John Paul
is the youngest son of the infamous True Deverell and his second wife Olivia.
His youngest sibling is fifteen years his senior, so he has nieces and nephews
who are older than him and this has often caused "J.P." to feel left
out— an afterthought in the family.
As a boy
growing up, he was usually alone with his games and books, since the others had
little time for him and were seldom home. Eventually he decided he was better
off on his own in any case. He was used to it, knew how to cope for himself,
and didn't get entangled in other people's troubles. His mother tried to make
him polite and gentlemanly, but any attempt she made to involve him with
children his age simply made him feel awkward and even more different.
His father,
anxious not to "make a mess" of his last son too, decided long ago
that he had better let his beloved wife, Olivia, take the greater hand in rearing
this child, while he would take a more distant role. His first wife had been a
terrible mother, but Olivia was very different and he enjoyed seeing the special
pleasure her son brought to her life. For once, he thought, he could relax,
content in the knowledge that his second wife was a warm and loving mother. He
would not have to prevent this one from pecking her child to pieces.
But eventually,
as J.P. proves to be remarkably clever, plowing through his school and university
career with accolades aplenty, his father— who always wished he could have had a
formal education himself— finds it difficult to be close to his son. He fears
he has left it too late to make a connection, and that, while thinking to do
the best for his son, he has shut himself out. About his other sons, he knows
everything, for in many ways they are just like him. But when it comes to J.P.,
he knows almost nothing.
True Deverell is immensely proud of
his youngest son's accomplishments, but his well-meaning plan not to interfere,
has left J.P. thinking that his father has little to no interest in him. Occasionally
he secretly wishes he could be more like his rowdy siblings, if that might get
him some of his father's attention. But he's now thirty and has settled into
his role as the grumpy solitary of the family. At least he has not caused any
scandals yet, although, born with the Deverell name, he knows most people
have a preconceived notion before they've even met him.
He is
studious, somber, never reckless and not very sociable. Most of the time he
finds other people to be annoying and frustrating, their company largely
incommodious. Women have passed in and out of his life without making much
impression, but that's fine with him. He does not want to be involved too
deeply with anybody.
Females were, in general, hysterical
creatures; it was well documented. As engines ran on coal and steam, woman ran
on smelling salts, screaming fits and accusations.
He did not intend to commence the
cost of keeping one himself on a permanent arrangement at any time in the near
future.
His one
good friend, Jacob— dear to him since their schooldays together and, strangely
enough, the complete opposite in personality— died suddenly last Christmas. This
has left J.P. alone to run the business they started together and he has thrown
himself into it, sparing little time for a life outside work. Despite his plan
never to get entangled in anybody else's strife, he has also taken on the
responsibility of caring for Jacob's widow and children.
This
Christmas, Jacob is about to pay a visit to his old partner, to thank him and
to point out that underneath that grim, "scrooge"-like demeanor, J.P.
Deverell is actually a kind and generous man. He just does a very good job of
disguising it— even from himself.
J.P. has
also managed to hide how very much he misses his friend, but memories, ushered
in by Jacob's mischievous ghost, will change all that.
He doesn't
believe in magic, either at Christmas or any time of the year, but there is
something in the air tonight. And it's looking for him.
This
year a reluctant, unsociable hero will take an unforgettable journey, aided
by the spirit of Christmas ("Bah Humbug") and the arrival of a Snow
Angel, who is waiting to knock seven bells out of him.
Angels, he was about to learn, can do that
to a man; they are not the dainty, ethereal creatures one might imagine.
So join
poor, unsuspecting J. P. Deverell on a path that will wind through the past,
the present and get a bit of kick from the future too. He doesn't generally
like company, but I'm sure he wants to tell you this story. That's one thing he did inherit from his father - a
talent for story telling. Even his heroine doesn't know for sure how much is
true.
Is it really all her fault, or was it his suddenly jolted memory that finally brought them back together? Or was it the magic of Christmas?
Images used here: Photograph of snowy tree - Author's own. Painting "Yes" by John Everett Millais (1877)
