AN: Here's another piece to this little story.
I hope you enjoy! If you do enjoy, please do let me know!
111
"I like Mummy," Paul protested.
"You're too old for Mummy," Charles retorted.
Eglantine closed her eyes a moment. The conversation of what to call both Emelius and herself was an ongoing family debate of which the children never seemed to tire, and they never seemed to settle firmly on titles.
"Paul is perfectly within his right to call me Mummy, if that's what he prefers," Eglantine offered.
"Mummy's for babies," Charles offered. "You ain't a baby, are you Paul?"
Eglantine looked at the face of her youngest—or, at least, of her youngest that was already born and whose face existed outside of pure imagination. With a little of his supper on his upper lip and more than a little longing in his eyes, she imagined that he did very much crave to be coddled a little like a baby—for some short time, if not for long.
She put on the best smile she could and reached to touch Paul's arm.
"I think I should quite like to be called Mummy, for a spell," she offered. "If you're feeling so inclined."
Paul smiled.
"You see?" He said to Charles. "I'm doing it for her, really."
"Miss Price don't care if you call her Mum or Mummy," Charles said. "Or Mother."
"Mrs. Browne, Charlie," Carrie corrected. "She's married to our dad, you know."
"That's right," Paul said. "And even though he's our dad, I can call him Daddy for as long as I like, don't you think, Mummy?"
Eglantine raised her eyebrows. It was going to take work to become accustomed to being "Mummy" in both practice and name. She was trying, though, and the children were endlessly patient with her. In return, she tried to offer them every bit of love and understanding that she could—including sitting at the table and listening to this rehashing while she wondered whether or not she'd successfully managed to hold down the few bites of supper she'd swallowed in the hope that Carrie wouldn't be offended and feel that her meal had been insulted.
"I'm sure that…your father…would like that," Eglantine offered.
"I'm going to write and ask him!" Paul said. "I can put it in with my letter."
"I'll help you before bed," Carrie said. "We'll all have our letters read to take down to the village in the morning."
"I'll take them down and post them when you're off to school," Eglantine assured her.
"Well—I'm not going to call you Mummy, and I'm not calling him Daddy, either," Charles offered. "Too grown up for that, I am…"
"Mother and Father, then, Charlie?" Carrie asked. "Like we say to Miss Wharton at school?"
"I'd just as soon call them Mr. Browne and Miss Price as say Mother and Father all the time," Charlie said with a half-shrug.
"Mrs. Browne, Charlie," Carrie corrected. "She's a proper wife, now, to Mr. Browne."
Eglantine found herself briefly musing over what other families discussed across the table when titles and marital status weren't so much at the forefront of concern.
"Mum and Dad, then," Charlie said. "When it's not at school and Miss Wharton insists on Mother and Father."
"Mum and Dad," Carrie said with a great deal of affection in her voice. "And Paul can say Mummy and Daddy, until he's ready for a change."
"It's settled," Eglantine said quickly, hoping to put an end to things. "I think that arrangement will work just fine as it is."
She felt exhausted, but she recognized that it was by circumstances more than the conversation, really.
"What's wrong, Mum?" Carrie asked, furrowing her brow.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Eglantine responded quickly. "I only mean that it's time we move on to other topics of conversation. We're settled on titles, now, I believe."
"I mean you haven't touched your supper," Carrie said.
Eglantine felt like she'd slipped and fallen into cold water. She almost outwardly shivered, and the change in emotions almost did something to chip away at whatever was holding down the few bites she had managed to swallow.
"Oh," she said, feeling a sinking sensation in her stomach. She didn't want to hurt Carrie's feelings at all, but she couldn't bear to eat a single bite more of the fried food. "It's very good, Carrie. I suppose—I'm just not feeling hungry, that's all."
"Come on," Charlie declared loudly. "You haven't hardly eaten a thing in days. Breakfast you say you'll have when we go off to school, and then you're not feeling hungry at supper."
"Mum is just missing Dad, isn't that it?" Carrie asked. She gave Eglantine a tender and understanding look with a gentle nod. Eglantine felt a rush of warmth. Her dear, sweet Carrie tried to mother her and her siblings. For a second, Eglantine thought about how pleased Carrie would likely be with a brand-new baby to tend and fuss over. Carrie didn't wait for a response before continuing. "Come on, Mum—there's still a letter that we haven't read from him yet. You can go and get settled, and we'll clean up the supper. We can read the letter together before we go to bed."
