Christmas Fete

by Barbara Miller

  “Should we announce your engagement during the festivities? People will hear of it soon enough.”

  “Please don’t. I keep hoping something will happen to prevent it, the earth will crack or a violent storm will blow the two of us away from here, never to return. I want to be with you, only you, always. Life with Ophelia will be living a lie.”

  She smiled at his fantasy. “And yet you are bound to honor your generous impulse.”

  “I don’t want to. I only offered because I had never met anyone like you before, never met you, who seem to be the only like-minded soul I have ever found on this earth. You understand me.”

  “I am in the same case. I never thought about marriage until I met you, someone who actually cares, who takes me seriously.”

  He took her in his arms and kissed her, the heavy coat falling to the floor. If only this moment could go on forever. He could imagine their future life, lose himself in it, but then she dipped her head with a sigh.

  “I am so glad we did that at least once,” she said.

  “How bad would it be if I cried off from the engagement?” He whispered the question into her hair, hoping she would be as tempted and weak as he felt.

  “Would it overset her completely?”

  “There is no saying, but I should have told you before.”

  “Before what?” she whispered.

  “Before I fell in love with you.”

  “Or I with you. Let us weigh our options. Should you trade a lifetime with the wrong person to save your honor?”

  “I must at least talk to Ophelia, find out how she views the situation now.”

  Dinah stepped back from him and looked up with a spark of hope still in her eyes. “Watching her with George, there is a chance she has been charmed by him. They are perfectly suited. He needs someone to take care of and she needs to be cherished.”

  “Whereas I would rather have an independent woman, willing to take charge and make decisions.”

  “I have been thinking how perfectly matched we are.” She drew back from him and picked up his coat. “It therefore follows that there should be a monumental impediment in the way of our happiness.”

  He hated the way she was acknowledging the obstacle of Ophelia as though she deserved to have her happiness trampled. “The reason for my offer, their homelessness, no longer exists.”

  She handed him his coat. “And yet Mary Ann is packing.”

  He felt stunned by this news. Mary Ann must know of the engagement and plan to remove to his house with her daughter before the wedding. That seemed strange to him and would not look well even with the chaperonage of his mother.

  Dinah went out and shut the door. When Richard followed he discovered she had not fled to her room in tears. It was so like her to simply resume direction of the placement of the decorations. She had awoken expectations in these servants and in the surrounding populace and she would not disappoint them.

  Richard returned home with part of his mission unaccomplished. Yet a weight had been lifted from his heart. He had hurt Dinah but she had understood. What had she said—that everyone she ever knew had betrayed her in some way? He needed to catch Ophelia as they went into church and make his case for canceling the engagement.

  * * * * *

  The better part of the invitations had been accepted. When Ophelia and George returned they were gay and bright eyed as though they had been frantically running in pursuit of happiness. Mary Ann went to her room without supper and Dinah spent some time with the cook and butler going over last-minute details for the fete the following day. Their dinner that night consisted of sampling some of the recipes for the feast. Then she changed her clothes to a black velvet dress and cloak.

  It occurred to her that she could speak to Ophelia, but she knew she should not. Whatever was between the girl and Richard had to be settled between them. Besides, she could not say anything without putting a crashing end to her brother’s happiness as well. Perhaps they could live in this dream world at least until the holiday was done. Time enough then for reality to crush them.

  The carriage was at the door, but George never attended church, and that might be why Ophelia had declined. Mary Ann was keeping to her room anyway. It was just Richard, his mother and Dinah.

  The church music was so beautiful she felt sad for anyone missing it. Her heart still fluttered when she looked at Richard, but she was slowly schooling it into peaceful slumber. No one need ever know how much she loved him, except Richard. No one need ever know how much he loved her.

  But she reminded herself that all was not lost. It was the season for miracles. She hoped some angel would smile on their plight and put things right.

  Richard and his mother declined to come in for tea when they returned her to Hammersmith Hall.

  She sat down in the drawing room and reached for the teapot. George had come in but she needed to get this evening over with and get to bed. She saw a pile of letters on the table and one in her father’s hand. She almost spilled the tea in her haste to open it.

  “What is it?” George asked.

  “The post, but this is Sunday.”

  “Yes, we brought it from the village yesterday but I forgot and left it in my pocket.”

  “A letter from Father. How could you possibly forget to tell me about it?” She broke the seal and unfolded the page, mastering the short note quickly.

  George poured his own tea. “I was distracted. What does he say? Making excuses for not coming, I assume.”

  “No, he is coming, says he should have come himself in the first place.”

  “As though we have done something wrong?” George dashed a hand through his hair. “That is very unhandsome of him.”

  “But we have simply followed his instructions and I shall remind him of that if he is not pleasant and courteous to everyone.”

  George flopped into a chair. “I’m glad you will take the brunt of it. I hate it when he gets into a towering rage.”

  “I’ll handle Father. He has much to answer for.” She folded the letter and reached for her cup, then glanced up at laughter from somewhere else in the house. “Where is everyone?”

