The moment she woke up that morning she felt incredibly... giddy, nervous, impatient; all at the same time. Which made her embarrassed as well.
Standing up with a small hop, she glanced through her window. First to the sky, where the first rays of sunlight were already illuminating the island, and then her eyes became absorbed by the back garden of the Mansion. The altar was already set and the maids and servants were busily working on finishing the aisle decoration for the ceremony, she was stunned by the sheer amount of... everything: chairs, ornaments, lace... she wouldn´t have thought to ask for nearly these many flowers, definitely her Father´s work. It looked beautiful though, even better than what she had intended.
But it was slightly daunting as well.
After he came back and they finally became engaged, she had become so busy with the planning that she hadn't stop to think much more about what the actual day of wedding would be like, at least nothing beyond what was expected. And now the approaching reality of it all was making her jittery.
By no means was she a dull person, which meant she was aware that her insistence on a prompt wedding that day months ago had been honest, as well as hasty and stubborn. But prolonging their engagement would have meant giving him time to reconsider his proposal and she had childishly refused to let him.
She wanted him and marriage was the surest way to obtain him. The wedding had been secondary to that.
Not that she would ever admit that to anyone, particularly to James.
Besides, the last few months had proven her right. They were a good match, she had concluded smugly almost right away. Still, today was really the first time she felt eagerness at the idea of matrimony, at being someone´s wife.
Not someone´s, his wife.
She wants to be his wife, she realized with a little wonder. It was a bit of a surprise and at the same time, it wasn´t at all. And her brain was having some difficulties understanding how it was possible both were true. Every noise and voice that reached her from the outside made her more anxious and desirous. But she really, really wanted everyone to hurry.
The one thing she did understand was that it wasn´t about convenience, or her comfort or even because it had been her decision. It was simply that he had promised to make her happy with such fervour, that it made her desperately want to make him happy. He just... made sense.
Then was she…?
When the thought crossed her mind, it was her heart the one that flipped violently. There really was no reason to deny herself of the truth, so instead she held her flaming cheeks and willed her heart to calm before anyone came looking for her.
Dropping herself on the chair in front of her dresser while fanning her face with both hands, her eyes caught sight of herself in the mirror. Studying her features with curiosity she thought she looked every bit of the jovial bride she was supposed to be, blush and all.
And then her mind suddenly offered an unhelpful and unwanted image of William Turner… it had been more than half a year since his departure and, he really did not come back for her, she realized anew. Although this time -unlike the first few times- her mind and heart remained serene.
The moment after he jumped and disappeared together with The Black Pearl, the day she realized that her feelings were shared, her mind and heart had become chaotic. Because that had meant that, even while their feelings were the same, they had not been enough. And dealing with that knowledge, was harsh.
For years, Will Turner had been the only man she had wanted, and after all that happened with those pirates, for a moment she thought that perhaps…
But weeks spent crying over him -wondering why he chose the last time they were together to finally look her in the eye and tell her his feelings,- had let her understand that it hadn´t been all Will´s fault. She could have helped him, she should have helped him, defied everyone around while she stood by his side.
...but she didn´t, she chose not to.
It was shameful but, she didn´t fight hard enough for him. Losing him was her fault too.
Even with that knowledge, accepting he´d chosen something else as well, had been difficult for her pride to tolerate.
But since James´ return, her ill feelings towards Will had lessened significantly. She knew that now that she had found something else, someone else, it was unjust to hold resentment towards him.
She just wanted Will to forget about her and to be happy, because the possibility of him coming back again was nothing short of dreadful. She really didn't want him to and she prayed that he wouldn't ever try, and although that made her feel somewhat guilty, it was the only thing she could do.
Shaking herself out of that bleak reverie, she stood up and rang the bell to call for the maids. She had to get dressed, there was no time to waste on useless thoughts today.
The entire Mansion was chaotic.
While the maids helped her get dressed, put on make-up and style her hair, she could hear the constant noise of the rest of the servants outside, rushing around getting everything prepared for when the guests arrived.
She could not stand the idea of wearing a stuffy, bulky hairdo like the one she had donned the day of his first proposal -or at least his attempt at one- so she ordered for something simple and for her hair be let down. After a valiant effort on their part, the maids had finally given up on changing her mind and once she settle for a pair of simple braids that met at the back, they let the rest of her long hair cascade down her back.
