~Chapter 4: I Don't Understand The Concept Of Bonding~
"Now then, seeing that this is the first lesson, this will be extensively used for the sake of learning how you learn things, and you learning how I teach things. Does that sound alright with you?" Asked the Governess, walking around the room that he and Franklin were given, which was to be their classroom.
The room was large and spacious; definitely more than Arthur had ever had before. It was probably just a bit larger than his room, and since there was no bed occupying a large amount of space, it seemed even bigger. There were a few tables set off to the sides – most likely for large project spaces or just more room to put books. But there were enough shelves and book cases that Arthur was sure he wouldn't have to use them all. He was governing a mere six year old. Not a university boy. Plus, the governing job wasn't purely on education. There was much to learn through society's ways and manners. However, the room itself had a pleasant charm, for it was painted a cream color, and the windows were placed just right, allowing for sunlight to filter in at all times, until the rays had gone to bed as well. The chalkboard that adorned one wall was large, and in a cabinet, there seemed to be an endless supply of chalk. 'How proactive…' mused the Governess, when he had taken a tour before the first lesson that morning. The room was more than satisfactory, he believed. 'I could most definitely get used to this.'
Turning his head, he peered at Franklin to see what his reaction was towards his words. When the butler had dropped him off into the room, just a few minutes ago, the first thing he did was march to his desk, abruptly sit down, and cross his arms. Then he had stated a clear 'I still don't like you.' To the Governess' face, causing the Briton to raise his eyebrows and shrug, replying with his own 'I don't expect anything more.' Nevertheless, he was still quite curious to see what Franklin could come up this time with his words. "It sounds boring. What's the point of teaching if you're to be learning in this lesson as well?" came the shallow response, and Arthur nearly 'tsk'ed in disappointment. He was honestly quite hoping for something more sharp. Why? Because he knew that Franklin could've come up with better.
"But don't I have to know how you work?" he replied with ease, picking up a few books, and returning to the small table that Franklin was seated in. "Don't I need to know how you'd react if I did something like this?" He asked, before promptly dropping the small pile of books onto Franklin's desk. It was a range of advanced English literature books, as well as college-level German grammar exercises. But of course, all Franklin could see was a 'big pile of adult books'. "By the end of the day you are to have read these from front to back. And I'll quiz you tomorrow morning." He said with the tone he saved mainly for older students.
As if on cue, the young Viscount's son's eyes grew wider than Arthur had ever seen them go, and he gaped at the books, before hesitantly reaching for the top one, the grammar exercises, and begin to flip through it. Franklin's face contorted into one of utter horror, and Arthur could merely snicker behind a masked face. True, it was way out of line, and he was over-exaggerating it, but even then, this was truly a learning experience.
"I-I can't read this!" exclaimed the six year old child, holding the German book with trembling hands. And if Arthur's eyes didn't mistake him, he could see that Franklin's eyes began to tremble as well.
"You can't?" Replied the Governess, feigning ignorance and ease. "Why ever not? That is the assignment, so you are expected to do it." He said in a tone just as cold as previously. He watched as Franklin's head snapped up and he all but threw the book back onto the pile, shaking his head vigorously.
"I can't read it, I can't!" he continued to protest, wrapping his arms around himself, and seeming to shrink. He began to look even younger as his gold locks swished with his shaking head. "It's not even in English! Arthur I can't." he insisted once more, and then he grabbed for the next book, which was the literature. As he thumbed through it frantically, he realized that there were much bigger words in the English language that even he didn't know. "Please don't make me read this!" he begged, looking up with desperate eyes. "I don't know how to say this either!" he said.
Arthur, now unable to hold back anymore, broke the façade and reached down, gently prying the book from Franklin's hands. "Of course you're not going to read this." He said with a soft tone, taking the pile away from him, and returning it back onto his own desk. As he came back, he saw Franklin staring at him with confused, incredulous eyes.
"But-" the boy started, but Arthur was quick to cut him off with a raise of his palm.
"What do I look like, a monster?" He joked, then narrowed his eyes to silence Franklin who was about to open his mouth with another smart reply. "Anyway, as I said, this is a learning experience." He said, and he sighed at Franklin's still-blank face. Of course, the child wouldn't understand exactly. It really was a learning day for Arthur. He just apparently let Franklin in on his motives. "If I give you something hard like that, now I know that instead of getting mad and violent, which is what I believe you would have done, you nearly broke down and were about to cry." He said bluntly, and watched as Franklin's face took on an expression of self-defense. The child, being only so young, didn't understand anything else except for the fact that Arthur had seen him almost cry.
Standing up from his seat quickly, Franklin had his fists ready at his sides as he glared at his Governess with steady eyes. "I was NOT going to cry!" he yelled at him, before quickly being hushed as Arthur rose up both hands in defense.
"No, you weren't." The Governess calmly, watching as confusion flickered on Franklin's face once more. Mentally, he scolded himself. He didn't particularly like toying with his clients on the very first day, but in all honesty, Franklin was truly an entertaining child. The reactions and emotions that he could pull out from the six year old boy were enough to want to taunt him more. This, in its own, was a poor excuse, and made him seem like a cruel man. 'But ah well.' Mused Arthur as he watched Franklin splutter for words and sit down. "You weren't going to cry." He clarified, and Franklin merely crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair and huffing. "Anyway, that's the whole point of a learning experience. Now, before you say anything smart, let's move onto your actual lessons." He said curtly, turning to a different shelf that held smaller work books, obviously styled, designed, and meant for Franklin's aged-children.
"Am I able to read those…?" Asked Franklin hesitantly, as he saw Arthur pick up the books. He was immediately wary, unable to trust Arthur just yet, but also not particularly keen on starting any work. In fact, he didn't ever want to do work – ever. But that was a child's mind.
Laughing a bit, he nodded, placing three books down in front of Franklin, arranging them in a line. "Well. Not exactly, but you will be able to." He said with a small shrug. As Franklin looked down curiously at the books that were brightly colored and definitely interesting-looking, he spoke. "We're going to have you begin a new language so that once you are older you'll find it much more easy to communicate with people from other countries." He said, gesturing at the work books. "And no, you won't be learning all three of these at once. I'm merely giving you a choice of what you wish to study." He said, as he noted Franklin's look of disgust when he thought he had to work on all three different languages. Pointing at the books in order, he listed them off. "You have the choice of Italian, German, or French. Neither one is more important than the other, so whatever strikes your fancy is what we'll do." He said, taking a step back to begin looking though more books as Franklin made up his mind.
However, before he was even able to crack open the first teacher's guide, Franklin had already spoken up, pulling one of the books from the line, looking it over, and flipping through the pages. "This one." He said clearly, before holding it up for Arthur to see. "I want to learn this one…" he said quietly, looking up at his Governess with serious eyes.
Looking up in surprise at Franklin's quickness, he was thrust in even more shock when he looked at the flag that adorned the front cover of the book. It was blue, white and red. A frown quickly graced his lips as he immediately began to think back on everything that that had to do with the Jones family that was associated with this flag. The leaving of Charlotte, the scandal, the cause of Franklin's wildness… It all had to do with that flag. "French…?" inquired Arthur slowly, putting down his own book to walk back to Franklin's desk, taking the book from his hands and looking through it. Simple and basic exercises filled the page, vocabulary and grammar practice. He looked up again at the child, still with a curious expression. "Are you sure?" he asked. Arthur didn't even know if Franklin knew that his mother had run away with a Frenchman, but it was only natural that he was cautious.
"Yes, I'm sure." Said the boy, crossing his arms back on the desk. Arthur was a bit shocked, for the expression that Franklin had on was just the same as his father's whenever he was being truly serious.
"May I ask why you would like to learn French?" Arthur asked innocently, returning the book back to Franklin's hands, looking at his student with a recomposed face. If Franklin didn't know, then it wasn't his job to tell him. He was going to merely ask why French. If Franklin did know, and was willing to tell him, then he was curious.
