 18 + the screen goes white and nothing happens no matter how long you wait. So you have to either exit your brower or go back a page and hope your comment is still there. It's probably just me though, i'll try downloading a different web browser and see if that helps :) And you are welcome for the comment! Its an awesome story! :)

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    1. Don't worry, I wanted to try it out, anyway :-D. I really don't know what might be happening, perhaps it was just something temporary? In any case, feel free to comment through my wordpress account if that's more suitable to you... I just wish Blogger and Wordpress liked each other a little bit more :'-(.

      And thanks again for your words :-).

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  16. Aww! What a lovely chapter! <3 I am excited to see what will happen next!

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    1. Aww, thanks <3! Hopefully you won't have to wait much longer...

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  17. Huzzah! I finally found the time to read your story from Chapter 1 and I'm so glad I did! Yet another widow ;-)

    Your characters and dialogue are really great, you've obviously put a lot of time and effort into the screenshots - your story is so beautiful! I've been hoping to find a good historical/period story for a while and I'm so glad I found yours. Claire is intriguing, Dr. Stuart is incredibly yummy and the gorgeous setting reminds me of "Anne of Green Gables":-)

    Looking forward to reading more!

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    1. Another widow, yes ;-).

      Awww, thank you so much. Claire is one intriguing character, but that's only "natural", considered how much she's suffered in her past. Hehe, and I wanted to make Andrew pleasant to the eye ;-). "Anne of Green Gables", eh?. It's funny that you said so; I was thinking along the lines of "Road to Avonlea" (the TV series) while building my stuff, but that's close enough: same author, right? ;-)

      Thanks for reading and for your words :-).

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    2. Yes, same author! I remember reading Anne of Green Gables when I was quite young, I think there were several TV series that came from that series of 8 books (Road to Avanlea, Anne of Avonlea, etc). Way back then every young Canadian girl wanted to be just like Anne ;-)

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    3. I used to watch "Road to Avonlea" when I was a child, and I loved it. I haven't read the books, though: some day I will, I'm sure :-D.

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  18. Great story line. I am glad that Claire is starting to experience the pangs of love for probably the first time in her life. Ah to be young and in love again. Nah on second thought ah to be old and in a settled relationship with the man you love. lol. Can't wait to see more. I love stories in an historical setting.

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    1. Awww, love, what everybody seeks, right? <3 <3 <3

      This was a lovely comment :-D.

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  19. I am so glad that Claire has decided to enjoy these new feelings even though she believes they won't last long. I think it will open up a part of her that she's had hidden away for a long time.
    Andrew is being so sweet and what a perfect place to take her for a date. :)

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    1. Enjoying herself has always been so foreign to her :-(, she now wants to make the most of it.

      Hehe, Andrew does know how to court a lady, right? ;-)

      Thanks for reading.

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  20. An actual date! And she enjoyed herself and relaxed somewhat!! He's slowly winning her over and I love it! The smile on her face in the last picture is one of pure joy. Makes my heart melt. :)

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    1. Yesss! A date! And she certainly had a great time <3

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  21. Love, love, love!

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  22. I need to take this moment to say how different she looks from when she first arrived. Her skin is glowing, she's smiling more, she looks less worried.

    Ah, a good man will do that to you!

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    1. Oh, yes. That's what a good man who cares can do for a woman's beauty ;-).

      Thanks for reading and for this lovely comment :-).

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  23. It's been a hectic second semester, and I am glad to be here again, and catch up with the story. And even happier to pick up from such a happy update.

    Good that Claire has found some respite. She is listening less to the voice of her own suffering, to slowly pay attention to the voice that brings hope of overcoming suffering. Of course, that redemption is not in Andrew -- at least to my understanding -- but in the chance he is giving her. To be honest, I often find him too entranced with Claire's beauty and often too physical in his comments and attitudes towards her. But it's fine with me as long as it is fine for her :)

    I could picture Claire being fond of Schumann. And the mention of Clara Schumann, and charming Mr. Edgar Williams --- what a lovely night! She deserves it.

    But... this is not the calm before the tempest, is it?

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    1. It's great to have you back! :-)

      Claire is definitely changing many of the harming attitudes she has (sadly) acquired over the years. And the chance Andrew is giving her is of the utmost importance, as it enables her to perceive there are many types of men, most of which are trustworthy and respectful. You are right in saying that Andrew is much too concerned with Claire's looks, perhaps because it's a side of her he can "understand", given the little information she shares otherwise...

      I liked the idea of Schumann's wife being Claire's namesake, so I knew I had to include it, one way or another...

      Thanks for reading!

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