A Special Day
Francis Appreciation Week - Francis Lives AU
Francis & Elizabeth get ready for an important occasion.
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"How do I look?" Elizabeth straightened her hat, turning to Francis. Smiling he came forward and took both of her hands, bringing them to his lips.
"You will be the most beautiful woman there, my love."
"Is that not supposed to be the bride? Besides, I am a little too old to be trying to outshine other ladies!"
"Nonsense. You outshine them all effortlessly." With a laugh, Elizabeth turned away.
"Flatterer." He laughed, the corners of his eyes crinkling. Those small lines were one of the few signs of age wearing upon him, aside from a touch of grey at his temples, and the occasional stiff shoulder in wet weather. He was hardly ancient, of course - not yet fifty, but he had confessed that the impending marriage of their eldest son was making him feel rather old.
Geoffrey Charles had just turned five-and-twenty - about the same age as Francis had been when his parents married. His young bride - soon to be twenty-one - was Adéle Soulier, the daughter of a French emigre who had managed to smuggle himself and his then infant child out of the country at the height of the Terror. The engagement of the heir to Trenwith and a French Catholic had raised some eyebrows in the district - especially amongst the society ladies who might have hoped to marry their own eligible daughters into such a prominent family - but so far as Francis and Elizabeth were concerned, as long as Geoffrey Charles was happy, nothing else mattered.
"Mama! Eleanor stole my ribbon!"
"I did not!" At seventeen years old, Eleanor Poldark was the image of her father - soft brown curls and a gentle face. Her younger sister, fifteen-year-old Henrietta by contrast took after Elizabeth - in looks if not temperament. The two sisters were incredibly close - and fought like hellcats.
"Well, where is it, then?"
"Probably somwhere in that midden you call your room!"
"Girls!" They quietened down instantly at Francis' admonishment, standing sheepishly beside one another in Trenwith's large entrance hall. "None of that today. As soon as Geoffrey Charles is off on his wedding trip you may resume battle, but for today we shall have a truce, hmm?"
"Yes, Papa." They chorused and Elizabeth hid a smile behind her gloves.
"Now, let me look at you both." Eleanor wore blue and Harriet pale lilac. "Beautiful. Just like your mama."
Elizabeth glanced at the clock.
"Girls, get your hats, it is almost time to go. Geoffrey Charles!" She called up the stairs. "Are you ready? The bride may be late for her wedding but you may not."
"I am coming, mama! I was merely catching this little imp." Geoffrey Charles appeared on the landing, carrying his youngest sibling in his arms. Little William, only five, had come along unexpectedly when both Francis and Elizabeth had believed their child bearing years were over. An energetic boy, the bustle of the morning had excited him even more than usual. Elizabeth took him from his brother's arms at the bottom of the stairs.
"There you are! Are you ready to go to Geoffrey Charles' wedding? And see all of your cousins?" He nodded excitedly and Elizabeth kissed him on the forehead.
"Come along, girls, you can escort me to the Church while our dear old parents catch up." Geoffrey Charles held out his arms for his sisters, and a footman opened the front door for them.
"Less 'old', please!" Francis called after them as they disappeared out onto the drive-way. It was a beautiful summer's day, so they had decided to walk to the Church as a family. With a smile, Francis turned back to her, reaching up to gently pat William's back. "Are you ready, my dear?"
"Yes."
"Did you ever think this day would come?" At his question Elizabeth was taken back to a terrible night many years ago, when she had stood almost on this very spot as Ross told her that Francis had almost drowned in the mine, and that his life might still be in danger. Three days and nights she sat by her husband's beside, praying that he would not be taken from her just when they had begun a new chapter of their lives together.
Now, here they stood, after so many happy years, and with three more beautiful children, about to see their eldest son marry. Smiling, Elizabeth laid a hand on Francis' cheek, and tilted her head to kiss him softly.
"Perhaps not. But I have always dreamt of it."