Apparently, Franklin did indeed know, for he looked up to Arthur with thinned lips. "I want to learn French so that if I ever meet the man that took my mom away, I can curse him in French." He said with ultimate seriousness, his eyes hardening to make it seem as if he were going to kill the man, rather than just say a few pretty words.
It took a few seconds for the words to actually register in Arthur's mind before he blinked a few times then burst out into laughter. Actually doubling over, he took a few stumbled steps back in order to grip the ledge of the chalkboard, holding him up as he laughed freely. Franklin looked immediately miffed, slamming a fist on his desk. "H-Hey! HEY, why are you laughing?!" He demanded in question, his face turning red as he looked at his Governess who was beside himself in tears. "OI! OI LISTEN to me! Why are you laughing? GOVERNESS! ARTHUR!" He yelled, pounding his hands on his desk, trying to get his instructor's attention. It was only after a few straight minutes of pure laughter did Arthur wipe his eyes away and look at the young child who truly was very endearing.
"Curse at him? You want to learn French only so that you can curse at a man you hate?" He couldn't help but say, mirth in his voice and amusement in his eyes.
Franklin, still looking highly miffed and pouty, nodded slowly, uncomfortable. "Y-yes…And I'll curse at him A LOT!" he said immediately after, as if thinking that simple cursing wasn't enough. "I'll learn EVERY swear word in the French language and say them all to his face! That's why I want to learn! And you said to choose, and I chose French, so you have to teach me French!" he commanded bossily, crossing his arms after his little speech. It truly took Arthur all he had not to burst out into laughter again. If Franklin wasn't a boy who was still too reckless, he would openly call him cute.
"Franklin, I believe you're missing the point." He said, trying to hide his smile. "The French I am to teach you…I'm not expected to teach you any curse words." He said with a shake of his head. "Nothing obscene, and nothing as rude except for possible the sentence structure of 'you are fat' or 'you are not beautiful.' Other than that, it will literally just be learning a language. Grammar, vocab, sentence structure and things like that. If you want to learn curse words, I'm not going to be the one you're to learn it from." He said, able to take on his serious side again, looking down at Franklin.
At the information, Franklin looked crestfallen and he furrowed his brows and looked down, immediately rethinking his plan of attack. If Arthur wasn't going to teach him swear words, then he'd either get him to teach him, or ask someone else. Looking back up, he bit his lower lip and nodded. "Then I'll find someone else who will teach me." He said stubbornly.
"Good luck with that." He said with a single shrug of one shoulder. The Governess knew that if Franklin was truly dedicated to cursing out the man, then he would eventually learn the swears. However, as a six year old, it would most likely take a while until anyone in their right mind would teach him. He gathered up the two other books and returned them to the shelf, quietly thinking to himself. He was a bit surprised at first when he realized that he hadn't reprimanded Franklin for wanting to learn curse words. Of course, he was one to curse himself, but it was usually once he was very comfortable around the family – and if they let him. The Pinkertons were actually the only family that was okay with his habits. However, instead of scolding Franklin, he had merely told him what was going to happen. He didn't have anything to do with the Frenchman that stole Charlotte away. He had no association with the family at all, so he technically had no reason to hate any of their enemies, or like any of the Viscount's friends. However, Alfred and Franklin, despite their initial actions, had been quite nice and generous to him, making him feel accepted, even though their first meetings were all sorts of wacky. He felt bound to them by gratitude, and thought that anyone who had the nerve to even try and destroy this kind of family deserved his hostility as well.
"French it is!" he said, returning back. He placed more books on his desk. "This will be your arithmetic's book, your English literature, history, and sciences." He said, putting the four books in a small pile. Franklin looked upon it warily, sighing to himself and suddenly, he let out a small yelp as a hand smacked him lightly upside the head. "Don't sigh." said Arthur. "It's either this, or the regular school." He said, walking back to near the chalkboard. "And I can assure you that I am much better than any school or instructor there is in the world." He said with a dignified, conceited sniff, closing his eyes and posing like a posh noble. He was almost certain that Franklin's mouth dropped open as the child stared at him in shock, most likely wondering why on earth he got SUCH a weird man as his Governess, of all things. But before the boy could say a word, Arthur opened up one eye, looked at him, and winked, a smile appearing on his face. He broke the pose and chuckled, turning to face him, sliding his hands into his pockets. "Close your mouth; you'll catch flies." He mused, watching Franklin hurriedly snap his mouth shut.
The Viscount's son shifted in his seat just a bit, holding his arms around his chest as he looked at his Governess, studying him. "You are really weird…" he muttered under his breath, as to which Arthur immediately retorted with: 'Well, you and your American accent is even weirder. Ever thought about that?' Franklin's eyes blew wide at the man's response, and he bit the inside of his cheek. Sure, his father was snappy with him, and yes, people spoke to him as a child, but Arthur…well, the way Arthur spoke was much more different than any other way someone had ever spoken to him. Perhaps that was the way of the Governesses? Regardless, it kept a tight grip on Franklin's attention. "Y-Yeah? Well, my father always said that it was good to hold onto my…heritage or whatever…" mumbled the boy, keeping a keen eye on his Governess.
"Heritage or not, you are in England, where we have English accents." Said Arthur strictly. "Even your Father, who has lived in England for just a few years, whereas you have lived here your whole life, speaks with the accent. I don't doubt that he still naturally has an American accent, however…" he mumbled to himself. Looking at Franklin's stricken expression, he knew it was because the boy was figuring that he would be forced to speak like the English. "But regardless, by no means am I telling you to change." He said, to ease his mind, watching Franklin look at him in surprise.
"I can keep speaking American?" exclaimed Franklin, looking at him excitedly.
Holding up a finger, Arthur quickly corrected him. "You can continue to speak with an American accent." He clarified. "There is a difference between speaking 'American' and with an American 'accent.'" He said with a nod. "Americans speak the exact same language we do. English." He said, much to Franklin's amazement. He couldn't help but smile faintly at the boy's lack of knowledge. "Yes, they do. So there's not exactly a proper word for their language… Unless you really want to go by the difference of countries, then they speak 'American English.' Other than that, it's all the same." He told him.
By the way Franklin seemed to hang off of every single word Arthur said, the Governess wasn't surprised that he wasn't scribbling down notes, or nodding like a dazed pet. However, Franklin did seem like he was paying close attention. 'If this is the way he is in school classes, then why is he supposedly so bad at his subjects?' the Governess thought warily, turning to the board. Seeing that they were already on the topic of English, Arthur figured that they might as well start off with this as their first topic. Pulling out a new piece of chalk, he wrote down 'American English' and 'British English' on the board, underlining them and dividing the board. The topic wasn't exactly on Franklin's curriculum, but it was education nonetheless. "Now…" he began. "Just because we speak English, doesn't always mean we use the same words." He began to write. "Instead of pavement, they use the term sidewalk…"
Outside, the morning air was sunny. The weather was warm, yet a small breeze accompanied it, allowing the term 'spring weather' to come into full play. The morning was still bright, and if felt close to perfect. Save for the fact that Arthur was drenched with cold water and his hair was peppered with small twigs and dirt that the water was quickly turning into mud. God help him when he would try and take it out later. Arthur shouldn't have thought that he gained Franklin's trust and friendship that easily. In fact, he couldn't fathom why he had let his guard down at all. This was torturous, really. But then again, it always was in the beginning.
It started with the simple announcement of 'It is now morning recess,' as he gathered Franklin's unused books to return them to the shelves. After learning the difference English/American words, they had immediately started on French. And to Arthur's delight, Franklin was quite eager to learn it, and was quick to understand. When the break had come upon them, the Viscount's son immediately jumped up, seeming very ready to disappear again into the large gardens behind their home. But before he could dart off, out of the door, Arthur made a move easily in front of him, still thumbing through the workbooks, yet expertly blocking his path. He didn't even look up when Franklin let out a whine.