  “Giles and Freddy are in the billiards room.”

  “Where is Ophelia?”

  “In her room. She got very weepy after talking to her mother after dinner. I hope she has not upset my angel.”

  Dinah bit her lip at the word angel. She did not think Ophelia would be the rescuing angel she had hoped for. Then she realized how selfish she had been for the first time in her life. She’d been thinking only of her happiness and Richard’s. If Ophelia insisted on keeping to the engagement, George would be desolate. Perhaps Mary Ann had prodded the girl toward making a choice. That might be good or bad.

  Tomorrow could be shaping up toward just such a social disaster she strove to avoid, with her father as the loose cannon in the whole mess. She’d already been afraid something would go wrong with the celebration at the last moment. Now she would have to tell Mary Ann her father was coming after all.

  “I hope Mary Ann doesn’t decide against the fete,” she said halfheartedly. “Perhaps it would be better if she put her foot down and forbade it.”

  “She has no power to stop it. I dislike that she made Ophelia cry.”

  Once again Dinah took herself to task. Had she once considered Ophelia’s dilemma? She seemed just a child and now must make the most important decision of her life. It did not bode well for love if Mary Ann was able to influence her daughter. “Why would she do that? The poor child has little enough happiness.”

  “I plan to marry Ophelia and take her away from here. Do you think she’ll like London?”

  Dinah forced herself to smile. “Why wouldn’t she? But wait until after the confusion of the holiday. You don’t want her to be overexcited and faint, even if it is with joy.”

  George nodded, put down his cup and left the room.

  A woman of courage would have warned her brother what pitfall awaited him,
but she had seen his expectations crushed so many Christmases, she could not be the agent of his unhappiness this time. Perhaps Richard would be able to talk Ophelia out of the engagement. Come to think of it, why had Ophelia led George on when she was already engaged?

  Chapter Five

  Monday, 25 December, 1815

  Richard appeared the next morning to feast with them on Cook’s seed biscuits and to help with last-minute plans. He appeared not to have slept at all.

  Mary Ann stood as soon as he entered the room. “Richard, is your offer of a home still open?”

  Richard choked on a crumb. “Of course, but what—”

  “I shall then repair to your house before the guests arrive. I am still persuading Ophelia that it won’t seem odd for her to live there before your marriage, because my presence will make it unexceptionable.”

  George let his knife clatter onto his plate and stared at the three as though they had gone insane. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh dear.” Ophelia stood up, went white and fell just as George leaped to catch her.

  Mary Ann ignored her daughter completely and turned to a stunned Richard. “I will order the carriage if George has no objection.”

  “To go for the doctor?” George asked as he held Ophelia from a kneeling position.

  “To leave.” Mary Ann turned on her heel and exited the room, leaving George with the limp Ophelia in his arms, staring helplessly at Dinah.

  “George, Richard did tell me, but we hoped Ophelia would release him from the engagement.”

  Richard came forward as if to take his burden. “I should have told you, George.”

  George picked up Ophelia, turned his back on them and kicked the door open himself. “One of you should have told me. I meet the love of my life and lose her in less than a week.” He tenderly carried Ophelia toward the stairs as though she were dead and he was mourning her.

  “Will he be reconciled to this?” Richard sat beside Dinah at the breakfast table.

  “I’m not sure. His usual reaction when thwarted is to ride off on a dangerous horse.”

  “So he really is in love with her?” Richard jiggled an empty cup in its saucer until she snatched it away and poured tea into it.

  “I just hope that she is also in love with him.”

  “Won’t your father have something to say about such a match?”

  “To someone like Ophelia? A few tears and he would be at her feet. By the way, he is coming.”

  “Henry is coming?” Richard looked vacantly toward the open door that gave onto the great hall, and the fragrant aroma of Christmas greens drifted in, counter to his dark mood. “I have no idea what that means for any of us.”

  Dinah had been absently drawing on her list for the day and he recognized his profile rendered in a few swift strokes.

  “You are quite the artist to draw my likeness so quickly.”

  “I draw you briefly. In a week I may be back in London, never to see you again. In fact if you are married to Ophelia, it would be prudent if we never see each other again.”

  He reached for her hand and stilled it on the paper. “Do not absolutely give up hope.”

  “But the choice is not ours. We have no control over anything.”

  “Normally that would be exciting. In this case it is terrifying. I must at least speak to her, try to convince her it would be ruinous for us to marry.”

  Dinah nodded and stared at his hand until he withdrew it. “Shall we proceed with the day and tell the company Ophelia is indisposed?”

  “Letting them assume her mother is nursing her?”

  “We do think alike. There is still much to do.”

  “I suppose it’s too late to cancel.” He gazed out at the servants and young men arranging targets on the lawn. It was cold but they were all bundled up and the sun and exercise would keep them warm.

  “We will certainly not do that after awaking so much expectation. Do you imagine this is the worst social disaster I have suffered?”

