Chapter 12

They returned to Elizabeth's apartment Thursday afternoon. William had ordered so much food for them while they were at the cabin that they had plenty to eat that night, so they stayed in that night and turned in early, although neither slept for some time after retiring.

Friday morning meant Elizabeth's thesis defense. She was not overly worried, as she knew the information backwards and forwards, but was feeling a little concerned about her advisor's reaction. William intended to accompany her, and she knew it would be highly unprofessional for her professor to broach personal topics such as what Elizabeth intended to do with her degree. She did prepare an answer as to where she intended to mention the two offers she had already received from universities in Scotland.

Elizabeth took her time dressing and spent a considerable amount of time on her hair and makeup. Since no one was to know about their marriage yet, Elizabeth was also forced to remove her wedding ring, which she handed over to William, who put his up as well. Neither were particularly happy about this need, but, again, some intuition told them it was important to continue with the pretense of the engagement. This fact, at least, allowed Elizabeth to keep her engagement ring on her finger, which made them both feel at least a little bit better.

Once she was ready, they departed for downtown Knoxville, parking as close as they could to the building that housed the history department. Hand in hand, they walked into the building and found the room. William entered with her, and quickly moved to the back of the room when he saw it already occupied. There were chairs set up in the back of the room for observers, but Elizabeth went to the table at the front where three people sat. William watched her as she spoke to all of them and noticed immediately when she appeared slightly uncomfortable speaking to one. He also noted the surprise the other two exhibited when the former spoke to Elizabeth and wondered exactly what had been said.

After a short conversation where the group exchanged pleasantries, Elizabeth began speaking about her research and her findings. She included details from her trip to Scotland, and William was thoroughly impressed listening to her speak about what all she had learned both during her visit and before. She spoke for half an hour, and then the other three began posing questions about her research. He noticed how one professor seemed a bit more aggressive than the other two and that he was a little more persistent in his questioning. Elizabeth maintained a calm façade, but William recognized the signs of frustration as the questioning became more intense.

Finally, after another hour of questioning, it was over and all four stood. Elizabeth made a subtle motion to invite William to join them and he stood and approached the group. Elizabeth introduced him to the group as her fiancé and shared the news that they would marry soon after she moved to Scotland. She credited her research trip as being the catalyst for this, since without the trip she would not have met William on her first day in country. William noted the angry look from the man who had questioned Elizabeth aggressively and glared back at him after being introduced.

Soon, the others picked up on the tension in the group, and, after assuring Elizabeth that they would call her with their determination by the end of the day, they all departed the room. Elizabeth sagged against William as soon as the door shut behind them and they were out of sight of the others.

"That was more difficult than I expected," she told him as his arms went around her.

"You did very well, mo ghràdh. They have no reason not to give approval," he assured her. "Would you care to go somewhere to eat while we wait?"

She agreed and led him to a nearby restaurant where they ordered salads and sandwiches and William asked her additional questions about her research. Elizabeth enjoyed talking about her findings, especially given that she had dedicated so much time to it over the last several months, and William found he enjoyed hearing her speak. She would be an excellent instructor, he realized, and the idea he had about her writing a history of his family and Pemberley Distilling became even more of a certainty in his mind.

They wandered around for a little bit. Elizabeth attempted to explain a bit about American football, particularly college football. As a lifelong resident of East Tennessee and after attending the University of Tennessee the last five years, Elizabeth claimed to 'bleed Tennessee orange', something she had to explain to William. He had seen a few games, but having played rugby and shinty at all levels of his schooling, he has never paid that much attention to American sports.

"Rugby I know - we actually have a team here, but what is 'shinty'," she asked.

He attended to explain they it was something like hockey, only not played on ice and using a small leather ball instead of a puck. "You'll need to see a game to understand it, mo ghràdh," he finished.

Their conversation was interrupted by a phone call from Elizabeth's advisor. He shared the decision of committee to accept her thesis but it was evident by the tone of voice that it was reluctantly given. She knew as well as he did that he could not in all honesty reject it, not without losing face, since up until that day he had always supported her.

The conversation was short and Elizabeth was relieved when it ended for more than one reason. Of course, it was a great relief to have it done, because that meant she had finally earned her degree. Just a few more days and she could walk across the stage ads accept her diploma, the culmination of years of effort.

But she was also pleased to be done with her advisor, a man who had supported and encouraged her up until the moment her plans changed from what he had expected of her. She had realized in that short phone call that she had disappointed him somehow by not choosing the path he thought she should pursue. It's was the path she had intended to pursue up until the moment she had met William and he had altered the direction of her life.

She leaned in to kiss him in the middle of that downtown street and whispered "I love you," against his lips. He responded in kind and they kissed for several moments until she stopped and, taking his hand again, led him toward her car.

"How soon can we leave for Scotland, Will?" she asked as they walked. "I think I could be ready to leave by Tuesday, if you'd like to go home sooner."

"Are you well, Elizabeth?" he asked. "What about the commencement ceremony Ava all of that?"

"It doesn't matter any more," she told him. "My thesis was accepted; my degree is done regardless of my attending that ceremony. I chose a different path when I met you and all that other stuff doesn't matter nearly as much as beginning my life with you."

"Instead of returning home to Scotland right away, what would you say to a proper honeymoon?" he asked. "We could go anywhere you wish."

"Back to our cabin?" Elizabeth suggested quietly.

He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. "I think that could be arranged," he breathed, before pulling her back to him for another kiss.

