The Beautiful Wallflower

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: A walk in the park

Andrew started his morning like he always did. He woke up when the first rays of sunlight shone through his window. He stayed inside his bed for an hour more, but by then he really had to wake up because he was starving. He called his valet, dressed and shaved, and went downstairs to have his breakfast. Mostly he would be the first of his family to wake up and it would be calm downstairs. He would read the newspaper and finish it before his mother came down and kept talking about things he did not really care about. He could only escape the woman's talking when one of his siblings came down to take his place in pretending to be listening to her.

When Elizabeth was still unmarried and living with their mother, she would be the one to genuinely listen to lady Anne. He did miss his sister, for the house was different without her. Twas not more calm because of her leaving, but he had no one to joke with, and no escape when Thomas and Mary were fighting each other. He was not lonely, but he did feel alone sometimes.

Andrew was snapped back to the present by lady Anne's shriek. He looked up at the woman. He had been trying to read the newspaper, but both his mother and Mary had been filling up the silence he wanted. The two ladies had been up since early in the morning, when lady Anne discovered Thomas had not come home.

But Andrew did not worry about it. Thomas was the first Brompton son to be normal and go to pubs. Andrew assumed his brother had gotten drunk and was now passed out somewhere at a friend's place. It would not be the first time his brother had done such thing, but it would be the first time Andrew was not involved. Usually Thomas would go to his older brother to ask to lie to their mother should she ask where he was. Andrew was quite certain lady Anne knew whenever her son was lying, but she never said anything of it.

So after establishing that Andrew knew not where his brother was, lady Anne woke up everyone in the house. She asked every member of the staff if one of them saw Thomas leave, but all said the same. The young lord had left in the early afternoon and had not been seen since.

Both Mary and Andrew turned around to look at whatever made their mother shriek. The door had opened and Thomas had entered. Lady Anne's shriek was not one of happiness, and it was not difficult to see why.

Not only was Thomas' face swollen and did he have a black eye, his lip was bleeding as well as his clothes were thorn. His arms were covered in dirt, and Andrew would not be surprised if there were bruises underneath his sleeves. He tried to smile, but was prevented by the swelling on his face, which gave his face a quite horrid look.

Lady Anne started shouting orders for the servants to prepare warm water and fetch towels, salve and medicines, while Andrew and Mary tried their best not to laugh too hard. But when Thomas shot them a murderous look, they could no longer hold back and laughed out loud, like two little children.

"Stop it, you to," lady Anne said to her two descent looking children while she walked to her other and had a good look at him.

"Is that why we have been so worried?" Mary chuckled loudly. "He got beatings!" She let out another round of roaring laughter, trying to muffle it with her hand but not succeeding at it.

Andrew rolled his eyes at his sister's remark, then asked Thomas: "who beat you up?"

Mary inhaled sharply. "Was it about a woman?" she asked with wide eyes and hopeful.

Thomas shot her a mean look. "I do not fight over women," he told her, then turned to Andrew. "I fought with some men outside the bar."

"Then why did you stay away all night?" Mary pried. It received her another mean look.

"That is none of your business," Thomas told her.

"Oh, but I-"

"That is enough, Mary," lady Anne interrupted. "He shall tell all soon, don't fret." She turned to all of her children in the room and pointed at each of them while saying: "none of you shall have secrets for me forever."