A Winter's Night: Christmas at Longbourn by Elaine Burkett

Author:Elaine Burkett
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Pride and Prejudice & Related Fandoms
Published: 2023-12-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

The snow stopped falling by sunrise the next day, but the snow on the roads was still too deep for a carriage to travel through. The day was spent entirely indoors by most of the inhabitants of the house, although the Gardiner children, along with Kitty and Lydia, made an adventurous foray into the garden to play in the snow.

Mrs. Hill had some hot chocolate ready for them when they returned, out of breath and red-cheeked from the cold.

For Elizabeth, the day proceeded much as the previous day had. As usual, the ladies worked on needlework, both functional and fancy, as well as other crafts throughout the morning.

She did not know what the gentlemen did with their time that morning, but she was grateful that they were not present. Elizabeth was working on a new gown which she hoped to have ready for Sir William’s Christmas Eve party, and she would feel mildly embarrassed to have the gentleman see the gown before she had a chance to wear it.

Miss Darcy sat next to her, working on embroidering some handkerchiefs. They chatted about their work and their hobbies. When Elizabeth asked about the handkerchiefs, Miss Darcy said, “They are for my brother. I’ve made him a packet of five handkerchiefs every Christmas since I first learned to embroider.”

“I know many sisters who would be quite pleased with themselves for only making one handkerchief for their brother. You must care for him very much to be willing to make five of them.”

Miss Darcy looked up from her work with a smile on her face. “Oh, yes. He is the best brother I could ever imagine. He always looks after me to the best of his ability and does his best to give me whatever will bring me joy. He is so kind and forgiving, too.”

Elizabeth mused over this glowing report of Mr. Darcy. It didn’t at all match his behavior in Hertfordshire, although she had seen glimpses of it since yesterday. She especially noted that Miss Darcy included forgiving as one of his sterling qualities. If anyone knew how forgiving he was, it would be this young lady.

At one point in the morning, Mary and Miss Darcy went to the music room to practice piano. Mary’s strident tones alternated with Miss Darcy’s more flowing notes. Both were punctuated by periods of silence. Elizabeth assumed the two young ladies were chatting and she hoped Miss Darcy was helping Mary to improve.

When the two girls returned to the drawing room over an hour later, they were chatting happily. They settled down next to each other and continued their conversation. Elizabeth had seldom, if ever, seen Mary so animated, and she was glad for her sister.

Elizabeth eventually became tired from bending over her sewing work, so she traded it out for a book. She sat in the window seat to see her book better, but her attention kept being drawn to the melting snow outside.

Surprisingly, the sudden storm of yesterday had given way to

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