Pemberley in the winter. It was such a vision to behold. A blanket of pure white spread across the landscape. Trees were beautifully covered with snow. The roof and windows of the magnificent house were delicately trimmed with the magical dust.

Fitzwilliam Darcy stared forlornly at the lovely outdoor scene, largely ignoring the morning paper and his breakfast. In the warmth and comfort of the parlour, he imagined it would have been perfect if Elizabeth were here. With him. They could be snuggling in front of the fire and whispering sweet words to each other. Or they could be cuddling up in the privacy of their --

"Fitzwilliam!" his sister Georgiana tried to call his attention for the third time.

"Yes, Georgiana?" he replied absently.

"Do you miss her?"

"Err… "

How does she know?

"I miss her too, Fitzwilliam. I sometimes envy you because you had twelve more years with mother…"

Oh. She means mother.

"Of course, I miss her. But I always felt you were very fortunate to have spent more time with her while I was away for college. I did not have the chance to see her before she passed away."

Georgiana had seen the melancholy etched on her brother's face as she watched him look out the window. He was the best brother one could ever have, yet he did not have the happiness he deserved. Yes, he had Pemberley and other properties. He had her. He had loyal staff. He commanded the respect of society. Yet, he was lonely. She was sure of it, even though he would most likely not admit this to her.

She knew she had disappointed him with her near elopement with Mr Wickham but he had repeatedly assured her that she was not to blame for that incident. Wondering what else could be the cause of his sadness, she guessed it could be that he missed their parents.

"I do not remember much about her, brother. I was very young when she was taken from us."

Turning to face his sister, he was suddenly struck by how much Georgiana resembled their mother. Everyone always commented about how her sister's features came from their maternal side but he now realised that Georgiana looked very much like a young lady, almost a true likeness of their mother's first portrait after their parents got married.

"True, you were indeed very young then," he agreed and added with a small smile, "You look so much like mother."

"Everyone tells me that," Georgiana nodded. "Will you tell me more about her? Did she like winter? Did she like Christmas?"

For a few minutes, Darcy did not speak. He was lost in his own thoughts, trying to remember the holiday seasons he had shared with their parents.

"Yes, she absolutely loved Christmas."

"Really? Did she like the snow?" Georgiana leaned forward, eager to discover more.

"Oh, yes! She took delight whenever we played in the snow. She loved leaving tracks in the snow and comparing the sizes of our footprints."

"I wish I knew more about her. And father."

"Do you not remember our last winter together? Father had commissioned a huge sledge to be made especially for heavy snow. It was our family Christmas present."

"And did we use the sledge?"

"We did, several times. We all managed to squeeze in, comfortably tucked under layers of thick quilt."

"Where is the sledge now? How come we never use it anymore? We often have snow here in Derbyshire."

At this, Darcy turned silent.

"Do you know what happened to the sledge, brother?"

"To be honest, I do not know. You may not remember, but father did not quite enjoy the season after that last winter."

He was very lonely without mother, as am I without Elizabeth.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Hi all. A short Christmas story, for the few who said yes to one. This will probably be 8 to 10 chapters long. I was so ready to write this in September and now looking at my very rough bulletpointed outline, I am not sure what I was thinking then. LOL.

Sorry, chapters will be short too, as I am drowning in work. One more week of teaching then I may have a bit more time to complete this during the Christmas break!

This is for anyone who has an open mind and can enjoy a fantasy story with no/low angst. Hey, it is Christmas after all! Are you in for the ride?

Stay safe, everyone! ;-)