Topic: Something Old

Evan Lassiter

Date: 2012-05-05 19:13 EST
Beltane had finally arrived and with it Evan and Marin's wedding day. Evan could hardly believe he was getting married again and kept wondering when he was going to wake up and realize everything that had happened over the last few weeks was a dream, that Marin was a dream. She was so beautiful, so perfect, sometimes he could hardly believe she was real. It was even harder to believe that she loved him and that she belonged to him. The only thing that could have made things more perfect was if Maggie was there. He often wondered what Marin would think of his Maggie or what Maggie might think of Marin.

He knew the day would come someday when they'd meet, and he'd hoped it wasn't too far away, but for now, he was content knowing Maggie was safe. As for Marin, their love had come as a complete surprise to Evan, who thought he'd never love again, never meet anyone he could steal his heart again the way his Ellie once had. But Ellie was gone now and life went on. He had grieved and avenged Ellie's death, and now it was time to let her go and move on, time to learn to live again. After so much sorrow, Evan had to finally admit that he'd found peace and happiness and hope once more in the arms of a woman he'd come to love and was about to be bound to for the rest of his days. Today on their wedding day.

The laughter coming from upstairs was testament to the buoyant good mood of the Brambles today, not merely because of the wedding, but for the celebration of Beltane they were all engaged to attend. The women had secluded themselves on the upper level, banishing the men to the main room and kitchen. Carla and Jodie had even gone so far as to threaten their men with dire consequences if Evan was allowed to so much as catch a glimpse of Marin before they brought her to his side in the Glen. With Daniel outside saddling Evan's horse and one of the Shires, as well as hitching the other Shire horse to the trap carriage, it fell to Bill to keep the groom company as he got himself ready to get hitched himself. The older man was lounging against the stairs, hands in the pockets of his best suit as he watched Evan moving about. "Feeling all right, lad?"

Banished from the upstairs by the womenfolk, Evan was finishing getting dressed downstairs, so nervous he couldn't manage to get his tie right. He'd looped and tied it several times already and it still looked lopsided. He bathed and scrubbed so hard he'd nearly scrubbed his skin raw. His hair and beard had been trimmed and neatly combed, and he'd even scrubbed his fingernails clean. He was dressed mostly in black, a suit worthy of going to church on Sundays, and though he looked the epitome of calm, inside he was a ball of nerves. "Can't get this dang tie on right," he answered, sounding more than a little frustrated. He glanced toward the ceiling when he heard the laughter coming from upstairs, and he wondered if she was even half as nervous as him. "What's she see in me, Bill" I ain't nothing but a farmhand." He scrutinized his own reflection in the mirror as he fumbled with the tie.

"You're asking me to tell you what?s going on in a woman's mind?" Bill snorted with laughter, finally leaving his lean against the stairs to come and rescue Evan from the complications of tying himself in knots over a flimsy of cloth. Smacking the younger man's hands away, Bill set to knotting the tie himself. "Marin's like her father, Evan," he told the nervous groom. "Sweet-temper, aye, but she knows her mind. She doesn't do anything she's not sure of. Just you hold that to heart."

Evan frowned a little at the older man, who he was starting to think of as a fatherly figure, never having known his own. "I wanna do right by her. I wanna take care of her and make her happy. She deserves to be happy." He wasn't having any doubts about his feelings for her or about getting married, only about whether he was worthy of her love. "I ain't never met no one like her. She's....special."

Bill's smile was far too knowing for a man of his age when speaking to a man like Evan. "Like I said, she doesn't do anything she's not sure of," he repeated himself firmly, giving the tie one last tug to straighten it before stepping back. "She loves you, lad. Some things don't get explained, you just got to accept them." He laid his hand on Evan's shoulder, squeezing firmly in unspoken encouragement.

Evan was still frowning for some reason, but not because he doubted Marin's love or his own feelings for her. That wasn't the problem. "I ain't got nothing to give her but myself. I ain't got no money, no home, no job. I ain't even got a ring to put on her finger. All I got is myself and my horse," he said with a small sigh. He'd actually thought about selling his horse or his gun to buy her a ring, but a man without a horse or a gun wasn't much good at all, in Evan's eyes.

