As we say, Joyeux NoÙl!

[Adrienne Elkins]

Adrienne was far beyond excited as she waited to Mr. Elkins to arrive. A fire had been started in the large, stone fireplace in the parlor. Etienne and Papa were locked against once wall, engrossed in a game of wizard's chess. Adrienne was perched on the chaise lounge reading, one of Alexandre's hunting dogs up on the furniture with her, his large, wolf like head resting in her lap. Where Dimitri and Felix had wandered off to, she was not sure...and she was slightly frightened by that prospect.

She had dressed to impress in a lavish dress she had bought especially for Christmas. It was dark, royal green in color, cut close to her tiny figure with a plunging neckline to show off her delicate collar bone and chest. The back of the skirt was full and layered, the color setting off her alabaster skin, dark hair, and dark eyes. She had meant it that way. She did want to look her best after all.

She looked up from the book she was holding only occasionally, only when the silence was broken by one piece destroying the other near where her father and eldest brother were huddled. She would roll her eyes and look back to her book, her free hand idly stroking the wolfdog's head.

She was getting anxious, but she was fighting not to show it. She had stopped reading her book quite a while ago, and for now was just listening to the clock tick. Waiting...watching...hoping....

  

[Roderick Elkins]

Roderick couldn't help the excited feeling in his gut. He felt, for some reason, that tonight would be the night that he told her. She had invited him to spend Christmas Eve with herself and her family and had even requested that she spend lunch with him on Christmas Day. Things were looking up for him and he could almost confidently say that she was fond of him. He quite liked her as well, but he did not allow himself to think much of her. It was a business deal, he reminded himself, nothing more.



The springer spaniel puppy that he held in his arms had yelped when they had apparated, but neither had been splinched. It squirmed like no other and Roderick could feel himself getting annoyed. The red ribbon that had been tied around its neck was loosened and no longer resembled a bow. At least it smelled nice, Roderick thought as it scrambled all over him in an attempt to be let down. At least the dark silver suit he'd chosen for the occasion wouldn't smell like dog. The deep plum vest he wore underneath had little white hairs all over it, but at least he didn't stink.



He transferred the wriggling puppy to one arm, and knocked on the door. The puppy took that moment to make a break for it and managed to slide out of the man's grasp. It hit the ground running and plowed into the pile of snow next to the walk, sending a spray of white into the air. Roderick swore under his breath and quietly tried to call it out, but it happily ignored him and proceeded to roll around ecstatically.



"You little-" He started to curse, but the door opened just then, throwing warm light over himself and the puppy playing in the snow.

  

[Adrienne Elkins]

Adrienne had nearly jumped out of her skin when there was a knock on the door. If it weren't for propriety, she would have jumped up and ran to open the door herself. But she did not want to look too anxious to see him and make a fool of herself. Both her brother and father looked up from their chess game and towards the door of the parlor for a moment before going back to their match.

The sharp, black shoes of their butler clicked across the wooded hall floor going to the door. Adrienne sat stiffly as the door was opened, practically able to imagine the scene in the foyer.

Their butler, dark haired and blue eyed, in his black suit, opening the door sharply and speaking in a heavily accented voice. "Thank you for joining us, Monsieur Elkins."

She imagined that Roder-Mr. Elkins was dressed to the nines and sixes in a perfectly tailored suit, probably holding some sort of gift in his hand no matter how much she had demanded he not bring one.

She heard the butler's voice once more. "Won't you come in?"

She immediately sat up straighter in her seat, adopting a look of poise and sophistication. Her eyes were half lidded as they scanned the page, one hand resting on the wolfhound's head and the other holding the book carefully.

  

[Roderick Elkins]

The butler answered the door crisply and invited him inside. The puppy stopped for a moment, curious to the newcomer. Roderick took the opportunity to lunge at the puppy, but he was just a second too slow. The spaniel dashed over the doorway, bumped into the butler's leg leaving a smear of snow, and then slipped and scrambled into the next room making a great ruckus of playful yips and growls.



"Blast!" He cursed a bit too loudly. After taking a moment to straighten his suit and brush the snow off of his shoes, he met the butler's gaze and stepped past him inside the house. The door was shut and he could hear the clanging and crashing of what was most likely something expensive and irreplaceable clattering to the floor, followed by a series of frightened barks.



Roderick had thought that the puppy would be a gift that she would adore, but now he was not so certain. If he ran about causing chaos he doubted that the de Marque's would find his gift to be very welcome. The woman he had bought the dog from had been very specific in not allowing him to return it. He would have to take it to his home if it were not accepted here, and that was something that he dreaded.

