(so sorry for the lateness of this! School and work have caught up with me and have kept me extremely busy. I will post as much as I can.)
Once the family was settled in the dinning room. Including the little ones. The footmen began to serve the food. Ellis and his children were astonished by the service. Ellis knew his wife grew up privileged but to have your dinner served to you was one thing he had never imagined
Mary hadn't arrived at the table and Edith looked around in worry. Where could you older sister be? Surely she was staying with her daughters.
Just as Edith thought about her sister's absence she heard the door opened and saw Mary with a nearly teenage George enter the room.
Mary looked gobsmacked at the sight of her sister and an unknown man with extra children at the table. She quickly concluded that the children were Edith's as they all resembled her in some way or another. Mary sat down between her daughters while George sat in between two of his cousins.
He recognized his aunt just barely and thought it was cool that he had some boys to play with. Little girls could be awfully obnoxious. Especially when they demanded to play with their dolls.
Mary looked to her sister and frowned. "So the runaway has returned." she said with much less bite than what she usually used when speaking to her younger sister. She had realized just how much she loved her sister after she had left. When her mother had explained why she had left she had been angry with herself for the way she had treated her sister. But even though she was glad to have her sister back home she was still angry with her for leaving. Did she realize the pain she had caused everyone?
Edith took a deep breath before speaking. She had noticed the less hurtful tone her sister had used but she was still unsure about where they stood. "Yes Mary. I am back. Although I'm only here for dinner but it seems Aunt Rosamund is disgusted with me to the point where she won't eat at the same table as me." she said. She wanted to make sure her family knew she wouldn't be living with them. She wasn't even sure if she would visit with them again.
Mary gave her sister a pained look at the implication that she would be staying with them. She couldn't bear to lose her again. Neither could their parents. "Why don't you introduce me to your family then?" she asked changing the subject.
Edith nodded in understanding as to what she was doing. She motioned to the man beside her. "This is my husband Ellis. Then our children from youngest to oldest. Gweneth, Henri, Catrin and Crystin the twins, Owen, Andreas, and Marigold." she said.
Each person gave either a wave or smile as they ate. Edith chuckled at her twin daughters as they managed to get more food on their face than in their mouth. "This is your Aunt Mary and your cousin George." she said.
Owen looked up at his older cousin and grinned. It was cool to have an older boy cousin. Maybe he'd play with him. George looked down at his little cousin and smiled. "Do you like cars?" he asked.
Owen nodded his head in between bites of food. "Yes! Cars are so cool. Do you have one?" he asked him.
George chuckled. "No but our grandfather has several cars. Maybe after dinner I could show you the one he keeps here." he said.
Andreas looked at the older boy confused. "Doesn't he live here?" he asked.
Robert chuckled at his grandson's expression. "No Andreas. I live in Yorkshire but I come here often to see my sister and to enjoy the city life." he explained.
Andreas and Owen looked at their grandfather in awe. They couldn't imagine having more than one house at a time. Maybe their grandfather was a king of some sort.
Cora smiled fondly at the boys. "George after dinner you can take Owen and Andreas to see the car as long as a servant is with you and you watch them carefully. Then the twins can play in the nursery with the girls and the two youngest can play on the floor while the grownups talk." she said. She snuck a peek at Edith. She wanted to make sure she understood that she would tell them everything. She wouldn't allow her baby girl to run away again. At Edith's small nod the family finished eating and all went to their assigned areas after the children were cleaned off.
Robert and Cora led their daughters and son-in-law into the library and put toys on the carpet for the little ones.
Once the little ones were settled in the floor and the adults were all seated Robert turned to his daughter. "Start talking Edith. We have all night." he said sternly.
Edith gulped before beginning.
(This is AU from the point where Cora and Rosamund went to London to retrieve Edith and Marigold. All recognizable characters, places, and events belong to Julienne Fellows. Please Read and Review!)