The schedule is getting on track. I didn't jump ahead here but will shortly. I've got a few things up my sleeve. Until then, put on your Santa hats and read on...
William Darcy was alone in his bed and it simply felt wrong. He distinctly remembered the feel of Lizzy curled up against his side just an hour before. Pulling on a pair of sweats he crept out of their room in search of his wife. Quietly he made his way towards the living room, spotting her in front of the fireplace.
"Lizzy? Is everything ok?" he whispered loudly.
Spinning around she quickly hid something behind her back. "Oh. Hi. I'll be back in bed in a few minutes. Everything's fine."
William walked forward, curious as to what had her up and out of bed in the middle of the night. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, go back to bed. I'll be there shortly."
William walked closer trying to figure out what she was up to. In his half-asleep state he couldn't process what she was doing in the living room and why she wasn't coming to bed with him. He was practically on top of her when he realized that she was arranging stockings. But they didn't have stockings, did they? "Lizzy?" he whispered again.
Startled she jumped backwards landing on his feet. "Why didn't you go back to bed?"
"I wanted you with me. What do you have there Mrs. Claus?"
"Merry Christmas?" she said a bit sheepishly.
"Can I see?" William was filled with curiosity at what she was doing. Sitting on the floor beside her he could finally see that indeed, there were four stockings, one for each of them, their names stitched in cursive letters across the tops. "Where did these come from?"
"I made them. Well most of them. Mrs. Reynolds put mine together. They're really nothing. Let's just go back to sleep."
His eyes shot to the top of his head, "You made them? I want to see before everyone wakes up. Will you show me?" William asked, pressing her back towards the fireplace.
"Alright. I guess." Scooting back towards the fireplace they sat down together in front of the hearth.
He picked up the the stocking with his name on it, fingers gliding over the embroidery and then over the scene she'd created just for him. "This is the pond in Maine isn't it? You made this and embroidered my name and everything?" He asked almost reverently.
"You like it then?"
"I love it. No one's ever made something so...so personal for me before. Can I see the others?"
Nodding she picked up Georgie's next, explaining how she got the idea to put an image representing her horse Mint on the stocking after she realized she needed to make one for Maria too.
"She's going to adore it. I'm not sure there's really anything she cares about as much as that horse. I'm glad Mrs. Reynolds helped you. I can't imagine how much work this was. When did you do it all?"
"In reality it was over a couple of days but last Saturday we spent the entire day putting them together. I was exhausted. This is why I fell asleep so easily on Saturday evening." Lizzy said as she spread her hands out in front of her.
"Well that explains it. Lizzy, these are incredible. I've bought you some gifts but truly nothing compares to how special these are. Thank you for making this Christmas so memorable." William took her in his arms, trying to convey how special she made him feel. It seemed like everything she touched was better. This Christmas was one of the happiest he'd had in years. Scooping her up in his arms he carried her back to their bed where he showed her exactly how happy he was to celebrate this holiday with her.
Lizzy was sleeping late and William had been up for over an hour puttering in the kitchen when first Maria, and then Georgie, stumbled out to join him. He quickly warmed some hot cocoa for the girls. They joined him at the table while he sipped his coffee.
"William, did you have those stockings made? We've never done stockings before and I absolutely love mine."
"Actually Lizzy made them for us. They're a Christmas gift." William responded waiting to see how his sister reacted to this new information.
"She...she made them?! But mine has Mint on it? How'd she know?"
"You'll have to ask her." William smiled.
Maria smiled ruefully, "Of course she made them. I should've known. And where is my clever sister this Christmas morning?"
"I've let her sleep in. I found her arranging the stockings in the middle of the night. I think she was up for some time waiting for us to all go to sleep and then getting them stuffed. I thought we could manage breakfast on our own." William smiled with the thought of how he'd kept her awake a little longer.
Maria and William continued talking, each periodically checking on the very quiet Georgiana. Maria had sensed the tension between Georgie and really, everyone else. Having grown up in a houseful of moody women, she knew when to leave well enough alone. William was less sure of how to handle Georgiana's reticence but figured he'd wait to see how she reacted to, and treated, Lizzy. In the meantime, he could get to know his new sister-in-law a bit better. William was particularly interested in understanding how she was managing with the restaurant.
Another hour passed and William decided he needed to wake up Elizabeth. "I can't believe you let me sleep in on Christmas morning?" Lizzy yawned. "Is everyone ok? Have you eaten?"
William placed a quick kiss on her lips. "We had a very leisurely breakfast and even saved you one of Mrs. Reynolds chocolate croissants. How long do you need to get yourself together?"