  

[Adrienne Elkins]

Adrienne looked up in surprise when, instead of Roderick's crisp, clean footsteps, there was a series of clatters and yips. She arched brow, the wolfdog in her lap lifting his head lazily. Both her father and oldest brother both lifted their eyes as well, turning to look carefully. Suddenly, a black and white blur came hurtling into the room, tiny paws sliding over the wood floor.

Adrienne was on her feet in seconds, a broad smile on her face. She bent at the waist, reaching her hands down to catch the frightened puppy before he collided with the couch or something equally expensive. "Bonjour precious." She spoke in a child-like voice, picking the tiny puppy into her arms and scratching him behind the ear. "How did you get in here?" She asked, smiling as a warm, wet tongue darted out to lick her playfully.

Only then did she notice something red, which she assumed used to be a bow, tied around its neck. She nearly squealed in delight, nuzzling the puppy gently. She could hear Etienne and her Papa's good-natured laughs at the squirming puppy, and the feet of the maid shuffling down the hall, using a quick spell to fix whatever the puppy had broken.

She knew Roderick was somewhere in the house, and she spoke loud enough for him to here. "Oh he's darling!" She called. She then moved out of the parlor to find him, puppy still in arms. Upon spotting him, a bright smile lit up her face. "Oh Mr. Elkins, I could just kiss you!"

  

[Roderick Elkins]

He passed the maid, who had already begun to fix the things that the puppy had broke. Roderick could hear the laughter of the male members of the family, and then he heard Adrienne's delighted voice. It was a relief to hear and to him, was the sound of acceptance. At least the pup would not be returning home with him.



Before he could enter the room where the pup had gone and presumably, where everyone else was, Adrienne found him. She was dressed in a gorgeous green gown, a color that he found looked beautiful in contrast to the color of her hair, eyes and skin. She held the puppy in her arms.



The smile upon her lips was worth the embarrassment of his less than gentlemanly entrance. Her remark was improper, but since it was only them at the staff, he figured it wasn't a big deal. A grin spread across his face, despite how much he tried to control it, "I am glad you like him, Miss de Marque. He gave me quite a bit of trouble on the way here. He seems to like you much more than he likes me."



The way her face lit up was worth every penny that he had paid for the dog. "He should be quite handsome when he grows to an adult," Roderick told her, pleased with her reaction to the pup, "His parents have won many ribbons and awards. He was the only one born, is what the woman told me. Should you choose to breed him, his pups will be worth quite a bit."

  

[Adrienne Elkins]

"He's absolutely darling!" She exclaimed, smiling as the puppy leaned up to lick her neck and cheek. She held the puppy with one hand and reached to scratch him behind his ear with the other. "I shall name him Adolphe, my noble wolf." She nuzzled the puppy with her nose, smiling happily as she did.

Behind her, a thundering came down the stairs. She turned her head to look, seeing Dimitri and Felix come bolting down the stairs, Dimitri in front. They all but slid to a stop for a mere moment, both grinning at her mischievously.

"We heard you say you could just kiss Mr. Elkins, Adri." Felix spoke first, a broad grin on his face.

Adrienne immediately flushed a bright red, holding the puppy to her. "It's just an expression." She mumbled, trying her hardest not to be too embarrassed.

Dimitri then stepped forward, taking the Spaniel puppy out of her arms. "Well, now you have a reason to." He taunted. His free hand pointed to the ceiling before he and Felix both dashed out of the room at top speeds, both calling a Merry Christmas back at them.

Adrienne was almost reluctant to look up and see what chaos they had caused. She exhaled hard before lifting her eyes to see what they had done...seeing the entire ceiling of the foyer coated in mistletoe. She swallowed hard, turning an even brighter red, not wanting to look back at Mr. Elkins.

She closed her eyes for a moment, still not looking down from the ceiling. "Forgive them, they love to cause problems..."

  

[Roderick Elkins]

Roderick found himself smiling as he saw the joy upon her face. It was quite something to be the cause of something so pure and wonderful as that. Indirectly, of course, but it was just the same. "Adolphe suits him," He told her affectionately. It was a much more noble name than one that Roderick would have thought up. Then again, the ones that he had thought of hadn't been the kind that he could say in front of her, much less in polite society. Adolphe was certainly the better option.



Suddenly two of her brothers appeared on the staircase above them and Roderick nodded politely to them both. They did not greet him however, and instead took to teasing their sister. Roderick did not have any siblings, nor had he had anyone like it, so he was not quite sure what to do. He watched as they ran off with the puppy and left a great field of mistletoe behind them.



