This was it, then. All of her life Cordelia had dreamt of being able to call James Herondale her husband. But when she had those dreams she had never imagined it to be like this. To be a facade, a play to save her from ruin after she defended him in front of the entire Enclave.
She looks bitterly at the wedded union rune on her lower arm. If she could carve it out she would. But, she scolds herself, did you not agree to do this? You could have objected when he proposed. You could have told him no, but you said yes. She indeed said yes. And now she was standing there in her cotton, sheer nightdress that barely reaches her knees and a soft bronze robe made of silk. It exposed a lot more of her tanned skin that she had ever shown in front of a man.
Tessa, James' mother, had went with her to shop for a wedding gown in the traditional gold colour of the Nephilim. In the parlor she had come across a secluded section in the shop reserved for attire for the night of the wedding. Poor Tessa, believing the marriage between her son and her to be genuine, had brought Cordelia over to the aisle and helped her choose this garment. What she didn't know, what nobody except the Merry Thieves and Lucie knew, was that this was all a sham.
But she couldn't refuse to wear this, nor could she refuse to share her chamber with James for the night. It would cause suspicion, something both of them tried their very best to avoid. Now, she was sitting on the side of the bed and waiting for James to reveal himself from behind the dressing screen. Cordelia was fumbling with her hands, picking at her nails and twisting the Herondale ring around her finger. She was so nervous, though she didn't know exactly why. She had long come to the conclusion that James and her would never consumate their marriage. After all, he was in love with Grace Blackthorn and she.. she was just temporary. James expressed immediately during their proposal that he didn't have romantic feelings for her, shattering her heart.
But Cordelia could no longer continue pondering as James appears from behind the screen. He was dressed in loose fitting trousers and a loose white cotton dress shirt, a bit like her dress but of course shorter. The fabric fell open by his torso, exposing part of his chest. In one hand he held a stele.
James looked at her with those golden eyes of his, but he didn't seem bothered by her state of undress. It was as if it didn't affect him at all. Not that she had expected it to since he was in love with another woman, the bracelet around his wrist being the proof of that love.