Her gown had been the most exciting part of this whole affair, and the one thing she had not let James see even a glimpse of even though it had consumed her attention the most. It was a beautiful, voluminous piece made of soft satin adorned with beautiful accents of rich, gold brocade and flower patterns adorning the skirt.
The maids all praised her excitedly with creative variations of the word beautiful as soon as Estrella finished lacing the gown in the back -she had to agree, her attire did compliment her features splendidly and the feel of the exquisite fabric hugging her body snuggly- but staring at herself in the mirror the only thing she could think of, was how mature she looked like.
And once the delicate veil finally found its place on the top of her head, the novel sensation of it, along with the weight of her dress managed to trigger a new bout of the excitement she had been doing an excellent job of controlling up to that point.
It was not long after, that her Father entered her room to escort her. He took a look at her and his face broke into a delighted, proud smile. "You look lovely, Elizabeth" he praised her happily. While approaching her and taking a gentle hold of both her hands, he added with a tender tone "Your mother would have been so happy to see you like this"
Her face broke into a shy smile of her own in return "Thank you, Father"
"Everyone is impatiently waiting for you, Dear" he informed her "Especially the groom" her father didn´t even try to mask the amusement shining thru as he extended his arm for her.
"Then I shouldn´t keep him waiting" she laughed, grabbing onto him.
As they walked down the staircase and towards the garden of the Governor's Mansion, the soft sound of music flooded her ears and the smell of fresh roses became encompassing.
Once they stepped outside, she was finally able to see him. He was standing facing at the altar, his back was ramrod straight, his shoulders set proudly and she could see how his hands would constantly change position as they grabbed onto each other, alternating between his front and back.
When the music changed slowly, he finally turned around to look at her. The moment their eyes met he gave her the biggest, happiest smile she had ever seen. It was all teeth and dimples, which somehow made her feel very shy. Still, she returned it with a huge one of her own, wanting to let him know exactly how she felt.
He wasn't wearing his wig nor his uniform, instead the elegant black coat with gold accents and black breeches to match, made him look incontestably handsome. The fact that this man was about to become solely hers made her feel secretly presumptuous. She hadn't been joking when she told him the other ladies were jealous of her. It all made her quite enthralled and insurmountably joyful.
It wasn´t Commodore Norrington, it was James who was waiting for her.
She knew then: she hadn't made a mistake. This was right, He was right.
When she reached the altar, James extended his hand, curling it possessively around hers the moment she reached for him. "You look…" he was at a loss of words until he whispered sweetly "exquisite, Elizabeth." His face was adorably flustered as he brought her knuckles to his mouth in a tender motion.
The grin she felt erupt on her face was as sincere as it was uncontrollable. Still, she somehow managed to remember that her Father was still standing next to her. Turning to face him, she kissed his cheek affectionately as she thanked him, looking at him until he took a seat in front of her.
Her full attention was immediately back on James.
The raspy voice of the priest filled the air as he pronounced "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in front of the sight of God, and in the face of this Congregation, to join together this man and this woman in holy Matrimony…"
As he began the ceremony, the only thing she could really concentrate on was the way James´ gorgeous green eyes were sparkling against the radiant Caribbean sun as he made a poor attempt at pretending he wasn't looking at her instead of at where he was supposed to.
She wasn´t any better, though. The way his thumb kept caressing her knuckles was distracting her. Even so, she did not let go of his hand even for a moment.
When the priest beckoned James so he would say his part, her fiancé turned to face her completely.
His deep voice pronounced clearly and confidently "I, James Norrington take thee Elizabeth Swann to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part according to God's holy law, this is my solemn vow." His eyes never wavered away from hers, not for even a second.
She was still dazedly looking at him when a small grin of amusement suddenly appeared on his expression, giving her hand a short squeeze and leaning his head towards the side.
She let an unaware "Huh?" escape her, following his gesture she met with the priest´s decidedly unamused expression.
"Your vows, Miss Swann" he repeated emphatically.
As colour rushed to her cheeks she turned back to face James and did her best to remember the words she had been practicing for weeks "I, Elizabeth Swann take thee James Norrington to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part according to God's holy law, this is my solemn vow." she declared steadily, thanking god she hadn't gotten anything wrong.
