Life and Love: A Jane Austen Drabble

Life and Love: A Jane Austen Drabble

By Audrey Elissa Hodson
Word Count: 396
Rating: G
Summary: A Jane Austen-style short fiction.

Dawn crept through the thin linen window hangings. Our rooster ‘twas all but inept, as of late. But not to worry, as the sun was ever the faithful companion, as perhaps it always had been. I did not boast myself a scholar on such matters.
The advantages of having two sisters included morning ablutions. A hasty swipe of the rag over our visage, and then returned to the wash basin for the following sister. Our long hair swept up, and the bodice buttons ‘twere made quick work by our nimble, practiced fingers.
A breakfast of eggs, bread, and sometimes even fresh butter was quickly followed by garden tending, and oftentimes needlework.  Whilst afternoons were leisurely, punctuated with reading, and portraits or still life drawn by Mary.
Mr. Wellesley seldom called for tea, as mother so hoped would lead to an advantageous match for Frances. The daily engagements of well-bred gentlemen ‘twere so often perplexing to my sisters and me. Had our brother, Henry, survived past infancy, conceivably we might have had a better education on the entirety of the male sex.
Merriment in the evenings is nothing less than the embodiment of love and affection. In our short lives if all that is accomplished is to love often, and love well, then this world will be left a far better land for those who follow. Perchance women were never meant to comprehend the complexities outside the realm of home tending. Is not everyone at their finest when the shortcomings of one are bolstered by others?
A few of the more sophisticated ladies tend to look down on my family for our misfortunes, both in house and business. However, there is only one life for all of us, and we all have our parts to play. My home would not be what it has become without the trials or celebrations that have taken place.
I could pen a flourishing list of the four and twenty families we dine with; however, there is hardly a more favorable account of country life than to experience the dreary moments alongside the vibrant and jolly times. Perhaps not all wish to achieve a quiet calm, nevertheless for the few that persist daily, we do not aspire for anything greater than the life God has bestowed upon us.

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