A Christmas Cotillion

mildly flirtatious blonde he was half-expecting.
She was pretty in a quiet, neat-featured way. Her hair was indeed light in colour, but tidily arranged, rather than the glowing halo Freddy had fervently described and her manner and attire were similarly modest.
Having continued to observe her in the few days they’d been there, he was less and less certain of Freddy’s mother’s anxieties that her son’s good nature was being taken advantage of by a designing girl on a husband hunt.
In fact, the relative who was accompanying her, much as Jonathan was Freddy, seemed a great deal keener to push her young charge towards Freddy than the young lady was herself. Jonathan was starting to consider whether Belinda found Freddy’s demonstrations of affection a little overwhelming.
She had not responded with unbridled eagerness to Freddy’s enthusiastic entrees. She smiled politely but was the same with Freddy as she was with the other young men in the party. There seemed to be no partiality towards him. Jonathan reckoned that behind that rather delicate, youthful appearance was a sensible person who knew her own mind.
As he turned and stepped with and twirled his young dance partner, he made a mental note to find some way of getting Belinda alone to discover her real feelings, without any interruptions from her chaperone or Freddy. The dance ended with a flourish from the musicians and he bowed politely to the now happily flushed girl and gracefully handed her on to her next dance partner, glad for some respite.

Chapter 2
It was fortunate that, due to his age and single status, he didn’t belong to any specific group and therefore could be a flexible guest for his hosts. Especially since he was an extra man who had almost invited himself rather than received an official invitation and yet had been greeted with nothing but warmth.
As this evening had shown, he was still young enough to partner a left-out young lady at dancing but also able to join a more weighty discussion with the older gentlemen, which he did now, glass of wine in hand.
Although he was content to do his social duty, he mused that these days, he was more inclined to fall into conversation with his fellow landowners about crop rotation or field drainage than to join in with the noisy games of charades or impromptu amateur theatricals of the younger guests. When did that happen? This thought raised a rueful smile.
However, one of the advantages of being naturally au fait with his elders meant that the youthful damsels of the party regarded him in an avuncular way. He would much prefer that than them setting their caps at him. Sweet and delightful though all of them seemed, they also behaved much like his young nieces in the schoolroom and that made him feel positively ancient.
There was also the very carefully hidden fact that young ladies, in general, were not to his taste at all. Not that he would dream of hinting at his attraction to his own gender in present company, he thought with a wry grin. Causing an outrage and getting arrested wouldn’t help Freddy’s cause at all. But to be honest, he hadn’t felt the urge to express his desires for some years, not since…
His mind shut down on that notion automatically, cutting off the train of thought with accustomed control. Without a pause, he added his opinion on the depth required for field-edge ditches to provide proper drainage.


Chapter3
After another couple of days of conviviality, Jonathan got his chance for a tête-à-tête with Belinda to discover her true opinion of his love-struck cousin. As the day was dry and bright, a walk to a local beauty spot to gather greenery to decorate the house for Christmas Eve had been suggested, for those so inclined.
As expected, the party was divided into those who, together with the children of the house, wished to climb a nearby hill in order to tumble down it and those who merely wished to ramble in the fresh air, enjoy the vista, and gather the holly and ivy. So the company split naturally into small groups.
Belinda’s companion, who was rather stout, elected to stay on a grassy clearing after the short walk and was joined by several others who were not keen on over-exertion, ostensibly to sort and organise the gathered greenery into piles.
Belinda, armed with a basket and scissors, was walking slightly behind a straggle of several people, so it seemed merely courteous to catch up with her. As they talked, they turned to follow a pretty, winding path that cut them off from the others. Belinda spotted a relatively low hanging branch with berried holly and Jonathan assisted her, holding down the bough within reach for her while she snipped at it.
In this relaxed setting, Belinda chatted naturally with him about her home life and their new acquaintances here. As he held down the tree-limbs for her and they discussed which boughs were suitable to collect, he realised that, as he had guessed, she was not socially awkward, just reserved.
He noted that the fact they were having a practical conversation without any edge of flirtation seemed to make her much more comfortable in his company. Definitely a sensible girl, Jonathan thought as they placed the chosen seasonal branches in the basket.
Such was the ease between them that he hesitated to bring up the subject of Freddy lest she retreat into shyness. However, his cousin’s voice, loudly hallooing as he ran down the nearby slope, intervened neatly.
They both burst out laughing at the gleeful sound. Jonathan rolled his eyes. “Freddy is obviously being a great help with collecting the decorations,” he said.
Belinda smiled at him without constraint. “I don’t think anyone minds. He is always so lively and brings a sense of fun to every activity.”
“He does indeed,” agreed Jonathan, “and he has always been that way. I remember him shouting in sheer high spirits like that when he was ten years old. Nothing changes.” He smiled as he handed her the