Chapter 14
Andrew
Dumfries
February, 1907
It was the heart of winter in Scotland, and the endless snow had been a bitter reminder. The children were all home today, except for Nellie. The school had finally relented to the weather and let the children have the rest of the week off. The glove mill was still open, and Nellie had left early that morning, not telling anyone when she'd be back.
Andrew dreaded the days when the children were home and Nellie was away. Everyone except little Andy seemed to hate Alice, and Nellie was the true maternal figure for Grace and Kate. The children would bicker with one another for hours, only making peace when they would gang up to retaliate against their father or stepmother. When Nellie was home, there was still tension as she hated Alice the most of all the Hume children, but at least the younger ones minded Nellie when she gave them a scolding.
Jock was the only one who had any sense of calm when Nellie was out of the house. On days like today, he would close his bedroom door to drown out the banter of his siblings and practice his violin for hours. Andrew would never admit this to Jock, but there was nothing he enjoyed more than hearing his elder son play. Jock had always been Andrew's favorite, not because he was the first son or the spitting image of his father, but because of his musical capabilities. Andrew knew the moment he put Jock in front of a piano at age three that he would be the most gifted in the family, just like Andrew had been. When Jock had taken up the violin a few years later, it was as if the boy's body was designed to play the instrument. Andrew knew Jock's talents would soon exceed the musical limitations of Dumfries now that the boy was sixteen. The family would have to move to Glasgow, or perhaps even London, to give Jock a better opportunity for a scholarship to a prestigious music school.
Alice was lying on the couch in the sitting room, a cool cloth on her forehead while she softly moaned. While Alice was healthier than Andrew's first wife, the idea of any kind of ailment in the house made him feel uncomfortable with the memories of his late wife's death. Alice was a victim of consistent migraines that came on unexpectedly and left her bedridden for days. He decided to leave her in peace and spend the morning in his office. There would be no music lessons with his students today with the unrelenting weather.
The maid knocked on Andrew's open office door, curtsying slightly when he waved her in.
"Yes," he said, barely glancing up as he turned another page in his book.
"Mrs. Hume wonders if you might ask Mr. Jock to stop playing," she said timidly.
Andrew snapped his book shut, sighing loudly as he did so. He stood and went to the sitting room where Alice was still lying on the couch, her arm draped dramatically over her eyes. "My dear," he said, sitting on the chaison next to her. "Why don't you go upstairs to our room? It'll be much darker and far less noisy."
"I don't think I could make it up the stairs," Alice groaned.
He couldn't help but roll his eyes. He loved Alice, but her theatrics grew tiresome. "I can carry you," he offered, but she waved his offer away.
"No, I don't want to be a bother," she said, moving her arm up just slightly so one eye could peek open. "But please have Jock stop. I can't stand that noise when I'm feeling like this."
"It's not noise," Andrew said defensively, standing back up. "He's practicing to earn a scholarship."
"Well, he's practiced enough," she said, unphased by Andrew's annoyance. "Go tell him to stop until I'm feeling better."
Andrew had to take deep breaths to ease the anger he felt. Alice was always like this: her needs always coming before his. She had no children of her own and there was no tenderness between herself and his children. At first, Nellie had distanced herself almost completely from the family since his remarriage. When Andrew asked why Nellie disliked Alice so, Nellie said it was because no had ever thanked her for when she had become her mother's nurse only later to become a stand-in mother for Jock, Grace, Kate, and Andy upon her death. Alice treated all the children except for Andy like a nuisance, counting down the years until they would be old enough to move out of the house.
Alice had entered Andrew's life shortly before his first wife's death. She had lived next door to the Humes and had watched Andrew struggle to keep his family intact with five young children and his wife almost permanently bedridden since Andy's birth. Alice had volunteered to watch the children and care for his wife when he had to go away on business, but Nellie had claimed she did all the work by herself while Alice took the credit when he returned home.
When his first wife's death came, Andrew had a revelation about Alice. Whether or not she had "pushed in" (as the children claimed), they needed a mother and he needed a mistress of the house. And Alice was far more interesting than his first wife, Grace. She was bold and strong-minded, while Grace had always been timid and simple minded in her conversations. Alice was interested in music, traveling, and politics which kept Andrew and her sitting at the dining room table hours after the meal was done in deep conversation. But it was Alice's independence and strong-will that pitted her against her stepchildren. Ultimately, he knew that once the children were gone it would just be him and Alice. So, she won every argument, just as she expected to.
He trudged up the stairs, pausing at the top to listen to Jock's playing. He was practicing a Scottish reel, one Andrew had taught him as a child. The Humes were proud Scots, never straying from their homeland and having a history that went farther back than the Windsors in Buckingham Palace. Andrew had made sure his children were not just skilled at playing the classics like Mozart and Gluck, but also in popular and folk music. It had made Jock a more attractive candidate for a scholarship with his broad repertoire.
He knocked only twice before opening Jock's door. Jock was standing by the window and glanced over his shoulder at his father, annoyed at the interruption.