  His gaze went back to her and he could see the hint of a smile on her face. She was looking back at an old hurt that through the lenses of time seemed humorous now instead of mortifying. “Tell me.”

  “There was this time Papa invited everyone of our acquaintance to the house to show them the mural I painted on three walls of the drawing room. It showed the finer buildings and gardens in London. They admired it mightily until I told them I did it myself. Half did not believe me and the other half proclaimed it not a fit occupation for a young lady. I was never so close to a temper in my life. In fact my brother did lose control and threw someone out. Father was incensed.”

  “Such bores are not worth the passion it takes to hate them.”

  “No. I put all my passion into my art now.”

  Richard drew an unsteady breath. “Until now.”

  “Until now,” she agreed.

  “I will find a way out of this. I don’t care if we have to elope.”

  That did draw a smile from her.

  * * * * *

  Midway through the morning, her father arrived in his traveling carriage. When he came up the walk he appeared wary as though he were about to be attacked by pirates.

  “Where is Mary Ann?” he asked as Dinah reminded him that he already knew Richard.

  Her father looked surprised, then shook Richard’s hand and pulled him into a hug.

  “She is staying with my mother. Possibly she will return with her today.”

  With that news, Lord Hammersmith was content until the noon meal began the fantastic feast Dinah had planned. Those who arrived early either tested their skills on the lawn or came into the great hall to marvel at the decorations.

  The servants had moved all the tables into the hall and strung them together. There were forty guests for dinner and the babble of excitement never abated as the string of carefully orchestrated dishes were marched in and served.

  Then her father became the affable host, always choosing the best wine for each course. Dinah had forgotten about dinner wine so she was pleased he found a way to make a contribution to the gaiety. It appeared that inheriting the title did much to make the neighbors all forget the old scandal. Either that or the wine. Soon he had them all pleased with him.

  George slipped into his seat after the meal had started.

  “How is she?” Dinah whispered.

  “Sleeping, finally.” George leaned across Dinah to speak to Richard. “You cannot marry Ophelia.”

  “I don’t want to marry her,” Richard whispered desperately.

  Richard’s mother, on his other side of the table, held a finger to her lips.

  George leaned back. “Then that solves it.”

  Dinah shook her head. “If only it were that simple.”

  George sent her a look, half-pleading, half-deranged. “I have told her how much I love her.”

  Dinah empathized with how he felt and was trying not to show her own desperation. “You can do no more.”

  After the meal, the younger set went outdoors to compete for prizes in the lists and the couples went to glide about on the frozen lawn. Even the oldest neighbors came out for a time to watch the sport.

  The impromptu skating pond led to much laughter, with couples trying to hold each other up and not always succeeding. Once the ice was too cracked for skating, the pins were set up. Betting and merriment ensued over the way the balls rolled out of control. Frequent trips to the bonfire kept their hands warm.

  Eventually the older gentlemen retreated inside to the billiards room and the ladies to the sofas around the farther fireplace. The younger set gathered by the bonfire in the yard to warm up and drink hot cider from the kettle there. It was almost empty by the time the winter sun slipped away, and all rushed indoors for the dancing.

  Magically the tables and benches had been moved to the side of the hall and the musicians had set up on the end nearest the front door. They began to play some lively tunes that would normally have set Dinah’s feet tappin
g.

  George came inside with his friends, giving a good imitation of enjoying himself. When no one was looking he slipped upstairs rather than to the dance floor. Dinah decided to follow him and met her father coming down with his coat and gloves on.

  “Where are you going? The dancing is just starting.”

  “To talk to Mary Ann. I should have done so years ago.”

  “I have no right to ask this but I need to know if you still love her.”

  “What?”

  “You broke your engagement to her. Knowing you, I can’t believe you did that willingly.”

  He stripped off his gloves, took her hand and rested his on top of it. “You have every right to know, having put up with me all these years. I did not break the engagement. Her father demanded that she break with me because I wasn’t the heir. Apparently he and my uncle had negotiated a marriage between her and Rupert without telling them.”

  She smiled and embraced him. “You were not the one to go back on your word but you took the blame and the scandal for it upon yourself.”

  He shrugged. “It was the least I could do. But like an idiot I called her a coward. That was not well done of me. I owe her a very belated apology. I just hope she will come back to her home.”

  “You do not have to answer my original question. She was your first love.”

  He pulled her down to sit on the steps beside him. “My calf love. We would never have suited. Odd how something you conceive a tragedy turns out to be for the best in the end. Mary Ann had no spirit of adventure. The day I met your mother I realized I had been spared making the biggest mistake of my life.”

  Dinah could not stop her tears. “You loved Mother, only Mother.”

  “Yes, silly girl. If you had been older when we lost her, you would have remembered that.”

  “But you never speak of her and you avoid Christmas like the plague.”

  “Another mistake of mine. Why should I poison the season because that’s when I lost her? I should remember what we had.”

  “It will be different from now on, that is if George gets to marry Ophelia.”

  “Yes, I have heard about nothing from him except the fair Ophelia. He sounds smitten.”