Everlasting

June 30th, 1783 ;

The arrival of Jonathan’s letter had the estate in a frenzy; the message saying he was trailing only a day behind his note.

“Boys, you must change out of your play clothes,” Mary pleaded in exasperation. She had been begging for the better part of an hour for them to dress more appropriately for their father’s arrival. Nathaniel and Alexander were dusty, their cheeks smudged with dirt and hair tangled with grass and leaves, “Your nurse is waiting upstairs for you both.”

“But Mother--” they whined in harmony before both went off with different explanations as to why it would be pointless to change their clothing.

“I wish to hear none of it and if you both do not head up those stairs this instant I will be sure to let your father know how difficult both of you are being.”

The boys groaned in unison, but did as she instructed, heading up the grand staircase that would take them to their nursery.

“Those two are such a handful,” Sarah sighed as she entered the parlor after the boy's departure. Her hands clasped in front of her as she walked across the expanse towards Mary, “It's a wonder how you manage to rein them in.”

Mary laughed, “Lots of hard work and prayers to the Lord himself.”

“I finished checking on supper, the cook says it will be ready for supper time. Will Lord Scarbourgh have arrived by then?” Sarah asked as she sat on the sofa next to Mary, folding her hands in her lap as she looked at her friend.

Mary nodded, “He stated he would be no later than supper.” Then sending a sly smile to her friend she stated, “You must be excited as well.”

Sarah stammered a few unintelligent syllables before saying, “I have no clue what you are referring to.”

Mary did not pursue the issue anymore, but continued to smile. On their arrival to Waverly Place, Sarah had become familiar with all the staff including the carriage driver Tom. At first, Sarah was blatant with her dislike of the man, but over time Mary had noticed her lady-in-waiting sneaking away for frequently and speaking kindly of the driver.

Though, much like Mary, Sarah had to wait for her love. As Jonathan’s preferred carriage driver, he kept the same schedule as the Lord. Traveling to and from London with him during the summer and only taking up seasonal residence in the countryside.

“He is here!” Nathaniel bellowed from atop the stairs, followed by the stampede of footfalls as both boys lumbered down the stairs.

Mary and Sarah jumped up for their positions on the settee and exited the parlor as the boys threw open the front door of the estate and barreled out.

“Papa!” Alexander shouted happily as Mary appeared in the doorway to watch the reunion. It had only been a few short months, but the longing was apparent in the two brother’s excitement.

Mary watched as Alexander tossed himself at Jonathan, his grasp tight around his neck as Nathaniel threw his small arms around his waist. Mary looked fondly at the males in her life, the reunion causing her to tear up in happiness.

Then Jonathan pulled back slightly from his sons to look up to meet his wife’s gaze, “Are you not going to greet me, wife?”

“Oh Jonathan,” Mary breathed as she buried his face in his chest, “We have all missed you.”

“I have missed the three of you as well,” he told her quietly as he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, Mary looked up at him and Jonathan took advantage of her new position, pressing his lips to her own.

“Ew,” Alexander and Nathaniel cried as they scrambled to extract themselves from the kissing couple. “Must you two kiss all the time?” Alexander asked with a disgusted raise of his thin lip.

Jonathan broke the kiss with a laugh before cupping the back of his son's head, “You will understand one day, soon. Come now, let us go inside so that way you boys can tell me how well you are doing in your lessons. And if your mother says you were both on your best behavior I have gifts,” he told them as he gently patted the satchel at his side.

Both boys scrambled inside excited, yammering and going on about what their governess had taught them and how there were no other boys as behaved as they.

Once they were situated in the parlor the boys sitting atop their father's lap and tea poured Jonathan asked, “Now Mary, about the boys…”

Mary looked at the two of the boys and they returned her look pleadingly, “They were both the pictures of perfection.”

“That is what I enjoy hearing,” he said as he opened his satchel and pulled out a large tomb and handed it to his eldest, “I found this in a shop and thought of you, I hope you are able to enjoy it.” The boy grabbed the book with shaky hands and looked down which allotted Mary a good view of it. The book was one by Voltaire, the boys most revered historian and philosopher, and he looked at it in disbelief before clutching it to his chest lovingly,

“Thank you, papa,” he breathed before he began flipping through the pages.

