Magical Christmas

Nobody spoke for another few minutes. They waited for the parents to absorb all facts and ponder in their own considerations.

"We shall visit your home then," Finally her father spoke.

Nancy entered the room with Lord Gerard behind her. What a perfect timing.

Everybody stood up as The Baron came to shake her parents' hands and introduced himself. He beamed at Rebecca and shook her hands too, evidently treating her as a daughter already.

"You both met?" another surprise came to Claire's eyes.

"Yes, in school and a couple more times when we dated...," Rebecca answered, hesitating for a while. "In the library," Nathan provided the well-rehearsed answer.

"Yes, Nathan here loves to go to the library, unlike his brother who likes to spend time in recitals," The Baron chuckled, following the scenario without fabricating their hobbies. The brothers grinned, boyishly embarrassed by the share of information at the beginning of the conversation. He was a well-respected guest though, so everybody responded to this remark with courteous nods.

"Lord Gerard, we heard you are retiring," her father opened the discussion.

"Very soon I'm afraid, my bones are brittle now, and Nathan is ready to replace me in my office. The business world is no place for an elderly like me, younger generations have sharper minds," this was pure honesty. They nodded understandingly.

"Is everything alright, Lord Gerard?" Claire asked. She was trying to learn about the effect of their bullet on him

"Yes, I am just too old. I have been wishing to retire, but the boys have not found a suitable heiress yet. I can't afford leaving the business to crumble in the hands of a stranger lady. But I see this young lady here radiates sincerity, my Nathan chose well," His affection evident in his eyes. Making her parents secretly gloat in pride. Lord Gerard was well-known for his good reputation, not many people would want to harm him because of his clean generosity; except for Rebecca's parents, due to a past misunderstanding. They knew, however, that becoming related to him was an honor.

The conversation turned into discussions about the arrangements after the wedding. Nevertheless, this whole afternoon, all of them agreed on maintaining the current security measures except in each other's premises. Nathan proposed that the escorts he and Rebecca get would be from her parents' side, for their peace of mind. As long as her parents didn't withdraw these security guards, he would not use his own, for the sake of gaining their trust, and ensuring their daughter's safety. Lord Gerard and Patrick, however, would still be escorted by Nathan's trusted guards.

Forgetting all about the awkwardness and past dispute, the group filled the room with warmth and cheerful chattering.

"As you all may know, you will be the first extended relative I have since my own family had long left this world, bless their souls. I am now old and desperate to retire. So what say you, Thomas, we'll rush their wedding to earliest date?" For the last half an hour, Lord Gerard was already on first name basis with her father, and quick to penetrate the situation and propose this plan.

Thomas blinked once, clearly not expecting such a blunt proposal to be thrown on the first day of introduction. The old man must be really desperate to marry their children. He felt honored, but the idea of a rushed wedding was strange. His daughter deserved a proper wedding, not an urgent one. He lifted his eyebrows in confusion, "Surely you could enjoy a half year of saying goodbyes to your counterparts in business?" It was a bit tricky but bore a hint of timeframe.

Nathan and Rebecca looked at each other. A fear escaped her eyes. If Nathan's last spill of seed was actively imbedding her right now, she might be heavily pregnant by the time of the wedding, and everybody might notice the improper conduct. Besides, half a year was impossibly too long for them to avoid sex. She had needs too, her urges for him had been endless.

Lord Gerard was more experienced in controlling his expression, and luckily all the attention was directed to him. He just chuckled and lightly answered, "That's what I've been doing the whole year. There is practically nothing else I look forward to. I need Nathan in the office, not myself. Besides, I am now 70, mind you. And the lovebirds are definitely ready to tie the knot, look at their eyes, what more do we have to wait?"

"So... you are saying... less than half a year...?" Gapping, Claire asked, darting her eyes between her husband and Lord Gerard. Clearly not ready for such a shock. There would be too much to prepare.

"Your daughter will still be your heiress, nothing changes, and I will not demand anything except for her love to Nathan. They are free to move around between my house and yours, it is up to them. But my doors will always open for them," The old man's eyes glinted a hopeful desperation for the wedding to come true. His sincerity was obvious. Nathan had known that the marriage would mean him to spend lesser time with his beloved god-father, but that was a small matter compared to her happiness. However, Rebecca had just realized that. She looked up to Nathan and searched for a hint of hesitance in his eyes, but was glad to find none. She didn't want to separate the family anymore, but she would not abandon her own either. Nathan squeezed her hand and said, "Don't worry, these things can be easily arranged, following your preference".

"But... But the wedding arrangement...," Claire still seemed confused and unprepared.

"We will hire a reputable Wedding Organizer; I will cover all the expenses for the celebration and preparation. I must insist to pay everything, because I cannot delay my retirement any longer," his eyes still smiled at her, fragile and hopeful.

"It is hardly about the finance, Lord Gerard. Oh Good God, do you know about this, Sweetie? Are you sure you're ready?" Claire observed her daughter's face, searching for reassurance. The men took mental note to erase this part off of their mind, in respect of her parents.

"Yes, Mother, Father. I don't mind a simple wedding, as long as it is Nathan I'm marrying. " She looked happy, exchanging looks of love with Nathan. Her parents took speechless minutes trying to accept the fact. Thomas was quicker to recover; he turned his puzzled expression to Lord Gerard.

"So you're saying... less than half a year?" a surprise still overcame his expression.

"How long do you need to inform your relatives?" the old man challenged him.

"Well, they are not all in one country, but informing them shouldn't be hard, it's just that they weren't properly introduced to you. The sudden Wedding would surprise them and... and it is ... sort of... well... " He lost words.