"You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide."
When the old man finished speaking she lifted on the tip of her toes, grabbed onto the lapels of his coat and gave his mouth a soft but persistent kiss, it wasn't a second later that he reached behind her to steady her against him. Reluctantly, she let him go when she felt him give her waist a soft squeeze, remembering they were supposed to act proper while in front of their guests and her father.
The moment they walked off the altar, she saw herself surrounded by all the other ladies almost instantly while James was dragged away by the gentlemen.
Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, likely because this celebration was the most entertaining high society event Port Royal had witnessed in years now. And it was going exactly as planned, she couldn´t help but notice as she glanced around the ballroom while taking in the lavish decorations and the equally lavish people inside. The guests conversed, laughed and danced at the beat of the ensemble as food and drinks were served.
Although she did feel rather proud of herself as they all sang her praises, she found herself struggling to maintain her attention on the girls talking all around her. They were in high spirits about the party and she knew they meant well but…
How can someone speak for so long without taking a single breath? was the only thing crossing her mind as Mary Wotton continued talking her ear off after an impressive 20 minutes tirade about the beautiful decoration of the aisle. Eventually, when Anne Stallard started fawning over her dress for the third time in the last hour, she couldn't help but let her gaze wander around the room, looking for James.
Elizabeth had decided that the celebration should take place in the ballroom of the Mansion almost as soon as she started planning the ceremony. As to 'avoid any complication' she had told her father, when in reality she had simply wanted to have the ability to leave the party in her father's hands in case the guest overstayed their welcome, so that James and her could escape unnoticed.
And now she was grateful she had thought to do so, because when she eventually found him, he was stuck in much the same situation as she was: surrounded and being hounded by her Father and his friends.
When he felt her gaze on him, his eyes shifted in her direction, giving her a smile when he caught her looking at him.
'Help' she mouthed as discreetly as she could.
Taking her cue, she watched as he excused himself from the group of men. Letting her breath a small sigh of relief as he made his way towards her.
"Excuse my intrusion, Ladies" he said politely to the gathering of ladies surrounding her, who instantly parted to let him pass.
"Of course, Commodore" Mary answered with a sly smile.
Extending his hand her way, he offered her "Would you like to dance, my Lady?"
She was reaching for his hand before he even finished his question, pulling him towards the middle of the ballroom floor, where they would be safe for a while.
Once in his arms she praised him with a small, happy laugh "Excellent work, Husband" The word felt a little weird in her mouth but it was also thrilling to be able to use it for the first time.
James grinned back at her, eyes shining at the title. "Always happy to be of service, Wife" he replied proudly, bringing their intertwined hands to his mouth and giving her wrist a light kiss. "But I do have to admit I'm relieved to be out of that magnificent conversation as well" he said conspiratorially, looking discreetly towards the direction where the men had him trapped for the last couple of hours.
Elizabeth chuckled, feeling the weight of the day begin to lift off her shoulders "Was my Father showing you off to his friends?"
"I can´t be sure that is what they were doing. But they were definitely more intrusive than what I´m used to"
"How very difficult for you" she mocked him lightly.
His hand moved to brushed a stray hair away from her eyes "What's the matter? I know you have never been averse to being the center of attention" he teased while continuing to lead them around the floor "I distinctly remember you being right in the middle amongst the ladies in every party I ever attended"
She laughed "As if you ever attended parties"
"I was forced to" when she raised an sceptical eyebrow, he added with mirth "Sometimes"
"Well, I was forced to all the time. I was just trying not to die from boredom, they…" She got distracted when he spun her around in place smoothly "You are actually a very fine dancer" she praised him, feeling mildly surprised by his skills. She had very rarely seen him engage on the dance floor before and his lead had always been inconspicuous.
He actually sounded serious when he told her "It's all about the footwork. Unexpectedly similar to swordsmanship"
Which made her let out a small snicker at that "Right, exactly the same" she agreed, nodding blithely.
He simply shrugged nonchalantly "A gentleman should know his basics" his hand pulled her closer as he added in a whisper "Besides, no partner had ever enticed me to strive for my best performance before"
"Is that so?" Her eyes sparkled at his words "Then you should have asked the right one" she pointed playfully, making his eyes crinkle with pleasure and his forehead come down to meet hers gently.
