A Midsummer Christmas

Part 15

Richard woke and dressed early, still unable to shake the habit that military discipline had drilled into him. He fought a smile as he descended the grand staircase, wondering what festive adventures Elizabeth and Georgiana had devised for the day. He had never had an unpleasant visit to Pemberley, but this particular stay was rapidly becoming one of his favourites. Remember that year we celebrated Christmas at the height of midsummer? He could well imagine re-telling the tale of it for many years to come. That was if it did not become an annual celebration. Richard smirked. He could well imagine the new Mrs Darcy insisting on such a recurrence but was not so sure of his cousins' feelings on the matter.

Darcy will disapprove, but relent, and probably enjoy it more than anyone else! As for Georgiana... He frowned. Georgiana. His young cousin was never far from his mind, even though he told himself she was no longer in need of his protection or his concern. She had put her failed elopement with George Wickham behind her and was at last herself again. With Elizabeth for a sister-in-law and company at Pemberley, she seemed to have blossomed. Yet Richard's heart was still full of her happiness. Perhaps this fake summertime Christmas will be a blessing to us both, he thought, recalling the way her eyes shone with delight as she showed him the decorations she and Elizabeth had constructed, and how prettily she smiled when she played her favourite Christmas pieces on the piano. An opportunity to dance with a few better partners than me will surely add to the festivities, he thought, imagining the celebrations they would look forward to at the coming masquerade ball. He was still smiling as he strolled into the breakfast room, surprised to find it not empty.

"Colonel Fitzwilliam!"

"Mrs Darcy!" Richard looked over his shoulder, half expecting to see that her husband had followed him into the room. "I did not expect anyone else to be awake at present, it is early!"

"Not so very early," Elizabeth said, with a smile. "Georgiana is already at work outside picking flowers." She held a hand to her lips in a gesture of deep consideration. "Perhaps you can join her? Then we can all sit down together and enjoy a proper breakfast in a quarter-hour or so?"

"An excellent idea." Richard was eager to be helpful, and with the sun as bright and beaming as it was that morning the notion of picking flowers in the freshness of the morning air was a pleasant one. He peered out of the window, squinting until he made out a shadow that must be Georgiana. He glanced at his pocket watch to check the time and then made his way outdoors, striding happily around the house and down into the section of garden Georgiana favoured so much it was informally called hers.

"Good morning, Georgie!" he called, not wanting to startle her with his sudden appearance. It did not seem to have worked, for at the sound of his call she flinched and came very close to dropping the posy of flowers she was in the middle of collecting.

"Come here and make yourself useful," she said, holding out the bundle to him. He happily took it, working one pretty bloom free and pinching off its stalk so that he might wear it for a buttonhole. That was impossible to do with only one free hand and with feigned exasperation, Georgiana took on the task, at last nodding appraisingly at him and turning back to her work.

"Elizabeth has sent me out to help you pick flowers and then we are to return in a quarter-hour for breakfast." He patted the pocket that held his watch. "I shall keep us to task and on time, for whilst I am happy to be here and help you I certainly do not mean to miss my breakfast!"

"Gentlemen perennially think of their stomachs," Georgiana said, leaning far forward and plucking a few flowers from a crowded patch.

"Whereas young ladies are sustained on charity and goodness alone." Richard took the flowers she held out and added them to the bunch, surveying the whole with a critical eye. "Well, I shall try your way this afternoon, dearest Georgie, but I assure you that it is far easier to be charitable on a full stomach." He thought of the meanness of his frontline rations and smiled. "I have done my penance in that department. And it is Christmas, is it not? A time for feasting."

He was teasing her and whilst she did not reply he could see her lips quirking as she fought not to smile at him. Straightening, she picked her way around the flowers, pausing here and there to pick from different plants and passing her selections to him. They worked in companionable silence until Richard's arms were quite weighed down with an ever-growing bouquet.

"Miss Darcy!"

A breathless voice made both Richard and Georgiana look up. A stranger was approaching them, a stranger to Richard at least, who held his hand aloft and waved. It was not until Georgiana straightened and waved back that Richard realised she, at least, knew the tall, slim man who hurried up the hill towards them.

"Mr Ingraham!" Georgiana smiled. "Good morning!"

"Good – ah - good morning!" The man paused, breathless. "Forgive me for calling so early. Indeed, I did not mean to call at all. Merely to drop - to drop this off." He held out a note. "Only, when I saw you here, I thought - well...." He seemed to notice Richard all at once and straightened, bowing. "Oh, good morning."

"Colonel Fitzwilliam," Georgiana offered, taking the note the stranger held out to her. "This is Mr Robert Ingraham, the new curate at Kympton."

"Ah!" Richard tried to bow, himself, but was kept from anything more than a cursory bob of his head, for fear of crushing Georgiana's flowers and spoiling their morning's work.

"We are just about to go inside for some breakfast, Mr Ingraham. You are welcome to join us if you wish to?"

"Oh, you are most kind, Miss Darcy. Thank you. Alas, I must refuse your hospitality this time!" He grinned cheerfully, his eyes resting on Georgiana's smiling face a moment too long. "This time. Yes. I must be about my business and pay my share of parish calls. The note is for your brother, Miss Darcy if you can see - ah - see that he gets it. Nothing of great consequence, of course, only..." He trailed off but did not immediately move away and Richard felt a weight of awkwardness in the way all three of them stood silent for a moment. It was but a moment, though, before Mr Ingraham nodded once more to them both and bade them farewell before turning away to retrace his steps.

"He seemed an amiable fellow," Richard said, watching Georgiana watch the curate as he retreated on his way.

"Indeed." Georgiana's voice took on a strange, faraway note and Richard wondered if he had been the only one to notice Robert Ingraham's apparent interest. Might she even return it? The thought was an absurd one, but having noticed it, Richard found he could not easily shake the idea. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, the motion causing one heel to scrape across the gravel path. This noise was enough to lift Georgiana from her reverie and she smiled at him. "You will have cause to know him better, I am sure, for Fitzwilliam invited him to join us for the masquerade ball." She reached for some of Richard's flowers. "I'm sure we have cut enough of these for now! Lizzy will be wondering what has become of us!"

Richard fell into step alongside her and they chatted comfortably as they made their way back towards the house and their waiting breakfast, but Richard could not help but follow the line of his thoughts as they did so. An amiable fellow. Well, the once-future curate of Kympton captured Georgiana's heart before. This Robert Ingraham is surely a superior fellow to Wickham, although that is hardly a feat worth boasting of. Is he worthy of winning Georgiana, though? Richard was not sure and privately vowed to discuss the matter with Darcy before the coming ball. Georgiana's brother must know there was a romance beginning under his very nose, and if he wished to prevent it he must act quickly or risk Georgiana a second time.