25th December

Mr Bingley and his party arrived at Longbourn with the Bennets and Gardiners, having met up at church that Christmas morning. Elizabeth, fed up with being alone and waiting impatiently for her family to return, was surprised when a small trunk was carried into the room followed by her excited sisters and mother. Mr Bennet, a bemused smile on his face, followed behind the Netherfield party and the Gardiners, and soon the room was filled with more people than was entirely comfortable.

Elizabeth's sisters settled onto seats close to the interesting trunk, and Mr Darcy after a smile to Elizabeth, leaned down to open the catch.

'Ooo, what is in the trunk, Mr Darcy,' Mrs Bennet shrilled.

'Gifts, Mrs Bennet,' he replied. 'Yuletide gifts for my new family. I would have brought them yesterday, but I did not want to interrupt your time with Mr and Mrs Gardiner.'

'Oh, did you hear that girls? Mr Darcy has brought us all presents!' Mrs Bennet was all smiles, and Elizabeth shot her father a look of amusement.

'But before I open the trunk, I have one overdue gift to give my betrothed.' He put a hand in his pocket and withdrew a small pouch. 'I could not give it before, as it was in my home in London.' He moved over to Elizabeth and dropped down onto the sofa beside her. Opening the pouch, he removed something she could not see, hidden in his hand as it was. Then he took her left hand. 'Elizabeth, my mother left me this to give to the woman who would become my wife.' He opened the hand hiding whatever had been in the pouch to reveal a ring, which he slipped onto her ring finger. It was a beautiful emerald ring, the stone surrounded by tiny ivy leaves. Not ostentatious, but delicate, and it fit her finger perfectly. 'Green suits you, my dear.'

'It's perfect,' she replied. 'Thank you.'

'Lizzy, let me see,' cried Lydia, the first of her sisters to interrupt the moment. Elizabeth regretted, briefly, that there were so many there with them as she wished to kiss her Mr Darcy, but she shook the thought away. She would simply have to find time later and she had secreted a small sprig of mistletoe on her person for exactly that moment.

Mr Darcy squeezed her hand before letting go and moving back to the trunk.

'Mr Bennet, I have here something which I think you will make good use of over the coming years.' He handed the patriarch a book.

'Interesting,' remarked Mr Bennet, opening the cover and flipping through the first few pages. 'It appears to be an inventory of a library.'

'It is, in fact, an inventory of two libraries. The one in my house in town, and the one in Pemberley.'

'Well, well, I can see I will have to visit. Most intriguing…' He found an index and ran his finger down the list, lost to everything else in the room.

'I want to see that book, when you are finished, papa,' said Elizabeth, with a laugh.

'I have other copies,' Mr Darcy commented.

'Very well, I am satisfied.'

'Next, Miss Bennet, Miss Mary, Miss Kitty and Miss Lydia. Georgiana and I went shopping for you ladies, as she is more conversant with the needs of young ladies than I. He handed each a large package and sat back as they eagerly opened them.

'Mamma look!' cried Lydia, showing her a bundle of palest yellow silk. 'Do you think I can have a new gown made up in time for Lizzy's wedding?'

'I am sure we can manage something, my dear.'

'Ribbons to match!' cried Kitty.

'Mr Darcy, you are too kind,' said Jane, quietly, a gentle smile on her face. 'But this blue is the perfect colour for me.'

Mary said not a word, her face reflecting her astonishment as she discovered the pinks in her package.

'Oh, Mary, that colour will suit you very well,' said Jane, leaning over to look more closely.

'I-I I don't know what to say, sir. Thank you,' Mary managed to say.

'Mrs Bennet, knowing you to be the finest hostess in the area, I have something here that will seal your status.' With the air of a magician, Mr Darcy lifted a spiky topped yellowish-brown object from the trunk. 'This is a pineapple.'

Mrs Bennet shrieked, and Elizabeth winced.