Stretching her limbs Lizzy began to move herself towards the bathroom. "Give me a ten minutes to freshen up and such."
"Alright. We'll be waiting in the living room. I'll have your breakfast waiting for you."
Lizzy found William and the girls sitting on the floor by the tree. "Merry Christmas. I'm sorry that I kept you waiting."
"Merry Christmas Lizzy." Pointing to the stockings, "Mama would declare you truly accomplished" Maria teased.
"Ha! Very funny. I certainly was reminded why I don't sew much. This burst of activity cured me for some time." The sisters laughed, each remembering the hours they'd spent in sewing camp at Knit and Stitch in JP. It was their mama's answer to having four girls home from school during February and April vacations. That and the fact that their mama only truly cared if they knew how to fill the bellies of prospective husbands and darn their socks. If they could do those tasks, they were deemed accomplished. Anything else was a distraction. A few moments of contemplation of their family passed and their eyes fell back towards the stockings. Quietly Lizzy began, "I hope you like the images I chose for you Maria. The bright star reminded me of the celebrations on Dia de Reyes. It was also a lot simpler then trying to create the nativity scene or the three kings." Maria got up from where she was sitting to hug her sister. She appreciated that Lizzy would consider the meaning of the holiday when creating something for her.
Maria gave Lizzy the recipe book from the restaurant, newly bound. She assured Lizzy she'd copied over all of the recipes to be housed for the restaurant's use but really wanted her sister to have the original. Their papa had never really used recipes but after his heart attack Lizzy had painstakingly written them all down so their cook at the time, and their young apprentice, Billy, could recreate them. The gift meant more to Lizzy then anything she'd thought to receive.
With the sisters sharing their moment, William decided to give Georgie a few of the things he'd gotten for her. She seemed to appreciate the new riding tack and laptop he'd selected. Lizzy had helped him pick up some new special hair wand that would create curls in straight hair. Georgie loved the wand and a bag full of hair accessories too. He'd have never ventured to purchase these things but Lizzy had convinced him that any 15 year old girl would love them. Apparently his wife was right because Georgiana actually squealed when she opened the packages, wrapping her arms around him in a big hug. Lizzy shot him an 'I told you so' look which he acknowledged.
Georgie handed boxes to William and Elizabeth each containing a pair of gloves. For William she'd chosen thick leather gloves lined with fur that she thought he could use up in Maine. Lizzy's were less practical but quite nice as well, butter soft black leather. "They're beautiful Georgie. Thank you so much for thinking of me."
Georgie didn't seem to know what to do with Lizzy's gracious reply. "Oh, well, um, of course. I really love my stocking. How did you know about Mint?"
Lizzy laughed, "It's clear how much you love Mint and riding. I've heard you talk of riding more than any other subject and when I was sitting in Mrs. Reynolds study I couldn't look anywhere without seeing an image of you with your horse. I'm glad you liked my attempt. It's so hard to select gifts for people who could buy literally anything they want for themselves." The two fell into silence again, and moved apart.
The stockings and gifts had been mostly opened but there was one more present under the tree. William handed Lizzy a very heavy box. Quickly unwrapping it, she uncovered a large, handmade wooden jewelry box. "It would take me years to fill up a box with jewelry this large." Lizzy said as she gave William a kiss.
"Well I mean to help you. Look inside, I've already started."
Inside the first drawer lay a gold charm bracelet with a single charm on it. As beautiful as the jewelry box and chain link bracelet were, it was the actual charm that made her gasp, a Christmas stocking, Tiffany blue and gold. Lifting the bracelet from the box, William reached to place it on her wrist, "My mother always wore a charm bracelet. On special occasions my father would give my mother a charm to commemorate it. As a child one of my favorite activities was to sit with my mother and listen to her tell me the stories behind each charm. I didn't think too much about selecting a stocking for our first Christmas but now, with your gift, it seems absolutely perfect." William lifted up her wrist to admire the bracelet and placing a delicate kiss on the inside of her wrist.
Tears began to fill her eyes and Lizzy managed to whisper thank you before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a deep kiss, oblivious to the two sisters sitting with them. They were lost to themselves for several moments before Lizzy heard the rustling of wrapping paper as Maria attempted to distract herself by cleaning up the paper tossed on the floor.
William was mortified when he realized he'd been making out with his wife in front of his 15-year old sister. Quickly regaining himself he tried to return their situation to some semblance of normalcy. "Well we should probably clean up and get ourselves ready to head to the Fitzwilliam's. I know Aunt Sophia would like us to be there well before dinner to exchange gifts. Let's plan to leave in an hour ok?"
