I wouldn’t call it a jolly good time, but it’s not as bad as that. There are women, after all, and where there are women, I’m bound to make merry.
Michael Stirling wrote the quote in a letter to his first cousin, the Earl of Kilmartin. Michael was at war as the country was fighting Napoleon. Michael narrated to his first cousin how the war was a bad and unpleasing place for him and that the women there made the place bearable for the soldiers.
A moment so tremendous, so sharp and clear that one feels as if one’s been hit in the chest, all the breath knocked out, and one knows, absolutely knows without the merest hint of a shadow of a doubt that one’s life will never be the same.
The narrator says these words after letting the readers know that Michael Stirling was in love with Francesca Bridgerton who was married to his first cousin, Earl of Kilmartin. From the moment that Michael met his cousin's wife, he fell deeply in love with her and this changed his life.
If she’d had an arrow, she couldn’t have jammed it into his heart any harder.
Michael Stirling thinks these words after Francesca Bridgerton asks him to help them( Francesca and the earl) what would be the best way to celebrate their anniversary. When Francesca asked him about the anniversary, Michael was devastated and jealous because he loved her deeply and she was married to his cousin.
And although John had never said so, Michael knew that he felt guilty for having not fought for England on the Continent, for remaining behind while Michael faced danger alone.But John had been heir to an earldom. He had a duty to marry, be fruitful and multiply. No one had expected him to go to war.
Micheal and John Stirling were agemates and first cousins. When war broke out, John was left behind in England because he was next in line to be the Earl of Kilmartin and to inherit the estate. Michael on the other hand was sent off to war because he was not the heir. This quote reveals how aristocracy worked in England.
and if it were as bad as that, I suspect you would not tell me. As for the women, do at least try to make sure they are clean and free of disease. Beyond that, do what you must to make your time bearable. And please, try not to get yourself killed. At the risk of sounding maudlin, I don’t know what I would do without you.
This is a quote from a letter that John sent his cousin Michael when Michael was at war. The quote reveals that the two had a brotherly bond and they cared about each other despite the anger and frustration between them due to inheritance. John is advising his cousin to practice safe sex and to ensure that he is safe on the battlefield.