"Recess, in which I will be supervising you the entire time." He said authoritatively, snapping the booklet close to see Franklin pull out a deep pout, crossing his arms.
"You just want to annoy me." The child huffed in irritation, coming up with excuses as to why Arthur had to watch him. "You're not going to let me do anything!" he protested, his voice coming out in a whine.
The Governess merely looked at him with an exasperated expression, shaking his head. "No, I'm there to supervise you. If you don't want me to, I won't even talk to you, unless you get yourself hurt or whatnot." He said, shaking his head and then shrugging. Franklin, appealing to that idea, nodded.
"Don't talk to me."
With a short nod, Arthur moved in order to open the door for them. "Very well."
So that's where they were now, out in the gardens on this bright perfect day. As soon as they stepped out, Franklin dashed off ahead, knowing the twists and turns of the paths like the back of his hand. He soon disappeared around a bend, and Arthur made a point to quickly follow after him, making sure he could still see the back of the boy's head and clothes, a bobbing mop of gold hair accompanied with a casual white button up. His pants were rolled up to his ankles once more, but his shoes stayed on as he ran. The Governess was tempted to yell out something, to make Franklin stay where he was, but he was a man of his word, and if Franklin didn't want to talk to him, or hear him talk, then Arthur would stay with his mouth shut.
He supposed that most people would wonder about his motives and the way he dealt with the children. Oh yes, Arthur was very fully aware of what the general gist of a Governess was supposed to be. Strict, but not extremely strict, unless you were that kind of person. You must have a firm hand. Never let the child go off on his own free will and choices, lest they turn down the wrong path and find themselves in trouble, dragging the Governess into it as well. Don't listen to them, if they are of young and early age, for any child that is wild with reckless abandon cannot think properly, nor make right choices. You have to make their choices for them, until it is ingrained in their head to choose right. That was the way of a Governess.
But to Arthur, it was completely and utterly wrong.
Sure, it worked with the children…and some Governess at the company went by those rules as if they were life rules, not just job expectancies. However, when Arthur had first started out, his first client could probably measure to be a terrible experience. None of the 'rules' worked, and it only seemed to make the boy even worse, revolting against him to the point that the family was considering firing him. Seeing that it was his first job, and he did NOT want to be fired…Arthur changed tactics, and quick.
Arthur was strict, yes, but on a scale from one to ten, ten being the strictest, he was probably closer to a two. Sure, he had his rules, and if they were to be enforced, he made sure that they were listened to. But he refused to be that kind of Governess who pulled out the ruler every time their child wrote a wrong letter, or misspelled, or added wrong, or did something that obviously did NOT deserve a hitting. His 'firm hand' was merely 'supportive words.' Then there was the 'free wills' concept, which Arthur didn't agree to at all. These children weren't possessed. They weren't mentally ill, nor were they freaks of nature. They had a say of their own, and a right to think what they wanted. They could think perfectly straight, properly, without any hindrance. Their only problem was that they weren't given enough attention at home, or they were mistreated. It wasn't some fatal disease…Which meant that whatever choice the child wanted, Arthur would guide them through it. He wasn't going to pick and choose for them, for how could they grow like that? Therefore, Arthur's way as a Governess was unique. Franklin had free reign over what he wanted to do. If he chose to learn French, then so be it. If he wanted to dirty his clothes, find a bucket and secretly drench Arthur from behind as he walked towards the closest bench…so be it. As long as Arthur was there to influence him, and tell him nicely what was right and wrong, which was really all there was needed. And so far… Arthur had never failed.
"Arthur, are you freeeezing?" taunted the young child, looking at his Governess who had taken the liberty to sit down immediately after being doused with water. If Franklin was Martin, the scenario would've gone much like this:
"OH YOU INSUFFERABLE CHILD, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THIS SHIRT COST? I'M NOT LIKE YOU RICH PEOPLE – DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! I SWEAR, NO! NO, DON'T YOU DARE, OR ELSE I'LL CALL FOR YOUR MUM YOU LITTLE TWAT!"
But unfortunately, Franklin was not Martin. The Brit praised any deity in the sky that he had selective tolerance. Since they had a deal, that Arthur was not to speak unless Franklin was in trouble, the Governess simply kept him mouth shut, turning a page in the book that he had brought along, ignoring his client as best as possible. Plus, he was curious to see if Franklin would be one of those children who would break after a while. It was something worth testing.
Franklin, miffed that Arthur didn't reply to his question, grumbled and turned around, heading for the small bird pond that was nestled between the flower beds, just on the side of the pathway. He hadn't forgotten their deal. He was simply looking for more ways to irritate his Governess. "Arthuuuuur." He called out, flicking his finger in the water, washing the small fish that swam beneath the water swim away quickly. "If I fell into this water would you save me?" he asked with a grin, waiting for the answer that he knew would come sassily back. However, all that came in reply was the sound of another page turning. Turning quickly, he frowned deeply again and let out a quiet huff of frustration when he saw Arthur merely sitting there, reading. He scrambled over to him, still on all fours, and looked up underneath his book. Arthur quirked an eyebrow and merely glanced at the boy, before returning back to his reading. "Arthur!" he chided. "What are you reading?" he demanded in question, trying to get the Governess to reply, but said Governess did no such thing. "Is it a good book? It looks really long. Is it for a class? Are you in university? Wait, but you're working, you can't be in school. Arthur, did you go to university? Wait, have YOU ever had a Governess? Is that why you're working as one? Listen to me! Arthur, anssssswer MEEE!"
If Arthur wasn't a professional, he would've broken into more tears of laughter, just like in the classroom. Oh, it was more than obvious how desperate Franklin was growing for attention, and Arthur nearly broke his mask by smiling faintly near the end. Finally, at Franklin's final attempt, which included violently shaking Arthur's leg so hard that the book was shaken from his hands, he slowly bent down to pick it up, closing it, and turning to the child. "It's a novel." He said simply, watching Franklin's eyes snap open at the sound of his voice. Taking Franklin's arm gently, he pulled him up so that he could sit next to him on the bench. Without waiting for him to reply, he went on. "It's quite a good book, really. Perhaps you'd like to read it one day, when you're older. It has to do with pirates." He said with a faint smile, watching the boy's eyes fill with curious wonder. Of course, who wouldn't question? He was a working person…reading about pirates in his free time.
He went on, folding his hands in his lap. "It's not…long. Then again, it depends on what you take is 'long.' And no, it's not for a class, simply for my free time." He told him, and he snickered internally at all the expressions Franklin made. The Brit prided himself for his good memory, able to remember every single question that fell from the boy's lips. "Yes, I did go to university. It was in Wales, though, so I don't believe you'll know the place. I am natively English, however." He told him. "And as for the Governess-having…" he shook his head. "No. I am not from a rich family, and we lived in the city. We didn't have money to afford a Governess, and since I was the middle child, I merely looked up to my older siblings on how to act." Turning his head to smile down at Franklin, he gave him a small shrug. "But I do like this job very much. Even if it had nothing to do with me as a child."
"Oh wow…" muttered Franklin, looking down at his lap as he swung his legs back and forth. It was obvious that the child was interested in Arthur's words, but it was also displayed that Franklin didn't want to show his interest. So instead, he just nodded mutely and watched his legs kick back and forth. Eventually, he couldn't help but ask another question. "So…" he started off, blanching a bit and looking away when Arthur turned to him expectantly. "How was…living in the city…?" he muttered in question.
Arthur blinked at the question, and looked back down at his own hands as he started rubbing his fingers together absently. "Living in the city? Well. My family and I lived in a decently sized apartment, and we were well off for a middle-class family." He said with a nod, which was true. They didn't grovel for money, and his parents both had steady jobs. Arthur's childhood life was fine and sturdy. But of course, talking about finances would do nothing but bore a child, so he decided to venture in what he did for fun. "We didn't have a backyard like this one, so my three other siblings and I tended to play out in the streets." At that, he watched Franklin's head swivel back to him, brows furrowed in surprise.
