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One of Jesse’s favorite things about Lucie, funnily enough, was the way she slept. However, this was a rare sight for him. Although they lived under the same roof, he hardly saw Lucie late into the night. Now that they were engaged, he supposed that would be changing very soon. He smiled at the thought.
They were in the drawing room of the London Institute. Will and Tessa had long since gone to bed, and Jesse and Lucie remained lounging on a couch, reading. Lucie typically spent her nights writing in her room, but she had informed Jesse that she was quite enthralled in her current read, and she would like to stay up to finish it. He had agreed to stay up with her, reading his own book, which now seemed rather ironic since he was now the only one still awake.
Sometime in the last hour, she had drifted off, her head lulling to the side and her book loosening in her hands. Her temple had rested on Jesse’s shoulder, and he was careful not to move so as to disturb her. As she fell deeper into sleep, her head kept slipping further, and eventually he managed to arrange her so her head rested on his lap instead. It was clear this was more comfortable for her, as her breaths had deepened into something that he could almost qualify as a snore.
Jesse figured that although her plan of finishing her book that night would not come to fruition, he might as well try to avenge her failure by finishing his own book. His eyes burned with drowsiness, but he pushed through, mostly because he did not want to leave Lucie. Tessa and Will had stuck to their word and became more lenient ever since they had gotten engaged– they were allowed to step out into public without a chaperone, freely visit each other's rooms in the daytime, and spend as long as they wanted together past nightfall, provided they remained in the drawing room. They had even hesitantly permitted them to close doors, as long as it wasn’t past dark, although Will had given him a long talk about trust and what would happen if it was breached. Needless to say, Jesse made sure they followed every rule.
Once he gave in to his exhaustion, he would have to take Lucie to her room, and return alone to his own. That was how he slept every night, but with Lucie dozing peacefully in his lap, he would rather close his eyes on the too-small couch and say that he had accidentally fallen asleep if they were scolded in the morning.
He was debating his options, when he noticed light spilling out from the hallway. Will occupied the doorway, witchlight illuminating his groggy face. He assessed his daughter sound asleep in Jesse’s lap, her book clutched to her chest, and sighed. “Come on, son,” he said. “Let's get you both to bed.”
Jesse merely nodded and adjusted Lucie so he could easily cradle her in his arms and stand up. It always baffled her how a woman with a presence so large could seem so slight in sleep. Will began to offer to hold Lucie instead, but before he could finish, she nuzzled her face into Jesse’s chest. Will only bit back a laugh, and gestured for Jesse to pass through the door into the hallway.
They walked in silence for a few seconds before Jesse said softly, “You’d think that she’d have woken up by now.”
“Oh, no. Lucie has always been quite the heavy sleeper. James used to throw gloves and socks at her while she slept, because he was fascinated with her lack of response. Some things never change.”
Jesse couldn’t fight his smile. “I didn’t know that.” He looked down at Lucie’s sleeping face, half of it swallowed by his shirt fabric, as they began climbing the stairs.
“You’ll learn soon enough.”
They finally reached Lucie’s room and Will untucked the covers to allow Jesse to set her down carefully. Together they brought the sheets up over her shoulders, and she stirred a bit, but stayed asleep.
Jesse stood next to Will for a moment, watching Lucie sleep until Will finally leaned forward to kiss the top of her head. Jesse leaned forward and did the same, brushing a lock of her hair out of her face.
“I’m glad she’s marrying you, Jesse.”
Jesse startled for a moment, not expecting to be addressed in this manner. He had never thought that Will disliked him, or had anything against him; in fact, he had always been very welcoming and kind to Jesse, treating him no differently than anyone else. Still, Jesse still couldn’t fight the thought that Will and Tessa wouldn’t want their daughter to marry a Blackthorn. None of what his mother had done had been his fault, but he still felt guilty and embarrassed to be associated with her actions. He never would have blamed Will and Tessa for it.
“You’re– Pardon, Sir?”
“What I’m saying is… I think as a father, it was very difficult to imagine there would ever be anyone worthy enough for her. It was always in the back of my mind as she grew up and she became everything she is now but… I was wrong Jesse. You’ve done nothing but earn my trust. You’re a good man.”
Jesse was glad it was dark, because he might have died of embarrassment if he had thought Will had seen the tears prick in his eyes. “Thank you.”
He knew Will meant it, too, when he walked off in the direction of his and Tessa’s room. He clearly trusted Jesse to shut the door to Lucie’s room and make it to his own.
So he did.