Rosary had found some items she thought interesting enough to want to buy, which gave plenty of time for Titus to up and explain to Grandma some of the picture, along with his plan. She didn't let either of them know what she purchased, as she made a request to the cashier to have them covered and put in paper bags.
They left that store and continued looking around the stores, only deciding to stop when they noticed how cold it had gotten.
Most people were leaving the sidewalks and going into their cars, all heading home or heading inside, so they all decided to head back to the lodge.
Grandma Carol did not reveal any of what Titus told her, as she promised him.
When they got back, Penny and Atticus were the first to ask where they had been. Carol had simply told them that she wanted to go shopping, as proven by the dozens of bags that Titus, this time, asked the servants to help him carry inside.
Grandma Carol laughed.
"Whoever says last minute Christmas shopping is a nightmare, clearly is nowhere near as good as me!"
"What did you go shopping for Grandma?" Atticus asked as he offered her an arm.
Carol still used her cane as she linked arms with him.
"Ohoho! Lend me your ear! Grandma's bought many fun things to liven up the party leading up to Christmas!"
As Carol excitedly whispered to Atticus about all the hard vodka and rum she bought, Penny looked between her mother who seemed at ease, and back to Titus and Rosary. She noticed how Carol was just holding Wolfie's leash as they came inside, soon returning it to Rosary.
Titus cleared his throat as he noticed his mother's staring, just after making sure all the purchased items were taken from the car.
He could tell his mother was pondering. It may have been years since he had last seen her, but he still grew up seeing her face everyday, and he still recognized her pondering face. More specifically, the face she makes when seeing something new.
Rosary excused herself to go upstairs to their designated room, Wolfie walking perfectly beside her and not giving the leash any pull. Penny's gaze followed them as they got to the stairs, and then looked back at Titus.
"Grandma was feeling stuffy, so we took her shopping. I made sure to drive safely." He told her simply.
There was a brief pause, and as another bell rang, and all the relatives and guests were going over to the dining room for dinner, the mother looked back to face her son.
"Your dog is free to join us at the table, if your partner wants him there with her."
"Rosary and Wolfie, please, mother. And, there's no need to worry about him at the table. We planned in advance and we wouldn't want to bother anyone. Rosary is currently upstairs feeding him. We did bring his bowl and food with us before arriving." He told her, carefully walking around her with a nod.
He began shedding his coat, no longer cold, and walked upstairs. He knew her gaze was still on him as he went up the stairs, and her eyes tried to follow his body past the guard rails as he walked down the corridor and into his old bedroom.
The long dinner table looked like a Thanksgiving feast, with turkey, ham, and other dishes. The hot chocolate was reserved to be paired with dessert, and all the adults had wine glasses.
There were many faces at the dinner table, mostly thanks to the guests. Some faces, Titus recognized, while others seemed new.
Titus and Rosary sat next to each other, though Rosary could not help but be repeatedly reminded that Atticus for some reason, chose to sit beside her as well. He was very nice and courteous, almost too nice and courteous.
Titus held Rosary's hand underneath the table as he kept a close eye on his younger brother. The people who sat across from them would talk and ask how Titus had been since they last saw him years ago.
Aside from omitting the information about his jail time, he simply told them what Paris had advised him to say, that he became a manager at a unique type of business in the city, and so on.
Atticus kept asking Rosary if she wanted more mulled wine, to which she would repeatedly reject.
"Are you sure? You seem like the type of person who likes mulled wine."
"I-I do like it on occasion. But I feel it would be rather rude for me to indulge in beverages on the first day."
"Who told you that she likes mulled wine?" Titus asked over her shoulder.
Atticus didn't tell them how he knew.
Even during dinner, it felt like they were both holding their breath in some way.
Rosary having to speak politely to the younger brother that she kept getting this 'off' feeling about, Titus making sure nothing bad happens to her as he tries to stay in his family's good books and appear well-mannered to the guests.
They both hoped that the next day, things would perhaps be calmer, or that perhaps they could simply enjoy breakfast in their rooms.
