AN: woohoo, the wedding approaches! On an unrelated note, everyone keep away from the West Midlands, because I'm now fully licensed (damn fool examiner) to drive…bad, bad idea. Here is sweet lil Norrie for your perusal, you darlings… dd xx

38

Norrington dined with the Groves family for the last time as a single man the night before the ceremony. None of the company were particularly disposed to idle conversation that night, and the handsome feast of rich stew and fresh vegetables was consumed in contemplative silence.

Elinor Groves watched the Commodore exchange looks laden with emotion and suppressed happiness with her sister-in-law, and wondered if she and her husband had ever been so caught up with one another.

Groves, meanwhile, picked at the French beans and tried one more to reconcile himself to the fact that his friend would be marrying his sister the very next day. There seemed to be little he could possibly say. Even now it seemed surreal, an impossibility. A clever joke, intended to tease and torture him. He was still not sure why the idea of a union between the two should distress him so, but he was inclined to feel it was to do with his inside knowledge of the life of a sailor, and the premonition that Alicia would spend much of her marriage moping onshore, trying to recall the face of a man sailing, fighting, dying far away.

Alicia was panicking slightly, as she sliced into her soufflé with her spoon. The silence at the table was beginning to prey on her nerves. Perhaps it was her dismal company that was subduing the group? She envisaged miserable evening meals, the two of them seated at opposite ends of a long table. James would be kind, trying so hard to draw her into conversation, but she was filled with dread at the thought that it had all been a happy chance this far…that the minute they were married, she would lose all power of speech and vivacity and fall into a mediocre shell.

It would not be fair to James, to be thus enslaved to a bland, babbling wretch. She wondered idly how long it would be before he fled, human as he was, exhausted by the effort of trying to make her more exciting, more wonderful than she ever could be.

She looked up briefly to reach for her glass, and caught his eye, and saw in his swift glance a slow-burning desire, a deep, wordless expression of devotion and adoration, and she chastised herself for thinking such horrid things about a marriage that had not yet begun. She smiled back shyly, and noticed the way his whole face lit up at the meager reciprocation, and decided it would probably all work out well, after all.

Norrington was similarly engaged in tormenting himself with pessimistic, dramatic nightmares. He was grateful for the unusual quiet that had befallen the household that evening, for it gave him time to reflect, to think with each action this is the last time I do this as a single man. It was certainly a bittersweet farewell to a way of life that had only ever mocked and demoralized him.

However, he craved one final moment of privacy with Alicia, one more test of his gentlemanly restraint, a chance to ask her one more time, to satisfy his conscience that she was willing and happy to pledge herself to him forever. Looking at her demure countenance as she dabbed softly at her lips with her napkin, he was overwhelmed with a hideous guilt that he might be forcing this perfect angel into something unwanted and dreaded.

Thus they were all engulfed in misgiving and doubt that final night, with the exception of Elinor, who had convinced herself long ago that the Commodore had shed his immature infatuation with Miss Swann, and was quite prepared to become a fine husband for her young sister-in-law.

The meal ended at last, and the two men retired to Groves' study to talk in hushed murmurs, while Alicia and Elinor sat primly in the chilly parlour. The fire had not yet been lit.

Elinor looked sharply at Alicia, who was staring into the empty grate.

'Are you nervous?' she asked suddenly, causing the younger girl to start and look up.

'I…yes, I am,' she replied frankly. 'I am sure I shall not sleep at all tonight.'

Elinor smiled sadly. 'It is quite natural for you to be nervous. It is no small undertaking, marriage. But you must try to sleep. You will look dreadfully pale if you do not.'

Alicia nodded weakly. 'I…I don't suppose I know him very well, that is all…' she was still staring intently into the grate.

'Nonsense,' Elinor replied gently. 'It is impossible to know another human being completely, and yet you and James are as understanding of each other's characters as it is possible to be, I feel. It is simply your…natural reserve and timidity that restricts your honesty with each other. Mark my words; by tomorrow evening there will be no secrets between you.'

Alicia pressed her lips tightly together and looked shyly at her sister-in-law. 'Do you think so?' she blurted out.

