Duty and Will [Haytham Kenway Love Story]

Chapter 2

After smiling for a long while, and accepting the hearty, but polite congratulations of the people seated near you, you glanced over at your father who was deep in conversation with the man on his left. You were about to tap his elbow to gain his attention, but you were interrupted by the gaudy young woman on your right who was clearly here only for appearances and not because she actually possessed any sort of wit at all.

She tapped your own elbow and quickly leaned close to your ear, not waiting for you to acknowledge her, and whispered in a tone of unbelief and hyper excitement, that you could see was barely contained, "So you get Mr. Kenway! Isn't he so handsome?! And the amount of money he must have! It's enough to get your blood rushing!" She pulled her head away to stare down the length of the table and find the man seated near the head, before turning back to you to hear your response.

You nodded politely, not wishing to make a scene and grateful that she at least had the sense to keep her voice down, if not the sense to hide her oggleing of your future husband. Not that you particularly minded the oggleing. You just wished that she had done it a little further from you. You had no doubt that the higher ups had noticed her staring and you didn't want to be pegged as an immature little housewife type, just because you were sitting next to an immature, prim, little piece of ornamentation.

For a long while after that you avoided looking to the head of the table. But it began to bug you that you had no idea what the man looked like that you were apparently engaged to and had never met before. You began to stew over it internally, and hating yourself for needing to ask, you again moved to tap your father's elbow. He turned from his deep conversation with a look of confusion. You tended to avoid interupting him ever, so the fact that you did now did not escape his notice. He hummed in question and leaned a little your direction, holding up a finger for a moment to the man he was previously conversing with.

"Father," you asked quietly, and turning your head so that most of the table couldn't see your lips moving, "Which one is Mr. Kenway?"

Your father's eyebrows raised and a smirk danced across his face. He misunderstood your reasons for asking, but he answered your question regardless. He discreetly nodded to the head of the table and said quietly, "The one who has his tricorn hat with gold edging hanging on the back of his chair."

You didn't look at first only nodded your thanks and continued eating. After a while you glanced at the man your father had indicated and again schooled your appraising expression to one void of emotion. Your eyes continued to scan the upper table as if you hadn't even seen him.

Though you were inside dreading the thought of marriage, you couldn't help your very female mind from noticing how he was built or how his hair was tied back with a red ribbon, or how he was clearly very muscled under all the layers he was wearing. Or how his jaw was clenched as he bit back something he had wanted to say but had then thought better of.

Yes, Mr. Kenway was attractive. You could clearly see that. But you also saw, in the split second that you had spied him, that he wore it like a mask. Who knows what the real man was like underneath the charming exterior that was on full display.

Then you returned to your eating. Taking small, prim, bites as was proper. Also keeping in mind your very tight corset, and knowing that if you ate too much you would regret it instantly. You sipped the wine in your cup as laughter, a little farther up the table from you and your father, drew your attention. You turned to inspect it, as you weren't currently engaged in a conversation of your own.

And your eyes met. He did not look away. He said something to a man on his right without turning away, and you sent him a half hearted half smile and the slightest of nods, that looked more like a warning than anything else. In return his expression was unreadable. He looked pleasant enough, with a half smile and a nod of his own. But you had no idea what he was thinking behind his sharp, intelligent eyes.

After a moment you were pulled back into a conversation by the woman next to you who you had escaped earlier when she had dropped the matter and moved quickly onto discussing something equally irrelevant with another woman across the table from her. You plastered on a "genuine" smile as your eyes slid away from Mr. Kenway's, a bit peeved that you had been the first to give.

You hoped to God that he was a true Templar, and not in it for his own advancement. You knew without a doubt that you would marry the man either way. You knew that continued access to your father's money, after his death, would greatly benefit the Templar cause and you were willing to aid the cause in any way you could. Would it be too much to ask for a husband who would do the same?

A/N

Oh dear Lord my heart is pounding! And that commitment though!

anyways! let me know what you think!