He Sings a Love Song As We Go Along

[Adella Calendar]

Event Date, December 23rd, 1884

Della's brain was a little fuzzy as she walked through the snow-covered square with Mr. Calendar, Mrs. Haynes in tow. This was meant to be a lovely little outing, and it would be, if she could get her head out of the clouds and into the conversation. She was trying so hard to keep herself in the present but it was harder than she would care to admit now that Shay was home. But she had to push it aside and enjoy her day. The fact that her first flame was home and very much staying with them should have no impact on her day out with Philip. It would be incredibly horrid of her to be poor company when they'd planned to meet today and she resolved to forget everything else for the moment.

"Oh look, they're doing sleigh rides! Would you like to go?" The interest was clear in her voice as she pointed to the nearby horses through the crowd with a wide smile on her features. The little festival in Irvingly was really delightful, full of so much cheer and fun little things to do. Dell pulled her cloak a little tighter against the breeze and refocused. A sleigh ride through the hollow would give her time to come back down to earth. Without the crowd and all of the distractions, she could give Mr. Calendar her full attention.

Without mentioning anything to Mrs. Haynes, Della subtly nudged Mr. Calendar toward the sleighs, the line for rides was short and the wait couldn't take that long! "This is quite the little festival." She commented, looking around again with a smile. It warmed her heart to see that the event was catered toward the less fortunate and was also including the muggles that inhabited Irvingly. It was nice to see the kids running around with such bright smiles on their faces and thoroughly enjoying themselves when they otherwise might not get such a change to enjoy something like this!

@Philip Calendar

  

[Philip Calendar]

If he did not know any better Philip would have thought he had done something wrong thus far on their little outing. He could not think what it might be but Miss Beauregard - Adella, he now thought in his head - had been notably less animated than she usually was and he had been rather bothered and beguiled. Things seemed to have been going rather well and to think that he might have somehow bungled it up without even realising what he was doing have been most upsetting, luckily it now seemed as though it had been a temporary difficulty!

He followed her gaze towards the sleighs and immediately smiled at the sight. Why, what a romantic sight they would cut amongst the snow and in a sleigh and Philip felt himself immediately reached into his pocket for the few knuts it would likely cost. He had never been to Irvingly before, never having found any cause to be in the partly muggle town before but he was pleasantly surprised by the place: it was almost as charming as Hogsmeade but there was a freshness and energy about Irvingly that appealed to Philip greatly. Places like this were the future for men like him, he was sure of it!

“Indeed it is, and quite the town! Everything I've seen of it so far has been delightful although most places are at this time of the year.”

Idly he wondered how much cheaper the land would be here. Probably quite a bit from everything he had heard and that cheapness might allow for him to found a shop of his very own, as he had always hoped to do, and then to build a house for-

He blushed and tried to focus his mind back into the moment.

“Will your family all be with you for Christmas?"

  

[Adella Calendar]

As they came to a stop at the end of the short line for the sleigh rides, she idly watched Mrs. Haynes nearby and wondered if the woman would come or if the driver of the sleigh would count enough for a chaperon. Probably not, she figured, but also assumed the widow would sit up with the driver and not be staring herself and Philip in the face while they were enjoying the ride.

Regardless, Della focused instead on Philip as he spoke. She rather enjoyed thinking of him on a first-name basis though would never dream of doing so aloud. Not yet anyway. She was determined not to let anything else mar her day out. Whatever was going on at home could just stay there for her to deal with when she returned. Right now, she was going to enjoy herself. "I'm so very glad they decided to hold something in Irvingly, I haven't been previously." The town itself intrigued her and Dell took a moment to revel in the fact that their conversations always flowed without any issues. She'd begun to grow very fond of Philip over their visits, though she dared not get too far ahead of herself; she was not the most lucky when it came to love. "I would quite like to visit again, I think. When the weather is warmer and wandering the town wouldn't be so chilly!" Dell added with a flash of a smile.

Managing not to tense up at the mention of family, Dell knew very well it was an innocent and appropriate question. "Yes actually, everybody is home! My father should be home by the time I arrive back and he is the last one. We even have a surprise visit from my brother-" She realized how strange that must sound, given that Philip probably didn't know about Shaymon, but did know about Bentley's passing. "I say brother, Shaymon was a ward of my mother's when we were little, he grew up with us, but he's been traveling for a few years. He and Bentley were very close, so he's always been like a brother." His return had most unfortunately been harder than she wanted it to be, though she needn't let on about that. "And you? Will you be spending the holidays with family?" It was much easier to turn the question back on him than to answer it any further.