Elinor nodded wisely. 'Could you not see the Commodore this evening? He was dying to talk to you, to tell you everything about himself and to learn everything about you. But there are years for that, Alicia. Just one more day to wait…'

The other woman nodded. 'I…I think I will go to bed, now,' she said quietly. 'You are right, I need to sleep.' She rose and crossed slowly to the door, and Elinor noted how slight was her frame, and how young the look in her eyes.

'Alicia!' she called suddenly, the girl turning quickly, alarmed.

Elinor swallowed awkwardly. 'Remember…' she said haltingly. 'Remember…that you will be his…his wife. You must…you must not mind if he…if he hurts you. It will only be once.' Her face red, she turned in her chair towards the fire, while Alicia exited the room in confusion and apprehension.

Her brother and her fiancé were talking in hushed voices when she entered the hall; the Commodore was evidently in the process of taking his leave. His face was grave, and she heard her name mentioned in his deep, beloved voice.

'Ah! Here she is, you may ask her yourself,' said her brother loudly, gesturing to Alicia. The Commodore fiddled with the brim of his hat nervously, and Alicia felt her heart plummet – surely he would not break off the engagement the night of the wedding?

'Goodnight, Theodore,' Norrington said quietly, as her brother returned to the parlour, to his wife. Alicia, her eyes flitting between the impassive floor and James' serious gaze, would have paid any price to be sitting with her family, playing cards and laughing carelessly over a glass of port. And the thought of evenings like that for the rest of her life, with never a moment of solitude in James' arms by the firelight, filled her with dread.

'Please, James,' she burst out frantically, 'please, do not end our attachment…I will try to be better, I will, I promise, I am…I am so sorry that I am boring and dull…please, just give me a chance…I swear, I swear I will not make you disappointed…' she felt the familiar tears well up inside her and buried her head in her hands in despair.

She noticed through her hysterical, shallow breathing, that Norrington was simply standing stock still in amazement, watching her in utter confusion. Finally, with a hearty sniff, she managed to compose herself.

'You…I…you…' the Commodore was, for once, completely inarticulate. In the end, he dissolved into bemused laughter, chuckling in bewilderment at their combined misconceptions. 'You…you thought I did not wish to marry you?' His voice was enough to ensure Alicia that this was as far as possible from the truth.

'Well…you were so grave at dinner, and hardly spoke a word, to me or to Theodore…I thought…I thought you were aggrieved with me…'

Norrington stared. 'No, never,' he refuted defiantly. 'I…was merely thinking that tonight is my last night as single man, and that I am glad to renounce that lonely way of life. Especially to such an angel…' He smiled awkwardly, wincing at his sentimental turn of phrase. Alicia nearly burst into tears again in relief.

'But…I…you are still happy to marry on the morrow, then?' she asked tentatively.

'Of course,' he replied gravely, clasping her hands in his tenderly. 'As long as this remains your wish…'

'James…may we not run away, tonight? I am driven to distraction waiting, and worrying about dresses and flowers and cakes and so on…I care nothing for such trivialities…only you, I only want to call you husband.'

Norrington kissed her lightly on the forehead. 'If only we could,' he murmured wistfully. 'But it would not be fair to deprive Miss Swann and Captain Gillette of their finely orchestrated show, would it? It will soon be morning, and we will soon be married…and then you shall call me husband, and you shall be Mrs J Norrington. How does that sound, my darling, darling one?'

She looked up at him and smiled peacefully. 'I will fall asleep with the sound of those words in my ear like angel song,' she whispered. 'Mrs J Norrington – how well it sounds!' she giggled girlishly, and pressed a kiss to his clasped hands.

'I will see you tomorrow, then, Miss Alicia Groves,' Norrington said impishly. 'And…I do wish you would try not to be so infernally beautiful…it is no wonder I never spoke at dinner, with you stopping my heart with that wonderful dress…' and with that impertinent remark he ran down the steps to the waiting carriage, waving animatedly until the vehicle drew away into the blue night.

AN: ciao, sausages! Just…3 more chapters to go, I believe! Dd xx