Author's Note: There were a few grammar mistakes in the first few chapters; I think I've corrected them all now but feel free to point out any I may have missed.
This chapter was a little weird to write as I cannot remember what my thought processes were like when I was two, hopefully it isn't too far stretched. Enjoy :)
4
It's very hot out. She can hear her nanny huffing and puffing behind her in the shade but Mary prefers sitting in the sun. She's currently watching a little red bug (lady bug, she thinks, the bug is a lady, like me) wander over a leaf. She wants to pick the bug up but she's afraid she may hurt it. She knows she doesn't like when strange people come and pick her up. She glances over her shoulder at the nanny who's reclining against a tree with her eyes shut; she's not sure why she can't spend the day with Carson instead. Mary takes the opportunity to sneak back towards the house.
She is almost knocked over by her papa running out of the library but he picks her up as she stumbles, spins her around and laughs against her hair. She's not sure why he's so happy but she snakes her little arms around his neck and laughs with him. "Oh Mary, my darling", he breathes, "you're just in time. Would you like to come and meet your sister?" She's not very sure what a sister is, exactly, but she does so like getting gifts so she nods at him and is swiftly whisked upstairs.
She's taken into a room she thinks is her mama's and, sure enough, there her mama is on the bed. She doesn't look very well but she smiles as her papa drops her on the bed. Her mama is holding some blankets, which she's sure contains this 'sister' she's been promised so she makes her way up to her side. The blankets are moving and making a strange noise and her heart soars as she pictures a kitten or a puppy struggling to get out and meet her. She's trying not to bounce too much on the bed but she's so excited now and everyone's smiling and happy and she's hoping it's a kitten, she thinks she may prefer a kitten. She's quite disappointed when her papa moves the blanket a little and she's confronted with an angry red-faced dolly, she has plenty of dollies, she doesn't have a kitten. "Mary, sweetheart", she hears her mama say "this is your baby sister, Edith". She pouts a little and leans back on her heels. "Well...aren't you going to say 'hello', my darling?" Mary ponders for a moment then shakes her head and utters a resounding "no" before manoeuvring herself back off the bed.
She can hear the adults laughing as she leaves the room and makes her way back to her nursery but she's not sure what's so funny. Her eyes are starting to sting and she thinks she's going to cry. She doesn't want anyone to see her crying so she starts moving a little quicker. Once in the safety of her nursery she seats herself in the furthest corner and lets the tears run down her face. She doesn't wipe them away until she hears heavy footsteps coming closer to her. She keeps her face turned to the wall until she's physically turned around by two large, but very gentle, hands. She tries not to meet his eyes but he's got one hand under her chin and is lifting her head so she has to look at him; and then he's wiggling his eyebrows and he looks so silly that she forgets about crying, and her sister, and not getting a kitten and just laughs and laughs until her tummy aches and everything is okay because she still has Carson.
Later on, when Carson's been called away and she's been left alone with her toys she lets her mind wander back to her sister, she knows now she's not actually a dolly. Her request to swap her for a kitten was denied, many times, by her mama and papa, although she's sure her granny may have been considering it. She's currently trying to think of a name for the baby because, as she told her mama earlier, Edith is such a silly name and, if she must have the sister instead of a kitten then she should at least get to choose a pretty name. She's used all her favourite names on her dollies, and she doesn't think this new baby really deserves any of them, and her suggestion of just calling her 'the sister' was laughed off. She eventually decides that Edith will just have to do, and then she thinks maybe she'll just try and swap her for a kitten again tomorrow, she usually gets her own way if she pesters long enough.
