the art of loving ; lord tewksbury

seventeen

"Welcome to the family, darling. You are going to make an amazing bride."

Chapter Seventeen

"Mummy! Mummy! Come look at what me and Grant found!"

The shrill voice of a three-year-old Daisy echoed throughout the household, alerting the worn out woman who had fallen into a light slumber in the living room. Her eyelids fluttered open at the abrupt calls of her children, awakening her from the semi-conscious state. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, mind still hazy but the second round of enthusiastic voices coming from above her was enough to get her feet moving.

As Genevieve Winters carefully ascended the wooden steps of her abode, she could hear the erratic footsteps of the two siblings as they ran to the top of the staircase to meet their mother. A warm smile graced the older woman's lips at the sight of them—they were practically bouncing off their toes as they awaited her arrival, excitement exuding from molecule in their bodies.

"What has got you two so happy?" she questioned, ruffling the tops of their heads when she finally reached the last step. Giggles left the little girl's mouth as she held onto her mother's hand, pulling her to her desired destination. Her brother raced to catch up to them, eager not to miss out on anything.

"Grant and I found a treasure box in your room!" Daisy squealed. She stopped in front of a fairly large, brown chest sitting at the foot of her parents' bed.

"Hey! I was the one who discovered it in the store room. Don't take all the credit!" the boy crossed his arms over his chest.

"I didn't take anything!" Daisy defended, although she didn't quite understand what the word credit meant.

Genevieve chuckled at their harmless banter. "Why were you snooping around the store room?"

"We wanted to see if there were any toys we could find," Grant told her. "I told Daisy there were none, but she wouldn't believe me."

"I don't want your stupid toys anymore, this is so much better!" the little girl stared at it dreamily. "I wonder what kind of treasure we will find inside. I hope it is a box full of diamonds. Or gold!"

Grant scoffed at his sister's comment. "Gold is heavy. This box is way too light to be filled with gold. You would have known that if you were the one who actually pulled it all the way here!"

Daisy ignored the petty boy's remark and tugged at her mother's skirt. "We can't open it. Can you help us, mother? We want to know what is inside."

Genevieve nodded her head, gently prying little Daisy's fingers off her clothes so that she could move to the dresser behind her. It wasn't the first time she had seen the chest her children had found—she was the one who had kept it in the store room years ago. Her fingers reached out to the small container where she stored her sewing supplies, and she dug around in it until she felt the familiar shape of the key she was searching for.

The young pair of siblings clapped excitedly at the sight of the metal object, both children running to wait on either side of the treasure chest as they watched with full concentration their mother jamming the key into its lock. With a soft click, the woman lifted the chest's cover to reveal its hidden treasures.