Author's note: I don't own any of the characters nor the original Inspector Lynley Mysteries – they belong to Elizabeth George and the BBC.

Reviews and comments are very welcome! But since I'm no native speaker please let me know if I did something terribly wrong (rating, grammar, spelling...). Thanks!


Another Sequel to Merry Christmas, Siblings and Dessert – It's still a lazy Christmas Day and Lady Asherton had invited some friends and family for an opulent dinner. See how the evening ended. (...just added a word, so now everybody knows where they will find a refuge on Boxing Day: St. Ives ;-) )


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"So, Merry Christmas." Judith smiled and raised her teacup to toast. "And good luck. You'll have a nice amount of work with that stubborn boy."


"Oh, shut up, sis." Thomas rolled his eyes.

"I think I already made substantial progress." Barbara laughed. She really liked how his siblings tease him all the time. They didn't seem to have the slightest respect. Sure, unlike Barbara they weren't subordinates to Thomas and they were of the same noble descent. Additionally both his sister and his brother could relax on that same financial background and, so it seems, on the family related background, too. His brother Peter had successfully passed his addiction treatment and was happy with Emily for nearly two years now and even the uneasiness in the relationship between Thomas and his mother seemed to be hurdled. The whole family situation had grown lighter since Barbara last visited Howenstow some years ago and she could feel it every second.

"Now, what were your plans for your days off? Go walking? Or horse-riding? Or just relax and laze around?" Judith asked.

Barbara had not yet thought about what to do at Howenstow apart from being here with Thomas. In fact, when she had agreed to come here with him she just had known that she didn't want to join the Boxing Day party held by Lady Asherton. She hadn't felt ready for those family things and certainly not for one of those posh parties. Though now she wasn't so certain anymore that the party would become such a disaster for her because the family was everything but posh to the bone and gave her a hearty welcome. Especially Judith integrated her by playfully fraternising against her brother. Needless to say that everybody is briefed, like Thomas enunciated their little mischief, and their plans to keep it a secret for a while didn't last long. Barbara questioningly looked at Thomas.

"Well," he said. "we might visit the stables, but I think we won't saddle the horses. Next it's the big dinner tonight and tomorrow we will leave and stay two or three days in Nathans' flat in St. Ives." He winked at his sister knowing that she knows they were planning on escaping the Boxing Day Party. "At New Year's Eve we will have returned here. Maybe some horse-riding before that. Did you ever experienced to ride, Barbara?"

"Does donkey-riding count? Then yes." she nodded amused. "What's that dinner today? I've heard it would be a real big one with more friends and more family." She slightly frowned.

Thomas appeased. "It would be us, like yesterday, and Frederick's dear friend George, also another cousin with his wife and twins –"

"God almighty, I've hoped they would reprieve us this year!" Judith sighed.

"You'll survive them. Stephanie will have her fun with the little whirlwinds." Thomas continued. "Also we'll have the pleasure to welcome aunt Augusta, our uncle Herman, Isobel – good friend of our mother – and..." this is when he started grinning at Barbara "...Deborah and Simon!"

"Oh, no!" Barbara cried out and grimaced.

"You don't like them?" Judith wondered.

"Yes, I do! But they will poke fun at me because of..." her voice trailed off and she made a gesture between herself and Thomas.

"Why should they?!" Thomas grumbled disbelievingly.

Barbara now told of a conversation she once was having with Deborah in the office when the ' were waiting for Thomas. Simon went for a coffee and Barbara chatted with his wife. Deborah somehow pushed her into admitting that Thomas truly was some kind of a man and she asked Barbara why she won't give him a try because they seem to have a thing for each other. Back then Barbara was slightly shocked. She only had thought about something like that when she was alone at home in the evenings. She hadn't dared to allow herself to deepen any kind of those feelings. In fact he was her superior and despite all the familiar circumstances, with the nobility and all, Thomas was also still a bit grieving from Helen's death. At that time he had been back in business for three big cases. And most of all it was absurd, like Barbara told Deborah exactly with those words.

"Absurd?!" Thomas asked. "And I am some kind of a man?!" he grinned, playfully mocking her.

Judith once again choked laughing on her tea.

"She's right! And you both are some kind of a couple, my brother." she said. "That means: Deb will poke fun at both of you!"

"Oh, that will be an evening!" Barbara sighed.


Later on Thomas and Barbara went upstairs to his bedroom. They still hadn't unpacked their bags. Barbara was feeling a bit awkward putting her clothes into his cabinet.

"But you didn't feel awkward sleeping naked in my bed, did you?" he played an innocent facial expression.

"Oh, please!" she punched his side.

"You've brought your dark green blouse? Wear it tonight." He said it with a provoking look.

Thomas asked her to hang out those things that needed to be ironed. Hodge would have taken them.

"I can do it myself." she said.

"Barbara, it's his job." Thomas had to sigh.

After some badinages about having a butler and other staff and after some kisses inbetween they took on some useful wardrobe and went for a walk. They made a visit to the stables, petted Thomas' old Islandic horse Olafur, and they snuggled in an empty horsebox full of hay bales where they got caught by Peter and Emily who laughed themselves to tears, leaving Thomas and Barbara in total confusion.

"Wha' was that?" Barbara asked, gazing after the leaving couple.

"Juvenile foolery, don't know." Thomas shook his head. "And I don't care. Come back, we're alone again." he added huskily. With a tiger's growl he yanked Barbara heavily against him and now it was her turn to foolishly giggle.

Returning to the house after a while, they still had enough time to do nothing and so they went around in the back garden, threw sticks for Dolly to retrieve and they snogged behind the giant hedgerow.

Then they heard Peter whistle and shout very loudly that they better return and have themselves prepared for dinner. They also heard Daze berating him for that because she had asked him to search but not to shout for them. It was followed by a laughing "Ouch!" from Peter. His mother had given him a slap on the upper arm.


Thomas and Barbara went upstairs to shower together and put on their evening clothes. The shower took several minutes more than expected because they couldn't keep their fingers to themselves and they fumbled and kissed all the time but they both knew they had to appear for dinner so they interrupted their caressings again and again and again.

Finally they got each other dried and dressed. Barbara in fact had put on some subtle make-up.

Thomas wore his black dinner jacket and a bow tie and Barbara had put on black trousers and, as requested by Thomas, her recently ironed dark green blouse. Thomas watched her closing the buttons and grinned. He stepped close, re-opened the top two and pulled the collar wide open.

"We don't have the pleasure that the vicar will join us." he winked and placed a light kiss on the now visible lovebite. Barbara blushed and readjusted the collar. She did not want to display it to everybody.

Thomas fetched a slim casket. Barbara stopped breathing, suddenly being extremely nervous about what was to come now. Her eyes widened.

"I want you to wear this Christmas gift." Thomas voice was croaky. He opened the casket and took the jewellery out of it. It was a thin silver necklet with a single small green gem, just a little smaller than a pea and with a visible scar in it.

"It's a special emerald." he said, opened the clasp with slightly trembling hands, bent over and put it around Barbara's neck. Being so near he kissed her straight away.

"...matches your eyes so beautifully." Thomas breathed onto her lips between kisses. When they had to break the kissing they stayed embraced, with their foreheads linked, and smiled at each other.

Then Barbara apologized "...sorry, I've no gift for you. I was so busy I didn't find time to think about it or..."

Thomas stopped her wordy explanation with a kiss.

"Hmmm... You are my Christmas gift, Barbara!" he said tenderly.


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