George stood stock still, unsure of what to do. Was he supposed to follow her? Did she need space? Did she not love him after all and had only said yes to spare his ego?
“Go after her, you idiot!” Edward yelled.
“Kiss her if you find mistletoe,” Prince Friedrich said, and added with a rakish grin, “and kiss her if you don’t.”
That was all the encouragement he needed. George ran out of the room and saw Drina at the end of the China Corridor. He ran toward her, darting in between members of the royal family. Why did there have to be so many of them?! He very nearly ran into Queen Victoria. He stopped short and bowed low to the Queen. Leopold and Arthur took the opportunity to grab each of George’s arms.
“Give us a ride on your back, Lord Worthington,” they begged in unison.
“Later,” George said. “My word of honor.”
He pulled away from the boys to find himself blocked by Prince Louis and Princess Alice. Her arms were folded across her chest. “What have you done now?”
“Nothing,” he said in exasperation. “It was Edward.”
“What did Edward do?”
George huffed impatiently. He didn’t have time for this. “He asked her if she fancied me in front of all our friends.”
“And what did she say?” Princess Alice asked, examining his face.
“Yes. She said yes,” George said, raking his fingers through his hair. “Then she shoved me and ran.”
“And do you fancy Drina, George?”
More than anything.
“He does,” Prince Louis said from her side.
“Of course I do!” he practically yelled in frustration.
Princess Alice stepped aside to let him pass. “You’d best catch her, then.”
George sprinted down the China Corridor, but Drina was already gone. He opened the door to the Octagon Dining Room, where his father was sitting at the table drinking port with several gentlemen from the Foreign Office.
“What are you doing now, George?” his father rasped from the head of the table.
“Looking for mistletoe,” George said as he ran back out of the room.
He turned down the short hall that led to the State Dining Room. Several servants were still clearing away all the dishes from dinner, but there was no sign of Drina. He sighed and kicked over the closest chair and cursed. His big toe throbbed in pain. A male servant picked the chair up and set it right on all fours.
“Have you seen a lady wearing a blue dress?” he asked the servant.
“Yes, my lord,” he said slowly as he bowed to George.
“Where did she go, man?” he demanded.
The servant pointed to the Crimson Drawing Room. George limped-ran into the Crimson Drawing Room. There wasn’t even one person in the entire room. He wanted to yell and kick another chair despite the bruise already blooming on his right foot.
He limped through the seemingly endless red room until he reached the Green Drawing Room—which was also empty. The only sign of life was the light flickering from the gas lamps. The Green Drawing Room was as green as its name suggested—the walls were green and the furniture was green. The room was also decorated with large green boughs and green mistletoe. And even the curtains were green.
Except … one.
George saw a bit of blue material on the side of one of the emerald green curtains. He exhaled in triumph. He walked quietly until he reached the curtain and pulled it back. Drina jumped in surprise.
Acting on Prince Friedrich’s advice, he pulled Drina into his arms and without so much as a word, he closed his eyes and bent down to kiss her. His lips brushed the soft velvet curtain and he stumbled forward, hitting his forehead on the glass window.
Drina ducked around him. “Haven’t you made a fool of me enough already today?!”
“I didn’t do anything,” George protested. “It was Edward.”
She seemed to consider this. “But you didn’t stop him when he asked the second time. All you did was smile at me.”
He gulped. “I admit … I wanted to know. I needed to know.”
She threw up her hands. “Everyone already knew.”
“But I didn’t,” George said, “and I can be a bit of an idiot.”
“You did just kiss a curtain.”
“Fair,” George said. He stepped closer to Drina until he could feel her skirt brushing against his pant legs. He gulped again. “I love you, Drina. I think I’ve been in love with you for years, but I was afraid of ruining our friendship … There is no other person in the world that makes me feel the way that you do.”
“Well, it’s about time,” Drina said, smiling so beautifully that George loved her even a little bit more. And before he knew it, her arms were around his neck and she was pressing kisses all over his face. George finally regained his senses enough to place his hands on her waist and pull her closer to him. She leaned back to look him in the eyes.
“I never got to give you your Christmas present,” he said.
“It had better not be any body part of a boar,” she warned.
George shook his head slightly and reluctantly removed one of his hands from her waist to pull the golden brooch out of his pocket. It was shaped like a rose with a scroll across the top with MIZPAH engraved on it.
She took the brooch from him. “Mizpah?”
“It’s a protective talisman for friends or lovers when they’re apart,” George explained.
“Are we friends or lovers?”
“Both … I hope … because you’re my dearest friend and I’m madly in love with you.”
“I’m in love with you, too, George,” she whispered.
Drina was so close to him that he could feel her breath on his lips. He placed his right hand on her neck and guided her mouth toward his, careful to keep his eyes open until their lips met. He didn’t want to miss and kiss the curtain again.
When his lips finally met her soft ones, it felt like Christmas magic—warm, sparkling, and wonderful.
Much too soon for George, they returned to find their family and friends singing Christmas carols. Princess Alice and Prince Louis looked happy as they sat side by side on the piano bench while her fingers danced over the ivory keys to the melody of “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing.”
George joined in singing loudly. He squeezed Drina’s hand and inclined his head toward the piano. “Why aren’t you singing?”
Drina smiled at him and his heart jumped again, but she shook her head. Drina never sang in public. He watched her eyes travel around the room to where her parents sat on a sofa. Princess Rothfield and Lord Rothfield were holding hands and singing—George could hear Lord Rothfield’s voice because he was entirely tone deaf.
His own mother and father sat nearby. George was surprised to see his father rasp out the words “Glory to the newborn king!”
George’s mother actually smiled at him, giving him a rare nod of approval. Like Edward, she must have guessed his feelings for Drina.
Prince Friedrich was the only one besides Drina that wasn’t singing—he probably didn’t know the words to the English carol. He was standing awfully close to Lady Clara. For a moment, George contemplating warning him about Lady Clara’s propensities near mistletoe, but then he thought better of it. He watched Prince Friedrich put his hand on the small of Lady Clara’s back and he looked like he wouldn’t mind being caught by her underneath mistletoe.
Bertie and Lady Hyacinth were singing and standing so cozily together that it looked like they didn’t even need mistletoe as an excuse.
“Joyful all ye nations rise;
Join the triumph of the skies.”
Princess Alice played the last note and smiled at Prince Louis.
Princess Rothfield stood up. “Drina, where have you been?”
Drina turned bright red and shrugged. She seemed unwilling or unable to speak.
So George began to sing loudly, “We wish you a Merry Christmas …”
Drina, who never sang, joined in off-key for the second: “We wish you a Merry Christmas.”
By the third repeat, Princess Alice started to play the music to the song. George had never liked the princess more than in this moment. Lord Rothfield stood up by his wife and started singing. Princess Rothfield shook her head and tsked before joining in, too. Then one by one the other people in the group began to sing with George and Drina. And finally, the whole room sang together:
“Good tidings we bring
To you and your kin;
Good tidings for Christmas
And a happy New Year!”
George put his arm around Drina’s shoulders and she leaned her head against his—it was definitely going to be a very happy New Year.