Chapter 43
Previously: The Rose of Whitby – Chapter 42
Well, that… didn’t go so well. Arthur’s not sure what happened exactly, he couldn’t hear the details, and he’s just as glad. But he didn’t miss how angry John looked. When he asks Gregory about it, Gregory only looks confused and shrugs and says he doesn’t know what he said, he was only trying to help.
Whatever it was, it doesn’t stop Gregory from going back to enjoying himself, which makes Arthur feel only more out of place. And, well, John’s gone, so he really doesn’t see a reason to stay around. He finishes his beer, tells Gregory he’s going back, brushes aside his exhortations that he should stay and relax and have some fun!, and slips out into the night.
As the door swings closed behind him and reduces the noise inside to a murmur, he lets out a big breath and shudders with relief. This close to the harbour, the air smells of brine and fish and tar, not exactly pleasant, but fresher than a room full of men and alcohol. Arthur keeps his eyes open for any dangers on the way back, but even so, being alone in the darkness is much more relaxing than being in a pub as far as he’s concerned.
~~~~
The long walk back to the castle clears John’s mind somewhat, maybe he overreacted. The alcohol didn’t do his temper any favours. That thought makes him shudder. He doesn’t want to be his father. He fucking doesn’t want to be one of those guys! But he didn’t lash out, he didn’t get violent, he just walked off. So it’s okay, he probably still has it together. He hopes.
A loud rustle in the bushes along the castle’s driveway startles him out of his worries. Fuck, he totally wasn’t paying any attention and it’s dark. Hasn’t he been warned all his life… fuck that, he’s not some helpless girl or kid or whatever else somebody next tries to impose on him. So he turns to face who or whatever is stalking him.
It’s a… dog? A huge dog! Fuck, if that’s a stray, he might still be in trouble… okay, well-behaved stray. Wait a moment. He knows that colour. Colours have always been a strong point of his, he needs that eye for detail to get his dreamscape recreations realistic so he trusts his impressions. “Darcy?”
The sheepish look is so very unlike any dog that it solidifies his suspicion and suddenly, he feels all his worries and the still-nagging anger fall off him. That’s his girl. Looking mighty fine as… oh, totally not a dog, that must be a wolf. He’s never seen a wolf before, so now he’s extra curious and goes down on a knee, beckons her closer. It’s too dark for him, he’d love to see her better, and okay, maybe it’s the alcohol talking, but he tells her just that. He didn’t think she could look any more adorable, but she does, so he laughs and gets up to walk her back to the castle. He’s walking his girl back! Yes, that right here gives him the feeling of being a man he thought he’d get in town. No, this is much better and it grows only more perfect when Darcy turns back human and accepts the arm he’s offering her.
~~~~
He didn’t even flinch! He recognized her! Darcy got antsy waiting alone back in the castle, both about a sense of not wanting Gregory drinking and doing who knows what at a pub, and about having sent Arthur to a place she’s sure he doesn’t enjoy. And yes, she admits, also a bit about John… She’s not entirely sure what she was worried about, but when she saw him out alone on the road as she was flying overhead, she just had to swoop down to check he was okay. Not knowing what he’d think of her, a girl, alone outside, she didn’t want to give herself away immediately. But he saw right through it, he saw right to her soul. And her worries fell away then. He’s safe, even though he smells of beer.
She knows all the things a girl isn’t supposed to do, foremost not being alone with drunk men. But he’s not any man, and she’s not a girl, she’s a night creature and he saw that. Still sees it while he walks her home as he talks about wanting to make her a wolf body in his dreamscape, and asks if she has any favourite stories about wolves. She ends up talking about all her beloved fairy tales, and how the monster is always so misunderstood while he laughs that the same goes for the rakes he always identified with, and that, right that is a conversation she is happy to have until he brings her safely to her room at bedtime when Gregory still isn’t back from town.
~~~~
Arthur gets more nervous in proportion to how much closer the wedding gets. It’s a good thing it turns out you can actually research wedding things, because what does he know about that? It’s not like he’s ever been to one, never mind a fancy, noble one.
