Henry bounced baby Alfie in his arms as he stalked down the corridor towards his bedroom, though rather than going into his own he went to the next door over. He knocked on the old oaken door, only creaking it open as he heard Callum tell him to 'come in'.
"Thought I'd come up to tell you..." Henry announced as he opened the door, trailing off as he saw his cousin brushing off the shoulders of his formal dinner jacket whilst standing before the looking glass. "Not to change..." Henry cracked a smile, stifling a chuckle as he recognised himself only a few months before; wearing a dinner jacket to his first dinner with Thomas and the boys.
"Don't laugh! I'm new to dressing myself." Callum rolled his eyes impertinently, glaring at his little cousin through the reflection as he carried on adjusting his cuffs. "Just because you've decided to forgo your world live to live a life of poverty doesn't mean you get to hold it over us worldly folk.
"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at myself, not too long ago." Henry shifted Alfie from his right hip to his left, adjusting his grip on the little baby to make him more comfortable as he reached his chubby little baby hands towards Callum. "Anyway, I wanted to let you know that you needn't change, dinner is a casual affair with us. I've put the steak and kidney pie, so dinner will be soon."
"You?! You, cooked something!? I mean tea is one thing, but food?! That's a potential health hazard, that." Callum grimaced at the thought as Henry shot him a playful glare. "Honestly, Harry the more time I spend here to more I feel like I've gone through the bloody looking glass! Who are you?! I don't even recognise you anymore!"
"Don't be daft." Henry rolled his eyes with a soft smile. "I'm the same person you know and love. The same person you played with as a child, hiding from our governesses, exploring about the the house with, playing beastly pranks on the servants. I'm the same person, Cal, I've just adjusted to my new surroundings, that's all."
"I'm not being daft, Harry I'm concerned." Callum stalked up to his little cousin, placing a supportive hand on his shoulder as he let out a conflicted sigh. "I just hope you know what you're doing. This isn't your life, Harry. This isn't who you are. One day after the criminal cases blow over and it's safe for you to come home, you'll have to leave all this. You don't belong here, we don't belong here. Don't change yourself for something that's temporary."
"What if it is who I am, Cal?" Henry's glanced up to look his cousin in the eyes. "What if the Harry you knew growing up was simply who he was told he should be, and not who he truly was on the inside."
"For God's sake, Harry. Be practical!" Callum threw his hands up in disbelief. "You're the son of a Duke, great-grandson of a Queen, nephew and cousin to countless royals throughout Europe, And you're sat here in the middle of bloody nowhere toiling away in grinding poverty having to cook, clean, and dress for yourself."
"This isn't grinding poverty, Cal. I think it's just normal poverty, or something like that." Henry blinked confusedly at his cousin. "The fact of the matter is, I'm happy, Cal. Truly and genuinely happy! And I'd absolutely love it if my dearest Cousin would at least try to be happy for me."
"I'm always happy for you, Harry. But I also know what's best for you too." Countered an adamant Callum.
"I know what's best for me too." Henry replied with conviction. "Just please try and get to know Thomas and the boys, it'd mean the world to me. Try to see things from my perspective. At the very least you owe your little cousin that much, what say you?"
"Alright, fine. Just be careful, for God's sake. You two are about as subtle as a brick through a window." Callum huffed defeatedly, clearly at wit's end with his headstrong younger cousin; he wasn't terribly shocked by it all either, Henry had always had a mind and soul of his own; a free spirit, if you will. He never cared much for the status quo that was the English aristocracy and it's inner workings. He rather preferred to write his own destiny and clearly this was the fruit of that. But even for Henry this was extreme; Callum couldn't get over the idea of him cooking food suitable for human consumption.
The evening went on relatively smoothly as Henry prepared dinner whilst Thomas set the table for them all to eat. Henry couldn't help but smile as he noticed Callum making the same little mistakes he had done when he first arrived to Fir Creek; in a way it made him feel less alone to see someone else who was like him. But most of all Henry was relieved to see his chestnut haired older cousin making the tiniest effort to get to know Thomas; though it was almost painfully awkward to watch them interact, he only prayed with time they'd grow close.