"In the streets?" he repeated. "But…isn't that…dirty?" he mumbled, to which Arthur couldn't help but laugh loudly do, much to Franklin's discomfort.
"Dirty? You're telling me my childhood was dirty, when you're the one playing in the mud with no shoes, dumping water on me, and throwing sticks in my hair? Dear lord, child. If only I could call you a hypocrite, then I would. But I believe your father would fire me if I called a child that." He mused with a chuckle, shaking his head.
Franklin pouted, crossing his arms and tilting his head back, closing his eyes to look up at the sky with dignity. "You're just jealous that I have a big backyard to play in." the child huffed, causing the Governess to smile in amusement, leaning sideways a bit so that he could pinch one of Franklin's bloated cheeks. The child let out a yelp, causing Arthur to snicker again.
"I didn't want a large backyard to play in." he said with a shrug, watching Franklin rub his sensitive cheek with a pout. "The streets were fun. We met up with friends from other houses and apartments. If we had some pocket money, we could literally walk about the small shops and buy whatever we wanted. Sure, the streets were dirty and loud, but it was very fun. Sometimes, groups of children would get together in a small alley and just play ball. Or we'd all pile up in one store, gather our money together, and buy as much chocolate as we can, sharing it between us." Sitting up at the memories, he sighed and nodded, reminiscing a bit. "My lot of friends we're actually pretty fun. The younger you were, the bigger your piece of chocolate was." He said with a chuckle. "Which is supposed to be the other way around. But the older kids were quite generous, and loved to play with us whenever we had the chance. Mm, yes I miss those times. I believe most of them have grown up to be quite successful in their jobs." He mused.
At his side, Franklin was quiet as he listened to his Governess talk, enraptured by his words. Arthur's childhood was completely different from his own; he had friends, whereas Franklin had the occasionally prep boy that visited whenever their parents visited his father. And those boys were always so…proper. Their neck scarf-thingies looked so tight that Franklin was sure they were secretly choking, but were not allowed to say anything. He pitied them. But whenever he wanted to play, all they preferred was to sit in the parlor and mess around with a toy truck. Not in the backyard, where there were butterflies and small insects waiting to be discovered. "Was it fun…?" he asked cautiously, breaking Arthur's reminiscing. "Having a lot of friends?" he asked, and Arthur's head turned to peer at him.
"Well… Yes. It was very fun." He said, before looking at Franklin and his glum expression. Silently, he thanked the lord for children's inability to hide their emotions. "Do you have many friends?" he asked innocently, looking out at the little bird pond before them. "Anyone you like to play with, given the opportunity?"
"Yes!" Franklin shot out quickly, much too quickly, a deep frown gracing his lips as he looked firm in his answer. "I have a lot of friends!" he lied easily, and much to Arthur's amusement. "There's…there's Chester. He lives two estates away." He said quickly, trying to recall the last time Chester had come over. It had gone badly, for the redhead had an accent so wild and…Irish, that Franklin couldn't help but call him out on it in front of his parents. The darn boy had cried like a baby. "He's…he's really nice. But he's a crybaby." Was all Franklin could comment on. "And…and then there's William! William…he's…" The boy bit his lip, once more trying to recall anything about William. "He puked on my bedroom floor when I showed him my secret worm collection…" the boy had grumbled, accepting the fact that no, he did not have any friends.
Smiling faintly, Arthur continued to listen to the boy go on and on about the boys he had encountered and how none of it turned out well. Knowing that Franklin was desperate for social interaction, he sighed and reached out to ruffle his hair softly, and to his surprise, Franklin didn't pull away. Instead, he merely puffed his cheeks. "You have a secret worm collection?" he said in fascination. "I've always wanted to see one…" he mused, and just as expected, Franklin's head popped up immediately.
"My worm collection?" he voiced, eyes widening at the thought of someone wanting to see what he so adored. "You'd like to see it…?"
Arthur nodded, taking his hand away so that he could return it back to his own side, smiling at the boy who was so eager to share. "Yes I would, if you're willing to show it to me."
Like lightning, (which was indeed like lighting, taking in Franklin's blonde hair) the Viscount's son was up and on his feet, ready to run off once more in hopes to go on a long rant about the various types of worms he had tucked in away in a box of dirt. Of course, he didn't know the types of worms exactly, but he did know the difference of their lengths and by that, he was able to conjure up imaginations on who were stronger, and who were weaker. However, before he could even say 'Let's go!,' he backed up and stumbled into Percy, who had basically appeared right behind him. The butler's hands shot out in order to catch Franklin, preventing him from pushing the taller man over and letting them fall. Arthur himself let out a small cry of surprise, but silenced it when he saw that it was nothing. Standing up, he gave Percy a polite smile in greeting, disregarding Franklin who shoved himself away from the man's hold instantly.
"Percy." The Governess greeted, and the man gave a bob of his head in reply. "What can I help you with? This is Franklin's recess, so I believe I have the time." He told him, and couldn't help but notice to the side Franklin's pout and cross of his arms. No doubt the young boy was hoping to show someone his worm collection.
Smiling a bit, Percy nodded. "Yes, the Viscount has requested to see you in his office, immediately." He said, causing the Governess' brows to furrow just a bit. The Viscount wanted to see him? Immediately? What did he do? It had only been the first few hours of Franklin's governing sessions. Truly he hadn't messed up that badly, right? In fact, he was quite sure that he and the child had gotten along fabulously well. But realizing that he was keeping the butler waiting, he nodded quickly, picking up his book and tucking it under his arm.
"Of course," he said with a nod, before turning to Franklin and smiling a bit. "Go on and play, but if you so much as come back inside the house with even a speck of mud on you, I will make you read those books I showed you earlier this morning." He threatened with a tone that said 'I'm not kidding you.' He saw Franklin's face blanched a bit, but all the boy did was stick out his tongue, blow him a dry raspberry, and sprint off down the path again. Turning back to Percy, he began to follow him down the path back towards the manor. Curiosity still prickled his thoughts and hesitantly, he eventually asked, "Do you know of the reason why the Viscount wishes to seek my presence?" he inquired.
The man barely moved his head, and kept walking with his strict posture and regal stature. "He would like to ask a few things about Franklin's curriculum." Was what he simply said. His tone of voice made it known that that was all he was going to tell the Governess. And to Arthur, that was really all fine. The viscount merely wanted to know what Franklin was going to be learning throughout his course of stay.
Percy had left him in favor of making dinner, letting Arthur find his way back to Alfred's office. Luckily, since it was one of the few rooms in the house that he knew of, he was able to find his way there fairly quickly, and from outside of the door, he could hear the faint words of a conversation being held. His brows furrowed. He was to speak to Alfred about Franklin…who could possibly be in the room? Leaning forward a bit more till his ear was pressed lightly against the wooden door he heard the Viscount's familiar voice, rich with his British accent, not a trace of American to be found. However, when he strained his ears just a bit more, he was able to hear a second voice, of a second man by him. They seemed to be in deep conversation with intense words. But the longer he listened, the wider his eyes grew. That was a Spanish accent, and the only Spanish person he knew who Alfred was associated with was a certain dense, irritating, persistent, idiotic, knight. It was that damn Antonio.
He didn't want to just interrupt a conversation between two men that were clearly higher up on the social status than he was…but Arthur was known to be an idiot sometimes. And, if he had a chance to annoy Antonio, then he would. It was ONLY because that during that one day of constant Antonio begging, he had learned that Antonio could get depressed. He would mope around with a large pout on his face, and he would drag himself around like a man who lost a soul. He could also be extremely happy. Something that honestly scared the heck out of the Governess, by how often and how easily Antonio found it in himself to jump around and sing native Spanish songs.
However, never had he once saw Antonio angry, nor annoyed. This could be his chance!
