Tom pulled the car up to the roadside inn. They had crossed the border into Scotland, now they just needed to wait.
"Should I wait in the car?" Sybil asked.
Tom took a deep breath. "We're on the main road. It's probably safe enough, but-"
"Do you think I'm going to drive back home?"
Tom chuckled nervously. "Right, no. Let's go inside."
They went in, seeing a sign with the prices for weddings right on the wall. A gruff woman stood at the counter in front of a wall of keys on hooks.
"Here to get married?" the woman asked bluntly.
Tom and Sybil looked at each other. Neither was sure who should speak first.
"Yes," Sybil said. "There's a residency requirement, I believe?"
"Twenty-one days," the woman said, as if reciting a creed.
Sybil stepped back from the counter, pulling Tom with her.
"How do we do this?" she whispered.
"We'll figure that out in the morning," Tom replied.
She nodded, and walked back to the counter.
"Will this evening count toward the twenty-one days?" she asked the woman.
"For twenty pounds we can provide a signed affidavit of residency."
"Twenty pounds!" Tom muttered under his breath. "I'd planned on six shillings a night."
"Oh," Sybil replied. "Is that in addition to the cost of the rooms?"
"When do you plan to get married?" the woman asked.
"Well, I suppose we have to wait."
"If you don't have twenty pounds, yes."
"But if we do have twenty pounds?"
"Are you planning to meet anyone else here?"
"No," Sybil replied quickly.
"Well, Mr. Campbell usually arrives at eight, and he's the one who usually does these."
"Yes, but when?" Sybil asked.
"Sybil," Tom whispered, "I think she's asking for a bribe."
"Wait," she whispered back. "Should we?"
"It's twenty pounds," he said, restating the obvious. "Do you have twenty pounds?"
"Good point. Let's do it." She turned back to the woman, handing over the money.
"Here," the woman said, handing over a piece of paper. "You two sign your names, and I'll sign that you've resided in Scotland for twenty-one days."
"But-"
"As far as I'm aware, you've resided in Scotland for twenty-one days."
The paper was quickly signed.
"Here's a key," the woman told them. "Second floor, directly at the top of the stairs."
"Thank you," Tom and Sybil said in unison. Tom took their bags, and Sybil walked up to open the room.
"There's only one bed," Sybil said.
She stood in the doorway as Tom got to the top of the stairs with the bags.
He looked inside. There was one bed, and not a very big one. There was, however, a fairly large chair next to it.
"Do you need anything else from the car?" he asked her.
"I have everything I need for the night in that bag," she said, pointing to her bag on the floor.
"I'll go check on the car, and you can get yourself ready for bed. I'll take the chair."
"No, you should," she protested. "You've been driving all this way."
"Do you really want to sleep in a chair?"
"No, but… We're almost married. I know we're not yet, but-"
"I'll sleep in the chair, I really don't mind."
"Do you really think-"
"Sybil, I'm in enough trouble once they find out we ran off to get married."
"Then what does it matter? You stay on your side of the bed, I'll stay on mine."
Tom took another breath. "I'll get just as good of sleep in that chair as I will in that bed tonight."
"What?"
"Look, I'm pretty sure I can sleep just fine in the chair, but I'm pretty sure if I'm thinking about staying on my side of the bed I'll be awake thinking about staying on my side of the bed. Just let me sleep in the chair tonight."
Sybil grabbed his hand. "Fine," she sighed. "You're right. So, you were going to check to see if there's anything else in the car?"
"Right," Tom agreed, placing the bags inside the door and heading downstairs. He heard the door closing and locking behind him.
There wasn't anything to bring up from the car, and he'd known that, but it sounded like as good of an excuse as anything. He saw the light from the room, and the curtains were closed, but he could still see the light flickering around the edges of the curtain as Sybil got herself changed for bed. He would give her another minute or two.
He saw the light turn off, and then immediately turn on again. Either that was a signal for him to return, or she remembered that he would need at least a little bit of light to return.
He knocked on the door, and Sybil got up to open it. She had taken off her jacket, but she hadn't changed clothes.
"Sorry, do you need more time?" he asked.
"No, it's-" she paused. "I think I'll just change in the morning."
"Oh, of course," he said.
"The washroom is down the hall if you need it," she told him.
"Thanks, I'm fine for now."
He walked over to the chair and sat down. It was a little stiffer than he had imagined, but it would be fine. He'd slept on worse.
Sybil came over and sat on top of the bedcovers.
"Are you comfortable?" Tom asked her.
"Comfortable enough. And I got a close look at the extra linens while you were outside, so I think I'll just sleep on top of the covers tonight."
Tom chuckled. "Fair enough."
"Now then, we should get some sleep."
