My Darling Love
Chapter 22 – The Master of The House
"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."
-Henry Brooks Adams
The next morning, the children crept down the stairs into the kitchen. They peered around the entranceway to see Grandpa Joe sitting at the table chuckling. "The coast is clear," he whispered to them, and they followed in single file.
"Where are father and mother?" John asked softly.
"They are still upstairs, your mother should be down shortly. How about some pancakes?" He made their breakfast and checked over their schoolwork.
"Where is Nana?" Michael asked with his mouth full.
Grandpa Joe looked uneasy; for he had hoped they would forget her absence in their enjoyment of his buttery, syrup-drenched pancakes. Nana could now be heard barking in the backyard, and the children went to the door into the yard and gazed out. There, chained to the clothesline pole, was Nana, the nurse. She was missing her normal nurse's cap, and looked as upset and depressed as a dog of her size could be at her punishment.
"Why is she chained up?" Wendy asked her grandfather.
"Because she is a dog, and not a nurse," George said sternly as he entered the kitchen, fixing his tie. George usually had a strange disposition around the children, rather uncomfortable, with an awkward smile. Never did he show them irritation or annoyance. Even when he disciplined them, it seemed to the children it hurt him more than it hurt them. So his strict tone surprised them.
"But father, you cannot leave her out there," Wendy pleaded to him as he cleaned his spectacles with an odd haughty expression.
"I can and I will, this my house and that dog lives in it only by my good graces, and there she will stay until I say she can come in." His tone was unyielding and brought Wendy to tears. "You will begin your instruction with Aunt Millicent this very afternoon. I will not have you embarrassing this family any more with your silly drawings of. . . of fanciful things like princesses asleep under a witch's curse who are to be rescued by pirate captains. Whoever heard of such a thing? You are to go directly to your aunt's home after school, without your brothers. You will do every single thing she instructs you to do, you will give her your undivided attention, you will not give her the slightest amount of trouble, and when she is finished, you will thank her for sacrificing her time, and for her wisdom and for the important lessons she is teaching you. And that is the way it will be until I say otherwise. It is time for you to GROW UP, WENDY!" he shouted harshly.
Grandpa Joe went to speak in Wendy's defense beginning with, "George that is not necessary-"
But George, the cowardly king, interrupted with, "I am the king of this castle, and from now on my children will fear me and adults living under my roof will respect my decisions without question." With his outlook expressed completely, he turned and went to the front door but not before offering one last parting comment, "Joseph," George dared called Mary's father, his father-in-law by his first name which had the intended result for Grandpa Joe whipped his head to glare at George, "I will be the only man in this house that does the disciplining." He turned his back from the kitchen giving his explanation as he made his way down the hall to the door, "My father always told me if the man doing the spanking feels more guilt for his actions than the person being spanked, it defeats the purpose."
Grandpa Joe said nothing but, "Fine George, if that's what you want," holding his glare to the back of his son-in-law's head.
Mary came down the stairs and met George at the door. She was aware of George's new attitude toward the children and all of the occupants in his house, having discussed it with him the night before after everyone was asleep, and was also aware of his firm intentions. He kissed her cheek and fixed his coat and hat. "See you this evening and I expect you to not be running late when I get home, Mary." He offered and was out the door and down the walk. Mary watched after him with a saddened face, for what she feared for the children had already begun.
"Promise me, George, you will not be a tyrant with your family as your father was, I will not have my children live in a prison," she had pleaded the night before.
"My father was not a tyrant, Mary, he knew how to run his house correctly. I should take a good lesson from his rules and take a page out of his book. There are some things that must change around here. You said it yourself, I should be more strict with the children and I will not have them thinking I am any less of the man my father was."
After George left for the bank, the children wasted no time begging her to bring Nana in, "Father will never know, we can free her and then you can tell him you decided she should be allowed in the house again."
But Mary would not hear of it, "I'm sorry children but your father demanded Nana stay outside. I have to honor his choices and so do you."
