Page 45 of The Fire at Longbourn (Pride and Prejudice Variation)

Darcy House

Christmas

Darcy peered once more through the open door to the vestibule.

It remained stubbornly empty, and he returned his attention to the decorations in the drawing room.

Greenery and bright ribbons and red holly berries shone in the illumination of dozens of candles, brilliant in their highly-polished candlesticks.

Elizabeth, her sister Lydia, and the Gardiners would be arriving at any moment, and he was thrilled beyond words.

The original plan, for the Bennets to return to Longbourn before Christmas, had been revised.

Elizabeth’s face was fully healed, but Lydia’s neck bore the lingering marks of Wickham’s strangling hands.

Considering Mrs. Bennet’s penchant for gossip, the ladies’ return to Hertfordshire had been delayed until the day after Christmas.

Darcy was overjoyed that he would be able to have Christmas dinner with his beloved, her sister, and their aunt, uncle, and cousins.

He and Georgiana had spent a blissful day yesterday shopping through London for toys for the young children, hoops and balls and dolls for the girls and a brand-new kaleidoscope for the children to share.

He had met them but once, and they had been polite and prettily-behaved. But they were also all very young, and he looked forward with joy to the noise and liveliness that would soon fill the halls of Darcy House for the first time in many years.

His hope was that the rooms and corridors would soon be constantly filled with such sounds. He and Elizabeth would have many children, who would run free through the halls of their home. But for tonight, he would be content with watching the young Gardiners.

The pleasant aromas of dinner, roast beef and mince pies and apple pies and roast turkey and sundry vegetables and cinnamon and cloves and oranges, floated through the house and created a tantalizing atmosphere.

Darcy had no concern that the dinner would be subpar or that the cook would be offended by his masterpieces being consumed by a tradesman and his family.

To a one, the servants adored Elizabeth, hailing their mistress-to-be with universal approval.

She had won over the housekeeper at once with her canny knowledge of finances and the minutiae of running a household, and where Mrs. Donovan went the maids followed.

To the butler she had been both sweet and respectful, and he had been charmed by the clever young lady his master had chosen.

At last, the sound of the front door opening met his ears, and he rose to his feet.

He could hear the butler greeting the guests, the boisterous voices of children being gently restrained by their mother, and at last – at last!

– the beloved voice of his darling. He rushed out of the door and into the foyer just in time to see Elizabeth, her eyes sparkling like stars, rushing through the front door.

“Fitzwilliam!” Elizabeth exclaimed. “A Merry Christmas to you!”

“Merry Christmas!” Darcy replied, reaching out to take her small hands in his own large ones.

She was so beautiful in her tan walking dress with her red pelisse, with her tan gloves, with her dark curls peeking coyly out from under her warm bonnet, that he suddenly pulled her close and kissed her on the lips.

To his delight, she responded with enthusiasm, though after a blissful moment, she retreated at the sound of young voices around them.

Darcy caught the eye of his butler, who was standing nearby, his face carefully blank, and then turned his attention on a young footman, whose eyes were flared wide with incredulity.

He chuckled at the sight; certainly a few months previously, he would have ridiculed the idea of kissing a woman in his own house but now, now, he had Elizabeth, and in a few short days, she would be his bride, and he her bridegroom.

“Mr. Darcy, Mr. Darcy!” a few young voices piped, and Darcy turned his attention on the Gardiner children, who were leaping around the room like so many grasshoppers.

“Children, children,” Mrs. Gardiner said reprovingly, “remember what your father and I told you a few minutes ago?”

The children immediately formed a small group, and the girls curtsied and the boys, who were but five and three years of age, bowed sloppily. Darcy grinned at them and bowed in return and said, “Welcome to Darcy House!”

“We are honored to be here, Mr. Darcy,” Gardiner said, coming up behind the rest of his family with Lydia on his arm.

“Children,” Georgiana said, appearing suddenly behind her brother, “let us go into the drawing room for your presents!” The children’s eyes grew large and their voices even louder as they eagerly followed Georgiana.

/

A Few Hours Later

“It was kind of you to buy gifts for my little cousins,” Lydia said, watching the little ones cavorting around the drawing room, which had been rearranged to create a large space in the center so the children could play with their toys.

