The last few days of November are upon us and, with Thanksgiving complete, Christmas preparations are taking over. That’s not to say the shops waited until this week to put up their trees and garland. Heaven forbid! Where I live in Canada, the home improvement stores decorated the trees and started playing carols in late September. My thoughts on this are best summed up in the immortal words of Ebenezer Scrooge: Bah, humbug!

Don’t misunderstand, I love Christmas and all it represents. In my humble opinion this is the most important time of the year, for a few reasons. First, I fondly remember the Christmases of my youth, with six brothers and sisters gathered around a tree piled high with presents. Those were magical celebrations and simpler times that, to be honest, I miss more each year.

I treasure my memories of Christmas with my wife and four children. Our first celebration was a small gathering, consisting of me and my very pregnant wife, who would give birth to our first child, a son, less than three weeks later.

Of equal, or maybe even greater importance to me is the fact that with Christmas comes lengthening days. I am not a fan of winter and confess to an extreme dislike for the lack of sunlight and cold winter temperatures, so I look forward to the winter solstice and the longer days that come with it.

But, as I said, I love Christmas. People seem happier and quicker to lend a hand or answer a comment with a warm smile. To celebrate this wonderful season, we decided to collaborate on a short Christmas themed story.

We named it “Merry Mischief”. Why call it that? Well, in our story Mr. Collins left after Elizabeth refused his marriage offer, returning to Hunsford a beaten man(maybe). A parent’s machinations bring him back to Longbourn for Christmas and the promise of her change of heart. Of course, Mr. Collins is still the same insensitive twit, but in our story he is also willfully deaf.

A concerted effort, by many allies, is needed to rescue Elizabeth from what she probably views as a fate worse than death.

The first chapter debuts tomorrow, followed by chapter 2 on Thursday. The chapters will appear two per week over the next three weeks, with chapter six , which concludes the tale, posting December 15.

Our story includes all of the essential elements of a wonderful Christmas story: Drama, misunderstandings, comedy, a Christmas setting and, most important, a happy ending for all. And would you believe Lady Catherine plays a most important part?

Enjoy, and an early Merry Christmas!