Elizabeth smoothed her dress down again and sighed out her breath heavily as she tried to calm herself. She smiled at Dawn as her sister handed her a small bouquet of white flowers and then took another deep breath. Her heart was all over the place, making her head spin as she tried to breathe in spite of her tight corset.

Pressing her hand into her side and then her stomach, she looked down at her apparel and then at Dawn. Her sister looked beautiful. They had wound her rich brown locks up into a knot and had curled it, allowing two of the ringlets to frame her face.

Hearing the town clock chime out the hour, Elizabeth realised that there was no more time left. This was it.

She nodded to Alexander to show she was ready and then took another deep breath and told herself that she could do this.

Marlin's head shot up as the doors opened and he saw Alexander securing them in place. His eyes followed him as he walked hurriedly down the aisle to where he was standing and nodded at him.

As the light streaming in from outside faltered slightly, Marlin looked at the door. His breath left him as he saw her. She was stunning. Her long blonde hair had been curled slightly and flowed freely around her shoulders. It drew his eyes down to her dress. He was taken aback when he saw that she wasn't wearing what he had expected.

In place of a pale wedding dress, was the red Chinese silk one that he had given her. He arched a brow at it and watched her as she smiled shyly, her cheeks tinting pink.

Elizabeth walked steadily towards him, her eyes remaining fixed on his. She tried to resist her desire to look around her at the small church, but her eyes betrayed her. The candles burned brightly, struggling to light it even in the day. The rows of pews were practically empty. The only people present were a handful of the crew and Alexander. She supposed the rest had to keep watch over the ship and continue the repairs.

Letting her concentration return to Marlin, she smiled at him as she approached. He had cleaned himself up again, his neat black breeches matching his crisp white shirt and polished boots, and she noticed he wasn't wearing his pistols, only his sword. She raised her eyes to meet his again and he cocked his head to one side, looking at her with so much love that she felt compelled to look away, feeling as though she'd done nothing worthy of such deep affection.

Coming to a halt beside him, she handed the bouquet of flowers to her sister and gave Marlin a shy smile.

She listened to the clergyman as he began explaining the solemnity the vows they were about to undertake, but he faded into the background as Marlin leant towards her and spoke.

"I thought I gave you money to purchase a wedding dress," he whispered.

"You did," she answered out of the corner of her mouth.

"So why are you wearing that?" He intimated the red dress.

She smiled at him. "Because you gave it to me, and I fell in love with you while wearing it ... and I wanted to marry you in it."

He smiled at her, and she blushed.

"May we begin?" The clergyman gave them a reprimanding look and they straightened up, both nodding.

The whole ceremony seemed to pass like a blur, nothing more than a few seconds in which Elizabeth kept her eyes locked with Marlin's and tried to memorise how he looked. His eyes held so much love for her that she felt as though she was drowning in them, and she didn't care if she did.

She bit her lower lip as he slid the heavy gold band onto her finger. Her smile showed through her eyes as she reciprocated the token of affection.

Marlin looked down at the ring on his finger and then gave a sideward glance to the clergyman as he pronounced them man and wife.

Tugging Elizabeth towards him, he sucked his cheeks into a wide smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her deeply. He shut out the sound of his crew as they jeered, all of them applauding and calling out comments to him as his lips played passionately against hers.

Breaking the kiss, he scooped up Elizabeth into his arms and grinned as she made a small squeaking noise and clung to him. Carrying her down the aisle, he stepped out into the early afternoon sun and stopped when he caught sight of The Merciless and the distant ocean.

Elizabeth looked at the ship and then at him. She closed her eyes and craned her neck, kissing him tenderly as his grip on her tightened.

"Shall we go home?" he asked as she looked up at him, her fingers toying with his hair.

"Home," she said as the warmth of that word spread through her, and giggled as he carried her back towards the ship.

Elizabeth looked down at the heavy band of gold encircling her ring finger and a serene smile played on her lips. She watched the torchlight flickering on it as she stood on the quarterdeck facing out to sea and brushed her finger over the ring, her smile widening as it shone brightly in the warm light.

"I was wondering where you'd run off to. I should have guessed that I would find you out here." Marlin ran his hands around her waist as he came to stand behind her. He'd known straight away that she would be on the quarterdeck staring at the ring he'd placed on her finger not six hours ago.

He smiled and ran his hands along her arms, letting them come to rest beside hers on the balustrade.

"I needed a little air," she said as she leaned back against his chest and closed her eyes briefly, relishing the way his right arm wrapped around her waist and held her tight against him.

"It is a nice night for a little air," he mused as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

She just smiled as she looked at the distant lights of the town, nothing more than pale yellow pin pricks floating above the sea. She pressed her cheek against her husband's as she thought about what he'd said.

"It is. A nice night following a wonderful day," she sighed and craned her neck to look at him over her shoulder. He was framed beautifully by the expanse of stars twinkling in the heavens above them. His face looked soft in the torchlight, his eyes dark and his skin warm.

Bringing her hand up, she ran one fingertip lightly down his cheek and then closed her eyes when he brushed the hair away from her neck and kissed it. She smiled and sighed as he pressed a trail of kisses up her throat, and she turned in his arms.

Catching the look of desire in his eyes, she dropped hers to rest on his chest and gently fingered the material of his shirt. She knew what came next, wanted it as much as he did, but it didn't stop the nerves from welling up in her stomach.

She breathed in sharply as he took hold of her hand and led her down the steps. Following him silently, she listened to her heart as it pounded hard against her chest and kept her eyes fixed on him. She could hear the distant noise of the crew celebrating without them in the forecastle, and knew her sister would be safely tucked up in bed by now.

She stood stock still when he let go of her hand and watched him as he closed the cabin doors, locking them tightly and drawing the curtains. Her stomach flipped as he held his hand out to her and she placed hers shakily into it.

She gave him a small smile as he looked back at her and led her into the bedroom.

Sitting down on the bed, she watched him as he moved over to the door and locked it before coming back to her. She felt nervous as he approached. There was something different about the desire she could see in his eyes this time. Their previous times together had been passionate, consuming, as though they were nothing more than slaves to their desire. Her heart told her that tonight it wasn't going to be about acting on a burning need to be with each other physically. This time was going to be slower, tender, something which she hadn't experienced before and her nerves seemed to be overtaking her desire.

"Just relax," Marlin said as he saw her eyes full of unease. "I promise we will go slow. We have the whole night ahead of us, and the rest of our lives after that."

He kicked his boots off and then bent to remove hers. He kept his eyes fixed on hers as she watched him slip them from her feet and toss them to one side.

Elizabeth sat mute on the edge of the bed, her heart thundering against her chest and her breath refusing to come. She swallowed hard as he stood again and pulled her up with him.

"I think we should perhaps get a little more comfortable."