They’d all reconvened around the dinner table, the conversation flowing more easily now that Caroline and Louisa had gone—a development that improved Darcy’s mood considerably. He’d been stealing glances at Elizabeth, who had been just as pointedly not looking at him, when Richard caught him at it.
“Right then.” He pushed back from the table. “Best be off before the roads get icy.”
What followed was a masterclass in well-intentioned haste.
Darcy found himself pressed against the wall of the hallway, watching with fascination as Richard and Malcolm tried to juggle what appeared to be half the contents of the house. Richard had somehow acquired not only his own coat and scarf, but also a wrapped portion of Christmas pudding, a small bottle of whisky that Jane had pressed upon him, and a wrapped present.
“I’ve got it, I’ve got it,” Richard muttered as the bottle slipped precariously towards the floor. “Just need to—ah, bloody hell.”
He rescued the bottle, but the present hit the ground with a soft thump, which attracted Athena, who seemed to view it as a potential snack. Shepicked up the package, her teeth sinking through the wrapping, while Waffles bounded up, tail wagging with sufficient force to knock over the small table by the door.
“Waffles!” Elizabeth groaned.
“Told you Waffles was a bad influence,” Malcolm observed. Waffles was industriously sniffing around the fallen table. “Look at him—he’s giving her ideas now.”
Indeed, Athena had dropped the present and was now methodically investigating everyone’s shoes. This might have been less problematic if people weren’t trying to put their shoesonat the same time.
“Has anyone seen my gloves?” Kitty called out from the lounge. “I know I had them when we arrived.”
“Which gloves?” Mary asked, emerging from the kitchen with her arms full of foil-wrapped leftovers. “The black ones or the grey ones?”
“The brown ones.”
“I didn’t know you had brown ones.”
“Well, I do. Did. Have them, I mean.” She looked around her, hands on her hips. “Had them, at any rate.”
Darcy pressed himself further against the wall as Lydia swept past, trailing a bright red scarf that was either exceptionally long or had somehow become entangled with someone else’s.
“Now, are you quite sure you won’t take more of the pudding?” Jane was saying to everyone. “There’s turkey, too.”
“Happy Christmas, everyone!” Richard called, having achieved an equilibrium with his various burdens now that Athena had lost interest. “Grand evening, thank you so much for having us!”
This seemed to trigger a chain reaction of farewells. Everyone began calling out “Happy Christmas!” in overlapping waves, voices blending intoa warm chorus of gratitude and affection. Cheeks were kissed, hands were shaken, and promises were made to ring soon.
Through it all, Darcy found himself watching Elizabeth.
She scooped up the present before Athena could make off with it, retrieved Kitty’s gloves from under a sofa cushion, untangled Lydia’s scarf situation. There was something deeply satisfying about watching her work, the way she seemed to anticipate problems before they fully materialised and solve them with the minimum of fuss.
But there was something else, too, in the way she kept glancing towards the door as if mentally calculating how much longer this would all take.
“Darcy!” Malcolm’s voice cut through his observations. “You’re not driving back to Pemberley tonight, are you? The roads will be lethal.”
“No, we’re staying in London,” Darcy replied, straightening from his position against the wall.
“Wise man. Well, I’m off before I drop something else.” Richard turned towards Elizabeth, who had appeared beside him with the mangled present. “Elizabeth, you absolute star. Delightful evening, Jane, Charles, thank you so much.”
“Thank you for coming,” Jane replied, accepting his awkward one-armed hug. “Drive safely.”
“Always do. Happy Christmas!”
And then, with a final burst of energy, the Fitzwilliams were gone.
The exodus continued for another ten minutes, a gradual diminishing of voices and footsteps and car engines starting in the drive. Mary left on her own, still debating Kitty over a book recommendation. Kitty and Lydia left together, chattering about presents and boys.
Finally, blessedly, the house fell quiet.
Well, relatively quiet. Athena had settled down for a thorough investigation of Waffles’s rope toy, which involved a series of small grunts and theoccasional thump as she repositioned herself. Waffles had claimed the spot by the radiator and was snoring. From the kitchen came the sound of Jane and Charles discussing the evening, their voices low and domestic.