Mary took them to school and spoke with Mrs. Dash. "I have no idea where she saw such a thing, I seem to believe it is the way children are educated in this school," she told her, turning the tables on the embarrassed educator. "There is no such foul behavior accepted in my husband's and my house. The content of this letter was inappropriate and very upsetting for my husband to be charged with it at his office. You should address any further rude correspondences you have pertaining to my daughter to our home, or I will speak to the Headmaster myself. How dare you accuse my family of allowing such things! I was just as appalled as you were if not more that Wendy found the time to doodle during your class. It seems obvious that your lack of supervision, Mrs. Dash, has caused Wendy's lapse into this disturbing conduct."
Mrs. Dash finally conceded responsibility in Wendy's artwork but had to comment, "Well, Mrs. Darling, I only suspected from your own missteps--"
Mary slammed her hand down on Mrs. Dash's desk so swiftly and with such great force it knocked over her pencil holder, "How dare you speak about my private matters? If my children hear even one ill word against myself or their father I will speak to the headmaster and have you dismissed from your position!"
Mary huffed from the classroom and all the way home. It had not been an easy night for her and it was an even more difficult morning. Last night, after the children had been put to bed, after George and Mary talked for hours about all the changes George insisted upon, Mary was told by her husband to fetch Nana from the nursery. Just like the children, she did as she was told, and brought him the family pet. He ripped the nurse's cap from her head and ordered Nana to "Stay outside where you belong!"
Mary begged for leniency, just like the children, to no avail. "Absolutely not, Mary. You have been very lax in disciplining the children. You let them run about like wild animals and I simply will not have it any longer. You are my wife and it is my right as your husband and provider. From now on, you will obey me without question or insolence."
George continued lecturing Mary as to what he would and would not expect from the children, from her and even from her father, into the early hours. He finished with a rather abrupt, "Good night, Mary," turning on his side away from her and falling asleep.
Mary was up most of the night listening not only to her husband snoring but also to Nana barking, devastated to be locked out of the house and away from her charges.
In the morning George's expectations continued. He expected Mary to lift her nightgown enough that he could enter her from behind as she stood by her vanity. He bent her over and pleasured himself rapidly, leaving her with, "I think my father was right, quicker is better. This is what you can expect from me in this matter from now on." Not only was it unfulfilling and completely degrading to Mary, he made her late for her morning duty of making the children breakfast and sending them off to school, with George criticizing her tardiness, "You should be up early in the morning Mary to assure you can complete your duties to me and this house."
George left a note with his wife addressed to Aunt Millicent, informing her she would begin educating Wendy in how to be the proper lady he expected, writing, "I fully anticipate that my only daughter will carry nothing with her except a bouquet when she marries a proper gentleman of good breeding from a wealthy family." And although she gave a sympathetic face to Mary when she read George's letter later that next day, she was gloating on the inside. Aunt Millicent was astounded and overjoyed to have won Wendy, so she raced from the house to return to her own and prepare for the "School Of Etiquette And Good Manners" she was once again to be headmistress of.
Grandpa Joe left right after George did, in need of a walk to calm his fueled temper. Now Mary was home alone. She went to her room and looked through her dresses for the one she would wear that evening. Finding none that would do, she went to the bank and asked George for a portion of her allowance.
"Absolutely not," he replied. "I had to make good on several customer's accounts because of Wendy's escapade yesterday, and I will not expend another cent." When she suggested he take the money from their "petty cash fund" he retorted, "Where do you think I got the money from in first place to pay back the bank." And when she proposed he remove the funds from their traditional savings, he became even more hostile. "Are you deaf, Mary? I said no, and I expect that I should only have to tell you 'no' once. Borrow something from your Aunt Millicent. She has loads of fancy things. Do not disturb me again at the bank with such silly things." He headed back to his desk, without an embrace or kiss.
Poor Mary went to her Aunt Millicent, but found no sympathy there. "Mary Elizabeth, you are a grown woman with three children, there is nothing in that closet that would be proper for a woman of your station in life. As it was, the dress you borrowed for Christmas made you look out of place with others your own age. Those are dresses suitable for a young girl that will be attending a cotillion or a formal, not a dinner party hosted by a Bank president. Wear something George purchased for you in Paris."