Pushing the door open without a second thought, he stepped in and let the door close with a soft click behind him. In front of him was the Viscount, sitting at his desk with a frustrated expression. Was he irritated at Antonio, perhaps? And in front of him, was said Spaniard, with an equally frustrated expression on his face. Maybe they were having a row. Seeing Antonio's frustrated face, it was almost exactly what Arthur had hoped to accomplish with his entering without knocking. The only problem was that he wasn't the one that caused that expression. But it was still something, since Antonio with a frustrated expression truly didn't go well. His brows were knitted and that merely cast a sad look on his face. It troubled the Governess, and if they were by themselves, Arthur would've surely hit him and said begrudgingly, 'Smile, you git.'
But the Governess was being quite inconsiderate indeed. Too engrossed in his plan to irritate the knight, he had completely forgotten that even if Antonio would probably not have cared on his sudden entrance, Alfred certainly did. The conversation ceased almost immediately upon his arrival, and both heads swiveled over to look at him. Arthur noticed Antonio's smile first, for the moment the Spaniard's green eyes laid themselves on him, the frustrated expression vanished in an instant, replaced with a look of genuine excitement, carefully concealing a look of curiosity. Inwardly, Arthur blanched. Even to him, the man who had possibly made his life hell for one good day, Antonio still had the confidence to smile at him like a friend? Arthur nearly pitied him, although much of that pity was laced with guilt.
The next expression – the one that caused immediate fear in him – was the Viscount's. Alfred's light blue eyes were stormy, filled with numerous expressions that Arthur himself couldn't exactly pick out. Even though he was sitting, he might as well have been standing up in front of the Governess, looming over him like the tall man he was, for his eyes were searing deep holes into Arthur's own, making the native Briton nearly shudder on the spot. How STUPID was he, to not have knocked? This wasn't Antonio's home, this was Alfred's. And they were in the middle of an important seeming conversation, it seemed. Of course Alfred would've wanted someone to knock. Yet there was Arthur, who didn't knock. Unable to think of anything else to say, due to Alfred's strong stare and Antonio's happy one, he ended up muttering incoherently. But noticing Alfred's deeper frown at his indecipherable words, he sighed. "I am truly deeply sorry at interrupting, sirs…" he mumbled quietly.
It was almost expected for Antonio to be the first one to react, letting out a short laugh and leaving the Viscount's desk, bounding over to sling an arm quickly around his shoulder. "Don't worry, amigo!" he exclaimed, much to Arthur's nerves and Alfred's pounding head. "It was nothing important, and plus, we were waiting for you to give your own input." He said with a grin. Arthur looked up at him quickly, confused just a bit at his words.
"O-Oh?" he mumbled in reply, unable to stop himself from noticing that Alfred's frown had deepened at the Spaniard's words. "Is that so? Well, then, I'll do all I can in order to help." He said sincerely.
"Of course you will," said Antonio with a wink, rubbing his knuckles in Arthur's hair – almost painfully – before releasing him. "And it'd be best if you could do it right now, to ease this man's stress." He mused, gesturing to the Viscount. At the mention of him, the Viscount let out a huff and stood up quickly, his palm flat on the desk.
Alfred's eyes grew even stormier if it was possible, and it made Arthur mentally cringe, as he kept on a passive front. He inwardly wondered if Antonio was feeling the same thing, or perhaps the knight knew him long enough not to feel affected. "Antonio." The Viscount said, his voice clear with the tone of absolute command. "Will you please refrain from speaking so easily about this?" he asked, though it sounded more like a command more than a question.
To the Governess' side, the Spanish knight merely dipped his head in a slight respect and let out a small hum to imply of his accordance.
Turning his attention back towards his employed Governess, he took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose. "Hello Arthur. I am hoping that you and Franklin were able to have a few decent hours this morning?" he asked critically, skeptic eyes analyzing Arthur's every move and word. "I pray that his first few lessons went well." He added on, his tone implying that he didn't pray anything. This was all out of courtesy.
When Franklin's morning recess began, that was when Percy came in to collect Arthur's progress report, bringing it back to Alfred for a look over. It was now that Arthur desperately wished to know what the Viscount had seen as wrong. It was then and immediately that Arthur's short Governess life began to flash before his eyes, starting from this morning. What had he done wrong? There couldn't be anything he did wrong. In fact, Franklin was close to as perfect as he could be during the lessons despite his occasional retort and lash out. The insanely short little movie ended in his head and he worried his bottom lip for a moment, before nodding slowly, forcing his voice to stay as calm as possible. "Yes." He said cautiously, watching Alfred's expression not change in the slightest. "Yes, Franklin and I were able to get along quite well, actually. He works diligently when really instructed to, and is so far doing quite well in his subjects." He reported to him.
To Arthur's side, where Antonio was standing by with arms crossed, he heard a soft 'hmmm..' and noticed a nod of approval from the corner of his eye. He didn't look over though, for Alfred's movement to the front of his desk kept his eyes trained on him. "Is he? That sounds wonderful." He said, although the Viscount didn't sound quite appreciative at all. "However, I must ask. What is the meaning of choosing Franklin's language for study to be French?" he asked with an aura of coldness seeping into his voice. The tall blonde man had also reached behind him on the desk and had taken the familiar looking piece of paper, Franklin's first report, and reading it over. His bright blue eyes then flickered back up to Arthur. "Antonio said that perhaps you had a very good reason for this. I hope you do." He said with a deep set frown.
"Oh come on, Alfred." Exclaimed said Spaniard, taking another step forward from his spot next to Arthur. "Don't intimidate him like that, I'm sure he has a reason." He said and the Viscount quickly cut him off with a quick glare.
"Whether he has a reason or not, I don't understand why of all the languages, he would make my son learn French." The Viscount said curtly, crossing his arms. "He is perfectly aware, as well as the rest of god damn Britain, what the French has to do with our past. If word were to get out that my son was associating himself with the language of the country that tore our family apart, what do you think the rumors will turn into?!" he exclaimed in exasperation, all but throwing the sheet of paper back onto his desk, watching it float a bit and slide of the edge, falling onto the floor by his chair.
Antonio's face hardened as well, his lips threatening to twitch down into a frown. "Alfred you can't keep holding yourself to this for much longer. It was a French man. Yes. Fantastic. But do you think you have a reason, or a right, to hold this grudge against the entirety of the French country as a whole? It was a single man, not a mass country!" He argued back, much to the Viscount's distaste.
To the side of both men, Arthur was paling a bit. They were arguing over him. They were arguing over what Franklin was learning…and technically blaming it on him. But the Governess DID have a reason! He truly didn't force Franklin to take French, and was shocked himself when the boy had chosen the language. However, the two men were going at it with harsh words, making it nearly impossible for the Governess to put in his own words. He had to wait until it was Antonio's turn because even though he was stepping in for him, and defending his choices – bless him, - it would be a lot more socially appropriate to interrupt a knight rather than a Viscount. "Excuse me!" he blurted out, loudly enough that both men were forced to cease their bickering, and turning to look at him with frowning expressions. Arthur's face was a bit red out of indignation, not having a chance to say his reason. "Excuse me, but I believe that I would like to have a say in this." He said with a tone of authority, one that made Antonio nod quickly and metaphorically back down, while Alfred merely stiffened a bit more, but curtly nod.
"What do you have to say, Arthur?" the Viscount asked, curiosity as well as exasperation tinging his voice.
Arthur, tired of being looked down upon, crossed his arms in an act of defiance, 'closing himself off' from personal answers, as was what the action meant. "I had nothing to do with the choosing of Franklin's study language." He said clearly, watching from the corner of his eye as Antonio looked suddenly relieved. The Viscount; however, merely looked dumbfounded, as he stared at the Governess dubiously.
"I don't exactly understand," the taller blonde had started to say, but Arthur quickly cut him off, ignoring the surprised look on his employer's face.
