Chapter Text
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Who can be in doubt of what followed? When any two young people take it into their heads to marry, they are pretty sure by perseverance to carry their point, and in the case of Daniel Sousa and Peggy Carter, there was neither want of fortune nor opposition at home to stand in the way of the match; indeed, their families' enthusiasm for the impending marriage was rivaled only by that of the happy couple themselves.
The two weeks before the wedding were filled with Alien Office business, namely the conclusion of the anarchist investigation. Miss Dorothea Underwood withstood interrogation with the same show of wide-eyed naivety which she always employed, and which she quite clearly used as a way to mock her captors. Unfortunately for that formidable young lady, her companion did not possess such steely nerves, and a week before the wedding, the woman they knew as Aunt Elizabeth -- whose name, they discovered, was indeed Yelizaveta -- confessed all in return for a promise of some clemency.
It was determined that after Daniel and Peggy had left on their wedding tour, Colonel Phillips, Major Dugan and Yauch would personally travel to Russia with Yelizaveta's signed confession and, with the supporting testimony of the ever-useful Niko, warn Tsar Alexander of the danger from Vanya Ivchenko and enlist the government's support in stopping the Leviathan threat once and for all. Yelizaveta and Miss Underwood, in the meantime, were to remain in British custody for the time being -- although, remaining true to his promise, Colonel Phillips saw to it that Yelizaveta was afforded certain luxuries during her incarceration.
Daniel was only too glad to see the end of the investigation, for it meant he did not have to see Miss Underwood again. When he confessed as much to Peggy, who'd done most of the interrogating, she agreed but looked thoughtful. "She is the most skilled operative I have ever seen, male or female," said she. "I am sorry she chose the side that made her our enemy. Imagine what good she could have done, had she been born in different circumstances."
Once the investigation was out of the way, Daniel and Peggy were free to focus on the future. Daniel accepted the colonel's offer of a position at the Alien Office, to the great pleasure of Barnes and Dugan. Those two, along with Howard Stark, had also been immensely pleased to hear of the approaching nuptials.
"You finally listened to my excellent advice," said Barnes, sounding smug, two days after the Waterloo Bridge opening.
"Your excellent advice?" repeated Dugan. "I think you'll find it was my excellent advice."
"You're both mistaken," said Howard, "for surely it was my words to Daniel that Sunday --"
"Just how many people have been pestering you to marry me?" Peggy asked Daniel.
He plastered a thoughtful look on his face and made a show of counting on his fingers, and she laughed and nudged him with her shoulder. "Truthfully, though," said he, "in answer to your question . . . nearly everyone I know."
"I'm glad you listened," she smiled, wrapping her hand more firmly around his arm.
"You two are so sweet together," said Howard. "It's a little much to watch, but I'm still happy for you."
"You made us watch you and Miss Underwood for weeks!" Daniel retorted. "You two were far worse than we've ever been."
"And she was an anarchist bent on slaughtering Londoners and framing you for it," Barnes pointed out reasonably. "That certainly makes it worse."
"Are you all going to resurrect that old spectre every time we argue?" Howard demanded, and Peggy and Barnes nodded solemnly while Dugan and Daniel laughed.
"Just try to avoid pursuing young ladies who secretly desire to destroy everything you stand for," Daniel recommended.
"Oh, absolutely," Howard assured them. "Maria is not an anarchist, I assure you."
"Maria?" Peggy demanded. "Who in the world is Maria? You were still in love with 'Dottie' less than a week ago!"
"Miss Maria Carbonell," said Howard with a besotted smile. "Italian. I am very fond of Italian women. Met her at a ball last night."
Peggy sighed. "Dugan --"
"Background check," Dugan agreed, over Howard's protests. "I'll see to it."
The true nature of Daniel and Peggy's romantic history was so well known throughout the Alien Office that it was only a matter of time before it reached the ears of the Office's two newest recruits, both of whom were quite surprised at the news.
