It was an intimate Christmas Eve gathering of friends at Andrew Carrington’s London flat. Isabelle presided over what everyone agreed was a truly noteworthy holiday feast, the Christmas Pudding receiving particularly high praise.

After dinner the guests gathered around the piano to sing traditional holiday songs. Andrew and Isabelle performed “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming” as a duet, moving some listeners to tears. There was also tree trimming, during which each guest received a personalized crystal ornament as a memento of the evening.

Later, as people were milling around in groups of two or three, sipping eggnog or mulled wine and taking in the view of Russell Square through Andrew’s front window, Liam grabbed a sprig of mistletoe and began making the rounds with it. A couple would be approached, the mistletoe brandished and a holiday kiss exchanged. Never one to miss an opportunity for mischief, Liam would playfully throw an arm around the heads of especially mismatched couples to further prolong the most awkward of kisses. While the partygoers were in sheer delight with Liam’s madcap maneuver, perhaps no one was more overjoyed than Lord Buckley who found himself quite stuck to Lady Hensley, a radiant socialite 25 years his junior. The humor seemed to have been lost on Lady Buckley.

From the balcony outside, Andrew and Isabelle delighted at the gleeful merriment within. Enveloped by crisp December air, and lightly embracing each other beneath a stunning canvas of stars, Andrew ever so gently began to whisper. With his lips nimbly touching her ear as he spoke, Isabelle allowed herself to be as swallowed by his warm bursts of breath, as she was by the very words he spoke. Smiling softly and gazing deeply into Andrew’s eyes, she spoke the words he so longed to hear.