Table of Contents
Title Page
copyright
Also by Rose Fairbanks
Part I
Wassail Song
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Ding Dong Merrily on High
We Three Kings
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Go Tell It on the Mountain
Silent Night
The Holly and the Ivy
O Come All Ye Faithful
Joy to the World
What Child is This?
Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
O Holy Night
Angels We Have Heard on High
Auld Lang Syne
The First Noel
Part II
Angels from the Realms of Glory
Deck the Halls
Good King Wenceslas
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I Saw Three Ships
Hallelujah Chorus
Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring
Part III
Twelve Days of Christmas
Jingle Bells
Away in a Manger
Once in David’s Royal City
Coventry Carol
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Sample of Once Upon a December: Holiday Tales of Pride and Prejudice
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Rose Fairbanks
Mr. Darcy’s Miracle at Longbourn
Christmas with Jane Book 2
A Pride and Prejudice Holiday Tale
A novel in three parts:
Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Joy
Pride and Prejudice and Epiphanies
Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Carol
Rose Fairbanks
Mr. Darcy’s Miracle at Longbourn
Published by Rose Fairbanks
©2017 Rose Fairbanks
Early drafts of this work were posted online.
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews, without permission in writing from its publisher and author.
Several passages in this novel are paraphrased from the works of Jane Austen.
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to characters, whether living or dead, is not the intention of this author.
Also by Rose Fairbanks
Jane Austen Re-Imaginings Series
(Stand Alone Series)
Letters from the Heart
Undone Business
No Cause to Repine
Love Lasts Longest
Mr. Darcy’s Kindness
Mr. Darcy’s Compassion (Coming 2019)
When Love Blooms Series
Sufficient Encouragement
Renewed Hope
Extraordinary Devotion
Loving Elizabeth Series
Pledged
Reunited
Treasured
Pride and Prejudice and Bluestockings
Mr. Darcy’s Bluestocking Bride
Lady Darcy’s Bluestocking Club (Coming 2019)
Impertinent Daughters Series
The Gentleman’s Impertinent Daughter
Mr. Darcy’s Impertinent Daughter (Coming 2019)
Desire and Obligation Series
A Sense of Obligation
Domestic Felicity (Coming 2019)
Christmas with Jane
Once Upon a December
Mr. Darcy’s Miracle at Longbourn
How Darcy Saved Christmas
Men of Austen
The Secrets of Pemberley
The Secrets of Donwell Abbey (Emma Variation, Coming 2019)
Regency Romance
Flowers of Scotland (Marriage Maker Series)
The Maid of Inverness
Paranormal Regency Fairy Tale
Cinderella’s Phantom Prince and Beauty’s Mirror (with Jenni James)
Part I
Mr. Darcy’s Christmas Joy
Wassail Song
Longbourn
December 22, 1811
Dear Diary,
Everyone in the house is cross or gloomy. May I confess my favourite Christmas memory to you? When we were children, we girls would sing carols and go from door to door.
“Here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green.”
You could probably hear us for a mile. Kitty and Lydia have never been discreet or moderate with their voices. Sigh.
And now, though I am nineteen years old, I will admit that, once more, I wish someone could bring love and joy to our door. If not for Christmas, then perhaps by the New Year. I wish some magic existed that could allow us to peek at the future or consider different paths before we make irrevocable choices, such as marriage or the giving of our hearts.
-Miss Mary Noelle Bennet
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Darcy House, London
December 23, 1811
“What has you two so depressed? It is two days until Christmas!” Richard Fitzwilliam asked and cradled his port in a hand.
Fitzwilliam Darcy glared at his cousin.
“Well, I cannot truly tell if Darcy is depressed. He never smiles. But Bingley, something must be wrong with you. Is it lady trouble?” Richard wagged his eyebrows hoping for a juicy tale. “So, tell me about your girl, Bingley,” Richard said waggling his eyebrows again.
Darcy’s best friend, Charles Bingley, sighed. “Miss Bennet is the most beautiful creature I have ever beheld! I thought so upon first sight, and she has only grown in beauty every time I have seen her.”
Darcy watched as Bingley made some half-strangled moan and took a large gulp of port.
“Ah! That is it! I can tell by Darcy’s scowl,” Richard egged them on.
A dull ache filled Darcy’s heart. Yes, it certainly was lady trouble. For both him and Bingley. But it was done and over with and all for the best.
“Poor Bingley. Always getting hooked by the fortune hunters,” Richard continued. “Well, I suppose Darcy saved you again. Must have happened in…where had you just been? Hampshire—no, Hertfordshire.”
Again, Richard looked between Darcy and Bingley hoping to glean more information, but the men were resolutely silent. At the mention of the county in which Elizabeth Bennet resided, the dull ache in Darcy’s heart turned to piercing pain.
“Come now! No one is going to tell me anything? After all I have done for King and country, the least I deserve is some good gossip.” He puffed his cigar. “If you do not start talking, we will have to return to the ladies earlier, and I think that is the last thing any of us wants.”
