Chain of Iron

Chapter Thirty-Two

Cordelia sat in her seat in the grand gardens of the Consul's house, dressed in one of her finest gowns, attending the wedding of Charles Fairchild and Grace Blackthorn. It was a beautiful day outside; the sunny was shining warmly and there was not one cloud in the sky. A rarity for London. Cordelia looked around; Will and Tessa were speaking with Cecily and Gabriel Lightwood and not too far behind them, Sophie and Gideon Lightwood were speaking with Henry Fairchild who was beaming. Cordelia figured that this was one of the happiest days of Henry's life; his eldest son was getting married. Lucie had not come, as Jesse had only woken up from his coma this morning, and she did not wish to leave him. Cordelia had felt much relief that Jesse had turned out to be okay; Lucie would have never recovered if he had not been.

Cordelia stole a glance at James who sat beside her. He had far away look in his golden eyes but he had not been as upset as she had thought he would be. Cordelia also had noticed that he no longer wore the silver bracelet given to him by Grace and she was curious as to why. Cordelia did not ask him why though - not wishing to upset him. Being married to James had proved to be much less awkward than she had initially thought; she was now accustomed to sleeping in the same bed as him and would be lying if she said that she did not like falling asleep to the sound of his slow breaths.

"Are you alright, James?" Cordelia asked him gently.

He seemed to snap out his trance and gave her a small smile. "Yes, I am, Daisy."

Cordelia looked at him, doubtful. "Are you sure? I can't imagine that being here is easy for you."

James sighed. "It is difficult, but not as difficult as I had once thought. Something has changed within in me although I do not know what it is."

"You need not worry, Jamie." Spoke Christopher who sat behind him, listening to their conversation. "I am quite certain that this marriage will not last long anyway."

Beside him, Thomas chuckled as did Cordelia and James. Everyone was then told by Charlotte Fairchild to take their seats and Cordelia turned her head to see Charles walking in alongside Matthew. Charles had asked his younger brother to be his suggenes and Cordelia could only admire Matthew for a moment. He was giving the crowd his infamous smile and then his eyes met with Cordelia's. She offered him a small smile to which he returned and hastily averted his eyes elsewhere. Matthew walked his older brother all of the way to the altar and then stood at the side of it, just as he had with James.

Music began to play then and Grace began to walk down the aisle. Cordelia had to admit that she looked beautiful in her golden wedding gown and beside her, she felt James tense. Grace wore a smile on her face although it did not reach her eyes. She sought out James in the crowd and held his gaze for a moment and then joined Charles at the altar. They stood hand in hand, just as Cordelia and James had, and Charlotte Fairchild began to officiate the wedding. As she spoke, Cordelia noticed that James had balled his hands into fists in his lap, his skin turning very white.

Without thinking, Cordelia reached over and held one of his hands. James looked up at her, surprised for a moment, but smiled at her warmly. They sat there then, holding hands, and Cordelia not help but think that they probably really did look like a married couple in that moment. Matthew looked over at them, his eyes focusing in on their interlaced hands, and immediately looked away. Charles and Grace then proceeded to mark each other with the wedding rune, on the instruction from Charlotte.

"By the Angel, I hope we did not look as awkward as they do up there." James whispered to her, amusement clear in his voice.

Cordelia giggled. "I don't believe that we could ever look that awkward."

He only grinned and Cordelia returned it, her heart fluttering. She watched as Grace finished marking Charles and then Charlotte pronounced them to be husband and wife. Charles gave Grace a quick peck on the lips and Cordelia resisted the urge to cringe; James had been right, they certainly did seem awkward. The ceremony finished then, and everyone headed to the ballroom. Charles and Grace had decided to hold their ball right after their wedding and not wait until the evening. As James and Cordelia walked, Matthew sidled up to James.