George had not bought her any dresses in Paris. She borrowed her sister-in-law Eve's gowns when her attire was inappropriate. Home once again, she chose an emerald green dress hidden in the hall closet downstairs that cut low on her cleavage and tight to her waist and hips. Peter had given it to her while on their holiday. "My wife tells me you have no ball gowns. Here, dearest Mary, I think this one will fit your alluring figure just fine. As repayment for my generosity, I think you should try it on, just for me..."
She didn't try it on while in Paris, but was forced to us it now, having no other options. A little more formal than required, and more revealing in the neckline than she felt comfortable wearing for a dinner party, it was still a perfect fit. So -- there she was, in the middle of the afternoon, stuck, attired in Peter's unwelcome endowment.
Mary left the house and met the children after school, on the street corner, wearing her normal clothing. She served them an early dinner, and had them dressed and ready for bed before George arrived home. He walked in the door on time with Aunt Millicent by his side. "You forgot to take Wendy to her lesson today, Mary. Your Aunt waited almost the entire afternoon. I simply cannot understand, with nothing to do all day, how you always seem to be so absent-minded. You'd better have remembered to press my suit, and it had better be laid out on my bed waiting for me. Mary Elizabeth, you are not even dressed! Did I not tell you only this morning you were not to make us late! Put the children to bed!" George scolded Mary as he went up the stairs to bathe and change into his tuxedo for the night's affair.
Mary was dazed and confused with all that was happening around her. She was trying to control the children who were jumping about at her feet wanting attention and comfort, she was listening to Aunt Millicent chatter on about her wasted day and the time wasted for poor Wendy, and in the backyard, she could hear Nana barking. Her father was not helping by muttering under his breath harsh words about George's vulgar attitude that made him want to, "move out of this house and into the mission this very night."
Finally overcome by her surroundings, Mary fainted.
". . .You are just fortunate she was not dressed to go out yet. What a disaster that would have been." Aunt Millicent's was the first voice she heard before opening her eyes.
"Perhaps we should stay home tonight," George began.
"No, you must go to that party and hold your head high. If you want that promotion George, you must take action."
Mary was awake but did not stir. She waited until George lifted her from the sofa and carried up to their bed before she opened her eyes. "Where are the children?" she asked when he noticed her watching him.
"I sent them to their room. They are to work on their studies until you put them to bed. They were home all afternoon, Mary, and they did not complete their homework. Apparently you just let them play their days away. Now Mary, I want that schoolwork done and checked for errors before you allow them to even leave the kitchen table after school from now on. Straight inside to the kitchen table, I want their books out and pencils down. Then you will check their work, and they will wait until the others are finished, and then and only then can they play. And they are only allowed to play in the nursery, not anywhere else in the house. Do you understand, Mary? Now, I want them in bed asleep before we leave, with their school studies done and checked."
Mary rolled on her side and watched the night sky. It was beginning to snow and she lay there only a minute before George nudged her, "Mary, I want their work done, I want you to check it, I want you to put them in bed, I want you to get dressed and I want you to do all of this right now or you will make us late."
Mary turned her head to see him tying his bowtie and checking his reflection in the mirror. "And what will you do George?"
George did not even look at her, only continued to tie and retie his bowtie, "I am going to go downstairs to the parlor and have a fine liqueur and read the paper and you are going to do as I said without question now."
Mary hated his tone of voice. She never appreciated being talked at as opposed to being spoken to. "He actually expects me to do everything while he sits back and drinks his liqueur and reads the paper? I think not," Mary said to herself as she rose from the bed. She absolutely would not live in the house Mr. Frederick Darling the fourth built, nor would she allow her children to. George Darling needed to be taught a lesson, and Mary deemed herself fit to be teacher as well as judge and jury on this night. If George wanted his head on the chopping block, so be it.
George was fixing his bow tie for the hundredth time as Mary pushed past him out of the room. She went down the stairs and into the kitchen where she began doing the dishes. George followed after her and with his arms raised and his eyes rolling, he asked, "What are you doing, the dishes? You did not wash the dishes? What did you do all day while I was at work, sit around and stare out the window? It is no wonder Wendy is so flighty in her young maturity, with you as an example. If my mother was here, these dishes would be done, the children's schoolwork would be completed and checked, and they would be in bed asleep already. Not to mention, she would have been dressed and waiting by the door for my arrival."