"I didn't choose French for him, and no, the curriculum doesn't require him to take French. This morning, I had given him the choice of French, Italian, and German." He said, watching as the two men's expression started to evolve from skeptic, to curious. "Usually, most children would take time choosing a language. They would ask which one is the better one of the three. They would ask which is harder, which one is easier to learn, which ones do I like and prefer." He told them with a hard expression. "But for Franklin, it didn't even take him two minutes. He had already picked up the French book, and was showing it to me, stating that he wanted to learn French."
Arthur finished speaking and was allowing the information to sink into the Viscount's mind. Half of him was curious for his reaction, while another half of him was curious for his punishment. If Alfred was once of those kinds of parents, then Arthur would be blamed no matter what. Finally, the Viscount all but exploded. He panicked, in fact. "He CHOSE French?!" Alfred exclaimed, a look of pure horror on his face. Arthur had never seen a man look so grief-stricken. "How on earth…why would he…" he rambled, starting to pace around the floor of his office. The Governess and the knight shared quick glance, mentally agreeing on something, anything, Arthur didn't even know, but he watched as Antonio walked forward to try and still his friend.
"Amigo, please-" he tried, but was cut off when the Viscount brushed him off quickly, turning to glare at Arthur.
"Are you POSITIVE that Franklin wanted to learn French? He wasn't kidding with you? He tend to do that you know, mess around with folks. Especially folks that he doesn't know. Arthur, are you listening to me?! Was he SURE in his decision to learn it? Hell, what even was his reason?!" he cried, anxious for the answers to his question, and unable to get them for his Governess was merely gaping at him with wide, green eyes.
Arthur was pretty positive that finding your employer extremely attractive was frowned down upon. However, when Alfred started ranting, his regal posture slipped away, his eyes lost that look of pure authority, and he was left looking like a regular man whose son got a bad grade on a test. However, it wasn't only that specific fact that caused the Governess to gawk. In fact, it was a thought that Arthur had pondered on many times during his still-short stay at the Jones' manor. For Alfred's tongue had slipped, and what came out of that mouth were words, coated in nothing. A pure American accent was heard, with not a hint of British. R's were pronounced so prominently, that they put the Antonio's mainly Spanish, a bit British accent to shame, and even the Viscount's vocabulary was picking up bits and pieces of his old tongue. It was so completely mesmerizing to listen to, granted that Arthur had never really heard an American speak, save for Franklin. But he was still a child. His professors at the University would demonstrate it to them, and even though they did very well, it was obvious that you could not speak in an American accent if you were not American. And yet here was a native American, who insisted to speak British. But once he got himself going, Alfred was just so…American.
Even his NAME sounded fantastic, even though it was a bit strange. If they were to change their spelling in order to follow how the Brit's speak, Arthur would've had his name changed to Ahthuh, despite how silly and ridiculous it looked. However, coming from Alfred's mouth, it sounded…right. It fit the letters, and did justice to the r's that were in his name. Arthur. Yes, that was him. Yes, no letter was neglected. It was a silly notion indeed, to have so much respect for letters. But that was how it was spelled, wasn't it? Arthur? It was so intriguing to the Governess that he started to wish that Alfred should never stop talking – to continue saying his name. But as soon as that thought flashed in his mind, he squished it down immediately, realizing that his face was burning too warmly. Hotly, actually. There was no doubt that he was flushed a deep, crimson red.
Alfred, still caring more to his questions rather than Arthur's face color, was shooting off question after question, trying to get him to answer, wondering why the Governess wasn't paying attention. Arthur flicked his eyes over to Antonio, wondering if he was feeling the same effect that he had. But to his surprise, the Spaniard was simply interesting in looking over his trouser waist band, for it appeared to have a small tear in it, the frayed area just barely becoming undone. Snapping his attention back to the Viscount – who was still blathering – he bit the inside of his lip. So did Alfred do this to everyone? Let slip his American accent? Or perhaps he was just that close with Antonio and he had long since forgotten this small habit?
"I-I'm sorry sir." He said soon after that extensively long pause, much to Alfred's relief as he himself stopped talking. "Yes, I myself was surprised as well when he chose the language, but when I continued to ask him, it seemed that he was quite firm in his choice. He looked to be quite positive, Viscount." He told him warily, his fingers twitching at his sides, yearning to twist them in his shirt hem, as he forced his burning cheeks down.
"He's that positive then…?" Alfred said, a look of disgust threatening to appear on his face. But before that expression could completely take over and turn the Viscount's mouth down, Arthur jumped in once more.
"Yes. But his reason wasn't just one of simple play, sir." He assured him, watching as the disgust vanish, replaced by curiosity. To their side, Antonio had also stopped his studying in favor of listening in on the conversation again, granted he had stopped listening a while ago. "When I asked him what had given him the urge," Arthur began to say, starting to flush again at the memory. It wasn't embarrassing. But Franklin's reason truly was entertaining. "He said that he wanted to learn French so that if he ever met the man who stole his mother away, he would curse at him in his own language. "
There was silence in the room as the two other men digested this information. The Governess stood by awkwardly, shuffling his feet just a bit as he tried to find anything else to say. However, there simply were no more words.
Antonio was the first one to break the silence, bursting into laughter that caused both the Governess and the Viscount to start a bit, whipping their heads to him. "Oh Dios mio!" cried the Spaniard, laughing so hard that he actually put a hand to his stomach and another hand on the chair head to steady him. Slowly, with a slightly awkward expression, the Viscount began to chuckle along with him, a steady stream of 'heh heh heh…?' "Amigo, your son is JUST like you." The knight said with a grin, the look aimed at Alfred, who was merely looking at him warily. "You see? There is no reason to get angry over such a simply matter. Your son holds just the same resentment, and you should be happy." He chortled, his laughter dying down to a soft 'fusosososo.' He began ambling towards the door, an easy smile on his face. As he passed Arthur, he put both hands on his shoulders and gave him a little shake in front of Alfred, his grin widening. "So don't give Arthur here so much grief with false accusations. You'll only give him more stress to deal with." He snickered, before letting go and opening the door. "I'll take my leave now, for I have some matters to deal with at home." He said, as Arthur gave him a small wave. "Oh, and Alfred?" he asked, his body already out the door, but his head stayed in. The Viscount looked at him exasperatedly, letting out a breathy 'What?' to which Antonio winked. "You let your American show." He stated simply, before disappearing behind a now-closed door.
At that statement, Alfred's face turned a shocking shade of a faint pink, scaring the daylights out of Arthur that the Viscount could even WEAR such a color, before having it reduce back to his regular skin shade, a tan brown. His head quickly jerked back to Arthur, who was wearing quite the surprised expression. The taller man's eyes narrowed, his eyes silently voicing the words 'Do not speak of this.' Alfred opened his mouth soon after. "Sorry about that." He said, his fake British accent laying heavily on his words. "And also, I apologize for falsely accusing you. Antonio was right, Franklin is…very much like me…" he muttered softly, letting his fingers run through his gold locks.
Mesmerized by the action, the Governess just barely got himself back on track, quickly answering with: "No, it's perfectly fine. I understand your concern."
The Viscount merely returned it with a small smile. "As long as you are not teaching my son to run off with future women, then…I suppose I find it alright for him to learn…" he said, his words sharing both a teasing tone as well as a serious one.
"W-What?!" exclaimed the Governess, quickly shaking his head. "Of course not sir! That is ridiculous! You think that I, of all people, is a man to teach that kind of lifestyle to my children?" he snapped back with a frown. "If anything, he deserves to be taught that love is found, rather than forced and stolen. Your son is safe in my hands." He said with an indignant sniff, much to the Viscount's amusement.
"Is he now?" Alfred mused. "Safe, I meant." He quickly added to Arthur's confused expression. "If you are so certain that he is safe in your hands, then perhaps I will allow you to continue working here, as to prove yourself of that statement." He said with an easy smile. Much like Antonio's, but with a much more amused glint to it. He watched as Arthur's face looked quickly appalled.