The weekend was spent packing up Elizabeth's apartment and arranging to sell or donate everything Elizabeth did not want to take with her. Several boxes were packed and waiting to be shipped to Scotland, and by Sunday, the apartment stood mostly empty. Charlotte and Mary had spent the two days helping. Saturday night, they were all too tired for anything more than ordering delivery and the four relaxed on the remaining furniture as they ate. However, on Sunday they were going to spend the night out in downtown Knoxville.

William had booked a room for them at the sole five-star hotel in Knoxville, and Elizabeth had grinned when he informed her of their destination and the fact that he had rented probably the best suite in the hotel. It was somewhat difficult to adjust to the luxury that he effortlessly accepted as his right, and Elizabeth wondered if she would ever come to take for granted this extravagance.

Most of Elizabeth's clothes were packed in the boxes to ship; all that was left was a suitcase with clothes for the next week or so until they returned to Scotland. She had a few nice things, but worried that what she had was not nice enough for a stay at The Tennessean, and for whatever dinner William had booked for them. They arrived at the hotel in their grubby clothes, but the sight of William's Black American Express card earned them a level of deference she had yet to experience.

In the room, they both showered and changed, although they took advantage of the very large shower together, which made them rush to be ready in time to meet the others. Elizabeth dressed in a strapless sun dress and carried a sweater for if it grew cooler while William was in slacks and a tailored dress shirt. They met the others in the lobby of the hotel and walked the short distance to the restaurant where William had gotten them reservations.

None of the women had been to this restaurant before, as it was out of the price range for the mostly broke college students they had all been through most of their college careers. As they enjoyed a meal, William asked about the relationship between the three and they had explained their connection.

Mary, like Elizabeth, had no family nearby and the two had roomed together their freshman years by chance, and the next three years by choice. Both had chosen to live in the dorms as it was covered in their scholarships. Elizabeth had earned a full-ride scholarship for her undergrad degree and took advantage of all it offered, taking as many courses as she could. Mary had more family support, but her family was from Maine and a desire to get far away from them had led to her accepting the scholarship to study philosophy offered by the University of Tennessee.

Charlotte was slightly older than the other two, having attended school part time while she worked to pay for her degree. Her parents were on the bottom end of middle class – earning too much her to qualify for much tuition assistance – but not making enough to pay tuition and fees. So Charlotte had worked for several years while she attended classes, and she and Elizabeth had met during Elizabeth's senior year when they had a couple of classes together.

The three had graduated with their bachelor's degrees two years ago, and while Charlotte had gone straight to work as a social studies teacher at a local high school, Elizabeth had opted to further her education and pursue her master's degree. She had been offered financial aid once again and had earned a stipend for her living expenses through a grad assistant position. This, along with an additional part-time job, enabled her to attend school and save enough to fund her trip to Scotland. Mary, on the other hand, had briefly returned home to Maine, but returned to Knoxville within just a few months, saying she had enjoyed the distance from her family too much to go back to it. Little else was said about that, just that the relationship between Mary and her parents was tense and that UT had been an act of rebellion that she did not regret. Mary had a job at the same high school as Charlotte teaching literature.

During this explanation, they had eaten the appetizers ordered for the table, and they had all placed their orders for the meals. All three women had balked at the prices on the menu, but William had waved way the protests, telling them to order what they liked. When the entrees were delivered, the plates were shared among the party as they each sampled what the others ordered. Drinks were also consumed, Charlotte and Mary had selected a bottle of wine to share, and William had sampled a couple of the whiskey and bourbons offered. Elizabeth, who was less of a drinker on most occasions, had also drank a couple of cocktails as they sat and enjoyed the meal and conversation.

They wandered through the downtown area for a little longer, until Charlotte and Mary pointed out they had to work the next day and needed to go home. William offered to pay for a hotel room for the pair, but they declined as Mary had only drunk a glass or two of wine with dinner, but nothing since. Elizabeth hugged them both and reminded them of their intention to come for the wedding. She tried to stave off tears when they departed just outside the hotel but ended up crying a bit on the elevator on the way to their room. Once in the room, William soothed her in the best way he knew, and they eventually fell asleep tightly entwined in each other's arms.

They were slow to wake the following morning, having woken a few times in the night to take advantage of the newly discovered pleasures of married life. It was nearly noon when they finally left the room and left to meet the movers at Elizabeth's apartment. Before they began their honeymoon again, they first needed to arrange for shipping the of rest of her belongings to their house in Scotland.

After that was done, they returned to the cabin in Gatlinburg where they would stay for the next week. Once again, William had arranged for a grocery deliver so they fix their own meals if they wanted, but they also intended to take advantage of some of the local restaurants as well.

Several mornings that week they decided to go hiking in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. On these days, they would pack a lunch to take with them and enjoy the time in nature. They also visited a few waterfalls and mountain streams and found a couple of swimming holes to enjoy.

The couple also spent quite a bit of time together in the cabin as they laughed and played together. As newlyweds, much time was devoted to play, but they also had several serious discussions as they came to know one another better.

This week of honeymooning was invaluable to them and was over far too quickly. They had enjoyed the time together tremendously, although it had not been without challenges. There had been an argument or two, most often with the other's discomfort with things outside their ordinary. William sometimes struggled with Elizabeth's independence, while Elizabeth struggled to deal with his sense of entitlement.

These issues were quickly resolved by talking about them and they began to better understand the perspective of the other person. While things were not perfect, they were beginning to become one, in every aspect. Far sooner than either would have liked, Sunday arrived. Elizabeth's car had been sold and after dropping it off, a hired car took them to the airport. Once again, they removed their wedding rings unhappily and William stored them away in a hidden compartment in his luggage.