Mary did what she always did when she felt George was not treating her correctly, she gave him the silent treatment. She acted as if he was not standing in the kitchen trailing on her apron strings.
George blocked her in the pantry and after he demanded she go upstairs and do as she was told at once she responded, "Fine George, I will see that the children do their studies, and I will correct it when they are finished, then I will put them to bed and stay with them until they are asleep. I will come down to the kitchen and do the dishes and tidy the house to your mother's liking, and after that I will punish myself by going to my room and staying there all night, missing your dinner party."
George was in agreement nodding his head with pride, until she spoke of her punishment, "No, you will dress and come with me to the dinner party as we were both given the invitation."
Mary put out her lower lip shaking her head, acting terribly letdown to miss the fun of a night out on his arm. "No, George, you know if your mother was such a bad wife, your father would never reward her with a dinner party and dancing. No, your father would send her to her room without supper." She was correct on that regard. But not on another, for Mr. Frederick Darling the Fourth would have also beaten his wife cruelly.
With that revelation, George swallowed hard on the knot that rose in his throat. He stuttered and stammered trying to convince her she must go or he would not have enough nerve to face his colleagues giving his best apologies for being so thoughtless to her feelings to no avail. Mary stamped up the stairs and yelled down, "NO! I MUST BE PUNISHED!"
George sat on the sofa with his hands in his lap and waited three hours for her. He went to their room and tapped lightly on the door, politely asking his wife if she was ready. She peeked out in her bathrobe and informed him if he didn't leave now he would be late. "The invitation said nine George, it is half past. The children finished their studies, I checked their work, and they are in bed asleep. I will do the dishes after you leave, I didn't want the noise of me cleaning and tidying to disrupt you while you had your drink and read the paper."
Aunt Millicent had to forcefully remove George from the house or he would have stayed home. She did and so he went off to face the bank president without the support of his wife, or her special kiss to make him valiant.
The children watched their father leave alone, and laughed at him as he clumsily tripped on the curb, already unsure in his steps. Mary watched him leave to from the front window, dressed in her bathrobe with her hair in a towel.
"You know, Mary Elizabeth," Grandpa Joe said, as he puffed on his pipe, "sometimes when we are angry, we need to overlook what wrongs we feel were committed against us and gaze upon the bigger picture. George suffered a major humiliation at work only yesterday. His words and actions today were only the result of that. If you punish him for every wrong he's committed, then you miss out on the joys forgiving the person you love will provide. Trust me, I know. You are sending him alone to the lions, Mary Elizabeth, they will eat him alive." By this time, Grandpa Joe had forgiven his son-in-law's wrongs, seeing his remorseful expression as he sat and waited for his Queen to make her entrance - an entrance that never came.
Mary's bathrobe was tied up tight to her neck. Grandpa Joe noticed something in his daughter's appearance that made him giggle. "Pretty fancy shoes to be wearing in your bathrobe, Mary Elizabeth, is it a new style?"
Mary turned to face him, and undid the ties of her robe and removed it. She was dressed to the nines in her emerald green gown. She took off the towel from her head and her hair was curled up in a perfect twist. The only thing missing were George's necklace, which he took to the jeweler only that morning to have the clasp repaired. "How did it get damaged, Mary Elizabeth?" her father asked when she explained its absence from around her neck, "you only got it no more than a week ago."
Mary shrugged her shoulders; "George said he noticed it as he removed it from me that night. I have to say good night to the children before I leave."
Aunt Millicent had put them to bed and was coming down the stairs as Mary was heading up. "Thank God you came to your senses. We would never be able to show our faces around the neighbors nor anywhere in all of London if you let George try to make small talk with his colleagues from the bank."
Mary went into the nursery, the children now pretending to be asleep. She closed and locked their window. "Mother, you are not leaving, are you?" Wendy sat up in bed.
John followed suit with, "Father already left without you -- let him go alone."
Michael also got up and ran to her, "Yes, Mother, please stay with us."
Mary hugged Michael, sitting him on her lap on Wendy's bed shaking her head, "My precious babies, you know I can't let your father go to this dinner party alone. He needs me."
