Heart's Content

Part Thirty-Seven

{'The Request' by Edmund Blair Leighton from Wikimedia Commons}

(Author's Note: The last part felt a little short to me and this one started to feel a little long so I took a part off of the beginning and added it to the end of the last part. I bolded the first word where the new section begins to make it easier to find before beginning this part. :) sorry for the inconvenience! I hope you enjoy reading the addition as well as this new part!)

The sound of boisterous male laughter could be heard from the other side of one of the gallery doors and soon after Lisette and Genevieve heard it, the door was tossed open by Sabien who was looking over his shoulder with a broad grin on his face. Behind him appeared Nathaniel with his hair neatly combed and pulled back into a tail at the nape of his neck and allowed to hang down to his upper back in a neatly styled mass of curls. His square jaw was accentuated by his cleanly shaven face and the high collar of his neatly pressed Captain's suit making his appearance one that was all too familiar to Lisette, though he was a touch more sunkissed than he had been when she last saw him and he was definitely darker now than either she or Sabien, not to mention that his musculature had definitely increased in size since last they met.

Sabien had noticed when Nathaniel appeared on the docks that he didn't exactly appear to be the sea weathered Captain that had been expected, it was very obvious he had found a way to thoroughly clean up before he came ashore, likely because he wanted to waste no time before he was able to greet Lisette. He certainly hadn't been wearing what Sabien had expected of someone who had been at sea for no less than half a month, and he wasn't as ragged as he had expected him to be.

"Lizzie, look what washed up at the docks!" The grin on his face remained as he neared Genevieve and his sister with Nathaniel at his side. Nathaniel's eye was trained on Lisette the entire time, her appearance no less lovely to him than it had been when he last saw her.

"Here I was expecting a sea soaked creature of the deeps," Lisette said as she loosened her grip on Genevieve's hand though they still sat shoulder to shoulder, "prim and proper as ever, I see."

While she had been aware of Nathaniel's attending the wedding, she had been unaware of exactly when he would make his appearance, though she was unsurprised by the fact that he had arrived early -- earlier than even the close relatives of the families related to the bride and groom.

Nathaniel's smile broadened just slightly and he exchanged an amused glance with Sabien, "and you are of course as fiery as ever and equally as lovely," he punctuated his statement with a charismatic smirk that was received by Lisette with a roll of her eyes and a soft smile from Genevieve who had lowered her gaze, uncomfortable with the presence of the newcomer, though her discomfort was not very much eased when Nathaniel addressed her in an attempt to alleviate it, "and this gorgeous creature must be the bride-to-be."

The last words of his greeting seemed to make everyone in the room aside from himself uncomfortable, but he either didn't realize it or chose to ignore it, offering Genevieve a gallant bow as he held out his hand to her, "'tis lovely to meet you, my dear. Sabien has told me much about you and I assure you, it was all very becoming," Genevieve gave a hesitant glance to Lisette who sighed softly and gave a slight nod of her head. It wasn't as though Genevieve needed her permission, it was more so she needed the encouragement to accept the hand that was offered and once she had it, she placed her right hand in his. Nathaniel was ever the pinnacle of decorum, and showed no sign of shirking from her scarred appendage, nor did he seem at all surprised by it, and for this Genevieve and the Olivay siblings were very much appreciative.

Sabien was silent for several moments as his expression turned from cheerful to somewhat somber and awkward before he regained his cheerful demeanor once again, the usual spectrum of emotion he went through every time he newly recognized the reality of his situation and the close proximity of the actual date of his wedding, "forgive me, where are my manners?" He gently cleared his throat and laughed, clapping a hand on Nathaniel's back, "Genevieve, 'tis my pleasure to present to you Captain Nathaniel Giullero."