Jonathan smiled before reaching in his satchel and pulling out a small, wooden man followed by another and a wooden horse. Nathaniel's eyes lit up as he used both hands to hold the three figurines, “Thank you Papa.”

“You are both very welcome. Now run along for a bit and play before supper,” he instructed. Both boys bolted off quickly, dashing for the open doors of the parlor that would take them outside and Mary had to keep herself from sighing aloud. No doubt their clothes would be ruined from their before supper playtime.

“How are you, Dearest,” Jonathan asked once the boys were not in earshot.

Mary smiled, “I am well. Your trip was nice? Uneventful?”

“As well as can be expected,” Jonathan drawled as he reclined further into the sofa, his hand returning to his satchel to remove a bundle of letters. “I have been ordered to give you these,” he told her with a faint smile.

Mary took the twine wrapped bundle from her husband and carefully untied the knot holding all the letters together before sifting through them, “Good lord, Jonathan, there is at least a dozen letters here. Father, mother, Charlotte, mother--” she trailed off as she kept sorting them, “They do realize the post does deliver to the countryside?”

Her husband gave a nonsensical wave of his hand, “Your mother wished for me to deliver them since I was only a day since leaving the city.”

Mary scoffed, “Treating an Earl like a courier. Mother is truly losing her mind, I swear!”

“It is not worth the fretting over.”

“Yes, it is! You are a busy man and should not have to gallivant about town to collect letters from her,” Mary huffed angrily, as she tossed the letters onto the tea table, making a note to write to her mother before the end of the evening.

“I was already in your family’s home, speaking with your father on a few matters so t’was truly no problem,” Jonathan assured, setting a gentle hand on his wife’s shoulder. “There are… problems with your family.”

Mary turned abruptly at her husband’s words, concern for her parent’s overriding any irritation she once had, “Is it Father-- Charlotte, are they ill?”

“No, none of that. The three of them are whole and hearty, not one ailment between the three as far as I have been informed,” Jonathan soothed, “Legally, is the struggle they are facing. It would seem Mr. Arnold the elder is quite still put out by your broken engagement to Mr. Arnold the younger.”

“But… did you not pay them both handsomely for their troubles?”

Jonathan confirmed with a slight nod of his head, “Ah, yes, he is not concerned with the money. He is more upset by the reputation his son now has since you jilted the man. The elder Mr Arnold says you made a cuckold out of the younger. He is apparently a laughing stock among the other gents and has suffered greatly. No man wishes to hire another who was so publicly refused by his betrothed.”

“That is utterly preposterous!” Mary could hardly keep herself from shouting, her anger mounting towards her ex - fiancé, giving her yet another reason to dislike the man. “What does he believe he will get from my family? They are hardly in a position to repair his reputation.”

“Yes, but the younger Mr. Arnold is threatening to ensure that your father's position at the bank is rescinded and to take your family home.”

Mary frowned, “But that would put them onto the streets! My god, that would put father into his grave and mother would not know how to care for herself and Charlotte! Patricia and her husband live in America now and would not be able to help. Harold is trying to ruin us!”

“Dearest, you must settle yourself. I assure you I will not allow your family to be turned on onto the street. If worse comes to worse, I will house them myself.”

“Jonathan…”

“No, hush now, my lovely Mary. This is why I did not tell you about it, I knew you would upset yourself. When I return to town I will be having a conversation with the younger Mr. Arnold to see if there is anything I can do to rectify the situation. Now, let us not worry about all of this any more. I do not want to waste what little time I have to spend with you and the boys. Your dearest husband will take care of all your worries.”

Mary smiled at Jonathan, her fears dissolving with his reassurance, “I will not worry anymore then,” she assured him before standing up, her hand still clasped in his. “Go and wash up, I know how much you detest how dusty you get when on the road.”