She had never had much use for the Gardiner children in the past, but now she relished their hugs and kisses. Their love was simple and pure, and they did not gossip or look down at her.

“Oh, it was great fun!” Georgiana replied. “I am the youngest in my family, you know, and thus have not had the opportunity to visit a toy store for many years. I dragged my brother along, and he enjoyed playing with the hoops as much as your cousins, I think!”

“I am the youngest at home as well,” Lydia confided, “and I have not spent that much time here in London with my aunt and uncle, so I am not used to small children.”

“Well, if the Lord so blesses us, we will both be aunts in the near future,” Georgiana pointed out. “Now, I understand that you and Elizabeth will be going home tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Lydia agreed, and she could not help but lift a hand to touch her neck.

It did not hurt at all and Elizabeth assured her that there were no marks left, but still, she was a little uneasy about returning to Longbourn, especially since Jane and Elizabeth would be marrying within the week and leaving her alone with the rest of her family.

She missed her home, but she was fearful that her parents and sisters were still angry with her about burning down the east wing.

“I look forward to going to Meryton for the wedding,” Georgiana said, heedless of her companion’s thoughts. “I have never been to Hertfordshire. Is it pleasant?”

Lydia blew out a breath at these words and felt her eyes grow shiny with tears.

Even a few months ago, she would have said that Meryton was a dull provincial town apart from militia officers, but now, with the memory of many happy evenings dancing in the hall, with the memory of comfortable visits with Maria Lucas, and the roses on her mother’s bushes, and the cries of newborn lambs in spring, well. ..

“Yes, it is very pleasant,” she said fervently. “I love it, and I am certain you will as well.”

/

Longbourn

The next day

Elizabeth took the hand of the manservant and stepped down from one of the Darcy carriages, which had carried Lydia and herself from London to Longbourn in remarkable comfort.

She took a few steps forward so that Lydia could descend as well, and found herself staring up at the front face of Longbourn.

It looked very much as it had ever since she was a little girl.

Jane’s frequent letters had described in detail the great deal of work going on in their home. Wagonloads of charred wood, Lizzy, rumbling away down the drive, and I would think to myself, there goes our Dining Room! There goes our Kitchen!

There was a new kitchen now, Elizabeth knew; the old dining room converted.

It had been in use for three days as of this noontide, and Cook had declared herself quite pleased.

The former drawing room had been redesigned as the dining room and music room, panels separating the portions.

A large segment of the wall between the sitting room and the former music room had been knocked down to create a new drawing room, Jane said, and Elizabeth found herself curious to see the changes to her home.

But not her home for much longer, she knew.

Things would be cramped for the next few days, with the whole family in residence once more, but then she and Jane would be married and out of the house, leaving plenty of room for their parents, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia.

In less than a week, she would be wed to her wonderful Fitzwilliam, and Longbourn would no longer be her home.

She would, on the occasions she returned to it, be but a guest.

She was more than overjoyed at her upcoming nuptials, but a seed of melancholy rested in her heart. She would miss the familiar fields and woods and trails of Longbourn and its environs. She would miss the familiar old house where she had grown up, playing and learning and getting into scrapes.

“Lizzy, it is too cold to be standing around!” Lydia exclaimed as the girl hurried up the steps to the main door. “Come along!”

Elizabeth obediently followed her up the half flight of stairs into the front hall, where the butler, Mr. Selkirk, was waiting for them, his face stretched into the welcoming smile of an old and trusted retainer.

“Miss Elizabeth, Miss Lydia,” he said, “it is good to see you both again.”

“We are glad to…,” Elizabeth began, only to break off at the sound of hasty feet rampaging toward them. A moment later, her mother burst into view.

“Lizzy!” Mrs. Bennet cried out, rushing forward to embrace her second daughter. “Oh, my dear, how well you look! But oh, have you lost some weight? You must not be too thin for Mr. Darcy…”

“I have not lost any weight, Mamma,” Elizabeth replied, her eyes crinkling in amusement. “Moreover, I have seen Fitzwilliam every day for the past two weeks, and he seems very pleased with my looks.”