  

[Philip Calendar]

“I daresay I’d struggle to avoid it,” he quipped wryly as he thought of what deity would have to intervene to prevent his mother from hunting him and his brothers to the ends of the earth if they attempted to miss a family gathering. She wasn’t a bad woman by any stretch, at least not in Philip’s opinion, but her capacity for leaving her sons be was not vast! “My mother will want us all there bright and early no doubt and my brothers will no doubt once again try to invite themselves to lodge in my house!”

He breathed a sigh of relief when Mrs Haynes, who he found perfectly cordial if rather in the way given the circumstances, climbed into the front of the sleigh with the driver. Bless the woman for at least being in possession of some tact! He had never walked out with a young lady before of course so he had no idea of what the etiquette was when it came to chaperones joining you in sleighs but he was happy to see it was an agreeable compromise!

He was intrigued by the thought that Adella had not been here before either and rather pleased to think of them seeing the land for the first time together. It was almost as though- No, he told himself with a small smile at his own eagerness to think of a long planned future with a young lady that was no longer simply a blurry figure of his imagination and was now in possession of the most pleasing visage he could ever have conceived!

“Allow me,” he held out his hand to help her into the carriage, smiling gallantly and rather wishing he had thought to take his gloves off.

  

[Adella Calendar]

The smile that lit up her features was probably bordering on lunacy and she knew it, so Dell tried to tone it down a little bit. She accepted the assistance into the sleigh as gracefully as she could muster, given heaving skirts and a cloak weighing her down, but once she was settled she left plenty of room for Mr. Calendar to join her. Thankfully Mrs. Haynes seemed more than content to place herself with the driver of the sleigh, which worked very well for Adella. Today was exactly what she'd needed to clear her mind a refocus on the positive things in her life.

"I'm sure it's lovely. Preparing for visitors can be a bit of a nuisance, but once they're there I always find it nice to have the company." When she knew they were coming, though that amendment she kept to herself in an effort to keep those thoughts from the forefront of her mind. "Do you have a lot of brothers?" Dell realized she didn't know much about Philip's family, though she knew the opposite was probably not true; she tended to ramble about her own when given the chance.

Finding herself rather cozy at the moment to boot, she was able to stay in the present, perfectly content, despite the little bit of a shiver that ran down her spine. Merlin it was a bit chilly today! Her smile widened as the sleigh started off through the snow. "This is positively enchanting." She sighed happily, pulling the sleigh's blanket to cover her skirts a little bit and keep the breeze from freezing her toes right off.

  

[Philip Calendar]

Sitting as close as he was now, which was no closer than when they had danced before of course but somehow seemed so much more thrilling when they weren't obliged to be in constant movement and he could be at his leisure in observing his companion. He remembered quite clearly the winter of the previous year, meeting her in the park and quite how beautiful she had looked with her eyes bright and her cheeks slightly tinged with pink from the cold air, and through this terrible summer he had clung to that memory to sustain him, small though it was.

Now he was here again, and considerably closer to the young lady in question, he promised himself he would endeavour to see her through more winters yet. But he was rather at a loss as to how to accomplish that. The long term goal seemed a great deal simpler than working out what he was supposed to say or do in the here and now: should he ask Adella whether she would object to him courting her properly, or should he ask permission from her father? The man was back so there was no better time but surely it would be for nothing and seem rather rude if he ask Mr Beauregard before he asked Adella, and she rejected the notion.

“I have two,” he said, rather distractedly as he looked around, beguiled by the sight of couples everywhere he; some with young children and a nanny in tow, some young, some old, some holding hands and some arm in arm and looking comfortable. It was as if they had sprung from nowhere to add to his nerves!

“But they’re not important at the moment,” smiling gently he reached over to cover her hand with his to gain her full attention. “May I speak honestly?”

