Navigators North asked for a sentence prompt – "That skirt is short on purpose" with Gordon Tracy. Well – with that sort of prompt, what else would I write?
It should have been a huge society affair, both of them being who they were. It should have been held in St Georges Hanover Square – where her parents had been married, and where, by virtue of her Mayfair flat, qualified her to be married there.
The reception should have been held at one of London's best hotels, followed by a ball to celebrate and attended by the very cream of Society, both English and American.
Her wedding dress should have been a confection of white silk satin. Or silk organza in the very latest mode.
All her life, she knew what her wedding should be. The only thing she didn't know was who the groom would be.
Well, now she did, and should be flew out the window completely. Because of all the should be's in her life, this was the one thing that should not be.
At least, not this particular Tracy.
She should be marrying Scott – the oldest of them. Tall, handsome, with a distinguished service record and the famous Tracy charm. A man who wielded his power almost unconsciously.
Instead, she had fallen head over heels with the most unlikely of them, and so should had gone completely out the window, and all she knew now was that what was to happen was exactly right.
Nothing about her wedding was going to be traditional. Nothing was going to be expected; except by those who knew that where this particular couple was concerned, the unexpected was to be expected.
In this case, however, not even he knew.
In her heart, she knew what she was doing was exactly right.
Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward looked at herself in the mirror and twirled around. It wasn't what she had imagined her dress would ever be like, but she loved it. It was absolutely perfect for what was planned.
"Are you sure you don't want me to walk you down," her father asked, his eyes conveying his pride in his daughter.
"Perfectly, father."
"It's not normal. What you're doing."
She turned to him and smiled, her eyes shining with joy. "No. It's not. But I can't think of a more appropriate way."
Her father came close and kissed her forehead. "No. Now that you mention it, neither can I."
Penelope's hands rested on his upper arms. "Father? You're not upset? By whom I'm marrying?"
Hugh Creighton-Ward laughed heartily. "No, Penny. Surprised, yes. But now I've seen you two together, no. You complement each other very well. I think you'll both be extremely happy together."
There was a knock on the door and Penelope called out for the knocker to enter.
"Penelope? Parker said you wanted to see me?" Gordon Tracy entered a look of apprehension on his face, his eyes covered. "There's nothing wrong?" His voice rose a little in panic.
"Gordon – why are your eyes covered?"
"Because I'm not supposed to see the Bride beforehand."
"Silly. You can look at me." Penelope was laughing and her voice was soft with love.
"I'll leave you to it," her father said. He stopped in front of Gordon who had removed his hand from his eyes. "Don't be late," he said pointedly and closed the door behind him as he left.
Gordon's jaw dropped when he saw her. "My Penny… you look amazing."
She twirled again, delighted with his reaction. "Isn't it lovely! It's just what I wanted!" Her twirl bought her against him and she put her hands on his chest, straightening the collar of his suit, caressing him. "You look amazing too," she said and felt his hands rest on either side of her waist. "It's finally happening!" Her hands crept up to caress his neck, and she rose to her toes. "Kiss me, Gordon. One last time, I want you to kiss me."
His hands tightened and he slid them around to her back, holding her close. "Well, one last time as Penelope Creighton-Ward," he said before kissing her. "After this, you're going to be Penelope Tracy."
Their kiss was deep and lingering. "I love you," she murmured as they broke apart.
"God, Penny. Don't… Not now… or we won't make it. We're going to be late as it is."
She pulled him in for another kiss. "Bride's prerogative to be late," she said.
"Yes, but not because she's making out with the groom." He kissed her nose. "That's supposed to come afterwards. And you still need to put shoes on darling."
"No... I don't need to. You need to take yours off though." She stepped away and twirled again as she caught sight of herself in the mirror. "I love this dress!" she trilled.
"That skirt is shorter than I thought you'd want," he said as he dropped to the ground to take off his shoes and socks. "I'm not objecting though. Whenever you spin, I can look at your legs."
He was surprised to suddenly have a lapful of his fiancée. "The skirt is short on purpose, Gordon," she said before bouncing up again. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah," he clambered off the floor. "But it looks like whoever was going to take me to wherever the ceremony is hasn't appeared."
Her arm went through his. "I'm taking you darling. I didn't want anybody beside me today but you."
Gordon grinned his normal cheeky grin. "I bet Parker wasn't happy. Or is he a bridesmaid?"
"Funny boy. Parker and my Father are watching to make sure you go through with this."
This time, it was Gordon's turn. He picked her up and spun them both around. "I'd be frightened if I wasn't prepared to fight them both to make this happen. There's no way I'm backing out. And no way this is going to be put off."
"Then follow me," she said, taking his hand. It wasn't far, but it took them longer than it would otherwise, because they couldn't help but stop now and then to kiss, or just hold each other, gaze at each other. And they didn't care who they kept waiting, because this was their day. Their moment in time.
Finally, they broke through the jungle pathway and Gordon's face cracked into a huge grin as he saw the spot she had chosen. "My favourite beach," he said.
Penelope leaned against his arm. "Mine too," she said and turned to be kissed again. "Especially since this is where you first made love to me."
"Mmmm… come to think of it, that makes it even more of a favourite with me. Shall I bring you back later on to re-create it?"
"I was rather hoping you would," she said against his lips. "But I suppose we had better get on with the formalities first?" She moved apart, and took his hand again, leading him towards the water's edge. "You might want to roll up your trousers darling. Otherwise they might get a little wet."
"What?"
"No red carpet, Gordon. No white carpet. For us… for you… a blue carpet. That's why my skirt is short. That's why bare feet. Because how and where else would we walk to be married by through the water."
This time, she was crushed against him, not to be kissed, but held as he buried his face against her neck. "I don't deserve you," he said, voice muffled. "Oh god, thank you, Penny, for loving me. For understanding."
Hand in hand, they walked into the water, into that blue carpet and towards their future.
And Penelope knew that this was, indeed, what should be.