Darcy repressed a shudder. Bingley and his sisters had come for dinner. Richard showed up unannounced, but that was nothing new. The man paid a steep price for it, though, as Caroline Bingley had spent the evening hoping to make Darcy jealous by hanging off Richard. Of course, the joke was on her. Richard needed a well-dowered wife, and Darcy did not. If she paid Richard that much attention in front of the wrong sorts of people, she would give rise to such an expectation that Richard would be honour-bound to request her hand. Bingley would have to accept it no matter how much Caroline fought it.
Darcy smirked at the thought. If it were not for the fact that he would hate to saddle Richard with such a shrew and that he would hate even more having one in his family, the idea would be comical and have merit.
“I saw that, Darcy!” Richard said too happily. “What caused that smirk?”
“Do you really want to know?” Darcy said with a small smile.
“Anything! This is the dullest evening I’ve ever spent here!”
“I imagined your marriage to Miss Bingley.” Darcy’s smile widened a fraction at Richard’s reaction. He turned red, and his mouth dropped open.
“Now, see here—”
He was interrupted by Bingley. “He’s lying to you, Richard. That would never make him smile. He would never want Caroline in the family. He has unyielding views about the sorts of people you attach yourself to through marriage.”
Immediately, Richard’s face swung back to Bingley, ready to pounce on such news. “What was that? Bitter about old Darcy’s interference, are you?”
“Never mind,” Bingley said as he peered into his now empty glass.
Richard hopped to his feet to refill it. “Chin up, boys. It is almost Christmas! There is no reason to be so glum!”
“Richard, you must marry for money, but are there other things you consider?” Bingley asked. His pupils were dilated, and his cheeks flushed as Richard plied him with more drink. “Never mind. You’re an earl’s son; of course, we must be different.”
“Not as you would think,” Richard said and crossed an ankle over his other knee. “A wife’s income would make life easier, it’s true, but not impossible. All I care about is her character. She could be born in a barn for all I care about relations and connections.”
“That is because you have both,” Darcy said. He saw Bingley’s hopeful look, but his friend had been correct earlier when he considered that his background in trade was a far cry from Richard’s family.
“Oh yes. What excellent relations and connections they are!” Richard said in a sarcastic tone. “When did you last visit our darling aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh? Who, despite marrying only a knight, is the most pompous and condescending prat I’ve ever met, and I’ve spent years around generals who know nothing about battlefields but were appointed because they complimented another man’s cravat.”
“It is true you cannot control relations, and distance does ease some of the evil of vulgarness.” Darcy stressed the word hoping Bingley would see that the evil of marrying Jane Bennet was compounded by Netherfield’s proximity to Longbourn. Although he rather thought Mrs. Bennet would follow her daughter and wealthy son-in-law anywhere.
“I hate the game of connections. That is exactly what I meant about the stupid generals. Oh, Winterbourne once had a conversation with Doncaster who dined with Brummel who was friends with Prinny.” Richard sighed in disgust. “What use is the honour of your word as a gentleman if you can give it to recommend a person so freely without really knowing them at all? You should know better, Darcy.”
Bingley looked between Darcy and Richard, evidently confused, but Darcy understood Richard’s words. There were two points Richard made. One was the sore matter of his father’s godson, George Wickham. Wickham had coasted through life on the recommendation of his godfather, who was never close enough to see Wickham in his unguarded moments and understand the real personality of his favourite. Likewise, upon Darcy’s visit to Hertfordshire, he learned that Wickham had bought a lieutenancy in a militia. This meant that some gentleman had recommended him. Darcy knew that whoever the man was, he had been duped.
“If you have so little standards,” said Darcy, “then why are you not already married?”
“I could ask you if all you need is good family and connections why you are not as well,” Richard returned.
Indeed, Darcy had thought over that question more than ever in the last several weeks. What was he waiting for if not Elizabeth Bennet’s unique mixture of wit and kindness? He had met a hundred ladies with materialistic considerations.
“I have only wanted to find someone who loved me,” Bingley said, sounding like a lost, sad boy.
Darcy would find it pathetic if it did not save him the problem of having to reply to his cousin.
“That can come later,” Richard said. “I would settle for me loving her.”
Darcy bit back a groan. Bingley’s head shot up from where it had been focused on his feet. A slow smile crept across his face.
“If you only want character and do not care about money or standing, then Darcy and I know a whole host of women.”
Darcy had squeezed his eyes shut but could hear the smile in Bingley’s voice. No, no, no. He was about to say it…
“Indeed?”
“Yes, in Hertfordshire. Near the estate I am leasing.”
“Forgive me since I am a military man, but I would think it would be best to learn more about the estate by residing in it longer than a few weeks. Should you not go back?”
“You know, I was just thinking the same. How am I to learn how estates are run in the winter if I am not there for it? I think I must return for Christmas. You are welcome to come along, Richard. I doubt Darcy will desire to return.”
