A Midsummer Christmas

Part 4

At dinner that evening, Darcy scarcely paid any attention to what his wife was saying. His focus was entirely on Georgiana, for while his sister laughed and joked and seemed entirely settled and at ease, he could not help but wonder if Elizabeth's assertion had been correct.

Is Georgiana lonely? This had not been the first time such a thought had lodged itself in Darcy's mind. Indeed, he had thought, too often, that if only Georgiana had not been lonely she would never have been so vulnerable to George Wickham's machinations. Darcy felt a flare of white-hot anger surge through him, as it did whenever his old friend came to his mind. Fortunately that happened far less frequently now, although there would be a time when the two would be forced into society once more. We are family now, after all. Darcy sighed to think that one of Lizzy's sisters was now condemned for life to the fate he had succeeded in rescuing Georgiana from. Yet, this was different. George Wickham had never truly intended to marry Georgiana. He had never truly intended to marry Lydia Bennet, either, but now the pair were matched Darcy could only hope that matrimony would have a positive effect on his old foe. And Lydia Bennet is certainly a very different prospect to Georgiana! He looked again at his sister, fancying that her smile did not stay in place quite as long as it ought to have done. Perhaps Lizzy is right...

"Oh, Lizzy! You are absolutely right! What a wonderful idea! Fitzwilliam, don't you think so?"

Darcy's distraction had served him ill. He straightened in his chair, smiling first at his sister and then at his wife, who saw through the expression immediately, with those bright eyes which were impossible to deceive.

"You have no idea what we are talking about, do you? See, Georgiana, how little attention your brother pays to us. We might be discussing important matters of state, matters of life and death, and he sits here oblivious."

"Whose life and death are we discussing?" Darcy asked, pulling a face at his wife and laughing when she promptly returned it. "Forgive me, I was not as attentive as I might have been. Tell me again, what is this wonderful idea?" He paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. "I hope that was not a life or death matter. You are not plotting a murder, are you?"

"We were discussing Christmas!" Elizabeth declared with a flourish. She looked expectantly at Darcy as if this ought to offer him all the information he needed to formulate a response.

"Christmas!" Georgiana echoed. "Isn't it wonderful?"

"I suppose so," Darcy said, dubiously. He ate a mouthful of his meal. "The most wonderful time of the year, some say. But what does that have to do with us now?"

"I have decided we are going to give Colonel Fitzwilliam a proper Pemberly Christmas!"

"In...July?"

"In July!" Lizzy nodded. "Exactly so!"

"My dear..."

"Listen to her, Fitzwilliam! Lizzy has it all planned out."

Darcy obediently laid down his knife and fork and steepled his fingers, ready and willing to give his wife his full attention.

"Well, it strikes me that last Christmas poor Colonel Fitzwilliam was under canvas. And, do you remember, he wrote to tell us of how cold and miserable it all was for them. I do not suppose it was very much of a Christmas at all, and certainly not anything to be compared with our own splendid holiday." Elizabeth beamed at him. They had been newlyweds, and their first Christmas at Pemberley had been inundated with guests. It had not been, to Darcy's recollection, a splendid holiday but a chaotic one. He grimaced, then realised he was under scrutiny and strove to turn the expression into a smile.

"You wish to host a houseful of guests in Richard's honour?"

"Oh, no! I mean to have a small celebration. Just us!" Lizzy glanced around the large table, noting how many of its chairs stood empty. "And maybe a few friends. That is not important. What I mean to do is give Colonel Fitzwilliam the Christmas he missed. We shall have music!" She nodded to Georgiana, who beamed. "And food, and games." This time Darcy did not fight the scowl that settled over his features. "And dancing. And I suppose maybe even some scripture reading, to satisfy Mary in her absence." Elizabeth finished with a flourish. "It shall be just like a real Christmas. Only, in July."

"In July." Darcy turned the idea over in his mind. It was not the worst thing his wife might have devised and he rather thought Richard might approve of the joke. He groaned, envisioning some hare-brained attempt to manufacture some snow in the depths of midsummer.

"You don't like the idea!" Georgiana was all accusation, and Darcy immediately repented of his behaviour. With Lizzy, he might complain and find fault and she would know it was all done in fun, with love. But Georgiana looked genuinely hurt by his lack of enthusiasm.

"I am surprised by it," Darcy said, forcing himself to smile. "But now I am given a moment to reflect upon it, I think, yes, I think it a very fine idea indeed." He raised his glass to Elizabeth. "Well thought of, Lizzy. We shall make all the necessary arrangements to make Richard's stay here a very enjoyable one. We shall celebrate Christmas in July!"