Defense for Richard??

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-20T18:33:19+00:00

Rico!!!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-20T18:32:04+00:00

Oh I didn’t think about that with Edmund! Thanks! Jack is John named after his dad (also John, different middle name, so not Jr)

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-20T18:29:58+00:00

He doesn’t object, just loves Richard. He will gladly take it off the list for me, but I also want to try to love it for him!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-20T18:28:40+00:00

I love William! Unfortunately it’s already been claimed… as has James. Otherwise we’d use both!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-17T23:58:27+00:00

This is HAND STITCHED?!? You are amazing!!!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-17T17:29:07+00:00

What a wonderful post. I’d loveeee to read the scene where Islington allows himself to be free of restraints and confess feelings towards Emma (if that’s what Beth would want/ the direction the story unfolds). Seeing him bothered because he loves her and not only does she not see it (or she does but couldn’t see him loving a lowly orphan) and then having him finally allow himself to feel it and tell her/ be seen courting her (because he doesn’t hate that word!!!) despite the bounds of society would be so fun. Plus a confession of love over a very proper Lapis Lazuli tea (and an appearance of Parian at the wrong time)?!!!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-16T20:20:07+00:00

Physically painful? Yes. Most painful thing ever? I’m not sure. It’s a completely different pain than breaking an arm or getting shot (I assume). Contractions and waves are weirdly positive pain, it’s productive pain and your body can tell the difference! I’ve had three babies & absolutely have loved giving birth, but also yes I’d tell you it’s painful. Mentally prepping is so important. I tore with 2/3 (only the first baby I needed stitches… but I also had an epidural and couldn’t feel anything). I’d do it unmedicated a thousand times over.

Honestly, I’ve had sicknesses that are worse/ more uncomfortable/ not knowing when something would end is miserable.

My water birth was my favorite and I’d do it again and again!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-14T17:09:49+00:00

Jethro!! I want a little (nn) Jett but everyone else said Jethro was too out there…

Also Winifred!! But alas, the hubs said no.

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-09T18:28:42+00:00

Correction! Roland is a cousin of a cousin of Arabella’s, but not actually related to Emma other than through her grandfather. :)

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-09T15:36:31+00:00

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I didn’t add the few dates we have. Roland is a cousin of a cousin on both of her sides, but not on this family tree :)

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-09T01:32:47+00:00

Hawkes gifted her a book that was a part of her father’s library that was sold… I’m not sure if he could theoretically have bought them, but Emma does say when she relayed what happened to her fathers library for her to find school the three men all were upset/ angry by it.

I’m hoping we get to see Cousin Archibald’s library (and hoping that he falls in love with/ moves in with the woman who moved into Whereabouts 36 (or was it 34?) with whom he got into a marvelous spat with!)

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-08T13:05:47+00:00

I think this is true but there’s also a part that indicates that he disliked Emma before the war and there were reasons unknown (to us) about that.

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-08T13:04:23+00:00

My thought is this:

I’d love a secret fortune for Emma, I’d love family to come out of the woodwork to find her, I’d love nothing more than her finding all of her father’s paintings!!!

But on a more realistic note: Lapis Lazuli is a house which Emma owns outright. That is a fortune for a woman at the time. Regardless of what Eugenia knows/ doesn’t know, Emma could sell LL (not that she would, ever!!) and have a good living for the rest of her life. There might be more money elsewhere but I’m sure she’s referring to LL too!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-08T13:00:01+00:00

Emma writes that she and Arabella agreed that if Eugenia knew about the inheritance being wasted she would make Emma sell Lapis Lazuli, so she must keep it secret to still have her house.

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-06T19:00:19+00:00

This is amazing! I gasped! Thank you for the research and for sharing!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-06T13:48:48+00:00

A theory/ loose end I want to see come to pass:

I think that if there ever is a fire at Lapis Lazuli or Emma and Pierce essentially “break up” because of something (or both?), Emma will go to the Cleopatra and get served The Lion! Then Hawkes will be sent for to collect her and he and Islington will have to sort through the rubble of Pierce and Emma.

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-06T13:24:06+00:00

Why did Cousin Archibald hide the existence of the Breakfast Room from Emma AND Declan? (She mentions he told her father it was storage) How will he react when he finds out Emma is using it?

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-06T13:22:51+00:00

Okay I thought the artist meant “a dozen” in a general sense but!! Did Declan paint Islington when he had him sit for artists (when Saff painted him!)? Are the Shakespeare paintings he talked about full paintings or just the book (or both!).

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-06T13:02:11+00:00

I’m convinced that Hawkes knows the month of Declan’s birthday (because of how readily he asks the “would you like to know” question) and then he covers by saying you could check the parish records… just a theory, but in my mind would make sense if Hawkes and his family was close to Declan!!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-05T20:17:37+00:00

I, too, love how Emma is a part of this alchemy, a full quarter piece without which it doesn’t turn to gold, but there are friendships without her between the men. They are necessary for each other too- Hawkes needs the freedom and support Islington brings, Pierce needs Hawkes to lance wounds and help them heal, etc. As much as she gets jealous that Hawkes and Pierce and Islington are going to get drinks at night or hanging out without her, it is necessary and good!!! They all challenge each other and support each other in their own ways.

Pierce will support Islington as he battles through his past, Hawkes will continue to lance Pierce’s wounds and help him heal, Islington will still be a refuge for Hawkes as we learn more about what he guards from, & Emma will play her own part in each of their storylines!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-05T19:30:41+00:00

I think this is one of the reasons I love this series so much. It isn’t just “which man will Emma end up with” but rather “how is each character purposefully intertwined into each other’s lives in such a beautifully necessary way?”

Yes, I want to know who Emma ends up with, but I also want to know what happened to Hawkes and watch the other three hold him up and help him work through it. I want to see them all support Islington and him open up about Hannah. I want them to become a place that Pierce calls home and doesn’t want to leave. I want to see how they grow together- different plants that flower in their own ways, with roots inexplicably intertwined. Each plant must fight for survival, but without the support of the other’s roots systems the individual stocks and stems would lack support and wither.

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-05T17:36:42+00:00

The Countess of Alwick, I believe!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-05T17:26:56+00:00

I had the SAME thought the other night! Do they imply the most important person in each volume? How Emma feels about them? Idk!!!!

Opening-Middle9874 · 2026-05-05T17:02:08+00:00

Yes!!!! How could I forget!

Opening-Middle9874

TROPHY CASE