From what Titus remembered from the last time he had come to this lodge for a family Christmas nearly seven years ago, the first day always had a big dinner with family and guests. By guests, it was old friends, business partners, and other connections.
The first day was typically a party for the family to host with all of their connections, and at the end, the guests would go home to spend the holidays with their own families, while the rest of the week was for the relatives.
Based on his memories, he and Rosary wouldn't have to worry about anymore awkward meals at the table with his family, aside from the dinners. But they mentally prepared for that.
December 22nd
It wasn't until they were both woken up the next morning, somewhere at six am. Or so that's how it felt until Titus reached over Rosary's body, reaching for his phone on the nightstand, and tapping it awake.
Eight am.
"Did I dream the knock?" He muttered as he noticed Rosary still asleep and Wolfie at their feet, unmoving. Undisturbed.
"There's no way the servants came back to work this early..."
The knock at the door repeated.
"Titus? Rosary? Are you both awake?"
They suddenly heard the voice of Atticus through the door. Titus shifted in bed, fully alerted now. He grabbed his phone from the night stand and checked once more if Rosary was still asleep.
He carefully stepped out of bed, smoothed out his sleeping clothes, and checked his hair as he approached the door.
"I am. Do you need anything, Atticus?"
"My my brother, you say my name with such scorn! I only came to see if either of you wanted to join me for breakfast."
Titus opened the door and stepped out, closing the door behind him. Still, Atticus peeked around him, getting a glimpse of the room. His hands held behind his back.
"Oh! I see despite how we graciously provided a dog bed as you both requested, you still had him sleep in your bed. Was it for warmth? Did you forget you could control the heating in your room?"
"What did you mean by hoping we would have breakfast with you? Did you stop the habit of just having breakfast sent to your room?"
"You're so mean to assume that I would still have the habits of a shut-in!" Atticus pouted.
But Titus remembered how good of an actor and over-exaggerator of expressions his brother was.
"If you wanted an excuse to talk, I'm right here. Is this about Grandma?"
Atticus' face finally fell. He dropped his and leaned towards Titus with a scowl.
"Were you trying to curry favor with her or something? Why did she seem so happy after coming back home last night?"
"I don't know! Grandma told me that she was feeling stuffy and wanted to go out. You still have a bad habit of overthinking I see."
He paused and looked over his brother's shoulder, catching the sight of a servant carrying a tray and bringing it over to Paris' door. The servant knocked, Paris answered, and the servant gave her the tray before leaving.
Titus brushed around his brother to see the servant go back downstairs and to the living room. There, he noticed other servants walking around, cleaning, redecorating, and moving furniture. He frowned.
"Since when did the servants continue to clock in and work during the four days leading up to Christmas?"
"Since seven years ago." Atticus replied from behind him.
"Ever since you got arrested and we couldn't let anyone look down on us, mother and father started making sure our family would have more prestige."
"And you did that by taking away some of the servants' vacation days?" He turned back to look at his brother.
"We pay them by the days! And we give bonuses for whoever are willing to keep working on Christmas Eve. All of them are willing."
Before Titus could say more, his bedroom door opened again to reveal Rosary, still putting her hair back into a braid, but she had already gotten dressed for the day.
Wolfie could still be heard, softly snoring and still in the same spot on the bed. she closed the door behind her.
"Good morning." She said, breaking the ice, moving to stand beside Titus.
"Good morning Rosary! I was just asking Titus if you two wanted to join me for breakfast!" The young man put back on his cheery expression, brushing past Titus to greet Rosary closer.
"Oh, I guess it should be okay... Right?" She turned to Titus, tilting her head.
The man was hesitant, unsure of what his brother was planning.
She stood on her toes briefly, whispering into his ear.
"I will figure out how to handle this, but you? If you insist on us being here for the full week, I'd like you to be meaner. I don't want to see you get walked all over, just for a plan you won't tell me about."
As she pulled away from him, Atticus went ahead and linked arms with her, keeping up a gentlemanly act as he pulled her toward the stairs. Titus was about to protest, wanted to pull them apart, but Rosary looked over her shoulder, giving him a reassuring nod.
