A Midsummer Christmas

Part 2

"There, now! Enough roughhousing. Go to your studies!"

Richard saluted his young nephew, who giggled and threw himself at his uncle's knees, knocking him down and keeping him there by clambering on top of him.

"I said - enough roughhousing - oof!" Richard laughed as his niece caught sight of the play and decided to join them by jumping into the fray. "Well, I certainly can't defeat both of you. I am outmanned, outgunned, outmanoeuvred..."

"And out of breath. Children, please allow your uncle to breathe. I don't wish to have received him safely home from the war only to lose him to suffocation."

Giggling, the two small children obediently scurried off him and stood aside, allowing their nursemaid to usher them back to the school room. Richard sat up, brushing off his coat and breeches and at last accepting the hand his brother offered him to bring him back onto his feet.

"They are fine children, Edward."

"You are a fine uncle to put up with such naughtiness." The Earl of Matlock's face was grim but there was a sparkle in his eyes that betrayed the proud papa within. "I assure you they know better than to scramble around on the floor at any and every opportunity."

"Young children should never be made to grow up too soon," Richard said, defiantly. "We were not all born little masters-of-the-land, as you were." Richard nudged his brother in the side, before growing sober. "Except perhaps for Darcy. There, two of you. I shall do my best to bring up the rear and remain childish as long as possible."

"May I say you are doing remarkably well, in that case?"

The two brothers looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

"Come, Richard, take a walk in the garden with me, will you? The weather is too fine to remain indoors."

Richard was amenable to this. He and his brother had been getting on better than ever since his return from the war, and it seemed as if his proximity to death and valour had worked in conjunction to smooth over any differences between the two Fitzwilliams. They were now not only brothers but friends, too. Richard was grateful, although he remained conscious of not outstaying his welcome.

As if his brother had read his mind, the earl enquired as to his future plans almost as soon as they were out of earshot of the house.

"You are welcome to remain here as long as you wish, of course. You must not hear me dismissing you or demanding you take your leave. I am merely curious what your plans are, now that...now that..."

He could not quite bring himself to say now that the war is over. That was the general consensus, of course, but as most military families knew, peace was ever a temporary thing. Richard had taken his leave of the military, though. He had given his all to his country when it needed him and had been repaid with rank and respect and no small fortune. He was not an earl, of course, but Richard had never envied his brother the position of heir and inheritor of their estate. He surveyed the gardens, remembering how they had looked as a child and wondering how much of his brother's day was devoted to keeping them in order. Not directly, of course, but in managing the staff who would keep the estate running as it ought. He was a good manager, Edward Fitzwilliam. Richard would have been a disaster.

"I suppose I ought to consider acquiring an estate of my own and settling down one of these fine days." He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun and squinted to make out the boundary of their land and winced. "A small estate. One that will provide hours of enjoyment and very little trouble in managing."

"An excellent idea."

Of course Edward would approve of this. Richard's brother had been encouraging just such a plan since before his last deployment. No doubt he had a choice selection of just such estates compiled and was ready to advise his younger brother on the benefits and limitations of each in turn.

"I am in no hurry, however." Richard tilted his face up towards the sunshine, enjoying the warmth of it and closing his eyes against its brightness.

"Edward! Richard!"

Both men turned at the sound of Lady Matlock, who had ventured out into the garden. She waved at them, and Richard fancied he could make out a pile of letters clutched within her dainty hand.

"You see, this is why I am reluctant to take on an estate of my own," Richard remarked, punching his brother companionably on the arm as he passed him and hastened towards the house. "They come with so much unnecessary correspondence!"

Edward grumbled something Richard did not hear but obediently fell into step behind his brother. It was not until both gentlemen reached the house that Richard was forced to eat his words. At least half of the letters were addressed to him.

"Unnecessary correspondence, you say?" Edward asked, with a mocking little laugh. "I wager yours is of an entirely different sort."

"Certainly is!" Richard nodded approvingly, as he split the seal and smoothed out the first letter, glancing over it with a grin. "Ah! Here, this is news that will cheer you, Edward, and your lady-wife." He smiled contritely at his sister-in-law, who swatted him on the arm and urged them both indoors, to the quiet cool of the parlour. "I am for Pemberley! I wrote to Darcy and asked if he fancied me as a guest for a week or two, for you know I am not fond of outstaying my welcome here and might as well wring out every advantage of my friends and family that can be taken." He consulted his letter for the details. "I shall ride over there in a few days and stay a week or more with them. Then, who knows? The world - or England, at least - is my oyster!"