Windfalls, Epilogue
Sorry I'm a little late with this; I got involved with something and the time slipped away from me.
TITLE: Windfalls, Epilogue
RATING: PG-13 for implications.
WORD COUNT: 909
PAIRING, IF ANY: Horatio Hornblower/Captain Amelia
SPOILER WARNING: None.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing here.
SUMMARY/NOTES: The threshold is crossed.
Hornblower straightened his neckerchief for the sixth time, knowing it was perfectly straight but needing something to do with his hands. Bush stood beside him, cool and collected, although he seemed to be suppressing a grin. “What’s the time?” Hornblower asked curtly.
Bush consulted his watch. “Five minutes to Eight.”
Hornblower nodded and put his hands behind his back, looking resolutely in front of him. He refused to keep glancing back at the door; the last thing he wanted was to look like an overeager schoolboy. Bush, perhaps understanding this, said nothing, preferring to keep a companionable silence.
At last, off in the distance, Hornblower heard a clock chime Eight. At the same moment, Bush turned his head and made an admiring noise. Hornblower finally allowed himself to look over his shoulder…and felt his breath catch in his throat.
Amelia had entered the church, head held high, wearing a simple white gown. Even though this was the first time Hornblower had seen her in skirts, she moved in such a way that it managed to look natural on her. She had a crown of flowers on her head, and even though she had a veil and train draped artistically around her, her ears could be seen through the gauze. She looked marvelous, with her flashing eyes and broad grin. Archie walked beside her, arm linked with hers, his Commander’s epaulette prominently displayed.
Hornblower smiled at both of them as they reached the front of the church. “A pleasure to see you again, Commander Kennedy.”
“Likewise, Captain Hornblower,” Archie responded with an easy grin, “May I present to you Captain Drake, soon to be Mrs. Hornblower?”
“Not as soon as all that,” Amelia laughed, “We agreed that I should keep my surname, at least till war’s end. Two Captain Hornblower’s running around the navy might cause a little confusion.”
“Besides, the fewer opportunities the sailors have to make jibes at the name ‘Hornblower’, the better,” Hornblower added, “I couldn’t do that to you.”
“Is everybody assembled?” the priest interjected quietly. Hornblower blushed and turned back to the pulpit. “Yes.”
The priest smiled in understanding and opened his bible, “Then let’s begin.”
***
“Oof. Really, Horatio, this isn’t necessary.”
“It’s tradition.”
“Can you even see through all the muslin? How do you intend to find the knob?”
“I’ll manage.”
He could tell Amelia was rolling her eyes. “Oh, here!” He heard the door creak open. “Just move straight ahead.”
Hornblower followed her instructions, moving from the dim hall into their room, which had already been lit for them. “All right, you’ve passed it. Now put me down before you strain something.”
Hornblower set Amelia back on her feet. Despite her dry tone, she looked rather amused by the whole proceeding. “I had no idea that you were such a stickler for tradition. A proper wedding breakfast, flowers in the church, and now this.”
“I’ve always believed in doing things right.” Hornblower responded modestly. She laughed lightly. “Be that as it may, this is the first wedding I heard of with two best men. Not to mention exiting the church to the drawn swords, cheering, and gun salutes of no less than three ship’s crews. The passerby must have thought there was some sort of riot going on.”
Hornblower stroked her ear lightly, deliberately rolling the tip between his fingers. She quieted at that and kissed him, hand pressing into his chest. When they broke apart, he carefully lifted the wreath and veil off her head, setting it onto the nearest surface. “How long is your leave?”
“Three weeks this time. The Admiralty was rather generous when I had the audacity to ask for an extra week on account of my impending marriage. The order was signed by one Edward Pellew, who I’ve never had dealings with. You wouldn’t happen to have mentioned something when you were under him in the flotilla, by chance?”
Hornblower cleared his throat and set down his hat. “I believe he was aware of it, although I never said anything to him directly.”
“I shall have to write him a thank-you,” Amelia mused, reaching behind her to start unbuttoning her dress, “How long do you have in port?”
“A week, that I know of.” Hornblower answered, touching her hands and taking over the task.
“Good,” Amelia said, arching her shoulders and allowing the dress to slide off, “Enough time to get a taste of married life. Forgive me if I’m unable to cook for you, my dear; the kitchen appears to be unfinished.”
“None of that,” Hornblower admonished gently, unable to resist planting a light kiss on her shoulder, “I wouldn’t have you cooking on our honeymoon anyway.”
“I appreciate that. Now-stop fussing with that, I can manage-speaking of the honeymoon, shall we get down to certain, erm…particulars?”
She said it with a spark in her eye, which was counterbalanced by the flush that sprang to her face. Hornblower trailed his fingers down her back and left her to her own devices, turning his attention to his uniform. As he unbuttoned his jacket, he heard a clinking sound and realized that he’d forgotten to remove his watch. He pulled it out and ran his hand over the face, watching the silver glint in the lamplight. Then, with a grin, he crossed the room and placed the watch face-down, on the farthest corner from the bed. Tonight, he had no need to know what the time was.
I have a few other ideas for these two, which I may write and post eventually. There's going to be one more related post after this, which is more in the "crack fiction" vein...you'll see when I get there. After that, though, I'm going to take a little break and try to focus on my other various writing projects, although I'll still be hanging around here, commenting on everyone else's lovely work.
I want to thank everybody who stuck with me through this (especially my Year+ hiatus) and left me such nice comments. I especially want to thank eglantine_br for being so encouraging. It got off to a slow start, but this was a joy to write, and I'm glad people enjoyed reading it. Cheers to all of you!