"Your stepmother would like you to stop playing," Andrew said, barely looking at Jock. He didn't want to wait for his tempered son's reaction.
"Is it one of her bloody headaches again?"
Too late, Andrew thought.
"Yes, and your playing is making it worse. So if you would please—"
"Why can't she just move to her bedroom?" Jock asked, throwing his bow on the bed in frustration. "If she goes there, she won't be able to hear me."
"Jock," Andrew scolded. "Enough. Just do as I say."
"Do as you say?" Jock laughed, now throwing his violin on the bed. Andrew winced as it hit one of the bedposts, certainly knocking the bridge out of place. "More like I should do what that woman says. All you've done since marrying her is be at her beck and call."
"Watch your mouth, boy," Andrew hissed, slamming the door shut so no one else in the house could overhear their argument. "Don't forget this is my house and you live here with my permission."
"Not for long," Jock said, putting his hands behind his head as he sat down in a nearby chair. He had a smug expression, his gray eyes watching for his father's response with interest.
"What do you mean?" Andrew asked, coming closer to him. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, trying to remain as outwardly calm as possible. This was a fear he had dared not admit aloud. Nellie had been talking about moving out of the house for months now that she had her own steady income from the glove mill, and Andrew had done his best to quash these conversations in case it might inspire Jock to follow his older sister's footsteps.
"I've found a job on a passenger ship out in Liverpool," Jock said. "It's small, but it's a start. With time, I'll perform on grander ships and perhaps even land a permanent position with one of the liners' companies."
Andrew's eyes widened. He was unable to hide the horror that coursed through his body, his mouth open as he gaped at his son. "Jock," he said, his voice nearly breaking. "You can't—"
"Can't what?" Jock snapped, standing and coming so close to his father that they were standing mere inches from one another. "I bloody well can. What are you going to do? Whip me like when I was a lad? Kick me out?"
Andrew's hands began to shake as he clenched them into fists. "You're really going to throw your life away?"
Jock laughed at this, bringing a hand to his forehead as he stared at his father in awe. "You really don't get it, do you? I'm not throwing away my life… my life is finally beginning. I finally get to escape this hellhole."
Andrew was no longer able to hide his desperation. He stumbled backwards onto the bed, narrowly avoiding sitting on Jock's violin, the very violin Andrew had made with his own hands.
"If this is about the way I treated your mother—"
"It's not just the way you treated Mam," Jock said. "It's how you treated all of us, but especially Nellie. Did you really think that all those years watching you bully and degrade her all the while she was caring for your dying wife and children that I wouldn't think ill of you? And now with that wretched woman walking around the house like Mam never even existed…" His voice trailed off, doing his best to hide the tears threatening to spill over.
"Forget all that," Andrew said, his voice steady once more. Any mention of his late wife hardened him immediately. His stupid son had no idea what was at stake with this hasty decision. "You're only sixteen. You may think you're a man, but I assure you from the way you're acting that you're very much still a boy. If you do this, all your studies will have been for nothing. There will be no scholarships to conservatories, no chance at the London—"
"Do you really think I give a damn about any of that?" Jock said. "I'm done playing your game. I'm going to live my life my way, with or without your blessing."
Andrew merely pursed his lips together, trying to sort through all the emotions running through him. He looked down at his hands, worn and calloused from all the years of playing and building violins. He had never thought that Jock would give everything up so quickly. He knew Nellie and Jock were close, growing even more so since their mother's death. He had given up on Nellie's musical abilities early on, knowing it was a waste of his time to teach her when her younger brother was the one with true opportunities in his future. But he knew that Jock had continued to teach and play with Nellie over the years…
This was all his fault.
"Go then," Andrew said at last, not even bothering to look at Jock as he opened the door. "But know this, any chance of success lies here with me."
Five years later, Andrew found himself in nearly the exact same situation: hiding in his office while Alice lay in the sitting room with a migraine. But now, there was no playing for Jock to make her headache worse. Grace was at her job, Kate and Andy were at school, and Andrew was to teach a piano lesson in half an hour.
While he never wasted an opportunity to brag that his son was currently performing on the Titanic, he also couldn't help but resent Jock. It was evident that the music contractors for these large liners had recognized Jock's talent, helping him quickly move to the top of transatlantic entertainment. There was no doubt that if he decided to quit this sailing business that he would be more than qualified to earn a permanent position in a local symphony, or perhaps even at a conservatory. Jock had paved his way on his own, and Andrew's bitterness was growing stronger each time he heard of his son's success at sea.
He went to the large window at the front of his office which overlooked the street, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for his student to arrive. Andrew would never miss an opportunity to bring his family fame and he wasn't going to let Jock soak up the glory for this opportunity all on his own. But Andrew knew that in order to get Jock to reunite with Alice and him involved two things: prevent him from spending time with Nellie and to break his engagement to the Costin girl.
He scowled, glancing at his desk calendar which read April 12th.
He had a little over a week until Jock would return home. Plenty of time to formulate a plan.
