In honor of me making Darling Pretty cry her mascara off with chapter six, I have decided to institute a "mascara warning" at the beginning of each chapter. This has a mascara rating of two, since nothing too tragic or heart wrenching is going to happen. And this also makes my writing debut of Jealous!Mary, which was kinda fun to do. Hope you all enjoy it, and tell your friends.
(London, 1923)
"Sounds like he had a lot to mull over." James commented kindly as Michael again stopped to give his voice a rest. It really was a long story, but Matthew and everyone else were completely caught up in it, wanting to know how things turned out.
"Bert was anxious about asking Mary to share what he viewed as a very imperfect life." the young man said thoughtfully. "She was always very well put together, nothing out of place and always very professional. Bert felt so lost most of the time and like he was struggling to find himself again."
"We all went through that after we got home." Matthew said softly. "Some of us are still looking."
James eyed him across the table and he cursed his runaway tongue. This evening was about finding out what had happened to Bert Alfred. Not what was currently going on with him.
Michael tactfully changed the subject, sensing the tension that had come into the room. "And while he was out in the park, he ran into an old friend of his."
(London, February 17th, 1917)
As he walked through the park and out toward the Thames, Bert let his thoughts go whithersoever they would. He was finally in a financial position to offer Mary a real life, not one of scraping for every little schilling or crown that he could get together from drawing on the sidewalks or cleaning out chimneys.
But there were other things to consider. He was...different now and he knew that. Perhaps she wouldn't even want to marry him since he wasn't the Bert she would remember.
He wasn't such a joker, such a carefree person anymore. He enjoyed a laugh, yes, but he'd grown more sober and thoughtful. He considered his words before he spoke instead of just breezing along like he used to. And he wasn't sure of just who he was any more. What defined him? What made him Bert? Was it his dancing? His art? Singing? Something else he hadn't even discovered yet?
And Mary was...Mary. Practically perfect in every way. It was almost like he was some poor lowly little mortal who got to look upon the face of a goddess for a little while and was never going to be the same again, like in that book of Robby's daft myths from Rome and Greece.
And speaking of Robby, he was probably wondering where on earth he was. Turning, he shifted his weight to begin the journey home when something he thought he'd left behind caught his ear.
"Sergeant Alfred? Is that you?" a delighted voice called and a smile was already starting to spread across his face as he turned to find Nurse Sims hurrying toward him with a young man of about Michael's age in tow with her. If he remembered right from all of the stories she had told him and Robby while they were recovering, this would be her brother Adam.
"Well 'ullo, Nurse Sims!" he greeted. "Is this Adam?"
She nodded as the boy looked at him agog. "You know my name?"
"Of course I do!" Bert replied, extending his hand. "Your sister told me all about you when I was in the hospital. Name's Bert Alfred."
Adam shook his hand as Nurse Sims studied him and Bert could see the concern on her face. Nothing ever slipped past her and he silently prayed that she wasn't going to ask him too many questions. He didn't have many answers at the moment.
"How have you been?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to one side.
He sucked in a deep breath before blowing it out. "Okay. Some days are easier than others."
"I understand that." she chuckled softly and Bert realized that apart from other soldiers, the nurses and doctors were the only other ones who would have any idea of the things that happened during war.
"Robby's 'ere visiting me." he supplied and a lovely grin emerged on her delicate features.
"Yes, I saw the book in the store last week! He's quite a gifted writer, and your drawings only made it better." she replied. "Adam has been reading it lately and can't put it down."
The boy flushed while scuffing his show on the ground and Bert was struck by an idea. "'ow about you lot come to tea with me? I'm sure Robby would love to see you again and Adam could meet him!"
Adam's mouth fell open and before Bert could help himself, he said with mock sterness, "Close your mouth Adam. We are not a codfish."
The young man closed his mouth obediently and Nurse Sims laughed. "I'll have to remember that!"
"Learned it from Mary." Bert said, unaware of the way he said her name.
"Ah ha, have you seen her recently?" she asked as she and Adam fell into step with him.
"She's staying at the same 'ouse I am and...I'm just not good enough for 'er." he sighed.
Sensing that this was an adult conversation, Adam walked ahead a bit as the former nurse pegged Bert with a rather fierce glare.