"English!" exclaimed Miss Martinelli. "Captain! You've been lying to us all this while?"
Peggy looked a little embarrassed. "I do apologize, Angie. I did not like to lie to you, but it was part of our investigation --"
"Well done!" her friend exclaimed with an enthusiastic grin, while Peggy looked surprised. "You absolutely had me fooled! Perhaps you two should be on the stage."
"Truth be told," said Daniel, "it did not require a great deal of pretending from me to act as though I were in love with Peggy."
"You two are far too sweet to be real," declared Miss Martinelli firmly. "Lieutenant, why don't you ever say such sweet things to me?"
Lieutenant Thompson looked quite surprised and flustered at this, but he managed to respond in a teazing manner to match hers. "I'll work on it," he assured her drily. "Since you admire the captain's turn of phrase so, I'll enlist his help in arranging a list of such little elegant compliments as may be adapted to ordinary occasions, so as always to be prepared."
Miss Martinelli rolled her eyes at him, but Daniel fancied he saw a warmth in those eyes that had previously not been present when she looked at the lieutenant.
And as for the lieutenant himself, Daniel had wondered whether he would be upset to learn that the engagement that had taken Peggy away from him had been feigned. But if he was, there was nothing in his demeanour to suggest it; his partiality to Miss Martinelli appeared, for the moment, to still be fervent and sincere, and he showed no inclination to regret how things had transpired with his cousin.
The wedding planning went ahead for St. George's, Hanover Square. Though that church had always been their intention when their engagement was fake, Peggy and Daniel admitted to each other that, were it their decision alone, they would have preferred one of the smaller chapels in the parish. But they were both still determined to wed with Kate and Thomas, and the dowager Lady Featherstonehaugh would not hear of her son marrying anywhere but there.
That estimable lady retained her fondness for Daniel and Peggy, and invited them to join her, Thomas and Kate on a second outing to Astley's the week before the wedding. Daniel hesitated to accept the invitation until Peggy assured him that she did not worry about any recollections of Waterloo.
"And besides," said she, "I shall find it lovely to repeat the evening, this time knowing that you mean it when you hold my hand or say affectionate things to me."
"I always meant it when I held your hand or said affectionate things," Daniel reminded her.
"An excellent point. In that case, it shall be lovely to know how much I mean it, this time around."
And a very enjoyable evening it was. Daniel, knowing now that Astley's was the place where Peggy had first realized her feelings for him, found himself even fonder of the place than he had been previously, and as Peggy had said, it was lovely to hold her hand as the show unfolded before them, knowing that the way she leaned close to him had nothing to do with the Alien Office and everything to do with a desire to be near him. Really, this experience of being in love was much more pleasant than he would have given it credit for only a few months previous.
The dowager also invited the whole Sousa clan, along with Peggy and her uncle, to a fine dinner party the night before the wedding. It was a particularly appreciated gesture, for it allowed them all to spend one last quiet evening in each other's company. Both couples would leave immediately after the wedding on their respective wedding tours, and even when Daniel and Peggy had returned to London, Colonel Phillips would be in Russia for a few weeks or even months yet. So Daniel very much enjoyed these last moments together.
The colonel had become quite smug since hearing that the engagement had become real, and Daniel have been very accustomed to seeing the self-satisfied smile that appeared on the colonel's face whenever anyone commented on what a fortunate match it was.
"I flatter myself that I played an important role in promoting the match," he even went so far as to say at the Featherstonehaugh's dinner party. "For it was on my encouragement that Daniel proposed to Peggy."
Daniel was quite surprised at his future uncle's casual discussion of what had been kept secret -- until he remembered that the colonel's encouragement had also been part of the fictitious proposal story they had created for his family several months prior. He shot a look at the man, who returned a sardonic smirk.
"I'm sure they appreciate your help," smiled Mrs. Sousa.
"Of course we do, Uncle," said Peggy.
