I think I promised some fluff :3 lots of fluff
OooooOOOOooooO
Tracy Island. Home to the great Jeff Tracy and his five boys. Parker could honestly say he'd never seen anything that came close to its remote splendor. Although, if he were honest - which was a new trait he was doing his best to adopt - he'd never been to visit any kind of privately owned island or resort. None the less, he was very pleased with his decision to take Master Creighten-Ward's offer. He was seeing more of the world than he could have imagined.
"Cor!" The exclamation slipped out before he could think better of it. The light, laughter beside him drew his attention to the young lady. His charge was barely ten, but was already well versed in the area of manners and pleasantries. His brash upbringing was in far contrast and it showed. "Beggin' your pardon, miss. It h'appears I left my manners back in h'India." Parker flashed her a playful grin as she suppressed another laugh.
Their plane landed shortly after, coming to a smooth stop at the base of the mountain-top home. As the small party departed, they were greeted by a gentleman, about his age, wearing ornate robes and an expression of relieved sadness. Parker wasn't surprised. From what he'd been told by his lordship, the family had suffered a great loss and the father was doing his best to bury himself under a new, highly secretive project. The Creighten-Ward family was a means to accomplishing part of that agenda.
A younger man, brunette and barely into puberty by the look of the blemishes lining his cheeks, stepped up to assist in retrieving their luggage. They appeared to have quite a bit for a week long stay, but given the new luxuries he was being introduced to, three different ensembles per day seemed pretty standard. Parker took Penelope's cases, following the young miss to the waiting elevator.
The home was fairly standard in its decor, some areas still bare due to the continuous construction. At least the guest house was complete, if just void of character. He could immediately see the effects that a person's death could have.
Parker set the pink luggage in the corner of the white walled room, setting Penelope's day bag on the freshly linened bed. Apparently, someone in the house was aware of basic necessities.
He took a step towards the door, pivoting to address the young blonde, already searching through her things. "Will you be needin' h'anythin' h'else, your ladyship?"
"This will do quite alright, Parker." She gave him one of her sweetest smiles, crafted by a mother who demanded perfection. It sent a small pang of regret through his chest.
"Very well, miss." Parker gave a small bow. "H'I will just be h'outside if you need h'anythin'." Ears honed for burglary picked up the light shuffle of feet just outside the door. Not wanting to bother his charge, he turned and left, peering down the small corridor to his left.
Parker felt the light thrill as he quietly made his way towards the exit, not wanting to alert the 'spy'. Undoubtedly, it would be one of the other boys, but there could be no excusing any shenanigans that involved miss Creighten-Ward. He would make certain of that.
The former-thief pressed himself firmly against the wall as he neared the corner, peering just past to see if anyone was waiting. He was met with a mop of yellow hair, matted with dirt and twigs. For a moment, he wondered if there had been stories of little forest nymphs that tormented the island's occupants. Then as. , grubby hand slid along the pristine wall and around the edge. Gotcha.
In one swift motion, Parker pushed off the wall and rounded the corner, stopping to tower over the young child. Honey brown eyes stared wide with terror and the older man could already see him trying to scramble away towards freedom.
"'old it right there, young sir." His tone left no room for argument as the boy froze. "H'am h'I to h'assume you are one of Master Tracy's boys, come to see if the room was to m'lady's h'approval?"
The boy simply gawked, mouth refusing to form the explanation that was being requested. Parker sighed, realizing he might need to give the lad a break. Before he could save the floundering young man, he finally let out some indication he had heard the question.
"Sorry, just wanted to say hi." A flush spread over the blonde's cheeks. "I'm Gordon. Tracy." The shock was quickly being devoured by embarrassment.
"H'and might h'I ask, 'ow old are you h'exactly?" He guessed around seven or eight.
"I'm eight. And a half." A proud air seemed to grace the final statement.
Parker smiled. "Well then, master Gordon. Her ladyship is currently gettin' a bit of rest h'after a long flight. You'll 'ave to exchange greetin's once she's h'all settled."
