August 22nd, 1891 — The Sanditon Resort

Despite having grown up alongside Zelda (due largely in part to her friendship with Nemo) Penny was suprised to have received an invitation to the wedding. It was the single received invitation of the summer that didn't fill her with quiet reluctance, too. A party at the beach where her best friend and hopefully one day her husband would be, how could she be reluctant?

Penny had taken great care in selecting her dress for the party, landing on a soft blue dress that she hoped would reflect the beachy tones of the wedding. Her hair was pinned back with a single curl escaping its confines, her makeup soft and delicate. For the first time in a long time, Penny felt pretty, beautiful even. The English Rose Cassandra once prayed she would be.

The ceremony was interesting, as Penny had never partaken in a Jewish ceremony before. It wasn't nearly as long as some of the heavily Christian ceremonies she had had to attend over the years which was a definite positive. The reception seemed to be the same as what she was accustomed to, so Penny knew her role there well enough too. It was all working out swimmingly. Except, she had somehow lost track of Nemo throughout the course of the night.

After quietly slipping away from Cassandra, Penny walked towards the edge of the tent and spotted him on the outermost part facing the water. Making her way over to him, she came to a stop besides him and nudged his shoulder. "Hey." She offered in greeting.

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Nemo was trying his very best to keep his thinly-veiled distaste for this whole affair under wraps by keeping a steady flow of alcohol in his system and casually avoiding his sister and her husband.

Of course that also meant avoiding half of his family and he skillfully skirted the edges of the party itself once the reception had started. He felt like he'd managed to fulfill all of his familial duties without too much of a sour puss. He didn't want to ruin anything, even if he hated everything about this.

Fortunately there were lots of places to hide away and the beach offered a quiet sort of respite where he could catch his breath for a few minutes. He had an empty glass of bourbon in hand, he'd lost track of how many that was, and he'd told himself this was the last one, hence the break. He had regrettably lost sight of Penny at the same time. A few minutes and then he'd go find her.

The nudge had been unexpected, and he nearly jumped, the rocks glass nearly slipping from his hands. "Merlin's beard," He exhaled sharply. "You scared me." He gave her a shaky chuckle and a half-hearted smile.

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Her smile dipped in the corners, her expression shifting from warm to concerned. Penny hadn't exactly been subtle in her approach, so for him to have disconnected with his senses enough to not have heard her was somewhat alarming. "Sorry," she replied, "I thought you would have heard me."

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"No, no, it's alright, I'm just catching my breath." He shook his head of the fuzziness, trying to get his thoughts together into something more than the jumble of discontent he was feeling at the moment. It certainly wasn't Penny's fault and so therefore he wasn't going to burden her with the issues he had with the day itself.

"Enjoying the party?" It was a slippery slope to ask, because he knew the question would likely b turned around on him, but Nemo was pretty good these days at hiding what he was feeling and so therefore he would be capable of masking the response. He hoped anyway. Whiskey had a tendency to diminish his capabilities, especially after what... four glasses? Or was it five? He should definitely eat something.

Gently he reached out to brush his fingers against hers, the only subtle form of affection he could get away with, even if he would like to tangle his fingers in hers at the moment.

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Nemo was quite obviously out of sorts, nearly to the point where she was considering how she might escort him home without causing a scandal. He wasn't so drunk that he was belligerent, but he hadn't even seemed this off in Paris. (She had, though that wasn't relevant now.)

"They picked a beautiful venue at least," she smiled. There wasn't really anywhere else better to catch one's breath than on the beach. Penny had been relieved over the summer to learn the events of the spring hadn't spoiled the ocean for her.

Penny linked her pinky around his. No one was watching them and even if they were it would be nearly impossible to see their held hands. "I'm enjoying it enough. More happy to see you than anything else."

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Nemo made a noncommittal noise to accompany his shrug at the mention of the venue. Darrow and his boats. "Can't deny the beauty of the seaside." He said after a moment, casting a sideways look at her. She looked quite stunning in her dress, hair all done up. He didn't typically see her all fancied up, and he preferred her with wisps of hair escaping in her natural element of her work, but once in a while it was a good reminder that she was, in fact, a lady.

He did feel marginally better with her next to him and the contact of their hands helped to ground him further. "I'm glad you could make it." Last time obviously hadn't gone so well and he's spent the majority of the last family wedding sulking and worrying Ari before making an early exit. He'd like to leave now as well, but wouldn't leave Penny high and dry like that.

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"It is rather beautiful when you're on the shore." Penny had a vastly different opinion of the ocean when lost in the endless troughs and crests. Beauty was then replaced by fear, hopelessness, and a winding list of regret. Even the sunset, which theoretically ought to have been the most beautiful of her life, was hampered by the worry of it being her last.

She smiled warmly. Penny wouldn't have missed Xena's wedding either if not for the conflicting timing. (Although, if asked then Penny might have admitted to avoiding the wedding due to the continued awkwardness with Nemo.) "Thank you and Zelda for the invitation. This is the most relaxed event I've attended this Season." At least her dress hadn't caught fire. Any event had to be better than that.

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Nemo grimaced; yes her last experience with the sea had certainly not gone so well and it had nearly undone him. She moved on with the conversation and he was more than happy to push forward— until she circled back to the wedding itself and he scowled a bit more.

He made a noncommittal noise of derision and thanked the lord above his glass was empty, otherwise he would have shot it down just to avoid saying something. "I hope you get the chance to tell her yourself." He managed, trying to sound somewhat sincere. Nemo just couldn't wrap his head around it, around the finality of what had happened tonight, but he wasn't about to say anything too damning now.

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Nemo's displeasure was obvious, but Penny didn't fully understand why he was against Zelda's happiness. Mr. Darrow was an untraditional choice, that much wasn't debatable, but Zelda's obvious joy today also was an absolute fact. What could have possibly happened to have soured Nemo so terribly against his favorite sister?

"I have, thanks." Penny commented, her confusion evident. When she had gotten dressed that morning it was with the belief that today would be an amazing day with him, one of the rare few they got to share publicly. Meanwhile, he had obviously drank too much and might as well have attended a funeral with his mood.

Penny dropped his hand and looked out towards the rolling sea. "She's your sister, you have to fake it for a few more hours still," she reminded him though she was unable to mask her own disappointment.

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Ugh. He was decidedly not in the mood for a lecture. Not from Penny of all people. When she let go of his hand, he took a bit of a step away, trying to disguise it by shuffling his feet in the sand.

Rolling his eyes— which was highly out of character for sober-Nemo, he eyed the empty glass in hand again, barely resisting the urge to smash it on the nearby rocks. "I'm aware." Well aware. His voice hit a level of cold he didn't exactly knew he had; hence the trip to the water to try and get himself together. The last thing he wanted to do tonight was fight with Penny, but if she was going to tell him to just suck it up and be happy about this marriage, she was out of luck.

"Don't let me stop you from enjoying it, then." He added, eyes out on the water.

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There was no disguising or hiding the look of hurt that flashed across her face at his cold words. She had waited weeks for this, had agonized over her and hair, and he was all but telling her to leave him alone. Penny tightly folded her arms across her chest and kept her eyes trained on the shoreline ahead. Nemo was drunk she knew, but even drunk he had no reasoning to be like this with her.

"If that's what you want, fine." Penny replied, her tone suprisingly level despite her otherwise racing thoughts. "Enjoy your evening."

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