“Pen, are you asleep?”
“No, I’m too excited.”
“Me too. Are you presentable? May I come in?”
“I’ll just throw a blanket over my shoulders. Give me a second.”
Her bare feet pattered across the floor, and she drew the bolt that protected her from strangers.
Lewis stepped inside and pulled up a chair next to the bed so that Penelope could get back under her warm covers while they talked.
“Are you nervous?” she asked when she had settled with her back against the headboard.
Lewis leaned forward. “Not at all. I thought I would be. But it just feels right, you know? Like slipping your hand into a perfectly fitting glove.” He splayed his fingers away from him, as if he could see the glove resting upon his skin.
Penelope hugged a pillow happily. “I like her very much,” she declared. “She is good for you. May tomorrow be the beginning of a smooth-flowing future.”
Lewis nodded. “I will make sure of it.”
“As far as you areable, dear brother,” Pen corrected him. “There is a reason why the wedding vows cover sickness and poverty, to name but two of the troubles that life may throw at the best of couples. You cannot control every situation. But you may weather it together.”
Lewis cocked his head to the side. “Why do I think that neither of these troubles is what truly concerns you?”
“Indeed, you understand me well enough.” His sister placed her hand upon her heart. “I, for one, pledge my support to you both. Sadly, there are many who will not. You will soon know who your truest friends are. Your world will shrink awhile. It is unavoidable. But you will thrive. As long as you remember what it is you love about each other and celebrate it every day.”
“Wise words, Pen. But too soon. I would prefer, at least for the next few days, to live in a state of oblivion. This is not naïveté or willful blindness, but a decision. There will be plenty of time for the rudeness of others. And I know it will come. You may think me a fool, but Jillian is worth every minute of it. Such antagonists will be like dung on my shoe, to be scraped off and discarded, forgotten about. But Jilly is my north star, a constant bright presence. And I am the luckiest of men.”
“Ah,” sighed Penelope, “if I could find someone who loved me as you do Miss Kinsey, I, too, might tie the knot.”
“I am glad you will not settle for less.”
“What a pair we are: two hopeless romantics.”
There was silence for a while as they pondered this.
“I am glad you are here, Pen.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Another pause.
“Mother is going to have our guts for garters when we get home.”
They stared wide-eyed at each other. Then a contagious smile from Penelope caused one to form on the face of Lewis. Soon, they were chuckling together like two naughty children.
“Poor Mother,” said Pen, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. “She really hasn’t had much luck with her offspring.”
The smile dropped from Lewis’s face. “She brought much of it upon herself.”
“Be that as it may,” replied Pen sagely, “we, at least, have had satisfaction—I, in my freedom from marriage and you in your attainment of it. Our parents have not been as fortunate with their goals. Now that you are claiming your bride, perhaps a little kindness toward them and the dreams they have lost might be in order. Whatever bitterness there has been in the past, this would be a good time to pave the way toward a better connection between you. Let them see the positive effect Jillian has on you.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Maybe a little less talk of rejecting all of society and running barefoot across the estate. Instead, bring some of the Kinsey warmth into our family. Goodness knows we could use it.”
“I won’t have Jilly stick her neck out, only to have her efforts slapped away,” said Lewis fiercely.
“Just don’t hide her away. Her natural goodness will shine if you would let our parents see it.”
