by L G Rollins
But he could change that. He could start again. He would walk a different path starting today.
There had been moments last night when he’d felt certain he would not awake to see the morning. But here he was. Alive, breathing.
He had his second chance.
He wouldn’t waste it.
Donning his finest suit, Scrooge determined that he would start today. And what better day than Christmas Day? He glanced about himself. Not only was he in his own room, time was his. He could make amends.
Scrooge hurried downstairs as quick as his wobbling, aged legs could carry him. He stopped before the hearth. The chair he’d dozed in last night was still there, a blanket draped over the seat.
So he hadn’t imagined all of it, then.
He walked over to the fireplace, placing a hand against the mantel. “I don’t know how much was real or how much was imagined, but I promise I won’t forget the lessons I learned last night about my past, present, and future. Those visits will stay in my heart always.” He patted the mantel. “Always.”
Standing straight, he moved toward the door. He had many visits to make today. Not the least of which was a long-overdue call to one Mr. Jakob Marley.
His long-time friend had not forgotten him nor abandoned him, even after years of Scrooge’s dismissive arrogance.
Yes, after he visited his old friend, he would hightail himself over to a visit with his niece. She had promised him a Christmas Day dinner, after all. And, of course, he would need to visit with Bob Cratchit, see to it that his small boy, Tim, was well and would stay that way.
Ever after that fateful Christmas Eve, Scrooge spent his life freely giving mercy to all—and a cheerful smile, too, when it was called for. Never again could one say Scrooge was miserly—unexpectedly generous, that was most certainly said by all—but never miserly.
Above all, he kept Christmas properly, celebrating the Holy Day as one ought. As one celebrates a most precious gift, with both reverence and cheer and goodwill to all.
Merry Christmas,
God bless us, every one.
The End
You can find other Regency romances
by L. G. Rollins on Amazon and on her website:
www.LGRollins.com
Afterword
I hope you have enjoyed The Peace of Christmas Yet to Come. While I only took Charles Dickens’s story in essence, I have made many references to the original, particularly to the scenes which transpire during the visit of the last spirit and the final chapter in Dickens’s remarkable story.
Characters:
~Martha Cratchit was the name of Bob Cratchit’s daughter in Dickens’s tale. I kept the name. Also, though there’s not much said about this daughter, her brief interaction with Bob and her siblings led me to believe Dickens saw her as a young girl who valued family, was kind and considerate, and tried to help others.
~I feel I don’t need to say much regarding Bob Cratchit. His name is nearly as iconic as Scrooge’s. He has always been a symbol of endurance, cheerfulness during adversity, and of looking for the good in others. He’s one of only two individuals who suggest toasting to the health of Scrooge. I’ve done my best to stay true to that ideal of optimism and good cheer.
~Peter, or “Master Peter” as he is repeatedly called, is the oldest son of Bob Cratchit. He’s a boy who is quickly reaching manhood, with an appetite to match. More still, the Cratchit family is shown to be proud of him and his propensity for numbers. It’s clear they expect he will make a fine man of business someday.
~I was stuck for a while on how to set up a scene in which Scrooge is visited by someone who refuses to speak to him. It finally came to me that perhaps the reason this third visitor chose not to use words was because he struggled to do so. Consequently, he’d learned how to express himself in other, more intimidating ways. That was when Hugh De Ath, Duke of Pembroke, was born in my mind. I gave him the last name “death” to further link him to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
As a side note, De Ath is a true last name found in Europe during this time. However, it actually doesn’t mean “death” at all, it means “from the town of Ath.” Sorry to disappoint. It has several different spellings as well, including but not limited to: de Ath, De’Ath, and De Ath.
In many ways, Hugh is also a type of Scrooge. He’s shut the world out completely because of past hurts. He’s chosen to snuff out any joy and happiness around him with a surly disposition. And, in the end, he, too, has to change and choose generosity and kindness for himself.
~Mr. Jacob Marley has been such a joy to write about. Every Christmas, when I enjoy Dickens’s story again, I always feel so bad for him. During his visit with Scrooge, we learn that he has realized the errors of his ways. His visit to his old friend seems one part desperation to save Scrooge and one part desire to atone for his own misdeeds. However, in Dickens’s story, we never learn if Marley’s endeavors to atone save him from a miserable afterlife. When I decided to write this series, I knew I wanted to show Marley as a changed man, gentle-hearted and happy in his new life. I felt he deserved a bit of his own happily ever after.