"Bert Alfred, you are a good, decent man. Any woman in the world would be fortunate to have you for a husband. If she doesn't find you worthy, than she does not deserve you. So hush!"
"Yes ma'am." he teased, but he was rather warmed by the emphatic way she stuck up for him. As they walked in silence for a moment, a thought occurred to him and he began to laugh.
"What's so funny?" she asked curiously.
"After knowing you for 'ow many months in France, I don't know even know your first name!" he said, looking sideways at her.
She saw the humor in it too and offered her hand. "Olivia Sims." she said.
Bert squeezed her hand gently in his own. "Nice to meet you properly, Olivia."
Mary was in the living room talking with Robby about some of his plans for his next book when she heard Bert's voice out on the porch. She also heard that...of a woman.
Something started to burn white hot inside of her and she wondered if perhaps she was becoming ill. Normally she felt calm, but her current state was such that she wouldn't be surprised if a wild animal lept out of her.
The front door opened, admitting Bert along with a lovely young woman and a boy who was obviously her brother. The woman and Bert obviously knew each other well, for they were laughing and joking about something.
Robby immediately stood up. "Nurse Sims!" he said excitedly.
Nurse? That meant Bert obviously knew her from the war. She watched as the young woman immediately came over to Robby and hugged him. "Hello to you too, Corporal Graves." she teased. "Behaving yourself?"
"As much as I ever do." he shot back and she laughed. "How did you find me?"
She gestured toward Bert. "I saw Sergeant Alfred there down by the Thames and he graciously offered to bring my younger brother and I here so that Adam could meet you."
Mary saw that the young man's eyes were like saucers and Robby smiled kindly, motioning for him to come over with a jerk of his head. "So you're the infamous Adam of the Walnut Disaster of 1912." he said with a wink.
Adam rounded on his sister, arms folded over his chest. "Livy! You promised you'd never tell!"
Bert was snickering behind his hand and Mary found herself feeling...left out. She was the only one in the room who didn't know the walnut story. And she found that she didn't like it very much. Bert had always been her closest friend but it appeared that had changed.
Picking up her book, she swept out of the room. Let them have their entertainment. She would find somewhere quiet to read.
Bert winced as he watched her go. He could tell that something was eating her and so could Olivia. As Robby and Adam argued, she pegged Bert with a look. "Go after her." she said softly.
"She's angry." Bert sighed.
"You'd be angry too if everyone was talking about a story you knew nothing about and no one offered to explain it to you." she retorted and Bert realized that Mary was probably feeling like an unwanted wheel.
Nodding, he got his crutch situated and hurried out into the hallway in time to see Mary sliding up the staircase bannister. She must be upset indeed to do such a thing when there were three people in the house who had no idea of her magical abilities.
Swallowing nervously, Bert began to make his way up the stairs as quickly as he could. There might be a reckoning waiting for him once he got there, but he wanted the chance to try and make amends as best he could.
A creaking from the left told him that she was in the nursery. He tapped lightly on the door before poking his head in.
She was mad all right. Her face was set like stone and he found himself almost wanting to run away back downstairs when she raised her head slowly and said in a voice like a cold blast from the North, "Yes?"
"Just wanted to do a little explaining." he said jovially as he crept further into the nursery.
"I see." she said, arching an eyebrow. She wasn't going to make this easy for him. At all.
"Olivia was one of the two nurses who looked after me when I woke up after my amputation surgery." he said softly, his gaze far away as he remembered back to that time. "She kept watch over Robby and I until we were allowed to be moved back to England. She's a dear friend...like a younger sister."
He glanced over at Mary to find that her face had softened a little bit. "She sounds nice." she said and he had to fight to hide a small smile. Her tone was a bit grudging.
"She is. She was a good nurse and she's a good person too. I hope that her John sees that." Mary didn't need to know that Olivia had stopped seeing John last week and he hoped that Olivia would back him up on this small bit of subterfuge.
"So what exactly is this walnut story about?" Mary asked, shutting her book slowly. Bert settled himself into a chair, knowing he had her attention now.
"Well, her brother Adam was home for the winter holidays and it had snowed so much outside that he was very bored. The cook had accidently gotten too many walnuts, so Adam decided that it was 'igh time that something was done with all of these walnuts..."