Thank you to everybody that commented the last chapter. I see there were a lot of people rather angry with Lady Catherine's actions and I enjoyed reading you all.

I thank the ones that took time to point out some errors, and I assure you it would be worse if it weren't for my beta Gaeilge.

Previously in chapter nine…

Lizzy discovers the truth about Anne and encourages her to be herself after so long. Lady Catherine receives a letter from his brother, Lord Matlock, about Elizabeth's disappearing.

Chapter ten: Christmas

Lizzy's efforts to bring Anne out of her shell were rewarded with amazing results. Lady Catherine was far more flexible than they anticipated and even with Mrs. Jenkinson's constant hovering, they were able to enjoy themselves more often and her mother was less prone to panicking. Anne's lessons were less dull and both girls began to learn a duet on the pianoforte. Of course, it took some time for Anne to learn but it went smoothly. The years of feigning illness made her lazy and easily distracted, which was one more hint to Lizzy that Anne's difficulties were a result of her inactivity rather than inability. She soon discovered that the girl's mind was quite sharp and though she had been hiding her true condition for so long, it was further proof of her capability.

Despite Anne's slow improvement, Lady Catherine's spirits rose, and from time to time, she would silently embrace both girls for no apparent reason, only turn on her feet and leave the room. What neither girl knew was that her response to Lord Matlock's letter was weighing on her conscience and played a considerable role in her new flexibility and mildness of manner.

These changes in his wife and daughter seemed to make no impression in Sir Lewis's demeanour, however. He remained aloof and unaffected, which bothered Lizzy a great deal and she could not understand how he was always so immovable. Even Mr. Warlock, who presented himself as exceedingly serious early in their acquaintance had opened up with time. She had hoped to see the same change in Sir Lewis, but it never came. He never spent time with his family or herself, if at all possible and was disapproving, arrogant and disdainful of the feelings of others. Even the matriarch was able to show a softer side and Lizzy could not help but to feel sorry for her, having to stand by his side.

Anne and Lizzy were together, answering one of their cousin's letters, as they decided it would be nice to include Anne in the correspondence, when Lizzy decided to voice her thoughts.

"Anne, was your father always like this?"

She stopped reading their draft letter when she realised her attention was demanded. "I fail to understand you, Lizzy."

"He is so cold, and I have never seen him having a conversation with anybody but Lady Catherine, Mr. Warlock and once with Mr. Darcy."

Anne shrugged her shoulders, though her gaze was fixed on some point in the room, before she spoke. "I do not know. He has always been this way for as long as I can remember. I recall him and Mother having an argument when I was younger, but then I think she just gave up and let him be. I do not believe they ever loved each other. They live their lives, just as you see."

"Does that not bother you?"

"Why would it? I never knew it to be different."

Elizabeth grew silent. The conversation brought to mind her own family. She missed them terribly and felt a bit guilty that she had not been giving them much thought since discovering the truth about Anne. Lady Catherine's displays of affection reminded her of her mother. Not because of them being really common, but because of how strange it was to see them. Jane was beautiful and easy going and while Anne did not share her features, Lizzy was comforted by their similar characters. She did not recall much about her younger sisters; Mary was a quiet child while Kitty and Lydia were both playful, at least at that tender age. Her father shared no similarities with Sir Lewis; in fact, he much resembled Mr. Warlock. Ashamed of looking for substitutes for her family in that house, she put her memories aside and focused on the letter.

The girls were soon rewarded with a response from their cousins. Both boys were happy to learn more about the girls and asked after their plans for Christmas. Richard's parents had been in London since their return from Rosings and would remain until Twelfth Night before returning to their estate. They were planning to spend time with relatives including the Darcys, who were to remain in town until Lady Anne's delivery, so as to be near the best physicians.

The girls' hope of spending Christmas with their friends were crushed with Lady Catherine's insistence of staying at Rosings. She was still concerned by her brother's letter and did not want to risk going to town if Elizabeth's family was still looking for her.

"But I do not understand. You were all in London before summer and Anne was more sick than she is now. Why would it be an impediment to go now?"

"I feel better, Mother."

"I know and I am glad. However, the last time we took you to London for Christmas, your health suffered and I do not wish to expose you to such a fate again. We will not visit the family this Christmas, but if your health continues to improve, we may go next year."

They argued for some time without success and finally fell silent, leaving Lizzy quite frustrated. Mr. Warlock was able to calm her during his weekly visit as he informed her he was happy to spend the holiday with them. She realized how lonely her friend would have been had the family travelled to London and she felt better about Lady Catherine's decision. Still, the letters from Richard and Fitzwilliam made her nostalgic for the time they had spent together during the summer.

Lizzy kept to her schedule of self-instruction during the weeks before the holidays as did Anne, even if hers were less exigent. Still, Lizzy was quite proud of them both and began to grant themselves more time to play games and less time in study as Christmas approached.

