[M] My Fair Lady (ScottishGal/ Dark Pigeon)

[Dark Pigeon]

Oh dear polka dots.... this was a hard one. Freddie seemed so freaking cute with his chocolate. Frederick looked at the boy, and knew right away what Mary and Andrew were doing to him... they wanted to see what he was going to do. But he had a weakness, and Freddie and his brothers knew it all to well that they were it. Frederick absolutely adored those little boys, there was was nothing in this world he would not do for them. Being their much... muuuch older brother only made it so much harder to say no to that sweet little boy who was already filled with all the sweets that he had been stealing. "Oh let him have it, he still has some growing to do. I do not see the harm in it" He told Freddy sweetly as he patted the boys head. Freddie grinned from ear to ear and took a big bite out of the chocolate as he looked up at the man he so adored... and who would give him anything and everything he wished for.

[Scottie]

Mary raised an eyebrow and Andrew took in a sharp breath through his teeth. "Frederick." She said his name with the weight of a disgruntled mother. "If you let children get away with everything, what will happen?" She let the question sit on his mind as she reached her hand out towards Freddie. "Freddie, you are to get your dinner soon and you took something without asking. Please be a big boy and go return it to Andrew." Freddie gave Frederick one last glance in an attempt at keeping his chocolate before dropping his chin and sulking up to Andrew. The large man took the chocolate that Freddie gave him and patted his head gently. "Come on. I'll let you like the cake spoon." That perked the boy up and he went skipping after Andrew as the two headed back for the kitchen.

Mary returned her steely gaze to Frederick."Well?"

[Dark Pigeon]

It was so sad to watch the boy walking away, having to give back the Chocolate. For just a milli-second there, Frederick thought that the boy would get a good whack around the head. Children who not behave, get hit. He was more than used to it. Mary would spot that little hint in his eyes, she had seen it more than once. But as Andrew promised the boy some cake-batter-licking, Frederick relaxed as he gave Mary an innocent look. "Its just chocolate Mary.." He said with a gentle smile.

[Scottie]

Mary could see how Frederick deflated when Freddie ran away with Andrew. "I know it is just chocolate. And I know it is Andrew. Andrew is giving him the cake spoon as a thank you." Mary leaned back in her chair and let out a long sigh. "Andrew will let it slide...someone else might not. If you let him get away with it, he'll try it with someone who wont let him away with just a shouting. Anne and John will want you to try and teach them some manners when they are here."

Noah reached up a hand and took a fistful of Fredericks beard, tugging on it gently. He wanted the fluffy mans attention again and he didn't like that the man had stopped bouncing him. Mary chuckled gently and shook her head. "The best person to go talk to right now is Anne. Go talk to her and she'll help with Jenny." Mary was enjoying herself in the chair. She had never really sat in these leather chairs, she had thought about it a few times. The fleeting thought of sitting down and pretending that this home was hers and David's. That she was the lady of the house. From this seat, she could pretend that for a moment and she relished in that feeling. She would think back to it many many times.

[Dark Pigeon]

Ah Noah, he still had Noah. He chuckled as the boy started to pull the hairs of his beard. It reminded him how exited he was to become a father. He was convinced now that he would be a great one. Though... he might be spoiling them a bit to much. But no child ever died from that, and as he did not know what it was like to be spoiled.. he had to convince himself that it might be a bad thing. Talk to Anne.. somehow he wasn't looking forward to talking with Anne about raising his own children. There was such a difference between them. He could give his children everything they wanted. They could go to any school, they would have all the changes they needed.

That reminded him

The boys. He wanted to boys to go to school. He wanted to offer them the change to become whatever they wanted to be. He could support everyone for as long as needed. But he knew that that wasnt what they wanted. He needed to talk to both John and Anne about it.. again.. since they werent' that happy with him offering them schooling for the boys before. Shame, he knew it was shame. But was shame really all that would keep the boys from becoming who they wanted. "I think that Jenny will be more then enough that I need, to be taught how not to spoil our children to much. And there is always you Mary." He said as he watched her sit down.

[Scottie]

That smile was really all Mary needed to see to quell the churning in her stomach. She was so very concerned that Frederick would be overwhelmed by fatherhood or worse he would ultimately push Jenny away before he would truly get the chance to be the father he wanted to be. It didn't help having a father who was harsh and destructive. It was difficult when you based all experiences on that. A thought brushed her skull and she knew it was the right thing to do. She had pushed Anne and Jenny so much on Frederick that she hadn't truly realised they weren't the people to talk to. He needed to talk to John or Thomas or even David. He needed to talk to men who had become fathers and were so very worried at first but slipped into it like it was second nature. He needed to talk to fathers that were like the father he wanted to become.

Mary let out a soft laugh, the noise crackling after Fredericks gentle words. "Jenny will be there for you..as will I..as will Anne. As will every grandmother. As will every cousin and your brother. They will all be there for you. Just like Jenny has a wonderful support base as well." Mary smirked as her son tangled his chubby fingers in Fredericks beard. "I think the people you should be talking...are outside. They will be out rangling their own children or helping their daughters as they can." Mary winked at Frederick, she knew that he adored the men of Jennys family but they were a little scary at times. "You need to hear first hand from John how scared he was to be a father...or talk to Thomas. Those big tough men had the same fears that you have....Especially John." She didn't breathe it into the air around them but the reasoning was clear. John had a horrific father and he became the better man. He became the father that Jenny needed. Frederick should look to them for example.