"You´re right, I should have" he agreed happily.
After a moment of consideration she asked him suddenly "Were you really?"
"You need to be more specific, Elizabeth" he said with a playful grin.
Her eyes lifted to find his before asking softly "Looking at me?"
"All the time" was his immediate answer, his eyes looking only at her.
She accepted his response with a pleased hum and let herself relax further into his arms. As they continued gliding effortlessly across the ballroom floor, his hands maintained a firm but gentle grasp on her waist, guiding her with ease through a slow waltz. She much preferred dancing with him than doing anything else at the moment.
However, their blissful time was unexpectedly interrupted by the sudden appearance of her father´s butler at their side.
The man looked apologetically at the two of them before informing James "Sir... a couple of your soldiers are waiting outside, and they asked for you"
James´ demeanour sobered fast at those words, looking at the entrance with an unhappy frown before leaning into her ear and telling her softly "It´ll be just a moment" giving her a quick peck on the cheek before he walked towards the exit.
Gillette and Groves seemed to notice their captain´s sudden departure because they were right behind him.
What could they possibly want right now? It was likely something important if they dared to come looking for him today of all days. But he was going to be angry either way.
As she watched him disappear through the doors, her father appeared at her side, taking James's place as her dancing partner. His outward appearance was jovial and unconcerned, but he asked her in a low voice "Did something happen, Dear?"
"I´m… not sure, Father" she was curious and confused, but not really worried. If something truly bad had happened, everyone in Port Royal would have found out already. In any case, she would find out once he came back.
When he did not come back right away, and as time continued to pass she did start becoming anxious. But she was too busy coming up with acceptable excuses to justify the groom´s abrupt disappearance to their nosy guests. Thankfully, it was already late in the afternoon, the celebration was dying down and most of the guests had started leaving.
"Can you finish the rest on your own, Elizabeth?" her father asked, still looking a little worried.
She nodded with a smile for the third time, encouraging him to join his friends "It's alright Father. I'm sure he will be back shortly" From wherever it is he decided to go to, she thought grumpily to herself.
After James' disappearance, only some of her father's friends still remained in the Mansion by then, and they had all quickly taken all the alcohol they could find and moved to the sitting room. They would probably end up playing cards most of the night, she thought as she heard animated laughter and chatter coming from the room, which suited her just fine, that way she could go up to her room and finish packing her things.
Once the ballroom was finally empty, she ordered the servants to start the clean up and summoned the butler to question him about James´ whereabouts.
"Where exactly is my husband?"
The butler looked a little nervous as he answered "The Commodore left the Mansion with his men, but asked me to inform you he would be back as soon as he could"
"Left?" she repeated with confusion and a little irritation, she had thought he had simply sequestered himself with his men in one of the rooms "Where were they going?"
"I believe they were heading to the Fort, Lady"
"Did he say something else?"
"Nothing else, Lady"
She huffed at that.
What in the world was going on? And how could he leave the Mansion without telling her first?
Climbing up to her room, she instructed a couple of maids to continue putting her things into trunks as Estrella helped her change into a more comfortable dress while she waited for him.
It was almost another hour later -while she shuffled through all her wardrobe trying to decide what to keep- that there was a knock at her door. Followed by a clear "Elizabeth, may I come in?" she could immediately tell whose voice that was. Finally!
She hopped off the bed and opened the door herself before the maids had the chance to.
"Hey" she greeted happily, leaning forward to greet him properly, but stopping abruptly when she saw he had changed his clothes and was now wearing his full Navy uniform.
"Hey" he smiled back but it did not reach his eyes. Gulping a little he told her "I.. need to speak to you" and then glanced at the maids inside her room, still busily packing her clothes "In private"
She felt herself frown. Nonetheless, she nodded and ordered the maids out.
As soon as they were out of the room and the door closed, she questioned him with suspicion "Where did you go? And why are you wearing your uniform now?"
He was looking at her as if trying to think of something to say, with a deep breath he finally told her "A merchant ship en route to Port Royal was attacked, apparently not that far from the island, one of the survivors managed to reach port today"
That made her frown deepen. Nowadays it was uncommon for pirates to attack ships too close to Port Royal. James being the reason why.