At least this one is private, so he doesn’t have to worry too much about getting the etiquette perfect. But it’s of course very important to Darcy, and he wants it to be perfect for her. He doesn’t want her to be sad or feel like something was missing. So, of course he asked Gregory about the state of the wedding vows when Darcy asks him to, seeing as she can’t possibly write Gregory’s vows, and Gregory can’t write…
And of course the state of the vows is Gregory giving him pleading eyes for help, so… he does. Even if it makes him feel kind of weird- like he’s intruding on something private. But no one else thinks he’s intruding, so here they are, with Gregory admitting that he doesn’t know where to start, and how to do this.
Which, fair enough, it’s not like Gregory’s ever been to any weddings, either. (The whole idea of Gregory getting married is still, frankly, very weird.) And, thank god, Darcy has already written hers and he has a copy, so he can model Gregory’s on that.
That is a very good thing, because… because it’s a bit like pulling teeth, getting something out of Gregory to build the vows from. Okay, no- that’s unfair, Arthur chides himself. Gregory is just nervous, too. Probably Arthur in his place would need someone to prod him on how to think about this, too- what Darcy means to him and what he loves about her, and how they met and, based on Darcy’s vows, what he wants to promise her for their relationship.
Five promises, then the line “I will walk beside you all the days of my life”, changing to his demon form and making his promises specific to that (fighting and protection and a shoulder to lean on), another repetition of that line, then changing to Pretty and those promises (being a faithful companion and listening and being there to warm her), and then another repetition of the line and a conclusion to echo Darcy’s.
Arthur looks over the result with a critical eye and thinks it works? It’s all a bit elaborate for his taste, but he supposes that’s romantic, and it’s not like his opinion on that matters. He reads the result out to Gregory:
“When we first met, you seemed out of reach, a princess rescued from a dark castle,
and I saw you struggle and grow through trials that would have broken other people.
You are an amazing person, and I love you, and from this day forward, I promise you this:
I will always be a safe rock for you to stand on
I will always remind you how wonderful you are
I will respect you as an individual, a partner, and an equal.
I will make you laugh
and I promise to always love you
I will walk beside you all the days of my life,
I will always fight at your side and protect you if you need it
I will provide a furry shoulder to lean on if you need it
I will walk beside you all the days of my life,
I will always be your faithful companion, ready to listen when you need it
I will always be there to warm you if you need it
I will walk beside you all the days of my life,
when you are my strong woman, and my wife.”
Gregory beams and hugs him and declares him brilliant, and would’ve run right off if Arthur hadn’t reminded him that now he’ll need to learn these by heart. Gregory pulls a face at that, but droops his head and shoulders and agrees with a: “Fiiiiine, I guess you’re right…”
Which, of course Arthur is, there isn’t much point to writing these if Gregory isn’t going to remember them. That gets him a sheepish look, and Arthur relents, tells Gregory they can sit down and do that tomorrow morning- mostly because, thinking about the ceremony, it’s just occurred to him that they’re missing a rather important position that needs filling: Who’s going to bring the rings to exchange after all this vowing to each other?
Lucy is holding the ceremony, and Dr Seward is giving Darcy away, and Arthur is best man- so either he or Dr Seward would’ve had to do it, but now they have someone else in the house, and… well, John likes Darcy and he’s involved in the wedding planning, and maybe he’d like to do it?
Arthur tucks his notebook with the written vows into his breast pocket, and heads off to ask him. Gregory has already disappeared, run off to do whatever it is he does when he’s not with Arthur these days.
That thought sends a small pang through Arthur- it used to be that they spent most of their time together, except for when Gregory was off earning money. Now Arthur barely sees him for more than a chat at breakfast some days.
But he supposes that’s part of growing up, and Gregory being in love and getting married and being a knight postulant and everything.
And it does have its upsides- Arthur can read without being pestered to read Treasure Island to Gregory for the umpteenth time. Not that he doesn’t love Treasure Island, but he can read it a lot faster if he doesn’t have to say all the words. And then he can read half a dozen more books in that time.
Yes, he decides, he likes having his peace and quiet in the lab or the library. For now, he heads to Darcy’s study for the most likely location to find John in to ask him about being ring bearer.
And that’s exactly where he finds John, sitting right next to Darcy as he’s seen him do most days lately. As is John having his fingers on her temple while they both look off into the distance with a glassy, distracted expression, before they blink out of it again and take lots of notes.
