A Midsummer Christmas

Part 11

The dining table strained under a mountain of seasonal fare. The great store-cupboards of Pemberley had been raided, and plates boasted preserved fruit and nuts from their winter store, which Darcy had allowed to be minimally depleted for his wife's midsummer Christmas scheme. Lizzy beamed over the array of food, even though she darted a glance to the still-bright windows and wished it were not quite so warm. This heat does nothing to cultivate a hearty appetite, she thought, picking at her plate and hoping the temperature would drop soon, in time for the ball she had planned in a few days.

"Are you not hungry, my love?" Darcy asked as he made progress on his meal. "I thought you had contrived for all the best Christmas delicacies to be available! I do hope you can enjoy them..."

His light tone rang with merriment and Lizzy shot him a look. Whilst supportive of her plans, she knew her husband would only be too amused if they all collapsed around her ears. She took a healthy mouthful of her meal and swallowed before replying.

"It is quite the best meal we have had in a long time. Do not you think so, Georgiana? And Colonel Fitzwilliam! I am sure you dreamt of a Christmas feast like this when you were away."

"Indeed I did!" Colonel Fitzwilliam had made the most progress in his meal, for unlike his friends, the weather did not seem to affect his constitution in the slightest. "But then the food at Pemberley is always amongst the best in the country." He smiled at his table-mates and laid down his fork for a moment. "I must say, Mrs Darcy, that you are managing things very well. Were it not for the weather and the sun still lighting the sky I could very nearly believe that this was Christmas, albeit a quiet one." He pulled a face. "At home, my brother and sister-in-law have a habitual need to invite almost everyone to join in our celebrations, so that a spread such as this permits for only the tiniest taste." He chuckled. "I prefer our quieter, more select approach."

"Ah, it is only this evening that it shall be this quiet, Richard, so make the most of it." Darcy saluted him with his glass. "Tomorrow the true festivities begin! Lizzy has plans to visit every tenant at home and take guests, and then is there not to be a masquerade ball?"

"I only thought it might be an enjoyable diversion," Lizzy said, looking to Georgiana for support. "We so often have balls and dances that I thought the addition of masks and midnight revelries might add a little innovation to the proceedings."

"A fine plan." Colonel Fitzwilliam nodded enthusiastically. "Although I have no mask and will be forced to construct one from scraps that can be found." He turned to the cotton napkin in his lap and set to work fashioning it into a triangle the proceeded to balance precariously on his head. "No, I fear my skills do not lie in millinery or mask-making....!" He laughed as the napkin slid free of its folds and very nearly landed on his plate, but for his quick reactions. "Perhaps you can make one for me, Georgie? It need not be anything special. If it can contrive to make me handsome, all the better." He winked at his cousin and Georgiana blushed before turning back to her plate. Elizabeth watched this little exchange, rejoicing inwardly at what she fancied she saw pass between the colonel and her sister-in-law. She shot her husband a knowing look and was surprised to see his brows drawn in a frown. Nudging his foot under the table with hers, she forced him to look up and meet her gaze, and the slight tilt of her head was all that was needed to communicate her question.

What is the matter?

Darcy's lips quirked as if he wished to answer, then thought better of it. He shook his head and attempted to smile, but his frown remained in place and the whole effect was not encouraging.

"Richard was admiring the decorations in the parlour," Georgiana said, interrupting a few moments of silence. This was all the prompt her cousin needed and Colonel Fitzwilliam nodded enthusiastically.

"Indeed I was! Mrs Darcy, I must congratulate you on your skills as an artist and a craftswoman! Who could have imagined such intricate paper-cutting in those pretty paper snowflakes? Certainly not me!" He picked up his knife and fork again and returned to his meal. "I have not the dexterity for such accomplishments."

"Oh, well..." Lizzy frowned. She was hardly the most dextrous or artistic person at the table. The prettiest of their paper snowflakes had been Georgiana's work, and Lizzy opened her mouth to say as much. "I am afraid I cannot take credit for them. The best and most beautiful of the decorations were all Georgiana!"

"Is that so?" Colonel Fitzwilliam looked confusedly at his cousin, but Georgiana's attention was once again fixed on her plate. The only hint that she was aware of their conversation was the faint pink still staining her cheeks.

"I do hope she will share more of her talents with us this evening," Lizzy pressed, determined to encourage her shy sister-in-law out of herself. "You must play us some of those lovely Christmas pieces you have been practising, Georgiana, dear! You are by far the best musician in the house and I dare not inflict my limited abilities on our guest."

"Oh, Mrs Darcy, you are too harsh! Recall, I have heard you play - at Rosings - and did not think the whole effect so very bad!" Colonel Fitzwilliam was teasing her and Lizzy laughed, pleased that whatever peculiar tension had temporarily settled over the dining table had begun to lift. "If it is a poverty of talent you wish to expose, you should invite Darcy and I to play!" This was enough to prompt laughter and smiles from everyone present, even Darcy himself, and in the end Georgiana spoke.

"Of course I will play, if everyone is happy to hear me."

"And I shall resume my position as chief page-turner!" Colonel Fitzwilliam saluted, before casting a mischievous glance in Elizabeth's direction. "I must do something to earn all these merry diversions that you ladies have put together, after all!"