Colonel Phillips smiled. "But do not worry," he said to the happy couple a few minutes later, when the others would not overhear, "as long you name your eldest son after me, I will consider the debt repaid."
Daniel was a little discomfited, being unused to being teazed about children, but Peggy merely smiled. "I do not promise anything," said she, "but we will keep your request in mind." And Daniel, imagining a little dark-haired Chester Sousa, could not help smiling as well.
The wedding itself was simple but perfectly answered the wishes of the happy couples, who had no taste for finery or parade. The day was bright and clear, promising good travels as wedding tours were embarked on. St. George's, which Daniel had always found a bit underwhelming despite its lofty reputation, was filled with more guests than expected. The majority were relations of the Featherstonehaughs, but certain pews were filled with Sousa friends and relations, and still others with soldiers and operatives from Peggy's past and present occupations. The presence of Barnes, looking undeniably working class, was nearly the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back, in terms of the dowager's tolerance for Peggy's unusual background, and Daniel was forced once again to subtly remind that lady that he'd been a valiant soldier against Napoleon. The sight of the estimable Colonel Chester Phillips shaking the man's hand helped calm her disapproval as well.
The arrival of Sir Howard Stark, baronet, helped distract the dowager from her displeasure; she was in equal parts fascinated and horrified by the man, and the realization that Daniel and Peggy were on such intimate terms with the most notorious Corinthian in London left her very happily scandalized.
The entire Martinelli clan attended, accompanied by Lieutenant Thompson, and the general wedding mood seemed to affected Mrs. Martinelli, for she did not even attempt to disguise the looks she kept throwing at her daughter and the gentleman seated beside her. The guests were rounded out by a few locals who had made their way in uninvited, clearly curious about a pair of weddings involving a baronet, a war hero, and the ward of another war hero. Lady Featherstonehaugh, Daniel could not help thinking, looked a little pleased to know the event had attracted such attention.
For Daniel, however, his attention was entirely on his bride, looking resplendent in a fine silk dress of the palest gold, and the way she smiled at when she caught him looking over at her.
"Dearly beloved," began the clergyman, "we are gathered here in the sight of God . . ."
On Daniel's other side, Kate shifted a little, and Daniel glanced over and caught her eye. She beamed up at him, and through his mind ran a lifetime of memories with his beloved sister, from their time together at home to the letters she wrote to him so faithfully when he was away. This was a very excellent idea, this double wedding, for the only thing that could possibly have made him happier than marrying Peggy was marrying Peggy while his sister married her love as well.
". . . for the mutual society, help, and comfort, that the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity."
On the ceremony ran, those familiar, cherished words bringing their usual comfort to Daniel, along with a new delight at knowing that these were promises that he and Peggy were making to each other. He remembered Kate, on the day that he first met Peggy, informing him that he was built for marriage, and that his heart was destined to cherish one person for the rest of her life. As usual, his dearest sister was entirely correct.
Before he knew it, he and Peggy had both said "I will," and then Peggy was vowing to love and honor him, her clear dark eyes showing absolute confidence and trust in him. Daniel was pleased that his hands barely shook at all as he placed the ring on her finger, vowing to wed her, worship her, and endow her with all his worldly goods.
It was all over more quickly than he'd expected, and suddenly he and Peggy were married, and Kate and Thomas too, and were leaving the church hand in hand to the sound of the pounding of his heart. Each couple had a carriage of their own to take to the wedding breakfast, and Daniel relished the feeling of climbing into a carriage without feeling ashamed of his leg, for his Peggy -- his own wife -- did not mind it.
The thought made him laugh as he sat beside Peggy in the carriage -- beside her, for she was his wife, and there were no more rules dictating when it was inappropriate for them to sit beside each other. She turned her radiant smile on him, and he felt certain his was no less bright.
"Mrs. Sousa," he smiled.
"Peggy Sousa," she agreed, winding her arms around his neck now that they were out of sight of all well-wishers and passersby. "I do rather like the sound of that."