A quick squeak good bye and Georgie bolted towards her room. William groaned covering his face in mortification. Grabbing his arm, Lizzy whispered into his ear, "C'mon loverboy. If we're leaving in an hour, I think we have time for a quickie." Grinning back at her he began quickly pulling her towards their room. The two departed the living room without a backwards look and without noticing Georgie peaking back into the room watching them hurrying off.
The Darcy's and Maria arrived into a chaotic scene at the Fitzwilliam's shortly before noon. Lizzy hadn't appreciated how large the extended Fitzwilliam family was but, judging by the attendance this morning, they numbered well over 40. The ballroom where Lizzy's party had been held was transformed with tables arranged in a U-shape and a large Christmas tree at the end overlooking Beacon Street. Georgie quickly joined her cousin Rachel along with a few others under the age of 21. Sophia came over to welcome William and Lizzy and began the introductions to extended family members. As they made their way around the room, they found themselves in front of William's Aunt Cathy. "Merry Christmas Mrs. DeBourgh."
Catherine deBourgh looked Elizabeth up and down, scarcely acknowledging her before turning her attention to William. "Merry Christmas nephew. Where is my niece? I was disturbed you didn't join us last night. I have been waiting to see you both all morning. I'm surprised you would allow anything or anyone to cause you to neglect your family." With these last words she directed a sneer towards Elizabeth.
Choosing to ignore the pointed remarks, William cooly responded. "I'm glad you made it safely down to celebrate with Uncle Henry last night. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve celebration. Elizabeth and her sister Maria prepared an excellent meal and we enjoyed Midnight Mass at her home church. It was truly a beautiful service" He placed his arm around Lizzy pulling her closer to him. "I'm sure Georgie is making her way over to wish you a Merry Christmas. We'll go find her to make sure she knows where you're sitting." William glided Lizzy away quickly, intent on not allowing his aunt and her ill-mannered remarks to impact his very happy Christmas thus far.
William guided them over to a spot near his cousin's fiancé, Jessica. Leaving the women happily chatting he went to find Georgiana. He saw his sister chatting with Rachel and walked towards them. Georgie was talking animatedly to her cousin and didn't see William walking towards them nor the frantic signs her cousin was giving her. "...I've spent the last twenty four hours watching my brother make a fool of himself and playing nice with his new little wife and her sister. It's unbelievable! He chases after her like a lovesick schoolboy and gushing over her little handmade crafts, and cookies and food. I think I've earned a break from watching them drool all over each other."
"Well I hope you enjoy your break today because after the end of this family party there'll be little in the way of fun over the remainder of your holiday." William spoke evenly his fists clenched.
"Hi William. Merry Christmas. Um, I think my mom needs my help. I'll see you both later." Rachel quickly slipped away not wanting to watch the consequences of her cousin's poor judgement. She really didn't think much about her new cousin Lizzy but then again, it had never occurred to her to not like her future sister-in-law Jessica either. She wasn't marrying them so what did it matter? Rachel did know enough about family dynamics to know that Georgiana was being a fool. Everyone seemed to like Elizabeth, including her parents, so there was no upside to not be nice at least. As she made her way towards her mom, she noticed Richard chatting up Jessica and Elizabeth. She thought the least she could do for Georgie was to send Richard over to blunt William's anger.
"Richard, there you are. I hope you're not bothering these lovely ladies and making them think bad things about the Fitzwilliam clan."
"I'm affronted little sis. I'm just being friendly and welcoming."
Jessica laughed, "Oh he's certainly been welcoming. He's been the entire welcome wagon."
Lizzy joined in, "We've been trying to explain to your brother that he's wasting his time trying to charm us. Apparently our attached status is a motivator rather than a deterrent.
"I'm sorry to remove your entertainment ladies but I have need for my brother. I'm sure some other random relative will try to ingratiate themselves with you two. We Fitzwilliams do seem to have an excess of personlity." Rachel said as she tugged on her brother's arm.
Sighing dramatically, Richard bowed over each woman's hand, "You'll have to forgive me ladies, duty calls."
Waving Richard and Rachel off, the two newest members of the Fitzwilliam clan, or soon to be new member in Jessica's case, returned to their prior conversation.
Finally getting Richard's attention, Rachel filled him in on Georgie's latest antics. "Honestly, I didn't say anything to prompt her. All I asked was how she enjoyed her Christmas morning and she starting going off. I don't think I've ever seen William so angry in my life. I think it would be helpful to give them each a cooling off period. Maybe you could distract them for a few minutes?"
