For some reason, FFN isn't showing the view counts on my stories, everything just says 0 :/ Please do leave comments and reblog the chapters on Tumblr! Also look out for the long-awaited update to You Find New Family, the Jemima Bone fic collection, for Halloween season~
Chapter 2
He was going to do better. He was going to be better. Even if he really, really wanted to punch someone. He wouldn't do it.
And that was easier said than done, because those schoolboys were getting more and more irritating. As good as Ian had been lately – he hadn't been dragged home by an angry neighbour in weeks, or broken or stolen anything at the marketplace, or let Alice get anything worse than a tiny scrape while he was watching her – not letting himself be provoked into fighting was the hardest thing of all. The boys who had been bullying Alice had moved on to Ian himself now; whenever he saw them, and tried his best to ignore them, they'd just shout louder, calling him a coward, laughing at how pathetic he was to shy away after trying to act tough.
"What's the matter, afraid you'll lose again?"
"He can't even say he lost, he just ran away last time!"
"He's scared of getting in trouble! Aren't you?"
He wasn't going to respond. He wasn't going to give them that satisfaction. He had to learn to just let it go, let it roll right off his back. Even when one of them tossed a stone in his direction, he forced himself to not even flinch when it hit his shoulder.
He'd grow a thicker skin over time. Words would lose their sting eventually.
– SUCH SWEET SORROW –
As the weeks passed by, Alice learned to help a little more here and there, both around the house and in the fields, and most often supervised by her brother. He did his best to teach her how to do things and make sure she could manage, but she still needed his help with a lot of it, which took as much patience as Ian could muster. And even though he did get fed up with her from time to time, he couldn't help but feel endeared to her. Whenever she did something right, she would look up at him with such hope in her eyes and her smile, waiting to see if he would praise her, and when he did, she'd beam as bright as the sunlight. She'd watch him so intently and follow him everywhere like a little duckling. As much as he might act annoyed or embarrassed, he had to admit to himself, at least, that he enjoyed being looked up to.
One day, Ian had been instructed to take some of the harvest to trade for meat and such at the marketplace; considering the family's recent money troubles, it seemed a good enough idea to offer what they could. His sister joined him, helping to carry things where needed, until finally the evening came and he began to lead her back home again.
It had been a long day and Alice was exhausted. She was still young, of course, and spending all afternoon in the field only to then be expected to go with Ian to the market was a lot for her. She trailed along after him, rubbing at her eye as a tired murmur escaped her. Ian turned around to see she had fallen behind a bit and huffed.
"Come on, Alice, it's not that much farther," he promised and walked back to where she had stopped on the path. Her grip on the bag she was carrying was loosening and he reached out for it, "Here, give that to me."
He slung the bag over his shoulder and beckoned for her to keep following him but she just let out a small whine. He rolled his eyes, and sighed.
"Fine. I'll carry you the rest of the way."
He turned and crouched down so she could climb onto his back and he set off walking again. He soon spotted two of the schoolboys he had the misfortune of knowing approaching from the opposite direction and grimaced, but focused his attention on the path ahead. When the usual teasing started up, he tried to brush it off.
"Can't she walk by herself?" one shouted and Ian said nothing in return.
"I'm surprised he can even carry her at all, seeing as he's got no backbone," his friend laughed, nudging his arm, and Ian gritted his teeth, "He just bows down to her for the slightest thing. He's like her servant!"
"Or I'm just mature enough to be responsible for her," Ian shot back, not even so much as looking at them as he walked by, although Alice did lift her head from his shoulder to watch their faces turn sour, "Can't expect you to know anything about that, though."
The two boys scowled but had no chance to respond as Ian moved on.
Alice stuck her tongue out at them before laying down again.
Later, Alice played outside under the watchful eye of her big brother as they waited for suppertime. He sat on the doorstep of the house as Alice threaded together a daisy chain. When she plucked another flower from the ground, she paused, then stood and approached him, handing it to him with a smile. He took it without a word, and idly twirled it by the stem between his fingers until their mother called them inside.
He'd press it and save it, and she wouldn't know. Not just yet.
– SUCH SWEET SORROW –
Alice would get to take a day off more often than Ian did, and on these days, Ian would instead help either one of his parents with their work. On this particular day, he was assisting his mother with a few household chores, and at this particular time, they were folding the laundry together.
"I know we might ask a lot of you, having to spend so much time with your sister, but we do appreciate it, your dad and I."
Ian just shrugged, "Someone's got to look after her. She'd probably get herself killed if we did leave her by herself."
She smiled, "Maybe someday she'll find herself a husband to take care of her instead." She had to hold back her laughter at the sour expression on Ian's face.
"She doesn't need a husband," he huffed indignantly, scowling up at her, "I can look after her."
His mother smiled wistfully back at him, "And what if you go off somewhere someday? What if you find a job that takes you away from home, or you get married yourself?"