Arthur hadn’t realized you could use John’s aberration power for wedding planning, but clearly… you can. And Darcy seems to have fun with it, too- she laughs and is all relaxed and happy when planning like this with John, more relaxed than she is when she and Arthur are discussing things together. Which… well, he’s happy for her. After all, her wedding is supposed to be important and fun for her, right? She’s giggling right now, tells John: “You’re right, that was a terrible idea. Those colours clash! Thank you for showing me.”
Arthur knocks shyly on the open door to announce himself. “Um… am I interrupting…?”
~~~~
Startling slightly because she really didn’t notice him walking up, Darcy smiles and shakes her head, tells him that John is helping her with making decisions for the wedding. Gregory is… well, she’s sure he’s just too nervous; he said he doesn’t care and that she’ll make the best decisions anyway. But she didn’t think she could do everything on her own, and Arthur must be so busy with his part already, so she didn’t want to impose any further, but of course John’s always there for her. She beams at John, who rubs his neck and just shrugs that, sure, he’s there for her. Turning back to Arthur, though, she reassures him that he can always ask, what can she do for him?
~~~~
Arthur steps a little into the room so he’s not hovering awkwardly in the doorway (meaning, now he’s hovering awkwardly in the middle of the room… oh well), gestures vaguely at his breast pocket, lets them know he sat down with Gregory and the vows are taken care of. And, um… there was a wedding thing he wanted to ask John about? Uh, privately? He gives both of them a sheepish smile- he’s not sure this needs to be private, but maybe it’d be a nice surprise for Darcy for John being ring bearer? John can tell her after if he thinks it’s better that way, he decides.
~~~~
There’s that emotion John hates seeing on her playing over her face again. That insecurity John doesn’t know what to do about, but then Darcy instead smiles at Arthur and thanks him, heartily, for writing the vows. If he needs John for something, then it must be important, so please, she has more than enough still to do on the barony paperwork side. John can see the sheen of the painted on cheer and as every time, it turns his stomach.
The longer he’s around Darcy, the more he wants to protect her. Not from the imaginary dangers Gregory seems to see everywhere. As if Darcy was some kind of damsel, fucking bullshit, no, from her own inner dangers, from her not always knowing how to deal with social situations. He gets that, he’s never been taught how to be a man; she’s never been taught how to be a baroness. They muddle through together, and he loves her only more for that. She always makes him feel like more of a man, so yes, he’ll do whatever he has to to help her feel more like herself, too. Even if that means helping her plan a wedding he’s not convinced of, but he’s not going to disrespect another man who somehow managed to make a woman like that agree to marry him. He just wishes he could calm down his misgivings as to how well-informed Darcy’s decision really was.
Anyway, Arthur asked for his input, so he gets up and asks if they can do this while walking, he’s been sitting for a while now.
~~~~
Arthur nods, not at all opposed to a walk, and once they’re down the corridor a ways, asks John if, uh, well… he remembered they don’t have a ring bearer, and… would he like to do it? Maybe it’d be a nice surprise for Darcy? He darts a sideways look at John, not sure what reaction to expect.
~~~~
Ring bearer? Him? Right, there’s nobody else left to do it and it would mean he gets to do something. It means he could be right up front next to Darcy, rather than having to sit in the front row, seeing the woman he’s pretty sure he’s falling in love with marry another man. Ring bearer… more bearer of his own broken dreams but yes, for his girl he can do it. For Darcy he feels he could do most everything. It still only comes out as a nod towards Arthur. He’s not stupid enough to show much emotion, guys don’t do that, and Arthur is Gregory’s best friend, he can’t fuck up with him. Well, really, any of them, but then again, Arthur’s shy, that’s plain and obvious to see, so he doubts that Arthur would rile up Gregory against him. So he adds a “Sure. For Darcy,” to the nod.
~~~~
That… isn’t exactly an enthusiastic agreement, but it’s an agreement, so Arthur offers John a hesitant smile for it. “Great, um… what else do we still need to deal with? Are things coming together?”