Richard had hoped that spending some time with William and Lizzy would've helped the situation with Georgie but that didn't seem to be the case. He found his two cousins each standing defiantly, William demanding something from Georgie, he wasn't sure what. "Merry Christmas you two." Putting his arms around each of them he guided his two cousins out of the ballroom and towards a more private space. "My mother would be greatly displeased to see a brawl break out in the middle of her Christmas party so let's go somewhere a bit more private."
Once the three were alone, Richard turned to his two favorite cousins but before he could even speak Georgiana spat, "He can't force me to like her. I'm allowed to have my own opinions you know."
"You haven't even given her a chance. Why won't you even try?" William retorted.
"Why bother. You like her enough for both of us."
A loud whistle pieced the room. "Enough. William I need you to go back to the ballroom and see to your wife. Georgiana and I are going to have a chat."
William started to protest but Richard almost seemed to grow in size before him. It must be some technique they teach in the armed forces to make yourself seem more fearsome in front of an enemy. William reminded himself that he was glad he wasn't Richard's enemy.
"Alright. I'll see you both a dinner." Leaving the room, William closed the door and took himself to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. There were few people in the world who could provoke him and his little sister was one of them. He went back to the ballroom in search of Lizzy only to find her engrossed in a conversation with one of his great uncle's. Her smile and ability to engage people put him at ease as well and he decided to thank Richard for giving him the opportunity to cool down a bit.
Richard had received special training on dealing with enemy combatants. Approaching his fifteen-year old cousin felt more dangerous than those encounters but he hoped some of the same training might apply. "You've been spending the past few weeks sharing your opinions Georgie. I'd like to better understand your thinking on the subject of your brother's marriage and his wife."
"I just don't like her."
"I'd really like to hear you expand on your thoughts. I'm happy to wait." Richard sat down in a comfortable chair, spreading his legs out in front of him, hands clasped and resting on his stomach.
A few minutes passed as he watched her pace back and forth. Finally Georgie began, "Ugh, she's so sweet and kind and everyone adores her. Its enough to give you a toothache. You should've seen my brother this morning. It was gross watching them make out after he gave her his gift. And you should see where she grew up. I thought cockroaches would come crawling out across the floor of her family's restaurant at any moment. It's no wonder she latched onto him so quickly. She's positively poor. And she made these stockings as our presents and filled them with chocolate and fruit. I at least bought her some beautiful leather gloves. Who wants an orange stuffed with cloves for Christmas?"
"I see. So you're worried she's after your brothers money? That this is an act?"
"Yes! Exactly!"
"To be honest, I was worried at first that she was into your brother for his money. Of course once William and Matthew told me a few stories about how's she's reacted to the whole money thing I got a lot less worried. You should ask William about it when you both calm down. It's a natural worry given the disparity in their situations but I think you'll feel better if you talk to him about your concerns."
Georgie emphatically shook her head. "Like he'd talk to me about it. You don't understand Richard. I barely exist for him. I'm just a responsibility he needs to discharge just like everything else. I bought him a really nice gift and yet you should've seen him about these stupid stockings Lizzy made."
"Oh, I think I'm beginning to understand now. You're jealous. You don't like that William is focused on Lizzy and you're trying to get attention. Why didn't I see it before?"
"I'm not jealous of some illegal immigrant," Georgie stammered.
"I doubt your jealous of that fact but you are jealous that she has your brother's undivided attention and maybe even some of the attention from our family."
"No. I just don't trust her. She almost had me fooled. I almost fell into her trap this morning with the stocking but then, to see my brother and her together. It's disgusting!"
"They are married you know. It's not unheard of to display your affection to one's spouse in your own home." Looking at Georgiana's rigid stance and hardened expression Richard decided on a different tack. Humor was not going to work here. "Alright. So your brother is distracted by his new wife. You're feeling a bit sidelined and want attention. I'd posit that the attention you've been receiving over these past weeks is NOT the kind you actually want. So you might want to try another way to get attention but it will require you to reconsider your stance towards Lizzy and try to get some of her attention on you. You might even enjoy getting some attention from her. Your brother would then naturally be paying attention to you as well. You could do a lot worse in a sister-in-law. Just think of who my mother's had to put up with all these years."
They both started laughing at that thought. "Speaking of which, have you greeted our dear Aunt Cathy?" Seeing her shake her head no, "You know it only gets worse the longer you wait. Let's go greet her."
"Do I really have to? I mean, she'll insist on quizzing me about every element of school and my life and there'll be something I'm not doing correctly."