What Henry found almost comical was how similar they both were; their eye for detail and tendencies to do everything methodically and meticulously. He dared say that Thomas and Callum might've been rather close had his father not been disowned for marrying beneath him. They'd have likely gone to boarding schools together and gotten on well; and funnily so, Thomas' grandfather and Callum's grandfathers are very close as it is.
A part of Henry often wondered what the world would've been like if Thomas' grandfather simply accepted his son's unconventional choice in a life partner; perhaps Thomas and Henry would've grown up knowing one another. As well, he couldn't help but be thankful they didn't meet under those circumstances; for most of the upper class lads he'd grown up around were suitably vile to associate with. He feared that perhaps Thomas might've been very different as a person
Nonetheless, Henry felt as though he was fated to meet Thomas; for their destinies seemed so oddly intertwined from the fact that his father was a family friend of Henry's, not to mention the fact of their chance encounter during the Great War, only to end up living in the same house in the same random little town that fate had brought him to. Henry never was one to believe in divine predetermination, he always felt that one's future lay entirely in their own hand; which was ironic considering the fact that Lord Henry Aldringham had his entire future either dictated for him or handed to him on a gold platter.
"Danny, love it's your bedtime." Henry shook his hands dry as he finished doing the washing up after dinner, an amused chuckling escaping past his lips as he heard Danny whinge adamantly.
"But Henwy!" Danny stomped with a pout.
"No buts, love." Henry scolded lovingly with a paternal smile that warmed Thomas' heart to see. "Now say goodnight to your Daddy and Callum." Henry instructed, to which Danny simply followed without so much as a word in protest; running to his father as Thomas leant down and allowed the adorable toddler to kiss him on the cheek. He ran around the table and stopped in front of Callum, who had a smile on his face as the little boy silently beckoned for him to lean down close to him, and when he did Danny placed a kiss on Callum's cheek as well.
"Crikey." Henry cocked a brow at Callum. "You've only known him a day and he's already warmed up to you. I'm jealous, it took him a good three to finally grow used to me."
"Well that's because we're best mates now, eh Danny?" Callum smiled at the little blond toddler and reaching his hand up to ruffle his soft pin-straight hair, prompting Danny to nod with a giggle.
"Right, come on you. Let's get you to bed." Henry scooped Danny up into his arms, chuckling sheepishly as the little boy gave him a kiss on the cheek as well. "Say goodnight, love"
"Good night." Danny yawned as he waved with his little hands and with that they disappeared out into the stairwell, leaving Thomas and Callum alone; sitting in absolute silence, with only the incessant ticking of the clock on the wall breaking the unbearable abyss of soundlessness.
"Your children are absolutely lovely." Callum finally succumbed to the burning itch he felt inside to break the silence.
"Thank you, Lord Callum" Nodded Thomas awkwardly as he scratched the back of his neck. Callum didn't know why he let the Constable call him Lord Callum; in the English Aristocracy, protocol called for only people of the upper classes would've referred to him as 'Lord Callum', while lower classes would refer to him as 'Your Lordship' or 'My Lord'. It was a break with tradition, but Callum saw it fitting granted; he couldn't let Henry have all the fun dismantling the hierarchy. "They both absolutely adore Henry. I'm lucky to have him here with us." Continued Thomas, drawing Callum out of his thoughts.
"And do you absolutely adore Henry?" Callum asked curiously, without beating about the bush.
"Sometimes it scares me just how much I adore Henry." Thomas replied with a sure smile.
"My cousin adores you, Constable." Callum narrowed his Irish green gaze scrutinisingly at the handsome young blond. "He looks at you as though you're the only man in the world, and in return you look at him as though he's the most beautiful creature to set foot on God's green earth. Now I might find all this terribly foolish; a young English aristocrat like Henry ought to be living his youth as an aristocrat in England. Nonetheless he feels he's found something in this town, for whatever reason I might not quite understand. He feels he's found something with you, Constable. And I only pray he doesn't find his Constable to be a bit more of an actor than a Constable."
"I'm a straightforward man, Lord Callum." Thomas locked glares with Callum, cocking a brow challengingly at him as he knew full well the man was insinuating something untoward. "If there is something you wish to address, I only ask that you address it directly so that I may squelch any doubts you might have."