~~~~
John tells him that he took over from Gregory about the side of planning that he was supposed to do with Lucy. He has also been coordinating with Seward on the paperwork for the official wedding later this month. Darcy is somewhat in shambles about the official wedding, his… uh, he means, the baroness is rightfully known for being socially shy, but after the duel in York they ended up getting a lot of nosy people who are trying to get invitations in hopes of the next scandal. John’s face goes dark for a second because he knows that the wedding is a scandal anyway, he’s definitely not the only one with the suspicion that Darcy is marrying Gregory so quickly to make sure nothing is showing that could ruin her reputation even worse.
In any case, Lucy has been helping with fielding a lot of that correspondence, a lot of polite and politically not incendiary regrets on keeping the wedding party and reception small. They’ve been making excuses left, right, and centre about only having access to a small venue in town because the castle has been in disrepair for so long and is in no state to host a proper wedding reception, and most nobles are in London for the season anyway, they couldn’t impose on them to travel. Yada yada. But yes, they’re dealing with that.
For the private ceremony, he thinks they are pretty much set if Arthur has made sure that Gregory is ready.
~~~~
Arthur assures him that he’ll make sure Gregory is ready and knows his part- and, well, he probably isn’t much use with the official wedding preparations, but if there’s anything he can do to help… let him know?
~~~~
After thinking for a moment, John nods again and tells Arthur that he knows from Darcy that he’s got a good head for numbers and planning on his shoulders, so if John could leave some of the logistics to him, that would help free him up to do more on the heavier topics. Leave the haggling to him though; just make sure their venue has the right numbers on guests and how much they want of everything. Don’t get into any conversations about something being out and them needing to replace it with more expensive things. Call him in when it happens, he knows how merchants try to push people into unnecessary upsells, after all.
~~~~
Arthur nods, and pulls out his notebook to write himself a reminder on that- he knows how to sneak and steal things, negotiations and, it sounds like, scamming isn’t so much his thing. Apparently it’s a merchant thing John knows about, though? Not that he says any of that out loud, and he doesn’t want to pry, so just agrees that, yes, he can definitely look at the numbers and make sure everything works there.
~~~~
Looking over things… That reminds John, and he really doesn’t want to, but if he has to sit through this entire painful procedure, he wants Darcy to have the best experience she can have, and he remembers the look she had when Arthur told her he saw to the vows. She’s not trusting either Gregory or Arthur to not fuck this up, and of course she can’t check herself. So, ready to have his stomach turned, John offers to check over things for Arthur, too, things like the vows for example.
~~~~
Arthur blinks, tries to figure out whether John means that in a helpful or an… insulting way- he’s really hard to read, Arthur decides. But also, since he doesn’t know what he’s doing, and maybe John’s just gruff by nature?, he shrugs and flips his notebook to the page with the vows, offers it to John with a: “Thanks?”
~~~~
Taking the notebook with a grunted “Sure, we’re doing this for Darcy,” John stops walking to be able to read better, and fuck is he glad that he’s doing this whole thing about not showing emotions anyway. Wow, just fucking wow. He can tell that it definitely was Arthur who wrote those, the sentence structure is way over Gregory’s head, but the “sounding like a cheesy romance book protagonist”, yeah, Gregory, spot on. Just that John can’t help himself and wonder if that whole cheesy thing isn’t on purpose. Darcy lives in her books, never been outside, never been around people, she’d fall for all the stupid tropes and clichés. It would sound familiar, a little bit of safety when she’s scared of social interactions.
But still, fucking excuse him on the promises and that lead-in paragraph? Does Gregory have any fucking clue who Darcy is? Just about the only thing that sounds like her is the ‘furry shoulder’ part. It’s not hard to spot that she much prefers animals and mythical beasts. Yeah, fat lot of good those vows are going to be but… ugh, Arthur looks so shy as is. He wrote those, and John can only guess how fucking hard that must have been, Gregory probably was more of a hinderance than a help, so he forces himself to nod and hand the notebook back. “They’ll do, and you obviously tried to model on hers.”
~~~~
Arthur nods, offers John a relieved smile. “Yes, I did- and, um, it’s not like I ever did anything like this before, so… I’m glad they’re okay?”
~~~~
John’s not going to admit that he has far, far too much experience daydreaming about what he would tell his girl if he would need to make vows, so he just shrugs and admits that yeah, it’s difficult to get something so important right, but those vows sound like Gregory. He’ll allow himself that dodge on them being okay, because fuck no. But saying that is not his place, much as he really, really wishes he could allow himself to dream of being the rake riding in and kidnapping the heroine from this fucking bullshit fate of hers, stuck with a dolt of a hero who somehow the world doesn’t seem to see for what he really is: a selfish arse.