Her embarrassment was endearing. "You needn't worry about it Miss de Marque, there isn't a law stating that you must kiss underneath mistletoe. It is only a tradition," He told her gently. Roderick did not want to push her to do anything that she was uncomfortable with, nor did he want to seem too forward. While he wouldn't mind a kiss, he certainly wasn't going to tell her so.

  

[Adrienne Elkins]

Adrienne finally lowered her eyes from the field of weeds above them, resisting the urge to find both of the brothers and strangle them. She should have known better than to even mention Roderick Elkins in their presence. She knew that this would happen, she shouldn't have said a word.

"Oh but there is with them. It's a challenge. I would bet money that they've bet money on what I'll do." She replied, closing her eyes for a moment before bringing a hand up to rub the bridge of her nose, trying to keep herself from retaliating out of irritation. From the parlor, she could hear Etienne's soft laugh accompanied by her father's barking one. No doubt Felix and Dimitri had revealed their prank to them.

She took a few steps towards him, swallowing back the nervousness bubbling in her chest. She could practically feel her heart thundering in her throat, though she was sure that her blood had stopped in her veins. She moved one hand up to rest on his shoulder, the other trailing up to rest on the side of his neck.

"If..." She stuttered before taking a breath and calming herself down. "If you don't mind, of course..."

  

[Roderick Elkins]

The stress that her brother's had placed on her was something he had not thought would happen over the holidays. He had heard that brothers often teased their sisters, and now here he was, caught in the middle of it. It wasn't as embarrassing for himself, however, but he figured it was embarrassing for poor Adrienne, who had probably never kissed a man before. (Roderick liked to think so at least, despite her rather seductive behavior at times.)



He listened to her reasoning and nodded sympathetically. Quite a conundrum she had. The man remained casual as he realized that her decision was to take the dare. At least it proved that she was not afraid of things, but it also proved that she could not resist a dare. It may lead to reckless behavior, he reasoned, but at least he was in control of himself. Nothing would come of the kiss except for perhaps, warmer feelings toward each other.



She neared him and put her hands on his shoulder and neck, and he placed his on her waist - where they might go if they were in a dance. It was not at all improper and even slightly formal (he hoped to relieve some of her embarrassment) and replied with quirked lips, "Not at all, Miss de Marque. A challenge is a challenge." Hopefully, she didn't find the thought of kissing him to be too challenging. If she were attracted to him - and he believed she was - then she wouldn't mind it terribly.



He leaned forward and barely brushed her lips with his own - his arms keeping her a respectful distance from him to preserve her reputation. The kiss lasted only a second before he straightened, his cheeks faintly tinted a rosy pink.

  

[Adrienne Elkins]

Adrienne felt her skin tense slightly as his hand found its way to her waist. She wanted to step a little closer, but she was almost afraid to, afraid of giving him the wrong impression. She tilted her head up a little more towards him, standing on the balls of her feet at he leaned in to her.

The minute his lips brushed hers, she was sure her heart exploded in her chest. She kissed him back carefully, though she wanted so much more. She had kissed only two men before him, but neither had been like this. A quick, heated kiss hidden behind a corridor or in the dungeons after class. But this was sweet and gentle, nothing like those that had left her gasping for breath and her lips bruised.

When he pulled away from her, she opened her eyes to look up at him. A blush had spread over her face, and she smiled sweetly up at him. She licked her lips before stepping away from him, trying to calm her increased breathing. "Well then." She spoke softly before looking back to the parlor. "Shall we?" She asked softly, forcing her breathing to finally return to normal and the blush to fade on her face until all that remained was a rosy glow.

  

[Roderick Elkins]

Roderick hadn't kissed a lot of women, to be honest. One didn't usually kiss a woman of the night, since that was generally reserved for women you were emotionally attached to. When he had been young, he had kissed a girl or two at Hogwarts, but he couldn't even remember what their names had been. One had been on a dare, and one had... well he couldn't even remember.



The smile on her face was one that he adored. It struck him with the realization that he liked her quite a bit - might have even been smitten with her, although he didn't want to admit it. "After you," He said with a grin, thinking that perhaps he ought to thank her brothers - whichever ones they had been. He was unable to keep her brothers straight. They all looked so similar to each other. It was something he ought to have paid attention to when being introduced to them, but Adrienne had been rather distracting.