"It's okay. We'll meet you in the kitchen-or- dining hall. Could you go and take Wolfie out for a quick stroll? He's about to wake up soon."
Sure enough, the man could her through his bedroom door the moving springs of the bed, and the thumps of Wolfie's paws landing on the carpeted floor. He sighed.
"Yeah. I'll meet up with you soon."
With a victorious smile that he hid from her, Atticus had Rosary follow him down the stairs, across the living room, and into the kitchen.
"He seems to be very happy with you, and listens to you often." Atticus said over his shoulder.
"Well, I'm glad he seems happy around me, because I want him to be happy. Which is why, forgive my implications, but it's why I was very confused about why he wanted us to come visit his family, despite the tensions."
"Oh? He came her to visit us for a reason?" The young man's smile grew, his free hand ruffled for something in his pocket.
"I know there was a reason, otherwise, why would he want to spend our Christmas week with his family whom we both know would not be very welcoming to him? I mean, it's only the second day, but I know how tense he is."
"How very interesting." Atticus muttered.
It was a very large kitchen, filled with five ovens, a double door fridge, a walk-in pantry, and a large kitchen island. One side of that kitchen island was elevated by one foot above the rest of the table, and tall chairs were placed by it. Safe to assume that it was the bar area of the kitchen island.
There were multiple different breakfast dishes placed on the table, with servants entering to grab a dish, place it on their tray, along with a cup filled with either juice, tea, or coffee, and then leave to bring the tray up to a family member.
The chef working on all the breakfast dishes noticed the two come in.
Atticus asked him where the mulled wine was.
Rosary gave him a look of bafflement.
"Wine? This early?"
"Why not? Are you worried you'll be a bit disoriented if you drink too much? You seemed perfectly fine after drinking two glasses yesterday."
"Those were, small glasses, and I'd prefer to drink hot chocolate today if that's, alright?" She looked around the young man to the chef.
The chef nodded, moving to prepare one glass of hot mulled wine, and a cup of hot chocolate.
"Your family may consider it a childish drink, but it makes me feel better, and helps me start the day."
He squinted, but still, led her to a chair at the bar, and sat down beside her.
"I feel like we didn't get to know each other enough yesterday."
"Well, we could've, but you introduced me to your aunt and uncle, and then didn't really approach me afterwards."
"I was busy! You know- because I'm the current heir of the Feremore family, I also have to help host the party and check on the guests. I'm sure you should know how it is, since you said you were- what? A secretary to a promising business woman?"
He looked her up and down, noticing how she fiddled with her hair, having not finished braiding it yet, and the shorter corset she put on today. It was leather, and complimented her red dress with puffy sleeves. A fitting, nice dress for the cold, based on how thick the fabric appeared to be. The top of the dress outlined around the neck and the collar bones in a square design.
"She's a woman who busies herself with many projects, which includes having many meetings with all sorts of people for business. So yes, I do understand what it's like to have to help host an event, though it's mostly for a day." She said, snapping his attention back to her face.
"Ah, you have a full memory of what you said yesterday." He said still with a smile.
"Are you speaking your mental notes out loud?" She frowned, feeling wary.
They both then heard a voice from outside the kitchen, and so did the chef just as he had placed both of their drinks in front of them.
Rosary thanked the chef, and grabbed the mug, carefully bringing it with her to the living room.
Atticus followed, taking his glass, not letting her out of his sight.
There in the living room, they saw clearly what the noise was.
A few minutes prior, two servants were attempting to move the two seats by the fireplace, as they were given orders by Penny to rearrange all the furniture. This was to give the living room a fresh, new look, so that nothing looks old.
Titus had just come back inside after going on a morning stroll with Wolfie. He went to through some trash away, and noticed the two servants trying to move Grandma's rocking chair.
"Hey. Hey!" He called out to both of them.
He had Wolfie sit and wait for him as he approached the two.
"You two are about to bump yourselves into the fireplace, is the chair really that heavy?"
"W-well, there are some things on it that Mrs. Carol wouldn't want moved and we're just trying to make sure that nothing falls." One of them stuttered.
