A Midsummer Christmas

Part 5

A/N - Thank you so much for reading so far! xx

Pemberley had been a chaos of preparation in the lead-up to Colonel Fitzwilliam's arrival, and one day Georgiana was only too pleased to refuse the offer of an outing to Lambton with her brother and sister-in-law so that she might be afforded a little peace and quiet.

And time to practice, she thought, settling herself contentedly at the piano in the music room. She had spent an hour rummaging in boxes to locate and excavate her Christmas sheet music but at last she had found it and shuffled through the pages until she found something familiar and easy to her unpractised hands. She stumbled slowly through the melody, making so many mistakes she was pleased there was nobody but servants to hear her. How swiftly one forgot pieces which had been perfected only half a year before! Irritation gave way to diligence and slowly Georgiana felt her skill return until she finally lost herself in the pleasant act of making music.

A sharp knock at the door startled her out of herself and she turned, her fingers sliding from the piano keys in a discordant mess.

"Forgive the disruption, my dear Georgiana, only I have walked all through the house and not seen a soul!"

"Richard!" Jumping up from her seat, Georgiana flew across the room and into his arms. "We did not expect you until tomorrow!"

"I came early," he said, with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "What pretty music you have been making!" He released her and walked over to the piano, glancing over the sheet music. "I thought as much! Christmas music?" He turned to look bemusedly at his cousin. "How long have I been on the road?"

"It is nothing of consequence," Georgiana said, shuffling the sheet music into a pile. "Here, you must be tired from travelling. Sit, and I shall play you something else. Anything you like! Name it!"

"Oh, don't trouble yourself with a performance. I shall be afforded plenty of time to hear you play while I'm here, I don't doubt." Richard sank heavily into a chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him. "Come and talk to me, Georgie. It is you I have come to see, anyway!"

"Me?" Georgiana coloured.

"Yes, you! And Darcy and Elizabeth of course, but they are not at home." He raised his eyebrows and Georgiana laughed, grateful for the chance to cover her momentary embarrassment. She had thought Richard was singling her - Georgiana - out, and the idea had made her heart lift. It did not crash down very far to realise her mistake, though, for Richard was cheerful and jolly, asking all sorts of questions and genuinely wanting to hear her answers. She was so pleased he had come to Pemberley and told him so.

"Well, I would have come even sooner if I had known you would be so happy to see me." Richard sniffed. "Shame the same can't be said for your brother. Where is he, anyway? It is bright and sunny outside, and there are people! Does he not usually strive to avoid such things?"

"You are too unkind!" Georgiana said, mock-sternly. "He is not half as unfriendly as you pretend. Especially not now that he is married."

"That, I will concede." Richard stifled a yawn. "He is much improved by his lady-wife. I trust they are out somewhere together?"

"In Lambton." Georgiana nodded. "Running a few errands."

"The simple pleasures of being married. Well, Georgie, we need not leave the husbands and wives amongst us to have all the fun. We single people are not entirely incapable." He leapt to his feet and made an exaggerated, courtly bow. "What say you and I take a ride into Lambton and surprise them? They have the carriage, I suppose, but I dare say Darcy's old buggy is still around. Shall we?"

"It has not been used in a long time."

"Then it is overdue a run! Come, Georgie, it will be a lark. Or do you not trust my excellent driving abilities?" He waggled his eyebrows roguishly at her and Georgiana laughed, accepting his offer with a thrill of delight. Life was so much more enjoyable when Richard was around.

"Very well, but if you overturn it and tip us into a ditch I shall place the blame squarely on your shoulders."

"They are broad enough to take it," Richard assured her. "And your brother cannot be too angry with me, I am a guest in his house, after all..."

Laughing, the two made their way to the stables. Georgiana was surprised at how quickly and easily Richard's requests were attended to and almost before she was conscious of it they were bobbing along the road in the rickety buggy, laughing and admiring the passing scenery.

"We are fortunate to have sun," Richard said, tilting his head upwards to enjoy it, and accidentally steering the horses away from the centre of the road. Georgiana worked the reins out of his hands and took charge, which circumstance he approved of heartily. He leaned back in the courage, feigning sleep, and delegated all responsibility to Georgiana, who was an excellent, if cautious, driver and horsewoman in her own right.

"Fitzwilliam tells me you are looking to purchase an estate. Do not tell me my gallant bachelor cousin is at last ready to settle down?"

"Not quite ready, but time is passing, Georgie. We cannot all keep young and beautiful as you do." He yawned and worked himself into a more comfortable position. "I don't know...I always thought that any estate I purchased would be out of necessity. Wife, children, all that." He waved his hand as if dismissing all that as scarcely worth a mention.

"You might yet marry," Georgiana said. "You are not so very old."

Richard sat up and shot her a look.

"Thank you." His words were clipped, but he only remained stern for a moment before letting out a loud gale of laughter that made a passing pedestrian lift his head and smile at them. "Not so very old." Richard snorted. "One day, my dear young cousin, age will come for you too." He shook his head. "And I am not so very old, I'll thank you to remember. I may look like a weathered old man but that is the effect of sun and wind and the traumas of life in a war. The stories I could tell you..." He shuddered, then grew serious and for a moment neither of them said anything. Georgiana loved her merry, jocular cousin but at moments like this, when he grew silent and serious, she wondered if she knew him very well at all. There were great swathes of his life he kept concealed and she feared her comments had touched a nerve she did not know was exposed.

"Any woman would be lucky to have you for a husband," Georgiana said, with fervour. She thought back to George Wickham, her only model for comparison, and her stomach rolled uncomfortably. She had believed every word he had said to her and it had all been lies. Deceit designed to profit him and cause pain, not only to Georgiana, but to her whole family. She glanced at Richard. He, along with her brother, had been instrumental in her rescue. She was not sure she had ever thanked him for that. Handing the reins back to him, she slid her arm through his and leaned against hm, grateful for his warmth beside her, although the weather remained pleasant. "Any woman would be lucky to have you for a husband, and I am very glad you are my cousin."

Richard smiled down at her, and they rode on contentedly together in silence.