In unison the children replied, "We need you, too."
She smiled to them and touched their faces, "Yes I know you need me when you are awake, but when you sleep you will not even know I am gone."
Michael chirped up, "But what happens if we awaken?"
"Then you should call for Aunt Millicent or Grandpa Joe, they are my eyes when I am not here." She kissed them each on the forehead, but Wendy, as stubborn as her mother would not concede, "If father wants everyone to fear and respect him, why does he need you? To hide behind?"
Mary was taken aback by Wendy's bold comment. It never occurred to her how little the children knew about their father. They did think of him as the cowardly king. She saw it their faces as they rolled their eyes and annoyingly sighed at the simple mention of his name. The children never openly talked with their father, seems the older they got the more they ignored him. On this very important night, not just for him, but for their futures and well being, as well, they could care less of him and his own plights. Small battles he fought alone, just for them, each and every day. So she decided it was time to enlighten them. "Your father is a very strong man children. He is brave and valiant."
The children looked at their mother with disbelief. "Father, brave?" Wendy questioned, her tone was exasperated, the beautiful queen again running to defend her weak king.
"Oh yes, your father is very brave. You know, children, men who engage and sword fights and fierce battles are not the only ones deserving of honor and respect. A man who does the best for his family and sacrifices everything in his life he wants for himself for the betterment of those he loves is far more courageous. To put the wants and needs of others you care about before your own is a very noble selfless act of kindness and love. Your father does that every day of his life. He goes to work and makes a living for this family, so that we have a home to live in, so there is always food on the table, and we all have clothes to wear and toys for you to play with. He works so that we can be warm in the winter and cool in the summer. He saves money for all your futures, so when you get older there is not one dream that you won't be able to achieve. Believe me, there were times when he went hungry so there would be enough food for all us to eat. There were times when he didn't sleep because there were not enough hours in the day to take care of all his responsibilities. He has taken care of each of us when we were sick. When your father and I were first married, he worked three jobs just so he could keep me in the lifestyle he felt I deserved, and when he felt short, he apologized for disappointing me." Mary had tears in her eyes as she spoke; the children gazed on her unblinking. "And he has done all of this without ever thinking of himself first. You father has dreams, too."
Michael tugged on his mother's dress. "Father has dreams?"
"Oh yes, many dreams, we all have dreams and desires. But your father put all of his away in a drawer in his desk. I have a similar drawer I keep my dreams in."
Wendy went wide-eyed, "In your vanity."
"Yes, Wendy, in my vanity. Now I take my dreams out all the time and look at them and wonder after them. When I'm done, I have to shut that drawer and leave them there hidden away, and I always have such a difficult time. Almost like I'm scared the next time I open that drawer, they won't be there. Your father always has to give me the courage to close that drawer. Your father never, ever looks in his drawer. He's not afraid that when he finally does open it, he will find them gone, he doesn't care. Not that he doesn't want to see his dreams and marvel at them, he just feels that your dreams are far more important than his own. That makes him brave, that makes him strong, that makes him worthy of our respect and admiration."
"But he was so mean, yelling at Wendy, and at you, Mother..." John began with his head lowered.
"He was only cruel today because he thought that is what had to be done to assure his family's safety. He wants you children to grow up and have the lives you deserve and above all else to be happy. He never wants you to be able to blame him for not being strict enough with rules. He knows he was wrong, and feels very sorry, and you all should forgive him. I did."
"He may do all those things mother, but he could never defeat a pirate captain!" Michael exclaimed. Mary gazed down to her baby boy resting on her lap and then to Wendy and John. In her sincerest voice she corrected, "Your father would die for you children. Whether he had to work himself to death as a bank clerk or in a sword fight with a pirate captain. He would never allow another soul on earth or in hell to harm his children."
Mary rose from the bed and tucked the children back in. "Good night, my precious darlings, I love you all so very much. I will check in on you the moment I return, you will be sleeping, but I will be there to see that you rest soundly. I will see in the morning."
Mary departed, alone in the snow, and walked quickly to catch up to George. He arrived at the party first and became the handsome wallflower among all the guests, too shy to make small talk; too afraid his lack of wit would embarrass himself further. Without Mary, George could not be brave.