On Christmas morning, the family attended church services and afterwards, Lizzy and Anne took a short walk around Rosings. Lady Catherine was not entirely happy but as it was a rather mild day, she permitted the exercise in the end. Upon returning to the grand house, Anne pointed to something lying on the ground and upon approaching the form, they discovered a squirrel, breathing heavily.

"What do you think that happened?" asked Anne.

Lizzy did not respond but reached out to touch the animal, which reacted by quivering a little. It did not appear to be harmed but they decided to bring the tiny creature to the house, to provide some food and warmth.

During luncheon, they were anxious to finish their meal so they could return to Lizzy's room as soon as possible to check on the animal. Unfortunately, Lady Catherine was quite engaged in discussing the preparations for their dinner. When they were finally able to escape, they stood up and almost ran from the room, earning themselves a scolding from Lady Catherine for their unladylike behaviour.

Once in Lizzy's room, seeing the squirrel continue to tremble, they arranged some candles in a circle around the animal and covered it with a shawl. It was quite tiny and any food would need to be carefully portioned allowing it to swallow properly. Supplying it with water was even more difficult. Before their afternoon meal, they had tried to get the squirrel to drink from a small receptacle without success. Now, Anne thought to dip the fringe of her shawl into some water and hold it to the squirrel's mouth. This time, the little animal was able to take a few drops from the cloth, so they repeated the process several times.

As engaged as they were in caring for the squirrel, they lost track of time and when informed to begin preparing for dinner, they panicked, unsure of what to do with their new friend. After some discussion, they decided to hide the animal while they changed, and after dressing for supper, Anne helped Lizzy settle the squirrel in such a way that it could be held near her lap and kept warm. They used some laces to secure the arrangement and covered Lizzy with a shawl to hide the small animal.

The time between the arrival of guests and sitting down to dinner was extremely long for both girls. Mr. Warlock was there and exchanged some glances with Lizzy but did not have an opportunity to converse with her. Mr. and Mrs. Gresham, dear friends of Lady Catherine whom Elizabeth did not like, had also been invited. The woman was almost as opinionated as Lady Catherine and the gentleman was as stern and aloof as Sir Lewis. They had no children and Lizzy could not stop wondering if they had, would those children resemble Anne?

The dinner conversation was dull and heavy though Mr. Warlock's interventions made it more pleasurable. Lizzy began to feel the little animal moving about her lap nervously followed by a piercing feeling, which caused her to jump in her seat. The animal's movements tickled the little girl, and she could hardly contain herself, which earned her a hard glare from Lady Catherine. By now, Mr. Warlock's attention was quite fixed on her but he was unable to assist her, as he was seated some distance from her.

Lizzy was fighting to contain the little animal, quite unsuccessfully, as it jumped directly onto her chest, causing her to laugh quite madly, after endeavouring to control herself. The poor squirrel jumped to the centre of the table, screaming and running in circles while Mrs. Gresham joined the animal in its yelling and attempts to leave the room but unable to decide which direction would save her from the tiny beast.

Mr. Warlock covered his mouth to contain his laughter, as did Mr. Gresham. Anne was unable to move, and just stood with her mouth open, while Lady Catherine grew red in the face and her hands began to transform into claws. Lizzy was laughing hysterically and even Sir Lewis's usual stoicism was replaced by an expression of tenderness at the sight of the little squirrel. It was brief and no one ever saw such an expression again, but it was, nevertheless. The animal ran in Sir Lewis's direction, jumped to his shoulder and then up to his head, where it stood on its hind legs. Those who had been able to refrain from laughing no longer could and Sir Lewis resumed eating, as if nothing unusual were happening. Inwardly, he was humbled that the animal had chosen him to be its guardian and human tree.

After that scene, Lady Catherine was in a rage and even Mr. Warlock was unable to soothe her. Lizzy was to be restricted to the house, she would take her meals alone in her room and she was forbidden from visiting the library. Anne managed to send notes, making her days less dull. Though Anne admitted she shared responsibility in the squirrel fiasco, Lady Catherine refused to change her mind and placed all blame squarely on Lizzy's shoulders.

Due to her restrictions, Mrs. Simons was among Lizzy's only stimuli as she was also prohibited from sending letters to her cousins. Anne kept the ones received from the boys and addressed to Lizzy but could not open them as they were not her own. If she had, she may have learned what was happening in London. However, they soon knew that Lady Catherine would be travelling to town because her sister was feeling quite ill and weak in her eighth month of pregnancy. Though still angry with Lizzy, Lady Catherine decided to lift her restrictions before leaving Rosings. She was permitted to resume her previous activities though her long rambles and visits to the library would be limited.

The girls wished to travel with her, but Lady Catherine was adamant in her refusal. They could only respond to their cousin's letters offering their support from a distance.