Hi guys! Here's chapter two :) I've been switching between working on this and watching season 8 of Grey's Anatomy. I love summer. Enjoy! I'll see you at the bottom :) ~DisneyPrincess55
Two
Murder
After a chaotic supper which resulted in Tintin and I arguing over what to feed Lilly, Henry throwing a sobbing fit and Alice shrieking at her brother; I carried Lilly upstairs to the office, Alice following me.
"All right, what do you suggest we put your sister in to sleep tonight?"
Alice shrugged. "I dunno. She slept in a bassinet in Mama and Papa's room. It was white, with lace—it was mine and Henry's too." I sighed.
"We don't have a bassinet, Alice, so we need somewhere safe for Lilly to sleep until we can get one."
"Maybe a box?" Alice looked around the room, "You seem to have a lot of them around here."
"Good idea!" I handed Lilly to Alice, grabbed a big box, and began to line it with blankets. "All right, now what?"
"Well, Mama always changed Lilly's nappy and put her in a nightgown, swaddled her up, and put her to sleep."
"Nappy?"
"Yeah."
"We don't have any nappies, Alice," I sighed.
"That's okay! I brought some!" She went across the hall into my room and came back with a leather bag. "I brought a nightgown for me and Lilly, and pajamas for Henry. And nappies, for Lilly."
"But you didn't bring food for Lilly?"
"No. I-I didn't know that I needed to, Miss Nollie. I'm sorry! I didn't think you would let us stay."
"That's all right, Alice. We'll get Lilly some food tomorrow morning. Now, let's change her and put her to bed."
Alice helped me change her nappy and put her in her nightgown. She taught me how to tightly swaddle the baby, all while telling me about herself and her siblings. "Lilly's real name is Lillian, but Mama wanted her to just be called Lilly. She was born in July, right before my birthday and Henry's birthday. We were all born in July…Maybe Mama and Papa planned it that way." When she finished swaddling her, she kissed her sister's forehead and laid her in the big box. "All right, now it's time for you to get ready for bed. Go on," she hurried into my room and shut the door. I rose to my feet, turned off the lamp in the office, and walked towards Tintin's room. I changed into my nightgown and walked back to my room to check on Alice and Henry, who were both already in their beds.
"Are you two going to be all right in here? Is the lamp too bright?" I asked, leaning against the door. Tintin had set up my oil lamp on the nightstand in between the two, as 'a way to scare off the monsters and bad dreams,' he'd whispered to Henry, who stood beside him and watched as he put it up.
"Yes, Miss Nollie. We will be just fine, right, Henry?" Henry nodded and snuggled himself into his bed on the floor beneath his sister.
"If either of you need anything at all, don't be afraid to come get one of us, all right?" Alice nodded and leaned back onto the bed, pulling her quilt up as she lay back.
"All right, Miss Nollie. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," I smiled, closing the door and walking across the hallway to the office, where the flame in the oil lamp was about to flicker out. Lilly was sound asleep in her makeshift bassinet, the light dancing on her tiny, round face. Tintin appeared behind me and wrapped his good arm around my waist.
"These children are fantastic," he breathed in my ear, "Alice is brilliant, and Henry is incredibly mischievous. And Lilly…" He sighed, "She is a beautiful baby."
"Do not grow too attached to them," I whispered, turning to face him, "As I said before, we cannot take them in." I began to walk towards his bedroom at this, climbing into his bed and snuggling up under the covers. He joined me, cuddling up beside me. "How many children do you want?" I murmured, unleashing the question that had been plaguing my thoughts as I stared at Lilly sleeping.
"As many as possible," he mumbled. "And you, sweetheart? How many children do you want?" I didn't reply, instead I thought hard about my answer. One? Two children? When he noticed my silence, he sat up and stared at me. "Nollie?"
"One," I said quickly, "I want one. Or…perhaps two."
Now it was his turn to be silent for a moment. "Really?" He leaned back against his pillow, "Huh. I always presumed you wanted more than one or two."
"Why do you ask?"
"Nollie, we're going to be married in a few months. It's…something that a couple would normally plan together."
"And you love the three children who have taken over our house," I added.
"I wouldn't say love. They have been in our home for less than six hours. Love is not an appropriate emotion towards them."
"But you certainly don't hate them."
"Well, do you?"
"Of course not. They are simply three innocent children who need our…my help."
"Perhaps we could keep them…you know, until they are adopted by a willing, proper family."
I shrugged at his proposition. "Perhaps. But for now, let's just help them find their parent's killer." I snuggled further into the bed and closed my eyes. Tintin shut off the lamp and curled up beside me, kissing me softly before falling asleep.
The next morning, Tintin and I walked downstairs to find Alice rummaging through the kitchen, Henry and Lilly on the floor. "Good morning," Tintin smiled, catching Alice's attention. She blushed the moment she saw him and backed away from the cupboard.
"Oh—my apologies. I-I didn't know when you would be getting up, so I presumed I'd need to make Henry breakfast before he got angry and cried…"
"That's all right, Alice," I moved to pick up Lilly from where she lay on the ground, and handing her to Tintin, "How about you and I take care of breakfast while Tintin goes to get some milk and a bottle for Lilly from the grocery?" The night before, I'd simply mashed a cup of cooked green beans and had Alice feed her. She was the one who suggested it, after all, and I had no idea how to feed a six-month-old. As soon as Tintin disappeared, I went to the ice chest and retrieved the egg carton. "Eggs and sausage?" I suggested, and she nodded eagerly.
Tintin returned with the evaporated milk for Lilly right as breakfast was ready. I was feeding Lilly a bottle while the children ate, watching them closely. The dining table was covered in boxes—some open, some spewing tablecloths and cloth napkins, forks and spoons. Whenever we wanted to eat we had to fish our utensils out of the boxes—thus, everyone's plate was a different color, and there were two variations of silverware floating amongst the room. As soon as Alice finished, she looked at me and smiled, tucking a stray piece of her dirty blonde hair behind her ear. "Thank you, Miss Nollie, that was delicious."
"I should be the one thanking you. You helped, after all." I paused before adding, "Yesterday you mentioned you had an idea of who your parent's killer could be. Do you still think it was that person?"
Alice stared at me, cheeks flushing. "Really, I should be discussing this with Mister Tintin…" Tintin, sitting beside me, stopped plowing his fork through his eggs like a child and stared at me, waiting for my response.
"Tintin can't help you, Alice. His wrist is fractured, he's not good for much at the moment." Tintin dropped his fork onto his plate, picked it up, and walked into the kitchen. She smiled uncomfortably as he left, shifting a little in her seat.
"I wanted to discuss this with him."
"I know. But…" I hesitated, looking from her to Henry and back, "I went through the same thing. My parents were murdered when I was twelve, and I went without knowing who did it for the longest time. I was seventeen when we finally figured out who killed them and why. It wasn't pretty. But you have to understand that I know what you're going through, and I can help in ways that my crippled fiancé cannot." A pot was dropped into the sink with a clang and moments later I heard Tintin's footsteps stomping upstairs.
Alice smiled. "You probably shouldn't mention his wrist anymore."
"I like to tease him," I shrugged.
I loved how Nollie kept calling Tintin crippled or whatever and making him mad xD He doesn't like remembering that he's got a useless wrist. But seriously, it's so funny. I love these two. Anyway, please read, review & follow this story/me! If you follow the story, you'll be updated when I post a new chapter! Yay! XO ~DisneyPrincess55