"Are you meaning to say that you would have released me of his job just because I let your son learn the French language?!" the Governess cried in shock. Much like previous times, he felt all technical respect for Alfred vanish. He was quick to lash out, quick to provide back retorts that most nobles didn't wish to hear. "Excuse me, sir, but that is truly a ridiculous reason to fire someone." He said with a huff. "Plus, out of all the topics we had touched so far this morning, French is the only one that he works the most diligently in and it looks as if it will be his best subject. So despite your petty resentment to the entire French country as a whole, I believe you best start bracing yourself for French conversations to be heard within this house in the future!"
Once more, did Arthur realize his mistake and quickly clamp his mouth shut, and once more, did the Viscount simply stare at him in surprise and shock. Alfred was truly surprised whenever these moments happened. One moment, Arthur would be the perfect Governess. He'd speak with a stern voice and show his respect towards him when it was required. The next moment, Arthur would be red in the face and reprimanding him as if he was his own mother. Due to Alfred's position in the world, no one but people higher than him in status had eve snapped at him like that. And in fact, due to the fact that he was quite popular, rarely did anyone ever do it. So with Arthur here right now who had no shame in pointing out his wrongs, it intrigued him to the fullest, and the Viscount found himself trying to tease him with every chance that he was given. "Well, maybe I should contain you two in a room then, if you are to have conversations in French in this household." He said, feigning a testy reaction, trying to see what else he could pull out from Arthur. The Governess had once more acted like some sort of clam, opening his mouth, before quickly shutting it again. It was almost quite endearing along with his red cheeks, neck, ears…everything.
"Contain us?!" blurted out the Governess once more, the clam 'opening.' "In order to properly teach a person a language, they must be able to use and apply that language in everyday life. Yes, it is true that I can always ask him where the bathroom is, and have him answer me exactly in the classroom, but what if he were out on the streets? Perhaps he wasn't paying attention, and I wanted to test him exactly on his ability to speak without thought. What if even a French person were to talk to him? Alfred, you really can't expect him to learn properly like that." Arthur replied with, looking at him with a cross expression. To Alfred, he may have…just maybe, looked a bit like Charlotte did when she grew irritated that he let Franklin skip dinner to play in his room.
"So you are implying that you are thinking of letting him converse to French people?" was all that the Viscount replied with, his face as blank as a paper. However, his mind was racing. Arthur had said his name for the first time. There was no Sir, no Viscount…and definitely not git, dolt, or prat. The Viscount was surprised, very surprised. And with only a simple sentence, depending on that sentence, he could have Arthur ranting on and on and on…what an interesting concept. He had never met a man that liked to talk so much…and not conversationally. Indeed, none of these words would come out in a normal conversation.
Almost immediately did Arthur reply to with no pause in between their exchanges. "Of course I am going to." He said with a frown. "I'm sorry, but if you're going to start having an issue with Franklin involving himself with French people, then you're going to have to learn to accept that fact. Plus, if you even bothered to think about it, your son resents the French almost as much as you do. I, of course, have no say in between, so in favor of your family, your son won't be running off with some French lady in the future." He said with a tone of complete sureness.
"I don't doubt you, I never said I did." Protested the Viscount with a snort, crossing his arms as he shifted his weight. The conversation was started to make him feel uncomfortable. No, Arthur didn't have to deal with his loss, so the Governess felt more at ease talking about it. However, Alfred did not. All this talk of running off and French people made his insides feel queasy, and before Arthur could go on another rant about him doubting his 'Governing abilities', he shot out a question, steering the conversation sharply. "How do you like your accommodations?" he inquired quickly, watching as Arthur's mouth paused, open, and closed quickly again.
"My accommodations?" repeated the Governess, blinking, and at loss of the sudden turn of conversation. First, he was talking about teaching Franklin French, and now they were talking about…his room?
With a nod, Alfred crossed his arms and leaned against the front of his desk, crossing his foot over the other in the process, letting him look extremely relaxed. Even his expression was one of pure ease, complete with a small smile of courtesy. "Yes. Your room. Your classroom. Are things satisfactory? Do you have any complaints?" he asked, a small flicker of worry in his eyes. Maybe he really was concerned if Arthur was content or not. He did force him out of his last job after all. Perhaps the Governess was treated to even better over there.
Arthur almost wanted to laugh. Everything was perfect, and he had never been pampered to so much before. Having a butler around the house was more than enough. It wasn't that he didn't like the Pinkertons and their lack of butler. Also, he did try and relieve Percy of his job as much as possible and do things on his own, but he had to admit that everything was definitely a lot easier. With a small, grateful smile, he nodded earnestly. "Everything is fantastic, no need to worry about complaints." He assured the Viscount, and Alfred merely nodded in return. "The room is large and fits me and my needs more than necessary. Same goes for the classroom. However, I am both quite content with their size…so don't think about changing any of that." He said with a small snicker, chiding the nobleman with a grin.
"Changing…" blinked the Viscount, his brows going up in surprise at Arthur's ability to make a small teasing joke at the topic of…rooms. He returned it with a short laugh of his own, nodding and waving his hand dismissively. "Don't worry, you may have whatever. If you wish the rooms to be enlarged, then I'll see to it." He shot back with a grin, surprising the Governess with a wink. But to his own surprise, he saw Arthur's face flood a shade of pink at the action. It was also quite obvious that the man was fighting down the color change to red. The Viscount merely stared. Could men really turn that color?
"Don't even bother, I said it was satisfactory!" snapped back the Governess testily, realizing that the Viscount was indeed staring at his red cheeks. 'DAMN my urges!' he all but wailed inside his head, and was distracted once more by a cough.
"I'm aware, I was simply teasing." replied Alfred, much to Arthur's distress, for that only made his blush worsen. Due to their inexperience, Arthur grew horrified to feel himself start to feel hot at the words, and Alfred looked extremely uncomfortable himself. Straight men don't tease homosexual men. "I'm sorry, if I offend?" he offered as an apology, and Arthur merely snorted. What was he offending? Nothing. Plus, nothing he even said was close to offensive.
However, in the awkward silence that ensued after the attempted apology, a knock came at the door, causing the Viscount's head to snap sharply to it, and Arthur also turned around as well. With a short command from Alfred, Percy opened the door and stepped in, giving both men a short bow. He then turned his attention back to the Governess. " Hello sirs. Sorry to intrude and interrupt, but I'd like to inform you that it is now a ten minutes past Franklin's morning recess and he is currently sitting in his classroom…er, impatiently waiting…" the older man murmured, a small smile on his face. Arthur, believing that the butler was amused to Franklin's impatient actions, merely chuckled under his breath and nodded.
"I'll make my way down, then." He said, turning to Alfred to say his goodbyes. But to his surprise, the Viscount was staring at Percy with a look of extreme surprise.
"Er, Percy." Said the Viscount, straightening up off of his desk and letting his gaze flicker back and forth from his butler to his Governess, a look of confusion on his face. "Where is Franklin, again?" he inquired, a wary look on his face.
The Governess quirked an eyebrow. Please, was the Viscount really that dense? "Didn't you hear him?" he said smartly, a frown on his face. "He's waiting in the classroom. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go see to his next lessons. I can't believe I'm late to the first day… the student already waiting on me…a child, no less!" he mumbled the last few sentences quietly to himself, but they didn't go by unnoticed by the other two men in the room.
"That's the point…" Alfred mumbled, turning his gaze to stare at Arthur a bit more intensely. "Franklin never waits." He concluded, and his mouth quirked down to a frown. His son was notorious for disappearing. If he didn't want to be there, Franklin would be impossible to find. Before, the Viscount's son was decently okay with waiting. Once Charlotte left, it had turned awful. He was never there when Alfred wanted him, and if he was even asked to wait for a simple minute, he would find something to distract himself with, if not running away from the room completely. And now, not only had Franklin waited for TEN whole minutes, but he was waiting for lessons. Lessons, given by Arthur. Supposedly boring school lessons, supplied by this new Governess. What was Arthur's secret? "But of course, go on ahead. There is no point in leaving him waiting." He said with a small smile, and watched as the Governess merely nodded, then dashed out of the room.