“Forgive him. He’s very busy, our Darcy,” Richard said with a smirk. Bingley was like putty in his hands.
“I think you might hit it off with Miss Elizabeth Bennet, actually.”
“I will come!” Darcy said more forcefully than he had intended. Eagerness and anxiety were evident in his tone as he considered Richard playing suitor with his Elizabeth.
Richard only raised his eyebrows. “Thank you, Bingley. I will check with Command, but I believe I can leave the area for the holidays.”
The clock in the hall chimed the time, and Darcy had never been more thankful to hear bells ding in his life. He shot out of his chair, intent on racing back to the drawing room to avoid conversation of the Bennets and Hertfordshire. As the bells continued, however, he grew dizzy. By the time they reached seven, he felt himself falling and twisting. He braced for a hard impact and the pain that would follow.
Ding Dong Merrily on High
Meanwhile at Longbourn
December 23, 1811
“Cousin Jane, will you read me a story?” Cassandra Gardiner, eldest child of Edward and Margaret Gardiner, asked. She had been selected from among her siblings to journey to Longbourn to visit her relations for Christmas.
“Cassie, Jane needs rest. Sit by me, and I will tell you a story while I braid your hair for bed,” Elizabeth Bennet said to save her sister.
Jane had never been so depressed before, and Elizabeth was positively alarmed at her beloved sister’s low spirits. Cassie was a good girl but so pleased to be with her older cousins that she overwhelmed them with questions and attention. Jane was the only one nice enough to be stuck with Cassie most of the day, and Elizabeth now sought to give her reprieve.
“I’m waiting,” Cassie said as she wiggled closer to Elizabeth, who tugged on the child’s unruly curls with a brush. “Ouch!”
“I am sorry, dearest. Now, let’s see. Christmas is only two days away. Do you know the story of the Bells of Christmas?”
“No,” Cassie said, turning her head to grin at Elizabeth.
“Keep your head straight,” Elizabeth said as she gently moved the child’s head.
“Considering you made up the story for your sisters, it would be difficult for Cassie to have heard it before,” Jane chuckled from the nearby bed.
“True. Gracious! Do you recall how angry Mother was with me for making up some story that Kitty requested nightly, and yet it was not in any of the books in the nursery? Mama could never get all the parts just right and hated it when Kitty went around ‘shrieking at the top of her lungs,’ as Mama said.”
Jane laughed in earnest, and the sound warmed Elizabeth’s heart. “No one could do it like you.”
Elizabeth smiled and sighed fondly. “Fortunately, you, Cassie, are older than Kitty was when I made up the story, so I do not think you will act so silly over it.”
Cassie straightened and said in a prissy voice, “Of course not! I am the sensible daughter. For silliness, you must consult Eleanor. And I wish you would call me Cassandra.”
Elizabeth and Jane shared an amused look. Lord help their Aunt Gardiner, for Cassie was beginning the trying years early. With
any luck, their youngest sisters, Kitty and Lydia, were coming out of them.
“Pass me the ribbon please, Jane,” Elizabeth said and racked her brain to remember how the story began. “It’s about a boy who was the bell ringer at his church. He could hear the bells ring in Heaven on Christmas Day. Ding dong! Ding dong!” she exclaimed in a very theatrical voice, which caused Cassie to laugh.
“Angels filled the sky. They sang,” Elizabeth took a deep breath and boomed in a false operatic voice, “Gloooooria, Hosanna in Excelsis!”
When she had finished, Elizabeth turned pink from the exertion and needed to catch her breath.
Cassie was stunned and silent for a minute. “Why do they always think the angels speak in Latin?”
“Well...I’m not sure,” Elizabeth confessed, put out that Cassie seemed unimpressed with her theatrics.
“And I don’t think there are bells in Heaven.”
Elizabeth sighed. She had never worried about the logic of her story, and Kitty had been much easier to please, it seemed. “The boy was strange; he only spoke in rhymes.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Cassie said.
By now, Elizabeth was certain that little Edward, who could not yet speak in full sentences, was her favourite cousin by far. Exasperated, she continued, “Pray you dutifully chime, your matin chime ye ringers. May you beautifully rhyme your evetime song, ye singers.”
Elizabeth stood to sing the final line, and Jane joined her, grinning. “Gloria, Hosanna in Excelsis!”
“Come, Cassie. Join us,” Jane said and held out a hand.
With a sigh that reminded Elizabeth too much of Mary, Cassie slid off the bed and took Jane’s hand. “Gloria, Hosanna in Excelsis!”
“There, now it’s time for you to go to bed,” Elizabeth said.
“But I want to stay up!”
“Your mother said you could stay up late tomorrow,” Jane said in a soothing voice.
Cassie frowned. “I will have to go to bed early on the other nights while everyone else goes downstairs to enjoy supper. Lydia is only a few years older than me!”
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