  

[Adella Calendar]

Very content to both ride in silence and chat as they went, Dell was relieved to just have the time to enjoy herself and her company without having to worry about anything else. The scenery was just breathtaking, the trees and land covered in white, ice clinging to branches. It was calming and she smiled to herself, registering Philip's answer to her previous question, though turned to look at him when he took her hand.

She flushed automatically at the intimate gesture, though hoped that the already pink tinge to her cheeks would hide it. Certainly they had been spending an increasing amount of time together and she was thoroughly enjoying it, but the serious tone to his request made her both nervous and hopeful at the same time. It had been a long while since they first met and Dell had been hoping it was moving in a positive direction, if a bit slow. Things had been tough though, this past summer had put a damper on quite a bit and then Lucinda's wedding, it was hard to find time for herself, let alone being available to see Philip.

"Please do." She replied slowly, blue eyes finding his. Holding her breath, she had to hope this would be a good thing, but tried to keep the look off of her face, just in case. She had always worn her heart on her sleeve, but she could keep things to herself if she really tried.

  

[Philip Calendar]

In that moment his stomach decided to do battle with his heart for which could feel the more fluttery but Philip tried his best to overcome the sudden onslaught of nerves that seemed to have shoved their way to the surface after dwelling there simmering. Adella at least didn’t seem too unnerved by his taking her hand, which he could only assume was a good sign! Oh Merlin, how was he to know? How on earth had he lived to the age of thirty-seven without having the slightest idea how to declare himself to a young lady?

His brothers would surely think him a joke, but they were the furthest things from his mind at the moment and he took a steadying breath that he hoped wasn’t too obvious. The back of his thumb moved across the back of her hand without his even noticing.

“I can’t quite think of how to say this, but I shall try,” he managed a small smile. “I would never forgive myself if I weren’t to at least try for your sake.”

He breathed again and decided that even if he sounded ridiculous, at the very least he needed to be honest.

“The time we have spent together over the last year has been the most…” Pleasant? Joyous? “Wonderful of my life and I only hope you don’t think me and old fool for thinking that. I… Would you permit me to begin courting you formally?” He swallowed and decided he was a fool and must surely sound as such. “That is, might I call you Adella and call upon you more often?” He ended hopefully.

  

[Adella Calendar]

Patience was a virtue and Della had plenty, but as Philip started she felt like she was going to burst with anticipation. She squeezed his hand when he paused, hanging on every word, the contact of their hands the only thing keeping her from floating away. Dell held her breath, waiting for him to continue, positive her heart was going to beat out of her chest.

Flushing in earnest when he spoke again, Dell's smile grew with every word. It took all she had not to squeal in delight when he finally said what she'd wanted to hear. Taking a deep breath of her own as he finished, Dell's smile was soft, but eager and she tried to form her excitement into the right words. Giving his hand another reassuring squeeze, she placed her other hand atop his. "I would only think you a fool for choosing me," She turned her blue eyes up from their joined hands to his handsome face. At this rate she thought Elsie might marry before she did, but it seems the worry had been in vain.

"But, I would like that very much." More than like, she would absolutely love it. Now her smile was broad and fearless, unable to hide just how immensely excited and happy she was. She caught an approving smile from Mrs. Haynes and nearly laughed.

  

[Philip Calendar]

The smile that came upon his face could have lit up every one of the lamps that adorned the muggle street, his joy being more powerful than any artificial source of brilliance that could be produced. He laughed disbelievingly, bringing her hand up to kiss the gloved hand with any part of his lips that wasn’t lost to the exuberant smile that overtook them.

“I do believe every other man must have been a fool not to choose you Adella.”

His heart was racing although Philip wasn’t convinced that it hadn’t been from the moment he realised that the best moments of his life were spent with the agonisingly beautiful woman before him; he felt momentarily overwhelmed by the relief that flooded through him. He still felt disbelieving – it was impossible surely that such a young lady, one that could fill the senses of any man in the whole world, would allow his bungling attempts. Adella deserved only the finest of men, the sort that would take her the world over, show her wonders, make her smile forever, and for the first time Phil saw a possibility – not just a dream he had longed for – that he might be that man.

“I cannot tell you how gloriously happy that makes me!”

To think she would allow the attentions of an old fool like him! He squeezed her hand and lowered it from its tempting position, casting a glance towards the chaperone and smiling at the woman in turn.

“I only hope I will be up to the task of making you the same.”