You may also be wondering why I used the name Jakob, when it’s spelled with a ‘c’—Jacob—in Dickens’s story. Knowing I wanted to show Marley as a changed man, one who’d completely transformed his life, I decided I wanted him to have changed his name as well. I believe he had done this to further break from his old life, to truly start anew. As such, he left his old surname—Marley—and chose a new one. Both spellings, Jacob and Jakob, are true surnames from the Regency time. However, I wanted to acknowledge that I was taking the Christian name and making it a surname—in essence, keeping it a little the same, but also a little different—and so I chose to do that by changing the spelling slightly.
~Last, but not least, Ebenezer Scrooge.
We wouldn’t have a story at all without Scrooge. I’ve tried to stay as close as possible to this man’s original character throughout this series. I’ve used several of his same phrases through all three books, but when necessary, I’ve done my best to imagine what a miserly, penny-pinching old man might have said or done. I’ve tried to stay true by remembering the pain he’d experienced in his past, and the dull life he’d lived before his ghostly visitors arrived.
Lastly, I also wanted to show his change. In the end, his life becomes one full of joy and happiness because he decided to journey down a new path. Though the visits were dramatic, it was still up to Scrooge on Christmas morning to get up and either live as he had before, or to make some very difficult changes.
Scenes:
~I both open this book and end this book (barring the epilogue) in a graveyard. I do this as a nod to the last ghostly visit, who takes Scrooge to see his own grave.
~I’ve mirrored Mr. Scrooge’s place of business off the office Dickens describes. It is a cold place, one Scrooge never bothers to warm or care for. I believe Dickens was trying to indicate how Scrooge didn’t bring any warmth to the world, nor did he care for others.
~Scrooge’s knocker plays a pivotal role in Dickens’s story, as it’s the first time Scrooge sees Marley’s face since he passed some seven years earlier. I’ve always loved that knocker, the hint of spookiness it adds to the story and how it portends something more, so I made sure to mention the knocker on Scrooge’s office door as often as possible as a nod to Dickens’s smart use of an inanimate object.
~While doing research into Christmas traditions from the Regency era, I learned about mummers’ plays. Though they aren’t mentioned in Dickens’s story, I immediately knew I wanted to include one. I learned that a commonly told story was of St. George slaying a dragon, who then returns to life, thanks to the very popular character Doctor Quack, and swears fealty to St. George. Slasher, too, was a common and much-loved character from mummers’ plays during the Regency era. He is a pompous, arrogant man who boasts of his own strength and bullies those he sees as beneath him. In the end, he gets his comeuppance, though, wh
en St. George beats him. In many retellings, he, too, is killed and brought back to life by Doctor Quack to swear his fealty to St. George.
I loved this whole idea—the story, the acting, all of it—but I wanted to bring it back around to the theme of change and reform. So I had Peter draw it out for us when he says, “After all, even a dragon deserves a second chance to choose good.”
~Though the scene where the Cratchit family enjoys a goose takes place while Scrooge is with the Ghost of Christmas Present, I chose to include it in this book, since this is the story when we really get to see and know the Cratchits. During Dickens’s story, Bob Cratchit does his best to provide a Christmas feast, including bringing home a goose, which his wife and children are all very excited about. In this story, after the Cratchits leave Stonewell Castle, Martha decides to splurge a bit and gets a goose for their Christmas Day feast, making both Tim and Peter quite happy.
~While Scrooge is with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, they visit the Cratchit family and overhear Bob telling his wife and children that Scrooge’s nephew, Fred, stopped by and mentioned helping Peter secure a better place of employ. Immediately, his sisters tease Peter, saying, once he was settled, he could then start to court and find himself a wife. I loved this bit of family teasing and so included some of the same ideas when Martha is speaking with Helena. I have Helena (who is based on Scrooge’s nephew) offer to help Peter find a promising position, and then have both she and Martha smile at the idea that soon Peter will be courting and wanting to start his own family.
~One of the most iconic scenes from Dickens’s story is when Scrooge looks into his future and sees many joyful people, only to realize their happiness is due to the fact that he’s passed on. I wanted to give Hugh this same moment, and so, on the heels of a successful mummers’ play, Hugh overhears his guests talking about how they almost wish Hugh would just die and leave them all be.
~The third visit is far shorter than either of the previous two. Consequently, this book was a bit harder to write. There weren’t nearly as many nuggets to pull on from Dickens’s story. In the end, the visit of the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come really boils down to just two things: one, Scrooge learns others would be happy if he died; and two, Scrooge has a bit of fear put in him regarding his future. It’s almost as though Dickens believed, after all Scrooge had witnessed, it was still human nature for someone to need a good scare before being willing to change. I reference this bit of fear when Hugh goes to see Scrooge. But I also wanted to bring it in a bit earlier, and so I have Hugh think that, “some men only changed when fear struck them deeply enough.” In many ways, Scrooge proves to be such a man.