'Mr Darcy! A pineapple. Oh, I shall go distracted. A pineapple…'

He handed the fruit over to the ecstatic matriarch and shot a bemused look at Elizabeth, who shrugged, mouthed 'a pineapple?' and sent him a lopsided grin in return. Elizabeth knew that Mrs Bennet's wedding breakfast would now forever be spoken of in awe when the guests saw this object on the table. Which was, no doubt, his intention.

'Elizabeth, everything I have will soon be yours, so these will have to do until that day.' He handed her a book-sized flat box. He indicated her pendant and said, 'I hope they go well with your necklace.'

Elizabeth briefly clasped her amber cross, then turned her attention to the box. Opening it she discovered hair pins, each with amber and pearl ornamentation, along with two similarly adorned hair combs.

'Oh,' she breathed, gently touching one of the combs. 'They're beautiful. Thank you, William.' Closing the box, she reached for one of the two cloth-covered packages tied with red satin ribbon, that were sat on the table beside her. 'Unfortunately, I have been unable to visit the shops recently, so you will have to make do with my handmade gifts.' She handed him the package. 'It is poor fare, compare to yours, but made with love.'

He took the package with a smile and tugged at the ribbon that held it closed. As the ribbon came free, he folded it around his fingers and tucked it away in his pocket, then unfolded the cloth covering. Inside were a bundle of handkerchiefs. In the corner of each were their entwined initials, and the date of their coming wedding, and around the hem were tiny embroidered ivy leaves. 'Ivy… How did you know?'

'I did not, but it is the one leaf pattern I can manage in a tolerable fashion.'

As he lifted the handkerchiefs, he discovered two more items below. Bookmarks, each bearing the names Longbourn and Pemberley embroidered in an ornate script.

'Our two estates, coming together,' she murmured, her colour high. To cover her embarrassment, she reached for the other package. 'Miss Darcy, this one is for you.'

Miss Darcy startled and blushed. 'I was not expecting…' She came forward and took the flat package, pulling the ribbon to open it. 'Oh, music!'

'Mary helped me copy some of her music. You may already have some of the tunes, but I suspect there may be one or two you have not encountered before.'

Miss Darcy had rapidly flipped through the first few pages, stopping on the next with a smile. 'Indeed, I have never seen this one before. Do you know who the composer is?'

'I do but maybe… Mary, would you like to discuss it with Miss Darcy?'

Mary nodded, a tentative smile gracing her face, and the two moved away to the pianoforte. Soon after, Miss Darcy sat on the piano stool, picking out the tune as she and Mary chattered.

'It was good of you to think of Georgiana,' Mr Darcy said, watching her at the piano.

'She is to be my sister, I could not leave her out of the gift giving.'

He smiled his appreciation, and the two sat watching and smiling as more gifts were distributed between the others. Mr Darcy occasionally rang a finger over her embroidered bookmarks with a small smile on his lips, seemingly unconscious of his actions, and Elizabeth turned away to hide her own smile.

Soon all the gifts were given and exclaimed over, and then Hill came in to announce that dinner was ready.

'We will wait until you are all settled,' called Elizabeth. 'Mr Darcy will carry me through.'

Mr Bennet eyed his daughter for a moment as the others filed from the room on their way to the dining room, then nodded and followed the others.

'I wanted you to myself for a moment. Sit beside me,' she said, patting the sofa. 'Where on earth did you manage to find a pineapple?'

Amused, he took a seat next to her. 'I have my sources, but I think I will keep them a secret for now.'

Elizabeth made a little moue of disappointment, and then said 'You will have my mother's eternal thanks. She will be spoken of in part awe, part despair, whenever anyone dares throw a dinner party in the future. "How can we ever hope to complete with Mrs Bennet's pineapple?"'

He chuckled. 'It will be on display until Twelfth Night, I have no doubt.'

She smiled and then produced a small twig of green leaves and white berries. 'Come, kiss me under the mistletoe, William.'

He was pleased to submit.