"You know, Constable." Callum cleared his throat, leaning forward to rest his forearms on the table as he stared straight into Thomas' eyes as though scanning them for any hints of ingenuity. "I read a rather curious report in the papers the other day whilst my train was stopped in Union Station. A homosexual man was put on trial after an undercover police officer covertly caught him eliciting sexual acts from him. The article went on to say that such police operations weren't uncommon for catching homosexuals in such positions, though one does beg to question whether that might be classified as entrapment..."
"With all due respect, Lord Callum." Thomas leant forward towards him with the same fire in his deep brown eyes that Callum had. "You need not worry about my intensions for Henry, for I assure you, that should I ever so much as hurt Henry, I'd be hurting myself tenfold. I could never dream of doing something that would hurt Henry in any calibre. And should my words not be enough to convince you, it might be of some comfort to you to know that should I attempt to take Henry down for what we do behind closed doors, I'd be taking myself down right with him. For in the eyes of the law, I'd be as guilty a perpetrator as he." Thomas' glare remained unfazed and devoid of any hesitation or fear that might lead Callum to doubt his genuineness.
"Very well. I believe you." Callum scanned Thomas' eyes, content with his response. Cracking a smile he leant back in his seat as Thomas mirrored his action; the tension in the room seeming to almost instantly dissipate. "Harry is the baby of the family, and even when younger siblings and cousins were born, he somehow still managed to be treated like the baby. Our Harry could get away with murder and everyone would still adore him no matter what. He's innocent, pure in soul with a heart of gold. Never hurt him, Constable."
"I wouldn't dream of it, Lord Callum." Said Thomas with a conviction that satisfied Callum's protective instinct over his dear younger cousin. "Harry said himself, that he thinks of the boys and me as family; and in some strange unofficial sense, I suppose that makes us family as well."
"I suppose that does, doesn't it?" Callum chuckled at the thought. "I could drink to that." The He let out an exasperated huff, internally wishing he wasn't living in a province with prohibition laws. Thomas locked eyes with Callum as an evil smirk crept across his face. "What?" Asked Callum as he glanced to the side confusedly then back at Thomas.
"Boy have I got just the thing for you." Thomas stood up from his chair and disappeared off towards the pantry, leaving Callum somehow more confused that he was before. The handsome blond emerged mere seconds later with three little mason jars filled with a mysterious clear liquid and setting them down on the dining table "Bottoms up." Thomas cracked a naughty smirk as Henry walked into the kitchen, stopping dead in his tracks as he caught climes off the three mason jars sat menacingly on the kitchen.
"Oh no." Henry's eyes shot between the bottles, Thomas mercurial expression and finally honing his gaze in on Callum's look of unadulterated confusion. "Strap in, lad. You're in for quite the evening."
They moved into the drawing room and began to drink; the fire in the hearth that Thomas had kindled to keep them warm crackled and glowed in the background as the alcohol crossed their blood-brain barriers and squelched any inhibitions they had. They talked about everything under the sun from Henry and Callum's childhoods, Thomas' childhood. They talked about how their words collided not only once but twice; but all through it Callum could tell Henry's mind wasn't there. He could tell his cousin was miles away lost in his thoughts and preoccupations.
"I'm not entirely sure what I've just drank..." Grimaced Callum as he downed the last bit of alcohol in his mason jar. "But I'm starting to understand how you people survive the winter."
"It's moonshine." Thomas chuckled before taking a hearty swig. "It's taken off quite a bit since they passed the prohibition laws."
"It's suitably vile, is what it is. But I reckon it gets the job done." Henry shuddered as the strong tasting alcohol travelled down his throat; a smile creeping over his face as little Leo crawled up onto his thighs to sit in his lap. He was so tiny and his movements so preciously awkward as he seemed to stumble about, doing a little stretch whilst laying in Henry's lap. "Now tell me everything, what's new back home. None of the family tell me anything interesting other than about boring parties, who getting married, who's fallen pregnant, and who's died."
"Not much ever seems to happen, nothing of interest, really." Callum huffed exasperatedly. "Then again what's new there... I suppose there are a lot of families like ours having to sell their homes and estates. Seems as though the post-war world sees less and less use of our lot. There was a rather grim business where the Wilsons thought they might have to sell, but it was all sorted in the end." Drawled Callum mundanely, though Henry's gaze shot over to Thomas as they exchanged a look; but little did they know that that Callum had noticed their subtle glance.