"I think I love the sound of it," Daniel said, but no more than that was he able to say, for in the next moment Peggy's lips were on his and he was quite overwhelmed by the pleasure of his wife's kiss. And indeed, very little was said for the remainder of the drive.
After the breakfast, and heartfelt congratulations all around, the two happy couples left London for their wedding tours: Kate and Thomas to Bath, and Peggy and Daniel to the seaside resort of Sanditon. The reader can be in no doubt of the joy and felicity that accompanied both of the carriage departures; and, knowing the perfect love and affection that existed between the young Sousas and the young Featherstonehaughs, the reader will be pleased to hear that on returning to London, and determined to strike out on their own, the happy couples both took houses in Hanover Square, and found themselves, amidst so many other sources of happiness, near neighbours. (Among the merits of Kate and Daniel, let it not be ranked as the least considerable, that though siblings, and living within sight of each other, they could live without disagreement between themselves, or producing coolness between their spouses.)
At the Sousa house in Berkeley Square both couples were frequent visitors, and Dr. and Mrs. Sousa found all their parental expectations fully answered in the perfect happiness of the two unions. Peggy and Thomas found themselves both quite able to love their in-laws even as well as they intended, and Daniel and Kate showed all affection and respect due to two such excellent parents. Nothing made Maria and João happier than to have their four children visit home.
The two couples often visited each other as well; Daniel found in Thomas a true and steady friend, and between Kate and Peggy, the attachment of the sisters was exactly what Daniel had hoped to see. In addition to frequent visits for tea and conversation, Peggy began teaching the new Lady Featherstonehaugh self-defense and fisticuffs, and reported with great delight to her husband that the young lady showed a natural aptitude for it.
In the meantime, the Sousas continued their work with the Alien Office, and very frequently found their evening entertainment choices dictated by the needs of that office. Neither minded, as neither particularly cared which social events they attended, or whether any were attended at all -- although they found themselves with no end of invitations, for it turned out that they were, against their own expectations, a very popular couple.
You have not quite forgotten Lieutenant Thompson and Miss Martinelli, have you, reader? They continued their work for the office as well, and the lieutenant seemed not to mind at all that Peggy had stepped into her uncle's place as head of the office while he was in Russia; the experience with Miss Underwood had made him see how competent a leader his cousin was. On the romance front there was little movement at present, which pleased Peggy, who wanted her friend to proceed with caution before dedicating herself to a man who had for so long been so proud and disdainful. But Miss Martinelli was not averse to giving little pieces of encouragement to the lieutenant, which pleased Daniel, who fancied he saw genuine change and improvement of the lieutenant's character and genuine affection in Miss Martinelli's smiles.
Colonel Phillips was away in Russia for longer than expected; the Russian government trusted the Alien Office's information, but rooting out Leviathan took longer than expected, and the three British agents elected to stay in Moscow and offer their assistance. The colonel wrote to his niece frequently, and although Daniel could see how she missed her uncle, she did not seem to wish herself in Russia with him.
"All told," she would tell him, "there is no place I'd rather be right now than in our home, my love."
And as their first few months together had seen them living in complete domestic felicity, he was inclined to agree. Ah! it was worth while; it was the great joy that they had expected, and countless little joys of which they had never dreamt. It was waking up beside Peggy; it was reading quietly together in the sitting room; it was the pleasure of always having a companion on social outings; it was all their little household jokes and phrases and catch words; it was the sound of Peggy's footsteps in the hall; it was stolen kisses in carriages. Most of all it was Peggy, every day with Peggy, smiling at him over the breakfast table and kissing him good night. How could they give that up to travel to Russia, so soon after securing this happiness for themselves?
So Colonel Phillips, Major Dugan and Yauch alone will visit Moscow in this lifetime; they alone will see St. Basil's Cathedral and help the government dismantle Leviathan. The rest of us must be contented with a fair, but a less arduous, goal: we return to Kent.