"Still, why did you leave the estate without telling me anything first? And why do you need to change into your uniform?" she insisted impatiently.
He seemed to brace himself a little before cautiously confessing "I need to leave with The Dauntless in order to investigate the incident, retrieve whatever's left of the cargo, there might even be more survivors as well"
Her eyes got big when she understood what he was saying exactly, still she asked incredulously "You mean now!?"
His expression changed to one full of guilt.
"You can not be serious!" she shrieked as her arms flailed at her side, unable to remain calm for any longer.
He tried to sooth her "It's just for a day, Elizabeth, two days at most. I promise" but seeing him already dressed and ready to leave was making her angrier.
"Tonight is our wedding night!" she accused him angrily.
"I´m sorry. I really am" he said with regret while reaching for her arms and caressing them softly with his thumbs, then he begged piteously "Please understand"
But she didn't feel very charitable at the moment, and she was close to tears now. "I don´t want to" she told him tersely.
This was not fair, and she wasn't ready to stop being angry. Knowing it wasn't his fault was not making any difference to her, so she turned around and walked to her window without saying another word.
The sun was starting to set.
She heard him take a step but then he seemed to decide against it. There was a long silence before he spoke again "I will be back by tomorrow, I swear"
She still refused to look back at him, even as the unhappiness in his voice became evident. And after another long pause, she heard a long sigh before the door closed softly behind her. Her head swivelled so fast it hurt her neck, but he had already left the room.
Instead of following him she forced her eyes to go back to look out of the window, helplessly watching as James came out of the Mansion and got on his horse.
Her hands clenched into tight fists. Was he truly going to leave her like this?
When she saw his figure disappear on the road she couldn´t stand it any longer and turned away from the window, dropping harshly on the bed, her knees pulling towards her chest and her arms wrapping tightly around them. As the seconds passed, she became angrier at the injustice.
And now she was fuming. How was it possible that she was about to spend her wedding night by herself!? Those stupid pirates!
Unless… Her head shot up at the idea. Jumping out of the bed, she rang the bell hastily until Estrella ran inside, looking concerned.
"I don't want to be disturbed for the rest of the night under any circumstance, understood?" she directed her seriously with no further explanation.
"But…" Estrella started to protest.
Elizabeth just doubled down with a raised eyebrow "No one is to come inside until I say otherwise"
"Yes, Miss" the maid answered meekly with a bow before leaving the room.
Nobody would try to look for her tonight, not after that. And just to be sure she locked the door.
James had just left so The Dauntless should still be moored on the bay. So if she… she could do it, she just needed to hurry. She decided with confidence.
Thankfully she had still not changed into her sleeping ware, digging around her wardrobe she found a pair of her most comfortable shoes and shoved them on. And once she was dressed, she opened her window and climbed out, grateful she had developed the skill through the years.
As she rode all the way from the Mansion to the coast, she prayed that nobody would notice the absence of the horse she had borrowed from the stables until tomorrow. It was getting late and her father had been so happy about her nuptials that he allowed for the servants to go rest early.
When she finally got to the docks…
She found The Dauntless moored in it´s usual place and some members of his crew still working on the docks under the light of the moon, loading ammunition for the cannons.
The sun had completely disappeared, making it easier to move around undetected.
After a quick sweep around the docks where she couldn´t find James nor any of his officers, she concluded they had probably already boarded. Knowing him, he would stay on deck even after they had left the bay successfully, which should give her enough time to sneak into his cabin and hide there. One instance in which his perfectionism came in handy to her.
The one problem was that -when she had the idea- she had been so rushed to catch up to him that she failed to plan anything beyond her arrival to the docks.
Now the one question was… How could she get herself on The Dauntless?
As she tried to formulate a plan of action, she spotted those two dimwits Murtogg and Mullroy leaning against the rails of the pier, guarding the access to one of the private dock James´ men used, nobody else was with them. The private dock had been mostly neglected since The Interceptor was stolen, but she could see some small boats anchored there.
She could not understand how it was possible that those two were always put in charge of vigilance, she found them to be jumpy and easy to distract. Was it just James´ way to put them to some use? She knew he probably had his reasons for doing it, but still, it didn't seem like a good idea to her.
Although right now, they were exactly who she needed so her plan would work.