"Oh yes! I nearly forgot, Prince Murat is getting married to the Lady Edith!" Callum sang gleefully, perking up in his seat, warranting a gasp from Henry.
"I never received an invitation." Slurred Henry with furrowed his brows, clearly taking offence by this. Prince Murat was Edward's best friend and the grandson of a former Ottoman Sultan. They were dear family friends, their fathers attended Erin together; so it was only natural that Henry would take offence that he wasn't invited.
"Well is it any wonder, Harry? Considering you're sat here in the middle of bloody nowhere and nobody knows where the devil you are." Callum rolled his eyes at his cousin.
"Perhaps." Muttered Henry with a drunken shrug. "Well I'm happy for them even if I haven't been invited."
"Oh! Also, the Marquess of Pembroke's daughter has run off to become a stage actress in the West End!" Added Callum. "Everyone absolutely lost the plot, it was brilliant."
"Catherine!? Surely not, she was always so shy growing up." Scoffed Henry in utter disbelief, barely noticing that the little kitten in his lap had hopped off and to crawl towards Thomas, who sat silently down the sofa from him. "Is she any good?"
"Dunno, haven't exactly got round to seeing any of her shows." Callum gave Henry a flippant shrug. "The Marquis wasn't too pleased about the whole ordeal."
"I should think not." Henry rolled his eyes before turning towards Thomas who hadn't contributed much to the conversation, though by the smile on his face as he played with the little kitten in his lap. "But good on her for paving her own path, God only knows how hard it is with our lot." Sighed Henry in disappointment, he often felt the aristocracy and its stifling rules often clipped one's wings before they had the chance to fly. "I reckon I'd've made a good actor."
"I don't know about that..." Teased Thomas with a soft chuckle as he glanced up from the adorable little grey kitten in his lap to see Henry simply glared daggers at him whilst Callum gave him a knowing look. "I mean um... You haven't been doing a great job at acting 'common'."
"Hang on a minute, you're meant to be passing yourself off as 'common'?!" Slurred Callum as he turned to Henry with a look that one might only describe as amused; his eyes scanning his younger cousin as Henry got up from his seat and walked up to Thomas, scooping little Leo into his palm to carry him back to where he was sitting earlier. "I've been sat here all day, watching you interact with people all day, you've been speaking exactly how you've always done. Are you telling me that people are actually buying that you're common."
"Is it that hard to believe? Besides, I haven't had anyone question it." Frowned Henry dismissively, kissing Leo's soft grey fur as he continued petting him. "Except for Thomas, of course."
"Harry, mate. I say this in the nicest way possible, you wouldn't know what 'common' meant if it hit you in the face." Joked Callum with a snicker, earning him yet another glare from Henry. "So how'd you catch on to our Harry's little rouse?"
"Well for starters he kept describing about his life as being 'common' which I found quite odd." Recounted Thomas, prompting Callum to literally laugh out loud.
"Well what the devil was I meant to say?!" Defended Henry.
"To be fair, mate, you kind of brought that one upon yourself." Callum eked between bouts of laughter. "No actual common person ever refers to themselves as common, it's like how none of our lot would dream of calling ourselves 'posh'." He explained, watching Henry shrug with a disgruntled grumble. "But what I don't understand is why it was deemed best for you to live completely incognito, what is the point? I mean you weren't arrested, you didn't even know anyone arrested. What exactly were you playing at?"
"Well it's all temporary." Henry explained thoughtlessly, without even realising what the implications of what he'd said were. For had he glanced up for a second, up from the little ball of fur in his lap, he'd have seen Thomas' face as the the disappointment washed over his handsome visage; a numbness overtaking his extremities and a ringing in his ears as he felt the heart-wrenching sensation of heartbreak come over him.
"Temporary?" Callum's amused expression fell off his face as he glanced from a very casual Henry who seemed blissfully ignorant of the consequences of his words, to a handsome blond officer across the room whose warm brown eyes remained steadfastly downcast with his defined jaw tensing visibly.