~~~~
Arthur’s glad to hear that they sound like Gregory’s vows- they are, after all. So he nods, assures John he’ll make sure Gregory knows them and when to say them and everything, and… tucks his hands into his pockets, feeling awkward because now he doesn’t know what to talk about next.
~~~~
Maybe John shouldn’t take pity on him, but he can read the body language easily enough and really, with Gregory being that one’s best friend, well fuck, he’s been used for much longer than Darcy, so John decides to be the better man. He apologizes for the night he ran out of the pub, Arthur looked pretty miserable in that corner, people aren’t his thing, eh? Next time maybe they could rather do something else.
~~~~
Arthur blushes a little, but nods- he’s aware his lack of people skills is obvious. So he agrees that, no, pubs and people aren’t his thing. He likes books? And, uh… magic? And horses?
~~~~
Fuck, no wonder that Gregory is playing this one easily. John hates that he can already think of a few ways how he could get Arthur on his side, but he wilfully pushes those thoughts to the side, he’s not his fucking father! Instead, he admits that he knows jack shit about magic, or horses, but yeah, he’s read books, if that wasn’t obvious from that Treasure Island dreamscape he trapped them all in, well, and from his name. Okay, fine, that one isn’t manipulation, that’s just the fucking truth, so he adds “Appreciate it that you are using my name. Thanks.”
~~~~
Arthur feels, and probably looks, confused for a moment- why wouldn’t he? Then it occurs to him that ‘John’ is probably not what his parents named him. “Uh… well, it’s your name?” he offers, rather lamely, he feels.
~~~~
“Yeah, Darcy made sure of it.” For once, no, John isn’t worried about showing his happiness about that. Thinking of everything she did for him, of all her work to help him show the world his real self, just feels too fucking good to hide. That’d be an insult to her and fuck no, he’ll never do that, so instead he walks with more of a strut.
~~~~
“She’s good like that,” Arthur agrees- now that smile looks genuine, and he’s glad to see it. “So, uh… you’re happy to stay here?”
~~~~
Maybe it’s a bit too open, but John doesn’t feel like lying about Darcy, ever, he just makes sure that it doesn’t sound sappy. “Everything I give a fuck about is here.”
~~~~
“Um… I’m glad to hear that?” Arthur offers. “I mean, it’d suck if you were stuck here and didn’t like it…” He ducks his head. “Things can get… kind of weird and crazy here, after all…”
~~~~
That has John snort. Not as if he didn’t cause one of those weird and crazy events so why not, he punches Arthur on the shoulder with a laugh. “Seen worse and Darcy can use the backup.”
~~~~
Arthur offers him a grin. “Yeah, I suppose… I’m, uh… glad you’re okay? No side effects from all that poisoning?”
~~~~
“Nah, you’re too good a healer.” And that was out before John had thought it through; it was such an obvious way to talk himself on Arthur’s good side, fuck. He knows why he doesn’t talk much generally, it’s too easy. He doesn’t want to show that he has all the training to win his battles with sweet talking people, he doesn’t want to show that he knows how to read people, see the small details and use them. It’s such a feminine way of getting through life and he hates it so, no, time to clam up again before Arthur starts suspecting him of anything.
~~~~
Arthur, for his part, blushes again. “Um, thanks? Though poisoning isn’t really the strongest suit of my healing… Anyway! It’s, uh, nice to have another person in the household. Who knows about weird things.”
~~~~
Nodding with a grunt, John turns a corner to get back in the direction of the study, and uses the lull in the conversation, no matter if he’s the reason for it, to excuse himself to more work, he’ll read up on what he’s supposed to do as ring bearer, too.
~~~~
Arthur’s glad to hear that- it is good to have people around who can read, especially now that there’s way more reading of things necessary than there used to be for him to get through… well, his life, he supposes. He says his good-byes to John, and decides to curl up in the library for a bit himself- do some reading on the later official wedding stuff he’ll have to contend with soon enough. But he feels like he’s gotten to know John just a tiny bit better, and that’s nice.