"Put it down." He said, unconsciously beginning to speak in his work voice.
The servants did just that, and stepped away from it.
He walked up to the chair, looked each of them in the eye, and showed them the proper way to pick up his Grandma's rocking chair. It had her yarn, knitting needles, and a stocking she hadn't finished.
He knelt down in front of the chair, grabbed both sides by the edges underneath the armrests, and lifted it up effortlessly. The servants were at first wary and cautious, until they saw how light the chair seemed in his hands.
"Unless it's big enough for two people to sit with space between them, it should only take one strong person to hold this. Now, where were you struggling to move this to?"
Rosary and Atticus entered just in time to see him helping to move most of the heavy furniture. Most of the servants were lean and nimble, enough to move gracefully throughout the house so as not to interrupt the elegant atmosphere that Penny and the rest of the family want the house to have, but that meant that not a lot of them were very strong.
Sure, they could help move lots of big luggage, but the sofas and delicately heavy items were a different story.
What would normally take two servants to lift, Titus could lift on his own.
"Sir, how are you able to do that?" One asked as he saw him pick up and move the grandfather clock, bringing it close to the shelf with the board games and bedtime stories.
"At work, I'm the strongest and tallest of all the employees, so I'm frequently the one who has to do most of the heavy lifting for a lot of things. It just became a habit to keep at it."
Most of the servants looked at him in awe, impressed and happy to receive some help, since normally the stronger servants were the chefs and the gardeners. But the chef for the morning shift was older and they couldn't bring themselves to burden him with the heavy tasks, and the gardeners wouldn't come back to work until the end of December.
Some relatives began waking up and coming out of their designated rooms. Uncle Motley was the next to come downstairs, also being the third to witness his nephews strength.
"Oooh! You got strong! Didn't you, nephew?"
Titus gave him a nod, then checked around for what else the servants had to move. Thanks to him, the servants finished the rearrangements much earlier than expected.
"Did you two eat breakfast yet?"
Rosary shook her head but lifted up her cup of hot chocolate.
"We were waiting for you!" She told him.
As Atticus noticed more footsteps coming, showing that the other relatives were likely waking up and/or making their way to the living room, he changed his stance.
While still holding his glass of wine, he leaned against the doorway leading to the kitchen, and crossed one arm over the other.
"So I guess the stereotypes are true! You do exercise a lot when you're in prison!" He said in a tone that was made to believe he said it naively without thought.
Uncle Edgar heard it right as he was coming down, and muttered something to his son. Josephine was behind them up the stairs, holding baby George in her arms.
"Now that I think about it, I wonder, how did prison life treat you? I certainly hope that you didn't get into a lot of fights, that would've been so dangerous! You don't have a lot of scars underneath your sweater, do you? Because that would be very concerning."
Rosary frowned at Atticus, and looked to Titus in concern, as most eyes were on him again, just like yesterday. She could hear uncle Edgar from the stair case, muttering to his son about not growing up to be a 'meathead'.
More people were coming out of their rooms, such as uncle Motley's girlfriend, Whitney, and their two kids.
Titus was tired, still had yet to have coffee, and it was early in the morning. He was not taking this.
"Atticus. Exercise is not done solely to prepare for prison fights. After meeting Rosary, I started working out and getting fit so that I could better protect and support her by the time I got out. You see all the furniture here? Yeah, we've got sofas and big desks back at our house too. Who lifts and moves them? Me. Do you think Rosary ever experiences harassment or feels unnerved when we go out together? No, because I'm there."
Noticing that his brother's smirk was twitching, because Titus stood his ground and did not allow himself to be put down, the man decided to add just a pinch of salt to the wound.
He pulled the sleeve of his sweater, all the way up past his elbow, showing the muscles on his arm and his bicep.
Sweaters were one of the types of clothes that could make anyone appear soft at first glance.
Nearby, Whitney could be heard cooing as she walked up to stand by Motley, wrapping her hands around his arm, whispering to him about how he should make sure to maintain his own muscles.
"Ooh! Hey you should compare your muscles with your uncle! Let's have a wrestling match!"