"Of course." Said a rather nonchalant Henry, glancing up to see Callum's emerald green eyes practically bulging out of his head. "We all have to go home eventually, England is our home. Canada is lovely, but at the end of the day it's merely a home from home."
"But Harry, surely, you n-" Callum tried to reason with him, glancing nervously between Thomas and Henry as he noted the tension build in the room; tension that the blessed Henry seemed to have little to no awareness of.
"I'm gonna get another drink." Thomas cut Callum off, practically leaping up on his feet. "Can I get either of you another one?" He addressed Callum and Henry, of whom Callum simply shook his head silently, a look of empathy clear in his peridot green eyes.
"Oh heavens no." Henry gazed up fondly at Thomas, a warm smile that only managed to bewilder Thomas more. "Any more and I daresay you'll have to carry me up to bed, though now that I think about, it doesn't sound like a bad idea." He bit his lower lip drunkenly, all the while Thomas simply gave him a tight lipped half smile before making haste out of the drawing room.
Callum's Irish green eyes followed poor Thomas as he silently left, the deep pitying look in his eyes flashing with a mix of disappointment and anger as his line of view shifted towards Henry, who once again sat casually without the slightest inkling as to the mixed signals he was sendings.
"Honestly, Harry..." Callum muttered, pushing himself up to standing. "For someone as clever as you, it's absolutely awe-inspiring how utterly thick you manage to be at times." He stormed out towards the kitchen, leaving Henry to watch him leave utterly dumbfounded and perplexed out of his wits.
Thomas marched into the pantry, shutting the oaken door behind him as he unclenched his fists and his jaw, leaving himself alone to simply process everything. He felt pain; a deep pain in his heart knowing that Henry saw their relationship as merely temporary. But at the same time, he could tell Henry felt as much for him as he had for Henry; words tell one story but often times the eyes betray even the words of the orator from which they come. He hadn't a clue what to make of it all as he stood in the pantry with this feeling of unsettlement deep within his entrails.
Running his fingers though his golden blond hair, he let out of a stressed huff, gathering taking another mason jar out from his secret stash and getting ready to go out there once again. He grabbed the doorknob, taking one final cleansing breath to clear his mind, turning the knob and opening the door only to see a started Callum on the other side.
"Oh! There you are, ol' Chap I erm..." Callum ran his hand through his ash brown hair as his mind hashed some excuse or another for his being there. "I just wanted to see how you were getting on..."
"I just.. needed another bottle." Stammered Thomas awkwardly, fiddling with the mason jar in his hands.
"Listen, about what Harry said." Callum lowered his voice glancing towards the corridor to insure Henry was still in the drawing room. "Don't pay him any mind, he says things at times without thinking; it does my head in, but the point is... I know my cousin..." Callum locked eyes with Thomas, his empathetic gaze interlocked with Thomas' conflicted brown eyes. "He adores you, deeply. The likes of which I've never seen before, and I know my cousin well, Constable. I see it in his eyes... So don't give up on our Henry, for I've seen the way you look at one another; that sort of love isn't something one ought to give up."
"I suppose I can say the same to you, Lord Callum." Thomas smiled with a tinge of melancholy evident in his amber eyes.
"Oh?" Callum cocked a brow in intrigue.
"You see, Lord Callum... The reason I knew Henry wasn't 'common' as he claimed was... because he spoke like my Father." Explained Thomas. "My father came from an aristocratic family, and fell in love with his Mama's ladies maid." He glanced up to look into Callum's eyes who's face flushed pale as a ghost. "His name was Robert Wilson, son of the-"
"Duke of Bedford..." Callum cut him off with a barely audible whisper. "Crikey." Callum shook off his confusion as he tried to process it all. "Y-you're real?! I'll be honest, ol' Chap I reckoned they'd just made up the story of your father to scare our lot out of marrying beneath us, no offence."
"None taken." Chuckled Thomas in intrigue. "Well, I assure you... The story is very much real. And if I've learnt anything from my parents' love story it is that love... is always worth fighting for... Even if it seems like the odds are stacked against you." Thomas placed a supportive hand atop Callum's shoulder. "So go out there and fight for your love, Lord Callum."
"Same to you, Constable." A genuine smile blossomed across Callum's face, as he too placed a hand supportively on Thomas's shoulder. "Same to you."