The bank president was surrounded by several gentlemen, all candidates for the promotion of bank manager, engaging him in lively conversations. Feeling he should at least try to impress the host he approached the group and did his best to mingle in. He arrived too late and missed the punch line of the joke delivered but chuckled uncomfortably anyway causing all eyes to turn on him. If ever he wished he could invisible, this was that moment. He began to nod and step back to excuse himself and run from the room when he met a hand on his back. "Good evening, Sir Edward, how lovely it is to see you again." Mary moved alongside her husband and took his arm. She looked at George and smiled.
"Yes, I believe you've met my wife, M-Mary."
Sir Edward blushed when Mary turned the full radiance of her smile on him and he nodded bashfully to her. "Yes, Mary, we have met. How have you been?" She told him she was very well, and thanked him for the invitation.
The chamber group began to play, and Sir Edward, overcome by Mary's beauty and charm, asked for the honor. George insisted and she stepped on the floor with grace and ease. "I am so very unhappy about the trouble my daughter caused in your bank, Sir Edward, George and I were very angry with her. Children are so foolish sometimes in their thinking. You would not believe this, but her teacher wrote George a letter about how Wendy was not paying attention in class and sent it to him at his place of business. I thought her very rude, and told her myself that Wendy was not paying attention because she had already been given the same arithmetic lesson several times already. I recommended she retire from her position if she was unable to control the students and give them a proper education."
Her invented story told to George's boss had him nodding his head in agreement, adding his own two pence in her husband's favor, "Well, if your daughter is as talented in math as George is, I can see where repetitive teaching would not be challenging enough to hold her attention." He said nothing else of the chaos that almost cost him the Queen's account and abruptly, changed the subject of their small talk. "How long have you and George been married?" Sir Edward inquired.
"Fourteen very joyous years." Mary was an experienced dancer, one of the few lessons she truly enjoyed receiving as a child. It made her wish she had enrolled Wendy in classes already.
"I hope you do not consider this rude, but I must ask. How ever did George Darling capture your heart? I'd heard a story that I could not possibly believe. How could it have ended in an engagement, let alone a marriage of fourteen years?"
They both looked toward George as his name was brought up, Sir Edward gave a stern nod and Mary winked. "Something about him spilling punch on you and you, my lady," he whirled Mary around away from her husband, "and you slapping his cheek."
Mary laughed louder than she wanted to, causing Sir Edward to giggle himself. "Can you keep a secret?" Mary asked. Seems that was the way this particular story was always told by those involved.
Sir Edward nodded and walked with Mary off to the other side of the room, away from those gathered, for a moment alone. He sat her down on a chair and took the seat next to her, carefully handing her a glass of punch.
"His parents hosted a party when I was only sixteen, my first cotillion. His eldest brother, Peter -- do know him?" Mary began and queried to Sir Edward who scowled and shook his head, revolted at the mention of Peter Darling's name. "Well, he is quite older than George, by fifteen years, which makes him all the more older than I, for George himself is seven years my senior. Peter was quite fond of me, and would not grant me a moment's peace at the party. George offered to get me punch as I had been dancing all night. I remember his being eager, and as he approached me, he tripped and spilled the glass all over my dress. I slapped his face in my anger for being so clumsy and called him a few choice names, for he accidentally brushed over my bosom when he fell." Both blushed at the mention of her personals, and Mary continued.
"Now my mother was watching, and she told me later that Peter had purposely tripped George, as he was jealous of my attentions to him. For my part, I was not giving George any attention, I was simply thirsty, but still I felt quite troubled regarding my actions. Some time later, my father reintroduced us at my parents' home at tea, and I meant at that very moment to apologize to George for being so rude and discourteous, but I swear when I saw him, he was not the same man. Something about him was different, I don't know, it's so silly to tell the story. I deny to George and most others that ask that it ever happened, simply out of sheer embarrassment."
Mrs. Darling and Sir Edward stood and mingled back in dancing the waltz, "I know of his brother, Peter," Sir Edward remarked distastefully. "I hope you do not have that much contact with him."
Mary shook her head, "No, he is in Paris and he can rot there as far as George and I are concerned."