It was Howard's idea that the newly married Sousas return to Richford and take a house, as they had so often talked of doing; he was keen to have them as neighbours, and had learned from the Samberlys that Meadow Brook Hall had still not been let. When Peggy and Daniel expressed interest in the idea, Howard sent as his agent, to examine the house, Edwin Jarvis, newly appointed butler of Stark Hall.
The baronet had been sorry to lose Jarvis as his constant manservant, but the position had answered several needs quite perfectly: old Baddeley had decided to retire in the very same week that Jarvis had become engaged to Miss Ana Kirshenbaum. Promoting the valet to the vacant position meant that Jarvis could stay in Richford full time, so that Miss Kirshenbaum could be near her family and her shop. If the servants at Stark Hall thought it odd to have as their butler a former valet with a Jewish wife, they valued their jobs enough to keep quiet about it, for Sir Howard Stark was a lenient man but would not hear a word spoken against his faithful Jarvis and dear Ana.
Jarvis visited the house and sent word back to London that it was in excellent shape, with large, fine stables and a well-maintained park; he thought it would do perfectly for the Sousas. And as they, along with Howard, had come to trust his judgment implicitly, they determined to take the house the October after the wedding, just after the colonel finally returned from Russia.
They arrived at their new acquisition on a crisp, bright autumn day and were immediately taken with the house and pleased with their decision; it was a fine, big house on a gentle swell of land, and the housekeeper Jarvis had engaged for them swore that on very quiet nights, one could hear the sea. It was a handsome building in the classical style, and a previous owner's practical taste had led to furnishings and décor that were understated and comfortable, just as they would have desired; vases of fresh hothouse flowers, brought earlier that day by the new Mrs. Jarvis, added to the general effect. The grounds were stunning, and the stable large enough for the horses they needed for their carriages and for the mount that Daniel had promised to buy Peggy.
Jarvis had been quite right: the house was perfect. And it was theirs.
A dinner party was held in their honour the next evening at Stark Hall. Their friends from the neighbourhood were in attendance, namely the Allens, the Samberlys, the Bellefleurs, and Mr. Jonquil, the vicar. The Sousas were pleased to find those families just as kind-hearted and eager to see them as ever. Mrs. Allen declared it a very fine thing that Meadow Brook Hall was let at last, and to such good neighbours, and Mr. Allen invited them to Whitebridge Lodge for hunting.
The Samberlys were just as quick to extend invitations, and in Rose Samberly the Sousas found the intelligent, practical conversation they had been accustomed to in that lady. Her husband seemed to be improving, in terms of unguarded comments; he said hardly anything that provoked discomfort. He even made a very complimentary and kind comment about his wife, entirely off-hand and entirely sincere, and Daniel saw genuine affection fly into Mrs. Samberly's face. It gave him hope that the couple might one day find something resembling the wedded bliss that he and Peggy shared.
Dr. and Mrs. Bellefleur were as good-natured and kind as they had ever been, with the doctor particularly glad to have a fellow Navy man in the neighbourhood. Miss Violet Bellefleur congratulated Daniel and Peggy most sincerely on their wedding, and Daniel hoped that she might one day soon follow them to the altar, for she seemed to have finally succumbed to the quiet, steady nature and kind disposition of Mr. Jonquil, whom she allowed to monopolize a great deal of her conversation.
And Daniel watched it all with a growing conviction that their choice to come to Kent was a good one, even if they, like Howard, would only stay there intermittently; their work, and their families, were still in London, but Meadow Brook Hall would be a place where they could escape the bustle of city life on occasion, and meet with good friends, and where Peggy could finally keep her horses and ride to her heart's content.
Indeed, although Peggy had not yet chosen a mount of her own for Daniel to buy for her, she still insisted on taking him out for a ride on the day after the party, to explore the park. "You cannot tell me you are not up to the task," she reminded him with a laugh. "For I have seen you gallop through the streets of London, and climb from the horse's back into a hot air balloon. Surely a quick country jaunt is significantly easier than that."