"Think of it as pennance. You have a lot to make up for, this is where you can begin." Richard wrapped his arm around his young cousin and guided her back towards the ballroom and her Aunt Cathy.
There was no doubt that the Fitzwilliam clan did have a lot of personality and this uncle was no exception. The Judge, as he liked to be called, was proving to be a fine example pressing Lizzy on the finer details of her immigration. She wasn't defensive in the least as she could easily tell he was on her side, wanting to understand so that perhaps he could be of assistance. He had no shortage of opinions about the immigration system in this country. She was happy when William joined them. It didn't take her long to notice how stiffly he held himself and that the happy gleam in his eye was gone. After a few more minutes of chatting with the judge, Lizzy excused them making up some excuse about agreeing to help Sophia Fitzwilliam with something and pulled William away.
They walked a few feet before Lizzy stopped William. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Why do you ask?"
"I know we haven't known each other for long but I can tell when something is bothering you. You were happy when we arrived and you are certainly no longer happy. Tell me what happened."
"I don't want to talk about it right now. We can discuss it later."
"If it's put you in a sour mood, I'd rather we discuss it now. I want us to have a happy Christmas and we can't be happy if you're in a terrible mood. Please talk to me." Lizzy implored.
When she looked up at him with those big green eyes there was little he could deny her. Pulling her over to a corner he started, "It's Georgie. I thought things were getting better but when I approached her she was saying such terrible things to Rachel about us. I'm at my wits end and don't know what to do with her."
Placing her hand on his arm, "I'm sorry. What did you do? You were gone for a while. What happened?"
William filled Lizzy in on the conversation with Richard. Looking around the room he noticed them walking in together and heading over towards Aunt Cathy. Georgie appeared to be approaching the task pleasantly. "Well that's something." William grumbled.
"What's something?"
"Richard seems to have found a first round of punishment. He's bringing Georgie to sit next to Aunt Cathy. He is rather brilliant."
Elizabeth looked around and found the trio that William was focused on. She could only imagine what his Aunt Cathy would say about her and she wondered whether that would help or hurt their situation with Georgiana. She decided not to share these thoughts with William however. "Hopefully Richard learned something more when they spoke. Perhaps tomorrow we can sit down with your cousin and maybe even your aunt and uncle and come up with some kind of plan as to how to move forward with Georgiana. I don't think there's anything to be done today about this and really, it's not any different then yesterday. She didn't like me then and she still doesn't. We'll figure out a way forward together, okay?"
"Yes, I guess so. Thank you for being so understanding." William said as he placed a small kiss on her lips."
The annual Christmas exchange at the Fitzwilliam's was actually a Yankee Swap. Each person attending brought a wrapped gift costing less then $20 and placed it under the tree. Before dinner was served each person took a gift and a number. Once the gifts were opened the person with the last number could swap their gift with another in the room. This continued until the person with the number 1 selected a gift from amongst everyone else. The gifts ranged from funny, to inappropriate, to useless but everyone had a good time. Lizzy would up with a lollipop bigger than her head while William was stuck with a calendar of knock-knock jokes, one for every day of the year. It was a great way to include everyone in the holiday and fortunately no one took it very seriously.
After dinner Maria decided she'd like to return home. She could tell they needed some alone time with Georgiana and she really didn't want to be a third wheel. She'd join them when they went to New York so it was fine with her. Before leaving the Fitzwilliam's it was agreed that the Darcy's would return the next day to discuss Georgiana's behavior in greater detail. Rachel had already found a moment to fill in her parents on the earlier discussion and they were eager to sit down and strategize when they didn't have a house full of relatives.
When the three Darcy's arrived home, Georgiana went immediately to her room. William had agreed to Lizzy's suggestion that they not talk about Georgie's feelings about Lizzy until the following day when the holiday was over. The couple cuddled up in their room discussing everything but Georgiana. Lizzy still thought it was hysterical that Aunt Cathy would up with a pair of oven mitts that looked like lobster claws. Like she'd ever have use for them... but that was beside the point. William finally admitted he had a bit of a headache from the stress and noise of the day. Rolling over onto his stomach he moaned pleasantly as Lizzy massaged his head, neck and shoulders releasing the tension that had built up. Lost in her own thoughts, wondering about her parents and sisters, Lizzy hoped they'd had a wonderful Christmas wherever they were. Her attention was brought back to William when she realized he was softly snoring and fast asleep. Snuggling up next to him Lizzy too was soon asleep.
So...two steps forward and one step back. We'll get there but it will take some time. I love your thoughts, comments, questions and reactions. They help me write, give me ideas, and help make the story all it can be. :)