Crawling as close as she could, she used a tall rock and the palm trees to hide herself while looking for a way to get past them.
Now she was close enough to hear their voices clearly, just in time to hear Murtogg ask Mullroy with concern "Do you think another cursed ship might show up in Port Royal?"
The question made Mullroy roll his eyes and answer condescendingly with a question of his own "Do you know just how slim are the chances of two cursed ships attacking this place?"
"The same ones that there were when a crew of undead pirates attacked port the first time" he answered, making Mullroy pause in thought.
Mullroy´s reverie only lasted for a second before he told Murtogg with a firm tone "Stop saying nonsense. Besides, that old man was probably just making that stuff up, don't you see? He was only one survivor that managed to arrive, the attack definitely left him wrong in the head...
"But how could that crazy old man get here on his own, you heard what he said, he…" Murtogg insisted nervously.
"Shut up will you?" Mullroy ordered with urgency, hitting Murtogg on the shoulder with his musket before turning his head left and right as he whispered harshly "You know the Commodore gave us all a gag order. If anyone finds out about what the old loony said, he´ll have us both flogged when he finds out"
That gave Elizabeth pause. What were they talking about?
In that moment she sighted the last sloop with James´ crew leaving shore. No time for that, she needed to hurry. She only had to scared them, then… Searching the ground, she found a big rock. Perfect! she cheered, before looking back at them with calculation, and throwing the rock with force towards the trees near their right.
They both gave a coordinated jump at the sudden noise.
"What was that!?" Murtogg asked with a hitch in his voice, huddling closer to Mullroy.
"It's probably just the wind," Mullroy answered condescendingly. But it was obvious he didn´t believe his own words as his eyes darted aimlessly in every direction, trying to find the source of the noise.
Elizabeth could feel her eyes roll to the back of her head. She threw another rock, this time in the opposite direction and made a growling noise, shaking a tree next to her.
"What about that!?" Murtogg insisted.
"It's nothing!" Mullroy insisted but then added "The other side of the port has probably been left unattended, we should go patrol the entire dock just in case there might be something going on!"
When Murtogg nodded with enthusiasm, the two scurried away swiftly towards the opposite side of the pier.
And that's exactly why they shouldn't be left alone unsupervised, she thought with resignation as she jumped out of her hideout and untied the first dinghy she could find, jumping into it.
She rowed as fast as she could while maintaining her distance from the vessels ahead of her and using the dark of the night to hide, using the lights of the boats ahead as her guide. Nobody would be on the lookout for boats coming towards The Dauntless from the inside of the bay.
A new problem presented when she finally reached the hull of The Dauntless, as she waited for all the remaining members of the crew to board, she quickly realized that she would not be able to board through the main deck.
So she examined the outside of the boat instead, trying to locate any other route of access. That´s when she spotted the canon hatches, they were closed but she was sure she would be able to reach the ones of the lowest row, if she managed to open one, then she would be able to climb inside thru there.
The wooden lid was heavy but after some manoeuvring she easily managed to crawl inside the ship. Immediately finding a hiding spot behind the canon, she peeked around the hull to make sure nobody had seen her, but there was no one in sight, which allowed her to get to her feet with a self-satisfied smile.
It wasn´t that difficult to figure out where the Captain´s sleeping quarters were located, but it did required some stealth to move around the rest of the ship without being detected. Thankfully, most of the crew was still on the main deck and the rest were dutifully working on their own stations, and the fact that it was a military ship meant there were not that many doors to inspect.
She found his quarters on the aft of the ship, right below the captain´s cabin. Definitely James´ quarters, she mused while looking around the space. They were not ostentatious, but she could not imagine any other member of the crew would get sleeping quarters that were this big.
And it was fairly obvious they were his; there was a table with maps on top, a couple of chairs, a desk stacked with bottles of ink, paper and quills, a large bookshelf behind a surprisingly large bed and a big chest in front of it. It looked like an extension of his office but with a bed, she noted with entertainment.
The galleon had started its journey at some point during her search, but she seriously doubted James would be coming down here any time soon. So, instead of hiding as she had planned, she stepped onto the small balcony to enjoyed the breeze while she waited.
This was not the place where she had planned to spend her wedding night, but it was not unpleasant at all.
Now, if only he would decide to show up.