"Ah- I'm not sure about that. I-I don't even know a good table for us to do that Miss Whitney-" Titus was caught off guard, rolling his sleeve back down.
Whitney wasn't someone he knew before prison, so he's not sure what she's typically like. A suggestion to show off his muscles certainly was not something he expected. He used to be the party animal in the family, his grandmother being first and his youngest uncle second, so he thought everyone else would be surprised by his reveal.
"Oh please! Call me Aunt Whitney!"
Uncle Motley seemed to encourage her by backing her up, going over to pull Titus with him.
"The poker room upstairs has a real good sturdy table! Survived all the times the losers would pound on it in frustration, among other things."
"Motley, tell me you and your partner did not do anything in that room alone together!" Henry, Penny's husband, was heard saying as he was the next to enter the living room.
Hard to stay asleep inside your room with all the commotion.
Penny was the only one proven to not have been sleeping this whole morning, for she entered with many servants following her, one with a clipboard as she listed the things she wanted done for this day.
Motley ignored Henry as he and his girlfriend pulled Titus to the kitchen, as their kids and them hadn't had breakfast yet, and the kitchen island was also a trustworthy table to practice on. There was also the chance that Henry likely wouldn't let them into the poker room upstairs for awhile.
Rosary looked over her shoulder to see Penny passing by, not acknowledging anyone there aside from a 'good morning!' and then continuing to walk by. She was telling the servant with the clipboard something about decorating the guest list for the party being held on Christmas eve.
She squinted and frowned, catching a glimpse of the matriarch's face as she passed. Penny already had a full face of makeup on. Henry did not say good morning to her, aside from the nod he gave her as they passed each other. The servant walking with him held his winter coat and a long handle shoe horn.
He called out to uncle Edgar who was also heading towards the front door, his coat already on. Edward following close behind.
"Come along my boy. We're going to go look at the train models, and then to the antique store to see if they've still got real phonographs!"
"Yes, father."
It was the first time she saw Edward not studying, but he still seemed tense. He was still holding a notebook and pen as he went with his father and uncle.
Rosary finished the rest of her hot chocolate and went back to the kitchen.
Titus was currently arm wrestling with his uncle at the kitchen island, where most dishes were already taken and brought back emptied, now in the sink and being cleaned. Arm wrestling is actually the wrong term, more having his elbow propped on the table as he hesitating using too much strength. His uncle also had some muscle, but it wasn't as big as his.
"Come on! Put some more muscle into it!"
"You've got this honey!" Whitney cheered.
The kids didn't care who won, they found the entire scene fun to watch as they ate their pancakes. The chef added smiles onto each pancake for them.
Rosary thanked the chef again as she carefully placed her mug into the sink with the other dishes. He gave her a smile and a nod.
She was going to stay and watch the rest of the arm wrestling match, until Atticus pulled her away again.
"Hey!" She retorted to his pulling.
Atticus didn't look at her, he only snapped his fingers, summoning servants that Rosary didn't notice until they flocked to them. One brought her coat from her and Titus' room, helping her put it on along with her purse.
Atticus had a servant help him put his own coat on, and then she was brought to the front door, by the sitting bench next to the shoe shelf, her boots already placed there for her.
"H-how- what are you doing? I never said anything about going outside-"
"Are you going to be busy today?" Atticus interrupted her, looking over her to the living room, as if seeing if anyone will notice that they are gone.
"I- no but that doesn't automatically permit you to pull me along into your plans."
"Earlier, you talked about Titus having an unknown reason for why he insisted you both come here for Christmas, yes? Well, I think if you go on an outing with me, we might be able to figure it out together." He said as he offered his arm again.
With another snap of his fingers, another servant came out with them. The chauffeur.
"... Atticus, do you know how to drive?"
He scoffed.
"Of course I do. Why else would I have been gifted a car for my high school graduation? And then a new one for my college acceptance into Cornell?"
He shook his head back into focus as he then pulled her arm to link with his, and then had her come with him out the front doors, into the snow, and then to his car.
"Driving in the snow is way different than in the summer, the roads can get seriously icy. And that's not the reason I'm bringing you out with me. We're gonna spy on my uncle and dad."
