Read Online Christmas With Mr Darcy by Victoria Connelly - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Victoria Connelly
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over chunky logs, giving a homely feel to the grand room. Each table setting had the new white crockery edged with gold, bright silver cutlery, one crystal glass for water and a ruby-red one for wine. There was a cream linen napkin and an elegant cracker in emerald and gold and there were candles everywhere – snow-white and slim in silver candelabra and great fat red ones were lined along the fireplace.
Sparkling glass platters were piled high with oranges studded with cloves which scented the warm air, and there were pomegranates, grapes and pears, heaped and polished.
‘Are we meant to eat those?’ Mia asked Sarah.
‘I wouldn’t dare,’ Sarah said, envisaging an avalanche of fruit if one so much as poked a grape.
‘What’s it going to look like on Christmas Day itself?’ Mia said.
‘Well, we don’t have long to find out,’ Sarah said.
Mia smiled. ‘I still feel so awful leaving Will and Gabe to come here.’
‘And Lloyd,’ Sarah said.
‘But I guess they’ve got to get used to life with a Janeite,’ Mia said. ‘We do need these little treats every now and then.’
On the other side of the room, Cassie lay in an old-fashioned pram which her doting Aunt Pamela had bought her, and Robyn and Dan sat either side of her.
‘I will never get over how beautiful Purley is,’ Robyn said to Dan. ‘Do you ever get used to it?’
He shook his head. ‘It’s something you never take for granted,’ he said. ‘It’s like a daily gift.’
Robyn nodded. ‘I don’t ever want to leave.’
‘You don’t have to,’ he said and they smiled at each other as if they’d already been given the best Christmas present in the world.
Benedict, who was sitting beside Robyn, looked at the pair of them and chuckled. Young love, he thought, remembering the time he’d leapt into marriage and leapt straight back out almost as quickly.
After dinner, a hush descended as Dame Pamela stood up at the head of the table. She was wearing a dress in royal blue and had a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings dangling from her ears, the stones as large as birds’ eggs.
‘And now, I have something I’ve been dying to share with you,’ she announced. ‘It’s a little Christmas present I bought for myself and I couldn’t wait a moment longer before telling you about it. You might have read about it in the news. It came up for auction in September although the buyer wasn’t named in the press.’
Everybody started whispering madly around the table. What could it be? It couldn’t possibly be what they thought it was. Or could it? They waited in hushed anticipation as Higgins handed Dame Pamela a gift wrapped in bright gold paper with a thick crimson ribbon tied around it. Dame Pamela slowly untied the ribbon and unwrapped the hidden gift.
‘It’s book-shaped,’ Rose whispered from the end of the table. ‘I know a book at fifty paces.’
The guests leaned forward, necks craning to get their first glimpse of whatever Dame Pamela had bought at auction. Jackson Moore’s eyes were out on stalks and Sarah was drumming her fingers on the linen tablecloth in anticipation. It couldn’t be, could it? That’s what everyone was thinking.
Sure enough, as the final fold of gold paper fell away to reveal a protective layer of fine tissue paper, they saw a book – or rather three books - but they weren’t just any books – they looked old. About two hundred years old.
‘It’s the first edition!’ Roberta screamed and everybody gasped, instantly knowing she was right. It would have been a very poor Jane Austen fan who hadn’t heard of the auction at Sotheby’s in September where a rare first edition of Pride and Prejudice had been sold to an anonymous bidder for a little under one hundred and eighty thousand pounds. And here it was, in this very room, in front of them, breathing the same air as them. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy – the first edition . The first book that had been sent out into the world to find
Sparkling glass platters were piled high with oranges studded with cloves which scented the warm air, and there were pomegranates, grapes and pears, heaped and polished.
‘Are we meant to eat those?’ Mia asked Sarah.
‘I wouldn’t dare,’ Sarah said, envisaging an avalanche of fruit if one so much as poked a grape.
‘What’s it going to look like on Christmas Day itself?’ Mia said.
‘Well, we don’t have long to find out,’ Sarah said.
Mia smiled. ‘I still feel so awful leaving Will and Gabe to come here.’
‘And Lloyd,’ Sarah said.
‘But I guess they’ve got to get used to life with a Janeite,’ Mia said. ‘We do need these little treats every now and then.’
On the other side of the room, Cassie lay in an old-fashioned pram which her doting Aunt Pamela had bought her, and Robyn and Dan sat either side of her.
‘I will never get over how beautiful Purley is,’ Robyn said to Dan. ‘Do you ever get used to it?’
He shook his head. ‘It’s something you never take for granted,’ he said. ‘It’s like a daily gift.’
Robyn nodded. ‘I don’t ever want to leave.’
‘You don’t have to,’ he said and they smiled at each other as if they’d already been given the best Christmas present in the world.
Benedict, who was sitting beside Robyn, looked at the pair of them and chuckled. Young love, he thought, remembering the time he’d leapt into marriage and leapt straight back out almost as quickly.
After dinner, a hush descended as Dame Pamela stood up at the head of the table. She was wearing a dress in royal blue and had a pair of sapphire and diamond earrings dangling from her ears, the stones as large as birds’ eggs.
‘And now, I have something I’ve been dying to share with you,’ she announced. ‘It’s a little Christmas present I bought for myself and I couldn’t wait a moment longer before telling you about it. You might have read about it in the news. It came up for auction in September although the buyer wasn’t named in the press.’
Everybody started whispering madly around the table. What could it be? It couldn’t possibly be what they thought it was. Or could it? They waited in hushed anticipation as Higgins handed Dame Pamela a gift wrapped in bright gold paper with a thick crimson ribbon tied around it. Dame Pamela slowly untied the ribbon and unwrapped the hidden gift.
‘It’s book-shaped,’ Rose whispered from the end of the table. ‘I know a book at fifty paces.’
The guests leaned forward, necks craning to get their first glimpse of whatever Dame Pamela had bought at auction. Jackson Moore’s eyes were out on stalks and Sarah was drumming her fingers on the linen tablecloth in anticipation. It couldn’t be, could it? That’s what everyone was thinking.
Sure enough, as the final fold of gold paper fell away to reveal a protective layer of fine tissue paper, they saw a book – or rather three books - but they weren’t just any books – they looked old. About two hundred years old.
‘It’s the first edition!’ Roberta screamed and everybody gasped, instantly knowing she was right. It would have been a very poor Jane Austen fan who hadn’t heard of the auction at Sotheby’s in September where a rare first edition of Pride and Prejudice had been sold to an anonymous bidder for a little under one hundred and eighty thousand pounds. And here it was, in this very room, in front of them, breathing the same air as them. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy – the first edition . The first book that had been sent out into the world to find
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