Passing as Elias - By Kate Bloomfield Page 0,23

and Captain Greenwood’s face lit up.

‘We can marry at midnight, and stay at a cottage on the outskirts of town.’ He went on, as though he had been thinking about the plan for days.

‘Do you not worry what your parents might think of marrying someone like me?’

The Captain embraced her so lovingly that Elizabeth felt a pang of guilt. ‘Once we consummate our marriage there shall be no separating us.’

Elizabeth gulped as he pulled away. She had not thought about that. She was unsure as to what was expected of a woman on the night of her wedding.

‘So, what say you?’ Captain Greenwood said, positively beaming.

‘I say … yes.’ Elizabeth forced a smile, which did not completely reach her eyes. She had never felt so selfish in her entire life.

They embraced again. The Captain held her so tightly that she feared she might not be able to breathe. Once he had relinquished his hold upon her he stared into her face, his expression one of extreme happiness. Elizabeth tried to imitate him.

Chapter Four

The Midnight Wedding

Elizabeth did not tell her mother that she and Captain Greenwood were planning to elope in only three days time. The Captain had bribed a small chapel out of town to marry them at midnight, and asked the maiden of a small woodland Inn to witness the union, and rent them a room for two nights. They would return home in time for Captain Greenwood to put his affairs in order, and set sail. Elizabeth knew he would sign the deed as soon as she asked him, for he was extremely smitten by her, and would do as she pleased. He had arranged to pick Elizabeth up from her home at the eleventh hour, from where they would proceed by horse and cart to the chapel, which was forty-five minutes out of town. On the day of the marriage, which was a chilly Sunday, Elizabeth packed a travel bag and took her nicest dress from her closet, and hung it up to look at it. It was not wedding-worthy at all. It was a sea-foam green dress with a lace frill around the neck and cuffs. She wished she had something more appropriate to wear yet she could not afford a wedding dress. She imagined herself in an over-the-top gown, and shuddered.

Elizabeth had decided to ignore her guilt, and told herself repeatedly that she would indeed fall in love with the Captain over time. He did not repulse her of course, but she was absolutely sure that he was not ‘the-one’, whatever that meant.

At a quarter to eleven Elizabeth took her suitcase silently down the stairs and placed it at the door. She was already dressed in her finest garments, including the gloves that Captain Greenwood had given her. She had tied her curly red hair into a sleek knot at the back of her head, and worn her finest shoes. She waited nervously in the sitting room; moonlight pouring in through the crack in the curtains. She had not bothered to light the lamps for she would not be staying much longer. So she sat in the dark, waiting in silence for the sound of an approaching carriage.

At two minutes past eleven the sound of trotting horses reached her ears, drawing closer every second. Elizabeth jumped up from her seat and peered through the window. A black, horse drawn carriage trundled up and came to a halt in front of her house. Elizabeth closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Within the hour she would be married - and after that … well, she did not want to think about it.

Elizabeth had composed a short note to her mother so she would not worry when she woke to find Elizabeth missing. She had left it on the mantelpiece, and made it quite brief.

Dear Mother,

Do not worry, I am absolutely fine. I hope you will be quite pleased when I tell you that Captain Greenwood has asked me to marry him. I have accepted, and we are eloping at midnight. By the time you read this, the deed will have been done. We did not wish to make our engagement public, for Captain Greenwood’s parents would be most displeased at his choice for a wife. I therefore hope you can forgive me for keeping this secret from you. You must understand that it was the easiest way. I will be home on Wednesday, and once the Captain has signed the deed to Professor de Bard’s