Then a tall man began to sing in a perfectly clear voice, no instrument to accompany him, his voice echoing in hallowed tones off the walls of the room. Another much lower voice joined his, and the two of them began to alternate phrases, the haunting bell pealing the slow cadence of the song.

A pleasant-looking woman began to sing then, followed by a girl who was clearly a daughter, singing in lower tones, just as the men had done. The joining of their voices gave the perfect tones usually only found in a church, and the gathering became something much more than a celebration of the season.

The four voices began to sing together, their melodies and harmonies changing hands with a skill that Hugh had never heard before in any gathering or performance. This was impeccable musicality, and the true joy and thrill of it could never be replicated by another group.

When the entire makeshift choir began to sing together, chills raced up and down his arms and his spine. His breath simply vanished from his lungs, and still no instrument accompanied the singers but the lone bell.

A timid, bare hand brushed against his once, then again, and he glanced over to see Elinor just as transfixed on the performance as he was, her breathing the slightest bit unsteady. She held a glove in one hand while the hand nearest him was bare. When she brushed against his hand once more, he captured it in his own. He watched as her breath caught, and her lashes fluttered as the quartet joined the rest of the voices in exquisite harmony.

Elinor turned her face towards him, and the same bewildered sensations he felt cascading across and through him were found in her expression. He slowly laced his fingers through hers, and barely breathed when her thumb began to move ever so gently against the skin of his hand.

Amazingly, the musicians began to join in with the singers, their brilliant tones adding and lifting to the glorious sounds already before them.

Hugh felt his spirit lighten and soar, as if it could have raised into the heavens itself on the wings of such a sound. He smiled with exhilaration at Elinor, and she returned it. They returned their attention to the exquisite music; the praises being sung seeming to him to perfectly fit the feeling of a particular thumb moving rather steadily against his suddenly tingling hand.

He could barely breathe for the wonder he felt with this song, with this feeling, with this love that would soon overpower him. The room seemed to be filled with angels joining their voices with these carolers, their power and purity equally matched by the mortals before them. He had never felt so moved by music in his life, and sharing the experience with the woman he loved, feeling her touch as a profound accompaniment, was joy beyond expression.

How would he ever go on after this?