The brown eyes disappeared as Gordon realized he wouldn't be meeting miss Penelope anytime soon. That intrigued him somewhat, curious to the boy's motives. It wouldn't hurt to get to know the boy a bit, considering he seemed to be interested in his charge.
"H'I could stand a tour, h'if h'it's no trouble?" He suppressed a chuckle as Gordon's mood brightened, unruly blonde waves falling over his eyes as he nodded. "H'alright then. H'off we go."
For the next half an hour, Parker's impromptu tour took them from one serene beach to another. It appeared, the young sir had a thing for the ocean. He could appreciate that, being drawn to coastal cities himself.
Their final stop had been to the edge of a pool, devoid of water and still in the early stages of construction. Gordon had declared it the best part of the house, minus the beaches. Now, they were sitting together on a pair of loungers, each holding a small cord of rope.
"H'alright, now just put one end through 'ere," Parker instructed, calmly as he guided his own string. "H'and the other through there… pull. H'and done." He examined the cord Gordon was fussing over and felt a flutter of achievement. "Not too shabby for a first go."
"Don't you mean 'knot too shabby'?" He was holding the now offensive pun in the air.
Parker groaned. "Don't make me regret teaching you these." He was already working at his rope to remove the knot.
"Where did you learn to tie knots?" Gordon asked, brushing off the comment.
"H'one tends to learn a thing h'or two in my line of work." He mentally cursed himself for not realizing what he'd just referenced, quickly turning it back around. "You know, h'yachts and dinner cruises. Never 'urts to be prepared, h'I say."
"Oh." The slight disappointment showed in the boy's voice.
"H'expected somethin' more h'exciting h'I take it." Parker laughed as the blonde hair bobbed sheepishly. "'ow about h'I teach you a couple more of my skills while the masters discuss their work? Hm? Ever picked a lock?"
This had the boy's attention, an eager grin, filled with the mischief of most eight year olds, spread across his dirt streaked face. This would either be his worst idea ever or his best. He couldn't be too sure just yet.
A call from the verandah pulled them both from their conversing, Penelope leaning over the edge.
"There you are, Parker. Who is your new friend?" She gave the blonde a polite smile.
"My h'apologies, miss. Gordon, 'ere, was just showing me around the h'island." Parker encouraged the boy to his feet as he stood.
"Hello, Gordon. A pleasure to meet you." Her voice was just the right amount of sweet to be polite, a skill necessary for dealing with the snobbish high class.
The boy in question simply blundered out a series of incoherent words, finally resigning to an awkward wave. Parker watched the crimson spread under the smudges on Gordon's cheeks.
Penelope turned her attention back to her bodyguard. "Father wants us both in Mr. Tracy's office."
"H'understood, m'lady. H'I will join you momentarily." He gave a quick bow as she left, and turned to address the young boy.
The red had faded from his cheeks, replaced by a small smile and for a moment, he assumed the boy was simply embarrassed. However, a new thought crossed his mind as Gordon had yet to remove his view from the verandah.
Oh no.. And his concerns were only made clear by the next words out of his mouth.
"She's pretty." It was more of a whisper than a statement to be heard by the older man beside him.
A sudden sense of pity struck Parker as he regarded the boy. There was no way someone of his upbringing could have any kind of chance with her ladyship. Her social class just didn't work that way. Although, the former thief would have never guessed he'd be working for one of his usual targets. Maybe society didn't work quite the way he thought it did… Which meant keeping an extra close eye on the kid, for his own protection.
"Well, master Gordon. H'I will be seeing you later on." He gave the boy his best bow, eliciting a giggle.
"To pick locks?" Gordon gave an excited grin.
Parker put a finger to his lip. "H'our secret, eh?"
The blonde nodded, before running off to go back to whatever eight year olds did on their own private island. Parker smiled to himself, turning to go meet his charge, wondering what other characters he would meet in this family.