"That's not it," Charles said quickly, practically interrupting his sister and completely stopping Eglantine from doing more than smiling in response and opening her mouth to speak. "He's been gone for a while now, and this moping about and not eating has been worse the past couple of days. I suppose we know what's really going on here."
"I beg your pardon," Eglantine said. "What do you believe is going on here, Charles?"
"It's pretty clear, ain't it?" Charles responded. "You been moping about for two days. Spending all that time up in your room, away from us. The way I see it, either you told them you don't want us no more, which means you don't know how to tell us we're leaving, or else they told you that they're taking us to that farm, and you don't want it either, so you're sick over having to tell us."
"That's not so!" Carrie said quickly and sharply. "Miss Price wouldn't send us to some farm, and she wouldn't let them take us, either."
Eglantine realized that, in the heat of such an important discussion, she was no longer "Mum" or any derivative of the term. She had even lost her married name.
"That's right, we're a whole family now," Paul agreed. "Got a dad and everything."
"It's not true, Miss Price, is it?" Carrie asked. "What Charlie said?"
"Don't worry," Paul said, somewhat cheerfully, "if they took us to the farm, we'd run away and come back to you."
Realizing she was at risk of quickly losing the focus of the children, Eglantine waved her hand at them to stop their worrying and musing.
"Nobody's doing any running away," she said. "And there's no farm, children. Everyone is staying just where they are."
"See? I told you! Mum wouldn't let them take us to a farm," Carrie said. She was a bit disgruntled sounding toward her brother, but Eglantine noted that, as the girl calmed, she became "Mum" again. She also noted that Carrie settled into her seat a little and visibly relaxed.
Paul looked satisfied enough with her words and returned to his milk.
Charles still eyed her somewhat suspiciously.
"Believe it or not," Eglantine said, "my choice to eat, or not to eat, has very little to do with any of you."
"See?" Carrie said, only sounding slightly less disgruntled as she relaxed more. "I told you it was because she's missing Dad. Isn't that right, Mum?" She leaned up and toward Eglantine. "We'll read the letter we haven't read tonight. You're always more cheerful when we've read a letter."
Eglantine swallowed back some amusement.
All three sets of eyes were on her—only one set of them truly suspicious. She loved all of them. She loved them dearly. She had never imagined that she'd be capable of loving so many people quite so much.
And, all at once, she had the warm feeling that there was room for more in her heart.
"I am happier when we read your father's letters," Eglantine agreed. "And I do miss him. I miss him terribly. I see no reason to lie about it. However—I'm afraid that isn't the reason for my…my behavior over the past few days. Not entirely, at least."
"What's wrong?" Carrie asked. "Is it something we've done?"
"No, of course not," Eglantine said quickly, wiping away the concern that created a crease between Carrie's brows.
"Is there something we can do, then?" Carrie asked.
Eglantine sighed.
"I suppose you ought to know anyway," she said. "You'll know soon enough, at any rate, and I could certainly use your help. All of you."
"Of course, Mum," Carrie said, speaking for all of them.
"Help with what?" Charles asked.
"It doesn't matter, Charlie," Carrie said sharply. "We're a family now, and we're going to help with whatever she needs."
"I can help!" Paul offered quickly and confidently.
"Of course, you can," Eglantine said. "You can all help. You see—I wasn't feeling entirely well. I haven't been for some time. Yesterday, while you were at school, I went to see the doctor in town."
"Oh no," Carrie said, "you're not unwell, are you? We could help tend to you. You can count on us."
"It's nothing like that," Eglantine said quickly, dismissing the concern she saw growing by the second on the faces of the eldest two children. Paul wasn't quite as quick at jumping to conclusions as his siblings. "You see—as it turns out, our family is growing."
"Growing?" Charles asked.
Eglantine saw the moment that it registered on Carrie's face. She didn't need more explanation.
"Growing!" Carrie exclaimed. "Oh—Mum! Is it true? A baby? You're going to have a baby?"
"A baby?" Charles asked.
"Where are we getting a baby?" Paul asked.
"Is it true?" Carrie asked again.
Eglantine laughed at the children.
"It's true," she said. "It seems—there's going to be a baby."
"Where's it coming from? In the village?" Paul asked.
"No, silly," Carrie said. "Mum's going to have a baby. A little brother or sister. Oh—can I help take care of it?"