As Arthur rushed down the hall, he forced himself to start thinking about the upcoming lessons and not the Viscount's face whenever he supplied him with a small smile or a short laugh. They seemed like genuine moments, as if the man never laughed or smiled openly enough. Inwardly, Arthur vowed to try and change that.
He all but skidded to a stop in front of the classroom door, narrowly avoiding a staff maid who had an armful of laundry and sheets. Muttering a quick apology, he opened the door and stepped in, shutting it behind him. Striding inside the room, he was greeted with the annoyed face of Franklin, sprawled across one of the long project tables, coloring on a blank sheet of paper with crayons that he had managed to find somewhere. Arthur didn't even know. Franklin's head popped up at his entrance and when he caught sight of his Governess, he dropped the crayon in favor of sitting up with a deep pout. "Where WEEERREEE you?" he wailed, jumping off the desk and sliding into his desk, throwing his arms over it and dropping his chin to rest on them. "I was bored and waiting." He huffed, much to Arthur's amusement.
"I'm quite sorry about that, really. I was simply spending time with your father." He said hurriedly, busy with picking up books and papers that were needed for the lesson. He had forgotten that that phrase was really only meant for courtships, and when he looked up to see Franklin's disgusted expression he could only utter a lost 'What..?'
"Nothing." Muttered the boy as quickly as he could, watching his Governess' face bloom with even more confusion. Well. That was…weird. The thought of his Governess trying to court his father was far-fetched. Something that Franklin couldn't even fathom. But…inwardly he knew that they were both men, and even if his Governess tried something, he could never replace his mom. Ever. "It's nothing." He said again, with a tiny smile.
Arthur stared at him a bit more, before shrugging and nodding, dropping the science work books on his desk. "Alright then, we'll be starting with animals. What's your favorite animal…?"
The lessons went on normally, and Franklin worked diligently. It didn't surprise Arthur in the slightest, since he had immediately sense a vibe of hard-working when he had met him. Of course, how could you not be hard-working if you knew how to make a sheet rope and climb out of the window safely? While Arthur was content with Franklin's schooling progress, the Viscount was the one who was extremely surprised. Wary, even. That evening when Arthur took it to bring Franklin's progress report to Alfred himself, he was graced with a shout of surprise when he gave the Viscount the rundown of how well he worked. It was truly amusing to see Alfred pore over the paper, trying to find even the slightest of mistakes in his son. Yes, there were still the occasional talk backs, but Arthur hadn't bothered writing those down because he knew that with Franklin, it was almost natural. And although there were no hard pranks this day, the Governess merely believed that Franklin's sarcastic in-class retorts were what made up for their loss.
"So…in general…he is doing well, correct?" asked the nobleman after he had gotten over the fact that his son was NOT a terror in the classroom. Or at least to Arthur.
Said Governess nodded with a small shrug after that. "Yes. He works well. We work well. He listens. Of course, he's a child so he is not perfect, but so far, he is quite a good student." He told him, and watched as the Viscount slowly nodded.
"Alright…" Alfred replied then stood up, setting the progress report down with the one that he had received that morning. "Thank you. You'll be able to cut them down to one report a day now, if you'd like." He said, and Arthur nodded his head, for that would be much easier. As the Viscount started heading towards the door, the Governess nodded and followed in suit, a question that had he had tried to bury, resurfacing in his head.
"Sir," he said, watching as Alfred's head turned to the side as he opened the door for the two of them to file out. "If you are not busy tomorrow…perhaps we could share a lunch?" he suggested, using all his will power to hold back a certain preposterous blush. The Viscount looked surprised at the suggestion, and before he could say anything – Arthur simply knew that the man was thinking of him and his homosexuality again – Arthur jumped right back in. "To talk over a few more things that I will be doing with Franklin that is included in his curriculum. Places for educational field trips…certain books that I'll want him to purchase….those things." He said quickly in addition, watching as the man's expression dulled down to one of understanding. Never would he admit to a living soul that he merely wanted to have a lunch with the Viscount.
Alfred, ever the fake-romantic, blinked a bit and let out a small 'hmmm…' carefully avoiding the Governess' badly-concealed expression of anticipation. "I'm sorry," he started, watching as Arthur's face immediately took on a fake, passive expression. "I am planning on having afternoon tea with Lady Odette…" he said slowly, giving the other his most apologetic expression. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he knew that he felt very bad for being unable to grant his new friend (was Arthur considered a friend?) this small meeting. "But I believe that the day after that, I have free." He amended quickly, but it was in vain. Arthur was simply chuckling and waving his hand.
"It's perfectly fine, sir. I had no meaning of pulling you away from your duties. Please, don't concern yourself over the request, for I was merely wondering." He said, and with a short nod, he turned to head the opposite of where Alfred was initially headed, towards his room.
The Viscount was left standing there, at loss of the entire situation. Everything had happened a bit too quickly, and he was left with some awkward thoughts. Perhaps he truly should eventually have a lunch date with Arthur one day. Not tomorrow, of course. He had heard that the Lady Odette was truly a fantastic woman, and after meeting her during one of the balls, he was eager to be meeting her once more. Turning to head down towards his room, he pushed aside the thoughts of the simple Governess, and began to plan what he should bring as a courtesy-greeting gift.
Author's notes: Oohhhh my god, well here it is! Sorry for it being late, I was…distracted. But nevertheless, here is the long awaited…CHAPTER FOUR! Well. I truly didn't think I'd end it like that…but ah well. Poor Artie. Denied a simple lunch date.
TL;DR: (too any of those who don't even know what that means, it stands for 'Too long; didn't read') It's Franklin's first day of lessons! With Arthur, he ends up choosing to study French, and surprises his Governess with his reasons! They have a bit of bonding time in the backyard, when Alfred wants to see Arthur pronto. Turns out, he's wondering why the hell Arthur made Franklin choose French. Turns out, Franklin chose it for himself, shocking Alfred. Theeeeen Arthur gets denied a date.
God, thank you so much for the faves/follows/reviews :D they make me feel really happy and appreciated! And as long as you people like this story, then I'll do my ultimate best to keep it going! Man, there's already so much things I'm formulating in my head for the future…
To my beta, of the Grigori, love ya tons, always!
BUT also, if there are any grammar/spelling mistakes, don't hesitate to tell. Me and Beta are still humans, after all xD
[[ carbo21: uhh…. I… actually don't know what those are? How's your Father! And Slap and tickle? I am not… *tilts her head* elaborate? If they're good, I can put them in. Depends. What they are.. xD
Sora Resi: oh trust me, so would i~
RealSweetPhilippineMango: I'm glad you liked it xD and oh gosh, and unhealthy obsession. If I had a penny for how many of those I had…I'd be a rich mofo.
Poulukka: stop stop oh my god can I just keep you? For real, I love you so much xD You, my dear, are fantastic. And I am SORRY it took so long for this one to update! But I made it longer, is that okay? :D Well, regardless, stay beautiful, because you are, and I just love what you sayyy~ but don't stay up too late! Sleep is important.
A pirates life for Bunny: mmmmM~! Nope not Mary Poppins ;) you're close though, you're getting the concept. And yes thank you so much! Arthur would like to thank you for appreciating him too xD
Raindownpour: jeeeeezzzus you are fantastic. Thank you thank you xD I'm so glad you were able to review~ it makes me happy! And yes, I try hard to mix in the era and the characters, at the same time making sure their little quirks and personalities stay intact!]]
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As you can see, I love you all. And I want to keep you all. Here, get in my closet, I'll keep you allllll because I love you.
No for real.
Glenn Agape~