Her smile is bright, and she clasps my hand. “Certain.”
Darren opens the door, and this time, we step onto the icy street. Alice adjusts her cloak around her neck, trying to block the chill, and then she takes my arm as we start up the slick front walk. It looks like the snow was scraped away after the last storm, leaving a thin layer that melted during the warmer afternoon hours. Now there’s a thin sheet of ice, making it more treacherous than walking through a drift of snow.
We’re almost to the door when Alice slips. She grabs my arm to keep from falling, her feet sliding under her. I catch her, nearly going down myself, and we laugh like fools, earning a few disgruntled looks from the snobbish humans passing by.
Composing herself, Alice straightens. Her eyes sparkle, and her cheeks are pink from the cold. “It’s slick.”
“I noticed.”
I open the heavy wooden door, and we’re met with warm air. A woman at a receptionist’s desk looks up, smiling serenely. “Good afternoon. How may I help you?”
The room smells like spices, apples, and parchment, with a hint of coal mixed in as well. The first fragrance likely comes from the small pot simmering atop the stove in the corner.
“We’re here to see the magistrate,” I say. “We would like to be married.”
The woman’s eyes travel between us. Her eyebrows raise in question as her gaze first travels over our clothes and then moves to the carriage that waits on the street.
I imagine she’s wondering why people of our station would rather marry quietly instead of having a large society wedding, with all the fuss and fanfare that comes with such an event.
But, proving to be professional, she quickly dismisses her confusion and opens a cabinet next to her chair, thumbing through several folders until she produces a piece of parchment. “You’ll need to fill out the license, but don’t sign it just yet.” She nudges a quill and inkwell to the edge of the desk. “The magistrate is out, but I expect he will return soon. You are welcome to wait.”
She then excuses herself and walks into the back room.
Alice stands next to me as I begin to fill out the license, saying nothing when the quill trembles subtly in my hand.
When I’m finished, we stare at the parchment together.
All that’s left to do is sign.