"So, George won your heart by default then, for you felt sorry for him."
Mary gazed across the room to George, back to being the wallflower, staring at his shoes. "No, quite the contrary. I fell in love with him for being so brave. There are few men who would dare show their face -- let alone their cheek -- to a woman who had previously slapped it for improper behavior. I know that not many people believe in love at first sight, but when I saw George in my parents' parlor that afternoon, without saying a word, he won my heart forever. And he is my perfect match, as if God himself assigned us to be husband and wife. I do love him so, and he is a good man and better husband and the best father. That is why Wendy was so worried and raced to see him yesterday. Children try desperately to please their parents, she was afraid George was to be angry with her over a silly doodle that went with one of her stories. All very innocent, but her teacher told her little girls should not worry after things like art. I went to school myself and reprimanded the teacher for telling Wendy such things and also for sending a letter of the same to my husband at his office. I think children should be encouraged in their endowments. God gives us the gifts, it is up to us to develop them."
Now it is a wise employer who interviews the wives of gentleman competing for a promotion. Sir Edward was not only wise but also very interested in his conversation with Mrs. George Darling. He nodded and agreed, watching Mary as she spoke. He was impressed that she could speak her mind without reserve. He saw that gossip was of no interest to her and that impressed him all the more. Not to mention, when she spoke highly of her George, there was not the least bit of untruth in her feelings or over exaggeration in his skills as husband and father hidden in her persuasive smile. His final question in their discussion, "What does George think about your opinions?"
The number had ended, and he escorted Mary back to her husband on his arm as she answered. "We have the same mind of many things. Even when we disagree, we agree to respect the other's view."
Sir Edward bowed to Mary, and for the first time smiled at George. "Your wife is very lovely, George, and you are very lucky to have her. In fact, George, I think you are the luckiest man in this room. Enjoy your evening."
As he walked away, Mary leaned her head into George and kissed his cheek. "I love you, George," she whispered. He held onto her hand tightly as Sir Edward returned with the Bank's Board Members and began a discussion about George's new position in the bank. "We shall make the announcement at dinner tonight."
Back at the nursery, Wendy, John and Michael sat on their beds and waited for Peter Pan. He arrived on time and inquired after their mother. "She's not coming, she wants to stay behind and guard the king," Michael answered.
"No bother let's go. After thinking on it, I think it's best she stays behind! On to Neverland!" Peter shouted.
John and Michael flew out the window and into the night, Wendy held her footing on the ledge. "Come on, Wendy, let's go!" Peter directed, waiting in the air in front of her.
"If I go, I will never grow up?" Wendy asked, and Peter nodded.
"You will never have to be a grownup and worry about grownup things. No lessons with Aunt Millicent, no school, no parents. Leave this lost kingdom for another, another kingdom where there are adventures with pirates, Indians and mermaids. There are fairies, too! You can live your stories! Come to Neverland!" he cried, as he took her hand and brought her away from the nursery.
"You will never have to grow up. You will never grow to be a woman with duties to her husband. You will never have to have children and cook or clean. We shall engage in sword fights and do battles with evil pirates!" Peter shouted as he guided them through the sky towards Neverland.
Wendy, John and Michael were so excited. To never have to be burdened with whatever it was their parents seemed bothered with every day was simply marvelous. They were sad that their mother could not be saved; after all, it was she that they wished to rescue. But her betrayal to them -- defending the king -- was more than they could bear.
"Mother just says those things about father so we won't hate him more. He's never gone hungry for us. Mother serves his supper first," Michael was the first to speak up after Mary left.
"He will make you grow up, Wendy, I know he will. As it is, you have to move into another room and not play with us anymore. It isn't fair!" John bellowed under his blankets.
"I don't think mother even likes him. She's just being punished for something bad she did, and that's why she's stuck with him, and it was his entire fault anyway. I bet she didn't want to grow up either, and that's why she ran away. But she got caught, we won't," Wendy affirmed while standing by the nursery window. "When Peter arrives, we will run away with him to Neverland and never come back." She unlatched the lock, raised the window and waited.
"Our father wouldn't die for us...He won't even miss us...."