They both sat in the backseat, seatbelts on.
"Why? What does this have to do with Titus?"
Atticus crossed his arms as he sat back with a huff, not an annoyed one but a triumphant one, as if he'd already won whatever challenge Rosary was unaware of. He glanced at her from the side, smirking, all the act of saintly politeness dropped.
"How much do you know about my older brother?"
She frowned.
"That, he's very sweet. In fact, he's been sweet ever since I met him, from his first letter, to the first day I met him, and all the days where we've lived together. He keeps me safe and supports my career while working hard on his own career. His coworkers also find him charming, and he's a great cook and very patient-"
"Sure sure, I'm sure he's very nice!" Atticus responded back with a mockingly sweet tone.
Rosary would've called him a brat were it not for the fact that he was likely just a year younger than her.
"And I'm sure he tells you all the sweet words that are nice to hear, and sweet talks his way with his coworkers and makes everyone in your neighborhood think he's such a great guy! Running shirtless with his big dog as he waves to the neighbors! I'm sure you think he's so capable and everything!" He sneered.
Rosary scrunched up her nose.
"Do you, think your brother is all talk? I have proof right here on my phone of all he's accomplished ever since leaving prison-"
The young man stopped her from pulling her phone from her purse. He didn't face her, he kept his gaze towards his side of the window.
"You think you've known him longer after living with him for a year? Titus and I grew up together. Trust me, once you see what the two oldest men in our family, the ones he grew up around most, are like, you'll start to doubt that picture perfect charming man that you think you know."
"And if you're wrong?"
Atticus scoffed again, letting go of her wrist as she held her phone tightly in her hand.
"I'd sure love to see how that could happen. But for now, I'll be merciful and avoid gloating. And hey! While spying on the old geezers, you can even tell me about how Titus had been acting with you prior to this week! And then I can help you figure out why he could possibly want to come crawling back to this family who was guaranteed to give him a hard time. He's not even bothering to suck up! So I'd like to know his reason for coming back as well."
Rosary wanted to retort, to remind him that his mother sent them an invitation. She had the invitation card in her purse, along with a photo of the front and back on her phone.
Instead, she let herself simmer with her emotions, gritting her teeth as she swiped through her phone for a bit as the driver covertly followed his father's car.
When they went into town, the chauffeur parked partially close to where his father parked and got out with his uncle and cousin. They got out, and Atticus put back on his saintly mask, smiling as he offered his arm to Rosary again like a gentleman.
She could tell that his eyes were actually saying something not as pleasant, perhaps something close to how she'd better take his arm. Were it not for that, she would've said no. She's still unsure why he would keep up this one gentlemanly gesture, as if acting as her escort in town would do anything.
Atticus told the Chauffeur that they were free to do their own shopping and business, just as long as he appeared with the car, ready to pick them up from wherever place Atticus call them to.
The person nodded, and they went their separate ways, the chauffeur checking their phone for the time before going down to the local shops and bakeries, and Atticus and Rosary down the path he'd remembered the three men taking.
Down that path eventually led to a different antique store. One that focused more on larger antiques than little knick knacks or ones that could be easily put on shelves.
As soon as they entered and Atticus said hello to the store clerk, Rosary could tell this was the place where Paris likely got her typewriter.
"Hello ma'am!" She said softly as she turned to the clerk and unlinked her arm from Atticus' as the young man was more focused on seeing where he could get a glimpse of the old men and his cousin.
"Do you think there's anything in her that my boyfriend might like? He's kind of a modern guy but he likes to cook, and he's not exactly here so I'm sort of shopping in secret." She whispered to the older woman.
"If he likes cooking, then he might have fun with some of our old butter churners." The older woman replied with a smile and clasped her hands.
"You should look down in the kitchen aisle. There's plenty of fun antiques there!"
"Thank you ma'am!"
Coincidentally, that aisle was also the one where they would first spot the cousin, Edward, also looking at the old cooking equipment that seemed like they must've come from the early nineteen to late eighteen hundreds.
This story has not been rated yet. Login to review this story.