TITLE: Windfalls, Epilogue
RATING: PG-13 for implications.
WORD COUNT: 909
PAIRING, IF ANY: Horatio Hornblower/Captain Amelia
SPOILER WARNING: None.
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing here.
SUMMARY/NOTES: The threshold is crossed.
Hornblower straightened his neckerchief for the sixth time, knowing it was perfectly straight but needing something to do with his hands. Bush stood beside him, cool and collected, although he seemed to be suppressing a grin. “What’s the time?” Hornblower asked curtly.
Bush consulted his watch. “Five minutes to Eight.”
Hornblower nodded and put his hands behind his back, looking resolutely in front of him. He refused to keep glancing back at the door; the last thing he wanted was to look like an overeager schoolboy. Bush, perhaps understanding this, said nothing, preferring to keep a companionable silence.
At last, off in the distance, Hornblower heard a clock chime Eight. At the same moment, Bush turned his head and made an admiring noise. Hornblower finally allowed himself to look over his shoulder…and felt his breath catch in his throat.
Amelia had entered the church, head held high, wearing a simple white gown. Even though this was the first time Hornblower had seen her in skirts, she moved in such a way that it managed to look natural on her. She had a crown of flowers on her head, and even though she had a veil and train draped artistically around her, her ears could be seen through the gauze. She looked marvelous, with her flashing eyes and broad grin. Archie walked beside her, arm linked with hers, his Commander’s epaulette prominently displayed.
Hornblower smiled at both of them as they reached the front of the church. “A pleasure to see you again, Commander Kennedy.”
“Likewise, Captain Hornblower,” Archie responded with an easy grin, “May I present to you Captain Drake, soon to be Mrs. Hornblower?”
“Not as soon as all that,” Amelia laughed, “We agreed that I should keep my surname, at least till war’s end. Two Captain Hornblower’s running around the navy might cause a little confusion.”
“Besides, the fewer opportunities the sailors have to make jibes at the name ‘Hornblower’, the better,” Hornblower added, “I couldn’t do that to you.”
“Is everybody assembled?” the priest interjected quietly. Hornblower blushed and turned back to the pulpit. “Yes.”
The priest smiled in understanding and opened his bible, “Then let’s begin.”
***
“Oof. Really, Horatio, this isn’t necessary.”
“It’s tradition.”
“Can you even see through all the muslin? How do you intend to find the knob?”
“I’ll manage.”
He could tell Amelia was rolling her eyes. “Oh, here!” He heard the door creak open. “Just move straight ahead.”
Hornblower followed her instructions, moving from the dim hall into their room, which had already been lit for them. “All right, you’ve passed it. Now put me down before you strain something.”
Hornblower set Amelia back on her feet. Despite her dry tone, she looked rather amused by the whole proceeding. “I had no idea that you were such a stickler for tradition. A proper wedding breakfast, flowers in the church, and now this.”
“I’ve always believed in doing things right.” Hornblower responded modestly. She laughed lightly. “Be that as it may, this is the first wedding I heard of with two best men. Not to mention exiting the church to the drawn swords, cheering, and gun salutes of no less than three ship’s crews. The passerby must have thought there was some sort of riot going on.”
Hornblower stroked her ear lightly, deliberately rolling the tip between his fingers. She quieted at that and kissed him, hand pressing into his chest. When they broke apart, he carefully lifted the wreath and veil off her head, setting it onto the nearest surface. “How long is your leave?”
“Three weeks this time. The Admiralty was rather generous when I had the audacity to ask for an extra week on account of my impending marriage. The order was signed by one Edward Pellew, who I’ve never had dealings with. You wouldn’t happen to have mentioned something when you were under him in the flotilla, by chance?”
Hornblower cleared his throat and set down his hat. “I believe he was aware of it, although I never said anything to him directly.”
“I shall have to write him a thank-you,” Amelia mused, reaching behind her to start unbuttoning her dress, “How long do you have in port?”
“A week, that I know of.” Hornblower answered, touching her hands and taking over the task.
“Good,” Amelia said, arching her shoulders and allowing the dress to slide off, “Enough time to get a taste of married life. Forgive me if I’m unable to cook for you, my dear; the kitchen appears to be unfinished.”
“None of that,” Hornblower admonished gently, unable to resist planting a light kiss on her shoulder, “I wouldn’t have you cooking on our honeymoon anyway.”
“I appreciate that. Now-stop fussing with that, I can manage-speaking of the honeymoon, shall we get down to certain, erm…particulars?”
She said it with a spark in her eye, which was counterbalanced by the flush that sprang to her face. Hornblower trailed his fingers down her back and left her to her own devices, turning his attention to his uniform. As he unbuttoned his jacket, he heard a clinking sound and realized that he’d forgotten to remove his watch. He pulled it out and ran his hand over the face, watching the silver glint in the lamplight. Then, with a grin, he crossed the room and placed the watch face-down, on the farthest corner from the bed. Tonight, he had no need to know what the time was.
I have a few other ideas for these two, which I may write and post eventually. There's going to be one more related post after this, which is more in the "crack fiction" vein...you'll see when I get there. After that, though, I'm going to take a little break and try to focus on my other various writing projects, although I'll still be hanging around here, commenting on everyone else's lovely work.
I want to thank everybody who stuck with me through this (especially my Year+ hiatus) and left me such nice comments. I especially want to thank eglantine_br for being so encouraging. It got off to a slow start, but this was a joy to write, and I'm glad people enjoyed reading it. Cheers to all of you!