~Near the end of Scrooge’s visit with the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, Scrooge acknowledges, “Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead.” I have Martha repeat this idea multiple times—the fear that she is on a path she cannot diverge from, that certain horrible events are coming her way, and she cannot escape.
~Clearly, the epilogue in this book is based off the last chapter of Dickens’s story. I tried to keep as many of the elements of that chapter as possible. Such as, Scrooge wakes up and his first thought is that he’s in his own bed again, his hand on the bedpost. Above all, Scrooge realizes he’s been given a second chance, that he has the opportunity to start anew this very morning. That was the single thing I wanted to draw out the most. Dickens’s story ends by saying:
…and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!
Phrases:
~”I wouldn’t show weak eyes to your father . . .” Mrs. Cratchit: spoken to her children while waiting for Bob Cratchit to come home.
Echo: Martha keeps her tears and struggles to herself and, in Chapter Four, doesn’t want to “show weak eyes to her family.”
~”Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends . . . But if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!” Scrooge; spoken to the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come.
Echo: Martha asks Hugh, “Certainly things can change. Certainly what I fear is only what may happen, not what will happen?”
~“Ghost of the Future! . . . I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company.” Scrooge; when the third ghost first arrives.
Echo: When Hugh stands in front of Scrooge.
~ “A churchyard. Here, then, the wretched man whose name he had now to learn, lay underneath the ground. It was a worthy place. Walled in by houses; overrun by grass and weeds, the growth of vegetation’s death, not life . . .” Dickens describes the place where Scrooge’s headstone rests.
Echo: Scrooge describes seeing a place similar to the one described above during his fever induced delirium.
~“God bless us everyone.” Tiny Tim
Discussion Questions
Scrooge’s encounter with three ghosts on Christmas Eve is a dramatic event that catapults Scrooge into changing his ways. However, often life does not give us such pointed, undeniable signs that we need to change. What measuring sticks do you use to keep your life in balance? What do you do to make sure your focus and decisions never swing too far one way?
Both the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present have plenty to say to Scrooge. Why do you suppose Dickens wrote the third Ghost completely silent? What symbolism do you feel is at play here?
If the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come did speak, what might he have said to Scrooge?
Despite all of Scrooge’s flaws, when the last ghost comes he shows quite a bit of courage. He trembles and states that he fears this last visitor most of all. However, he rallies and also states, “But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart.” When hard experiences come, do you see them as opportunities to grow? How might changing your approach to the challenge also change the outcome?
As their time together ends, Scrooge begs the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come for some peace. He is terrified that his decision to change has come too late. Yet, in the end, Scrooge choses to take advantage of whatever time he had left. Consequently, he is able to make amends and right his wrongs. He builds a strong relationship with his nephew and helps Tim to get well once more. Sometimes we fall, too, and worry that the time for change is past and now it is too late. Have you any experience believing the time for change had passed, only to be surprised in learning that it hadn’t? Is there something you wish you could change but haven’t because you think it’s too late? What if you tried changing now, regardless? What might happen?
Scrooge promises to keep the messages he learned from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future in his heart at all times. How do you keep the spirit of Christmas all year round?
He’s been waiting months for her to finally notice him.
Except suddenly, he’s not the only one vying for her hand.
Download the short story for free at:
www.LGRollins.com
Also by L. G. Rollins
Lockhart Regency Romance
Courting Miss Penelope—available at LGRollins.com
Wager for a Lady’s Hand
Lily for my Enemy
A Heart in the Balance
A Farewell Kiss
A Well-Kept Promise
A Dickens of a Christmas
The Hope of Christmas Past
The Joy of Christmas Present
The Peace of Christmas Yet to Come
Acknowledgments
No book is ever written without much encouragement and support from any number of people. I am forever thankful to my husband and children, as their patience and love is the reason I get to do this.
Special thanks go to
my writing groups, for their advice and help. Also to Jenny Proctor and Emily Poole; without your suggestions and edits this book would not have been half so good.
Lastly, thanks to my Father in Heaven, for giving me a beautiful life and the opportunity to create.
About the Author
L. G. Rollins has always loved a heart-melting happily ever after. It didn’t matter if the story took place in Regency England, in outer space, beneath the Earth’s crust, or in a cobbler’s shop, if there was a sweet romance, she would read it.
Life has given her many of her own adventures. Currently she lives in the Rocky Mountains with her best-friend, who is also her husband, and their four beautiful children. She still loves to read books and more books; her favorite types of music are classical, Broadway, and country; she’d rather be hiking the mountains than twiddling her thumbs on the beach; and she’s been known to debate with her oldest son over whether Infinity is better categorized as a number or an idea.
You can learn more about her and her books, as well as pick up a couple free stories, at:
www.LGRollins.com