Jane Austen meets Stuffed Animals

Last night, I went to say goodnight to Mariel and Cornflower, my little sisters. They were having a blast dressing up their stuffed animals and dolls.

I picked up a teddy bear with a sweater, a long denim coat over it and a monocle made of a toy gold ring. "Who's he today?" I asked.

Mariel was unsure, but Cornflower piped up immediately. "Mr. Darcy!"

*

This morning, we went for a nature walk. Mr. Darcy reposed solemnly in a white strawberry-speckled stroller, with Elizabeth, a brown-haired baby doll, by his side. But before we left, Mr. Darcy must have proposed, for Elizabeth was left at home.

Or maybe it was just Cornflower's tendency to get tired of pushing her stroller. Before the walk was over, I was carrying the carriage and Cornflower was carrying Mr. Darcy.