"All she wants is you, Evan; the horse is a bonus." Was this the best time for Bill to be cracking jokes at his companion's expense" It seemed to occur to him that he'd been a little tactless with that comment, if the speed with which he swallowed his smile was anything to go by. "Reminds me ....rings ain't a problem, lad." His hand fell from Evan's shoulder to tuck into his suit jacket, withdrawing a very battered ring box, covered with ancient fading red velvet. "Here."

A brow flickered at Bill's comment regarding his horse, but where Evan came from horses were more than just a means of transportation. He and his horse had been through a lot together. His horse was not a prized possession, but at one time, he'd been his closest friend and only companion. Any further conversation regarding horses, however, halted when Bill pulled that red box from his coat pocket and Evan's gaze moved that way. "What's this?" he asked as he reached for the battered red box.

Bill grinned as he set the little box in Evan's outstretched fingers. "Something old, that's what it is," he told the younger man, moving to lean comfortably against the arm of the nearest chair. "What you got there, lad, is the wedding bands used by our Marin's great-great-great-grandpa and his wife." Inside the box were two simple gold bands, nestled together on a bed of graying black velvet. Both rings were engraved on the inside of the band with two initials; E&M. Bill's grin softened a little. "Edgar and Marion. They built the Brambles."

Evan's expression softened as he opened the ring case and saw the two bands of gold nestled there. Very carefully, he picked up the smaller of the two, noticing the letter M that had been engraved on the inside of the band. He looked the band over before replacing it in the box, a tilt of his head to regard Bill. Edgar and Marion - Evan and Marin. Evan felt a chill against his spine at the irony of it, almost as if it was yet another sign that all of this was meant to be. "And we'll rebuild it," he replied with what sounded like determination in his voice. "I thank you for this." Evan broke off a moment, not really one for sentimentality. "You're a good friend."

Bill snorted cheerfully, shaking his head as though dismissing the gentle moment. He wasn't a man given to the showing of any deep emotion with anyone but his wife and sons, and even then, only in privacy. "You'll be a bigger fan of Jodie when you see what she's done to the shack," he told Evan, pushing back to his feet to clap the younger man on the shoulder warmly. "Place is fit for a king's honeymoon, let alone yours. Decided how many days you're stayin' away yet?"

Evan let the moment pass just as easily, not really given to such moments either, except when he was alone with Marin or when he was with his daughter. He could only hope the older man understood how much his friendship meant to him, especially seeing as he had no kin or friends of his own in this place. Evan couldn't help but smile at the question, looking forward to spending a little time alone with Marin away from the prying but well-meaning eyes of those who lived at the main house. "Reckon that's up to her. Long as she wants."

Bill's sudden bark of laughter at this decision was left unexplained as his son, Daniel, came in through the door. "Horses are ready," he told the two men already there. "Ma shouted down that they're ready to go up there, so's we'd better be off, Evan." Grinning, Bill nodded cheerfully, stepping back toward the stairs. "Good lad, Dan. You get the groom there, leave the women to me." His gray eyes twinkled with teasing amusement as he looked the two younger men over. "You'll do. Best get going before they come down, though."

Evan closed the ring box and tucked it into the pocket of his coat, turning to grab a pair of black gloves he'd left on the table and pull them onto his hands. He nodded his head to Bill. "I'll see you there then." He plucked his hat off the table, as well, and set it on his head, turning toward Daniel. "Best be on our way before she has my head." He smiled a little at the thought of that, a tip of his hat in a final farewell to Bill.

"Aye, that we should." Daniel chuckled, ushering Evan out of the house under his father's watchful eye. Where had all the time gone? It had seemed that only a few days ago the pair had announced their intention to marry at Beltane. Now the day was upon them, and in less than an hour, the name of Richards at the Brambles would be laid to rest in favor of Lassiter and the new master of the house. Bill smirked to himself as he turned to make his way up the stairs. He couldn't wait to see Rogier's face when the news broke that Marin really was out of his reach for good.