It could be the premise of a romance novel: An upholsterer finds a 200-year-old love letter tucked into the arm of a 19th-century armchair.
Restorer Graham Simpson was reupholstering an antique chair at his shop, Theocus Furniture, when he made the discovery.
The small note was so tightly folded it was about the size of a penny.
Simpson told the Gloucestershire News, "When I opened it, to my amazement it was a note written in pencil, in old French."
Simpson posted the note's contents on Facebook. A French friend of his wife's was able to translate the love letter and discover it was written by a man from Mercurol, a town in the French Alps.
Purposeful, intimate and hilarious — How often do annoying aunts end up in love letters? — the sweet little letter is making waves online.
You can find the full translated letter here (via How to be a Retronaut), but here are some highlights:
"My dear small love, do not be worried, do you seriously believe I would tell anything to these people, who don't understand anything about love?"
"If someone insists that I say something, it will be anything but the dear love acquired by you, which is the great treasure hidden in my heart."
"At the moment I write this letter, I can hear my aunt yelling, who else annoys us all day long, today and tomorrow."
"My dear, I cover you with kisses and caresses until… I need you in this moment of desire. I love you."
Simpson's client, Georgina Mucklow-Davis, acquired the chair when she bought a house in the village of St Mercel sur Aude. The family she purchased the home from had called the place home for over 150 years. Muchlow-Davis recently wrote to the family, asking for insight into the letter's history.
Simpson acknowledges what we've all been thinking: "It is wonderful to have such a unique little note find its way from the Alps to my shop in Tewkesbury. I just hope it reached the lady it was intended for all those years ago."