He could hear the puppy playfully yipping in response to one of the brother's antics. It would have a good home here he thought, until it was to be moved to his own home. He was more worried about keeping Adrienne happy than her dog. Hell, she could have an entire collection of dogs and the only thing he would be worried about was her happiness... and that they didn't soil the house or chew on his furniture. Those kind of things were certainly not cheap.

  

[Adrienne Elkins]

Adrienne sauntered back into the parlor room, finding her oldest brother and father still engaged in their game and Dimitri and Felix sitting on the floor playing with the puppy. Only the latter two looked up, grinning like heathens.

"Hah! She's still blushing! You owe me twenty sickles!" Felix teased, turning to his other brother and holding out his hand. Adrienne was immediately flushed bright red again, desiring to hit them both with something big and heavy. But instead she turned her attention to the puppy playing with them, crouching slightly and calling to him.

"Adolphe! Where's Mama's handsome boy?" She spoke affectionately. Immediately the puppy darted away from her brothers and into her arms, and she scooped him up off the ground, holding him on his back like a baby. Only after playfully nuzzling him for a moment did she turn her eyes back to Mr. Elkins. "Thank you," She said with a soft smile before putting the puppy back down.

She moved to the drink cabinet as her father stood from his seat and left his game for a moment, moving towards their guest. An affectionate smile spread over the little French girl's face as Alexandre spoke, his lion like growl filling the room. "We were delighted to hear you would be joining us, Mr. Elkins."

From over at the drink cabinet, Adrienne spoke over her shoulder. "Can I fix you a drink, Monsieur?" Of course, her question was directed to her guest and no one else. As far as she was concerned, they had legs and could fix their own drink.

  

[Roderick Elkins]

The scene they came upon was homey. Roderick was not used to such alrge families. He had been an only child and his parents had died when he had been young. It wasn't often that he spent Christmas with anyone, much less a family of five with the addition of pets. He sent a meaningful look at the brother who had made the exclamation (was it Felix or Dimitri?). It was thankful and amused, but he quickly covered it as the head of the family approached him.



"I thank you for your hospitality, Mr. de Marque. If it were not for your dear daughter taking pity on what she has deemed my less than suitable holiday arrangements," He said with a slight hint of humor, "I would be quite miserable and alone." It was a nice change from his usual holidays he thought, to be somewhere with people who loved each other. He knew that it was only because of his expressed interest in Adrienne that Mr. de Marque had allowed him to visit. Roderick exchanged a look with him that meant that he had not discussed that incredibly important thing with Adrienne yet.



His attention turned as she offered him a drink. Finally, he could agree. The last time she had offered it to him, he had had to return to work later in the day and had been forced to drink tea instead. "Ah, yes please Miss de Marque. An ale, if you would."

  

[Adrienne Elkins]

A smile stayed on Adrienne's face as her father spoke, her chest tightening in affection. She did love her father oh so very much, enough that her own patrons took the form of a nickname she had for him, that 'big white lion'.

"Yes, little Adrienne's always been a bit of a social butterfly. She loves having company." Alexandre replied, his smile that was so similar to Adrienne's on his face. She turned her head only briefly to look at the two, her smile still on her face as she looked at the two of them. She then nodded, letting him know she had heard him.

She fixed his drink quickly, fixing another glass of brandy for herself before slinking back over to him. She offered him his glass before taking a seat back on the chaise. She looked over at the wolfdog still poised there and pointed to the ground.

The beastly animal immediately hopped down and went to lay at the foot of the chair Alexandre had, until recently, been occupying. She then dusted off the seat quickly of the little bit of hair left behind in hopes that Mr. Elkins would take the seat next to her.

  

[Roderick Elkins]

"Thank you," Roderick told her warmly as he took the glass from her, their hands brushing for a moment. He truly wanted to hold her and kiss her and touch that lovely curly dark hair of hers, but he knew that he could not. He needed to maintain the utmost control, not only for her, but for himself. Roderick was the kind of man who could not stand losing control. He needed things to be a certain way and often turned incredibly grumpy if they did not meet his requirements.



He watched her move away from him, a drink in her own hand. Roderick took a sip from his glass while the large dog moved to another seat. He supposed a little more dog fur could not harm him - he already had Adolphe's all over his deep plum vest. If he could be near to Adrienne, it would be worth it.



"May I?" Roderick asked with a small smile before he joined her upon the chaise. He sat a respectable distance from her, but not far enough to mark them as simply acquaintances.



He turned to her, his dark eyes bright as he spoke, "France is just as beautiful as you described it. I can understand your love for such a lovely country."