"Spare the formalities. We can throw an engagement party; inform all your relatives, invite them over, they may ask me questions all night, I don't mind. I want everybody to know this couple as my successor. Your place or mine, your choice, it will be on me." The old man looked more relaxed now with the imagination of their relatives and colleagues meeting together for Christmas, and the beautiful surprise among them would be about this holy matrimony.

Rebecca's parents looked at each other, and then their daughter. She looked hopeful and happy.

"You've known him for one year?" Thomas demanded reassurance.

"More, Father. I don't want to tell you before we are certain," she reasoned.

"You are certain now?" His voice full of wisdom, encouraging her to tell the truth.

"Otherwise, I wouldn't introduce him to you. He had been dying to meet you," the couple looked at Claire and Thomas hopeful now.

"I see..." Everybody allowed her parents time to ponder in silence.

"I'm sure it is lovely, Dear, but please excuse us for a while, I need to speak to my wife outside in private," Thomas excused themselves out of the room, dragging his wife behind him. Lord Gerard nodded.

Nathan patted on Rebecca's hand, "You've done well. Are you good?" She nodded. He laid back onto the sofa and squeezed her shoulder in his arm. She felt the tension somewhat reduced at this comfortable position. Patrick and Lord Gerard did not move all the while, waiting for Rebecca's parents to come back to the room.

As soon as they were back and settled in front of The Gerards, Thomas opened, "Forgive us, Lord Gerard, this was rather unexpected. Lovely news, but we still have to get used to it yet. Just precisely how many months are you proposing again?"

"The engagement party could be anytime you want. But I am keen on legitimizing their marriage as soon as possible, and I hope that can be done within no later than 2 months. I implore you to consider delaying them no longer because there really isn't a need to. With a reliable Wedding Organizer, you don't need to do anything besides sending invitations to anyone you like. Shall I offer you... 400 cards? Would that be enough?"

Their eyebrows lifted in imagination of conducting such a big celebration in less than 2 months time. Their mind raced considering this urgent proposal.

"Well yes, but... 2 months..." Claire was still dazed.

"We have been talking about it for half a year now, Mother, so basically you don't have to prepare anything, really, we took care of all the preparation and will meet all your demands. All you have to do is invite the relatives," Rebecca tried to assure her. Indeed, they had prepared everything and had a shortlist of vendors. Rebecca reached out into her handbag and gave a copy of the list.

"The couple did it themselves. Even I know nothing except signing cheques. As per my request, they are waiting for your approval to confirm on a booking of hotel venue. If I recall correctly, there won't be available venue before June except for 29th January. What's the list of dates again, my dear?" Lord Gerard referred to Rebecca.

"We can pick anytime around January 29th, February 17th, 25th, or March 13th. But we would prefer the weekends, so with your consent, we will confirm the booking on either January 29th, or March 13th. Any longer than that, there is no venue available until June."

"Wow, honey, you've done all this research without our knowledge?" Claire asked her daughter.

"As I said, Mother, I don't want to inform you until we are very positive of everything and ensure that you would not be troubled in the preparation."

"Nonsense, Sweetheart. You could've consulted us. You know we are always open to everything."

"Yes, but really I don't want you both to get troubled. It was a tedious research, and we enjoyed doing it together, didn't we, Nathan?" She threw a proud smile at him, the later nodded and smiled back.

"Our relatives don't have to volunteer if they are not ready, Mother. We can hire professionals for that, we took care of everything, really."

"Yes, all you have to do is send out invitations, give us feedback or comments, and go for fitting," repeating her, Nathan's gorgeous smile was directed towards Rebecca. It was hard for Claire to say no to that.

Lord Gerard chuckled, "See, they both are independent enough. I was intrigued when Nathan first proposed this plan to me too, and that was no earlier than 2 nights ago, really. But I strongly support this wedding, and hope they could gain your consent too."

"We just want them to be happy too, really," Thomas admitted.

The parents felt it hard to accept the sudden news, but found no excuse to delay the wedding date. They read over the list of vendors, and found that everything was already well-prepared in good hands. The couple didn't seem to need an additional Wedding Organizer, but they could use an extra assurance.

"Well then confirm for the January 29th, Honey. And we don't need an engagement party, it is not part of our tradition, but our relatives will all be here for Christmas. I suppose that's when we will introduce your family, Lord Gerard," Claire stated out her consent finally, it was the last seal of agreement they all needed. Thomas nodded, indicating that this was already part of their private discussion earlier.

Rebecca and Nathan felt the whole burden had been lifted off. Claire and Thomas soon realized this happy fact of their daughter getting married to a reputable Baron's heir, ending the bleak past of unnecessary hatred. Everybody stood up to hug and pat each other. The family bond was created with peaceful resolution finally. In hopeful overlook towards the future, they spent the entire evening with a newfound merriment and hearty dinner.

Later that night, after the dinner, Lord Gerard sat on the dining chair, resting his back against the comfortable cushion, sighing contentedly at the scene in front of him. Peace, happiness, and warmth, this was all he ever wanted in a family. Rebecca had said that they had a big family, and he looked forward to experiencing one. This Christmas would be the first he experienced with such peaceful mind at last. A peaceful Christmas he'd experience, embracing his past-enemy, finally reunited in holy matrimony of pure love. It would be the most magical Christmas he'd ever have, after all these lonely years.

Yes, this would uniquely be the happiest and most peaceful Christmas they ever have, Claire felt it too, exchanging looks with him and realized that the old man wished for the same thing, sincerely. This was truly a magical season they had never expected before.

***** The End *****

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