In truth it did not take a great deal of persuasion to convince Daniel to join her; he was keen to see the extent of Meadow Brook Hall, and he was always pleased to ride with Peggy, for she loved the activity so. So with the help of the stable hands, who had been warned before the new master's arrival that Captain Sousa would require extra assistance in mounting, he joined Peggy on the ride.
"Beautiful, even this late in the year," Peggy declared as they reached the western boundary of the property. "I cannot wait to invite our friends and family to stay with us."
"It shall likely have to wait for next summer," Daniel reminded her. Neither Colonel Phillips nor Dr. Sousa could leave their professional obligations behind for a while yet, especially as they would be leaving come mid-December for Christmas at the Featherstonehaugh estate in Herefordshire; Kate and Thomas had invited the whole family, including Colonel Phillips. After that they were returning to London to do Alien Office work for the Season, and would therefore likely not return to Meadow Brook Hall -- except, perhaps, for a few very brief trips -- until the following June.
"Angie will be heartbroken," laughed Peggy.
"You could still invite her in November," Daniel pointed out, although reluctantly, for he was not eager to break the delicate enchantment of these halcyon days with Peggy in their first real home.
His wife's response, though delivered with a smile, was adamant. "No thank you," said she. "For though I am very fond of her, I am also enjoying spending all my time with my husband in our new home. I am not quite ready to relinquish you to the distraction of an interloper."
"I feel the same way," he admitted. "Have I told you today that I love you?"
She smiled brightly. "Only the once. I would not mind hearing it again."
"Then I love you, and count myself the luckiest man alive that you proposed marriage to me not once, but twice, so that I could be here with you, and have the hope of living with you for the rest of our lives."
He did not expect her to respond; three and a half months of marriage had taught him that he was the more openly sentimental and romantic of the two, and certainly the more verbally demonstrative; Peggy felt no less strongly than he, but was uncomfortable with flowery speeches, and more inclined to show her affection through acts than through words.
So he was surprised when she responded the way she did. "It astounds me to think," said she, looking out over the rolling hills, "that this time last year I did not know you, did not love you, and had no plans or expectations for my future but work with my uncle. Had a soothsayer employed his art to tell me where I would be today, I would have declared him a fraud."
"It is a change for the better, I hope?" He said it to teaze, and also because it never failed to warm his heart, to hear Peggy declare her love for him.
"A change for the best, my love," she corrected, with a smile on her lips and earnestness in her eyes. "For I did not know myself capable of such happiness, and the only part of the last year that I regret is that I did not recognize my love for you earlier, so that we might have had that extra month as husband and wife. I know we have many such months ahead of us, but no matter how many there are, it will never be as much time as I wish I could spend with you."
Daniel stared at her a moment, surprised, as he always was, at his wife's occasional poetical turn. And then he said quite earnestly, "Do you know, dearest, if I thought I could kiss you right now without falling off this horse, I would do it."
"I shall accept, in the kiss's stead, your assurance that you will pay your debt later," she grinned, and urged her horse into a gallop, leaving Daniel to hurry to catch up.
He did pay that debt later, as they walked together from the stables to the house; Daniel reflected that they were probably shocking the servants and the gardeners, as they made no attempt to find a private spot for their kiss, but he didn't much mind. If the servants had not yet learned that the new master and mistress were very affectionate, they would realize it soon enough.
With so much true merit and true love, and no want of fortune and friends, the happiness of Captain and Mrs. Sousa was as secure as earthly happiness can be. To find perfect happiness with a person to whom one only became engaged as part of an undercover spy operation is to do pretty well; especially when one partner in the deception had no interest in marriage and the other had despaired of meeting anyone he could really love among the ton. But find happiness they did, and I leave it to you, dear reader, to imagine how that happiness grew as Peggy and Daniel Sousa passed the rest of their lives in perfect domestic felicity.
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