He didn't miss a beat, and he didn't even look up, "It doesn't matter. If I leave, I'll come back when she needs me."
She wanted to believe he could.
"... You can't predict the future, love."
This time, Ian looked her right in the eyes.
"I'll come back. For Alice."
– SUCH SWEET SORROW –
Another long day of work had left poor Alice, and, admittedly, Ian, near starving. They had no money on them, though, and it would be too long to wait until they reached home. And Ian was trying to be better.
But his sister was near tears, and he could hear her stomach grumbling.
... No-one had to know, did they?
He told Alice to wait by an alleyway, where he could still see her, and snuck up behind the baker's stall in the marketplace. When he was distracted with a customer, Ian quickly snatched two rolls from near the back and took off. He ducked into the alleyway and handed one bread roll to Alice. She finished eating far quicker than him, and he tore what was left of his in half to share.
Ian ate slowly, keeping an eye out in case anyone had seen him stealing, but something else caught his attention; the sound of two men's voice discussing the Earl of Croydon.
He heard about the earl often, how he was always raising taxes or riding his carriage through town mainly just to flaunt his wealth, or travelling to London to attend the queen's court, or whatever else it was that rich men like him did. Though he tried to pretend not to take any interest, Ian couldn't help but listen in.
"I mean, it's a tough job, but it's a living. At least it's well paid, and I do get room and board."
And now, they had his full attention. He turned to peak around the corner.
"So, what does he want more servants for?" asked the older of the two; a local who Ian vaguely recognised from around town.
"He always wants more, of everything," the younger man answered with a shrug, "Another servant is just the latest addition he's hoping to find."
'Boy' might have been more accurate than 'man'; he was certainly older than Ian, but not by much. No more than a couple of years or so, if he had to guess. If it weren't already obvious from his words that he worked for the earl, his clothes were a definite hint. They weren't exactly the finery of a nobleman, but they were clean, and well kept, with no stains or stitches, and definitely a lot nicer than Ian's own clothing. Jealousy and admiration twisted together inside him. What sort of life did a servant of the Earl of Croydon live...?
A small hand tugged on his sleeve and stirred him from his thoughts, and he looked back at his sister.
"Can we go home now?"
Ian nodded and helped her to her feet, "Careful the baker doesn't see you."
– SUCH SWEET SORROW –
"So, how was your day?" their mother asked later that night.
"Same as usual," Ian said, "We walked through the market again."
"We sat in an alley and ate bread."
Ian shot Alice a hard look, just barely avoiding his mother's own gaze.
"Why were you sitting in an alley to eat?"
Alice didn't seem to pick up on her brother's silent hint to be quiet, "Ian didn't want the baker to catch us, 'cause he didn't pay for it."
Both of their parents stopped and stared at Ian, visibly disappointed.
"Ian."
"Alice was hungry! I didn't have any money and she was gonna start crying! I wouldn't have stolen it if I didn't need to!"
"There are better ways to take care of your sister in that situation, son," his father sighed, "Offer something else in return if you've got no money. Work for it if there's nothing you can give."
"I didn't have time for that, she needed food."
"You could have promised to come back with money tomorrow," his mother suggested.
"Well, I didn't!" he said plainly, "It's already done, I can't do anything about it now!"
His parents just shared a look, and, it seemed, a silent conversation that worried Ian for a moment. Then he remembered.
"... What if I did work...?" he started slowly, "What if I got a job?" then to their curious expressions, "Not with the baker. I heard someone talking today," his voice was strangely quiet for him, almost meek, "He was a servant for the earl. He said he wants more servants."
At first, neither his mother nor his father knew what to say.
"... Ian..."
"And maybe if I get a job, I won't get in so much trouble all the time."
They were both stunned by his tone. By the way he dropped his gaze to the floor, in such sincere guilt and apology. No-one said a word for a few seconds, so Ian continued, even quieter now.
"We're poor. And we're struggling. I've heard you talking about how hard it is right now. Wouldn't it help if I was making us some extra money?"
His mother crouched down before him.
"You'd have to leave home for a job like that."
His father joined her, an arm around her shoulder, "You don't have to worry about things like that just yet. We'd rather have you at home, with us. And besides, you don't know how many other boys might go for it-"
"But it would help," Ian just stared at them, looking from one to the other, "Wouldn't it? Can I at least try?"
Ian was nothing if not resilient, and determined. They might as well just give in and say 'yes'. It was unlikely this would go anywhere, and they did want to encourage him to take steps like this.
If only they could predict the future. If only they knew what they were letting him be pulled into when he returned to the market the next day and found that boy.
He asked the boy questions. He listened to his answers. He didn't think to question how easy everything sounded in his explanations. He didn't want to wait and think it over and risk someone else snapping up the opportunity. He didn't know how this was supposed to go.
He'd have been wise to have been suspicious. If he knew then what he knew now, he might never have applied for the job. If he'd only seen the signs.
But then, where would he be now if he hadn't?