[Dark Pigeon]

Frederick nodded and smiled. He had more then enough people around him to talk to as how it was to be a dad. But thad made him think of something else as well. He would never be able to talk to his father about such things. This made him loose his smile for a second, but as he looked at the people around him he threw that smile back. They did not need to talk about this, especially not now after such a lovely day!

...

'Alright then! You sit here young master.. I am going to teach ya how to make Meringues' Andrew said as he popped down the youngest of the tree boys. Not that he would be much of a help, but he loved showing them how to cook. Edward had -ofcourse- already looked up the recipy in the old cookbook that the large but friendly cook owned. He had made the Maringues a couple of times now in his head.. but now he really had to do it. That was going to be something else entirely!

[Scottie]

Mary knew that look. She could see it a mile off but up close, she could pick out every little twitch of his features. The way his smile dropped an inch more on one side or how his eyebrows seemed to knit together. He was thinking a little too hard on something that had made his mood drop. Mary knew better than to pry, for prying into Frederick's mind could end one of two ways. Either the flood gates would open and he would get emotional or he would get grumpy and stomp off to have a tantrum in his study. "Maybe you should go see Jenny. Go lay with her for a little while. I'll take over down here. Don't worry, those boys won't be eating all the chocolate!" She told him with a smile knowing that his beloved up the stairs would probably appreciate the man coming to see her.

"But take her some water and maybe something that Andrew has whipped up." Mary let her body sink back into the chair, she did truly like this chair. She waved her hand at the man as she let her gaze drift to the large window behind him and watched some of the workmen moving around the garden. Mary had often secretly sat in this very chair and imagined that she was the lady of such a house. She truly adored that she could do it now as Fredericks friend and not having to glance back at the door unable to truly lose herself in those fantasies.
...

Edward pressed a finger against the page, dragging his fingertip over the words. Mouthing the sentence to himself as he went before feeling Andrews eyes on him. "Oh...Yes...Um...We need eggs and sugar" He told the large man as Freddie set his beady eyes searching out for something else to eat. Out of the three boys big enough to come into the kitchen, Freddie was always the first to sniff out something new. This time, the boy had his eyes trained on the cupboard where the sweet treats were kept

[Dark Pigeon]

That did sound like a good idea, he did miss Jenny something horribly now she was not here. They had been apart for so long! As Mary told him to bring her water and something sweet he gave her a questioning look. 'And here I thought I payed you for doing such things Mary. As he looked at her being so comfortable in that chair. Was he being to lenient with his staff? Were they getting to comfortable around him in doing absolutely nothing as they sat in his chairs?

She was lucky he liked her, and he saw her more as an friend than a servant. He was not to bring it up now. But he did need to talk with the head of staff about this.. He did not want things to go wrong before he had to fix this and things would get nasty.

As he moved into the kictchen he saw that the John was cracking the eggs as Edward was messuring the weight of the sugar. 'New cooks?' Frederick asked as his smile grew as he saw the children happily sitting around the table, doing their chores to make this lovely recipy as hot tea and some cookies stood before them. Andrew smiled and nodded 'Best to teach them some easy recipies. We baked cookies last week. They seemed to like learning.. so why not? Men can cook better than any woman' the large man joked as the boys nodded so hard that their small head almost rolled off.

It was moments later that Frederick was standing before the door to where Jenny was. He had brought some tea, some water, some cookies, some sweetened treats made from fruit, and something salty if she felt like that just more than something sweet 'Misses Mensdorff?' he sang as he knocked on the door 'May I enter?''

[Scottie]

Mary saw that look and gifted him one in return. 'Try me' The look read. Frederick should know better now than to force Mary to do a job that he should do. Especially when it came to Jenny. Jenny would be furious if she found out that Frederick forced Mary to bring her water than bring it himself. It was one of the many instances where Jenny would chastise her husband. Mary knew full well that Frederick had a problem in his future, for Jenny would never treat another like they were below her. It was why she brought sandwiches to the men working, why she came out to help the women with the sheets and why she refused to leave the kitchen until Andrew gave her a task.

All of the boys in the kitchen gave Frederick a mock salute when he left the kitchen. Edwards was 100% correct whereas Johns was enthusiastic and Freddie smeared chocolate on his forehead by accident. Frederick would leave watching Freddie try to lick his forehead, the determination etched into his features.

The gentle knock rose her from her dreams. She had been resting in a warm sunny day by the sea, watching the waves roll in and feeling the calming effect ripple through her body. Jenny murmured a response and tugged some of the covers down from her face before repeating it clearly. "Yes, of course." She knew it was Frederick, as her mother would not knock...unless of course, she knew Frederick was in the room. Jenny didn't try to push herself up to rest against the pillows. She merely brought the covers down and gave a small tired smile to Frederick when he entered the room.