"Of course, you can," Eglantine said. "I did say that I'll need your help."
"More likely you'll end up finding out you don't need us around," Charles offered, frowning angrily. "You'll tell them to take us to that farm."
"Don't be ridiculous, Charlie," Eglantine said, being sure to use the most affectionate name she had for him. She reached and squeezed his arm. "Nobody's going anywhere. I wouldn't let them take you children, even if they wanted. The paperwork's been filed. We're only waiting for them to have the opportunity to make things official. We're a family now, and I am going to need your help. I'll need everyone's help. You see, I never expected to have a baby, but, then, I never expected to have the family I have now. I never expected to have all of you, but I wouldn't give up a single thing that I have. That includes all of you…and the baby."
"That's why you haven't been eating?" Charles asked, softening a little.
"I have felt just dreadful," Eglantine admitted, feeling relieved to be able to tell the truth.
"But you're supposed to eat more, aren't you? For the baby?" Carrie asked, suddenly concerned.
"I think we're both fine for now," Eglantine said. "I do manage to keep a few bites down here or there."
"I could make you a supper that's more what you enjoy," Carrie said. "Some stewed nettles or…something else you think is nice."
"Great, then we'll all be starving again," Charles said.
"Charlie! She's having a baby! She can't starve!"
"Nobody's starving," Eglantine interrupted, before the two could fall into full-out bickering. "I may choose to have a few meals that are a little different than what you children are eating, but we'll all manage, I'm sure. The most important thing is that—this has to be our secret."
"Another secret?" Charles asked.
"Just for a while," Eglantine said. "We mustn't tell your father about it. Do you understand? We won't write about it in our letters. Not for some time. We'll just keep this here, between us. A family secret."
"I'm good at keeping secrets," Paul offered. "I've never told anyone about the bed-knob."
"I know you are," Eglantine said. "And this secret is important, too."
"We're not going to tell Dad?" Carrie asked. Eglantine could already tell that she wasn't comfortable with that.
"Why don't we let him in on our family secret?" Charles asked. "Don't he have a right to know? He's part of the family, too, you know."
"Of course, he is…and, of course, he does," Eglantine said. "And, I assure you, he will know. It's just that…what your father is doing? It's very important to him. And I don't want him to feel that he can't finish doing it because of this."
"This ain't important?" Charles asked.
"Of course, it is," Eglantine said with a laugh. "It's just—babies take their time, Charlie. And there's nothing to do, in the meantime, that we can't do without him. I just think it's important to let him do what he needs to do. And, then, when it's time, we'll let him in on the family secret. For now, however, I'm asking that we all keep this between us. Nobody mentions it in their letters. Do you understand?"
"But we are going to tell him," Carrie said, leaving her words hanging.
"Absolutely," Eglantine assured her. "When the time is right. Until then, I'm counting on you three to help me with everything. Can you do that?"
Carrie considered it and then nodded, the voice for her siblings in most things.
"We can help with everything, don't you worry about that," she said. "I meant what I said earlier. We'll clean up supper. You should take some tea, and we can all read the letter before bed."
Eglantine smiled.
"Baby or not, I don't want you children thinking that I'm incapable or otherwise incompetent."
"What do you mean by that?" Charles asked.
"She means she doesn't want us to fuss over her," Carrie said, "just because there's going to be a baby. But—we'll only fuss a little bit."
Eglantine laughed.
"I suppose a little is acceptable," she said. "As long as you're not feeling put upon."
"No ma'am," Carrie said. "We want to do it."
"I'll post letters tomorrow," Eglantine said. "Not a word of the baby from any of you."
"No ma'am," Carrie assured her. "It's a family secret. We understand, don't we?"
"Yeah…we understand," Charles said.
"Paul?" Eglantine asked.
"Not a word!" He said, happy to simply be included.
"Wonderful," Eglantine said. "Thank you. Now—if you really don't mind, I do think I'll take you up on that offer to clean this up. I don't think I can stomach the smell of it too much longer. I'm sorry—it really was wonderful, it's just that I…"
"It's that there's going to be a baby!" Carrie said, clearly pleased over the idea of a little one. "Paul—help Mum get settled. Get the letter. Charlie and me will have this cleaned up in a few minutes."
"But don't start reading until we get there," Charles said quickly.
"You have my word," Eglantine assured him. "Family reading time is as sacred as family secrets."