Work Text:
Kate found him in the nursery.
Which, in retrospect, made far more sense than him being anywhere else in the house.
Anthony sat on the floor with his back against the crib, Edmund positioned carefully between his legs while he attempted—poorly—to stack wooden blocks with one hand and keep the child upright with the other.
“There you are,” Kate said mildly. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Anthony did not glance up. “I am hiding.”
She smiled as she stepped fully into the room. “From?”
He sighed, long and beleaguered, adjusting Edmund as the child enthusiastically grabbed at his cravat. “Responsibility,” he muttered. “And the collective emotional collapse of my siblings.”
Kate perched beside him, smoothing a hand over Edmund’s curls. “So you have noticed it too.”
Anthony huffed a quiet laugh. “I am surprised we did not notice it all the way from India. I came home to sketches of some maid in my ledgers—”
“Sophie?” Kate asked, interest piqued. “The new lady’s maid?”
“I do not know,” Anthony admitted. “I have yet to meet her. I have been too busy attempting to locate Benedict, who appears to have made himself scarce.”
Kate blinked. “That seems…convenient.”
“I have questions,” Anthony said flatly. “None of them are being answered.”
“Have you tried Eloise?”
“Eloise,” he said, rubbing at his temple, “has declared herself a spinster.”
“Already?”
“She is adamant she has placed herself on the shelf,” he continued. “Announced she is not getting married and will simply…remain there.”
Kate hummed. “That does at least sound like Eloise.”
“The Featheringtons’ footman has requested a meeting,” Anthony went on, “because apparently Colin and Penelope have discovered an alternative use for carriages that has become… something of a habit.”
“Good for Penelope,” Kate said serenely.
Anthony shot her a look. “Do not encourage it.”
She only smiled.
“Francesca is the only one who does not appear to be in crisis.”
Kate tried—and failed—to keep her expression neutral.
Anthony narrowed his eyes. “What?” he pressed. “What do you know?”
“She called on me during tea,” Kate admitted. “She had…questions.”
“About?”
“I am not certain you truly wish to know.”
He exhaled. “No. You are correct. I do not. You answered them?”
“I tried,” she said. “Though I must admit, it caught me rather off guard. Which reminds me—Hyacinth has cornered me on three separate occasions to ask if I would speak to you about allowing her to attend the next ball.”
Anthony sighed. “She has already asked me twice in the last eight hours. Honestly, Gregory is the only one who seems to have any bearings.”
“Gregory,” Kate echoed fondly. “He was always my favorite.”
Anthony glanced down as Edmund knocked over the carefully stacked blocks with glee.
“You,” Anthony murmured, steadying him again, “will never cause your parents this sort of unnecessary distress.”
Kate smiled faintly. “He is already plotting a hundred different ways to cause scandal.”
Anthony huffed a quiet laugh. “I miss our time in India,” he admitted. “Just the three of us.”
“As do I,” Kate said gently. “But we will make new memories here. Amidst the responsibilities and the duties. It will make those moments all the more precious.”
He was quiet for a beat.
“I suppose you are right,” he said at last.
Kate’s lips curved. “I am always right. And with that in mind, here is what we are going to do,” Kate said, taking charge. “You are going to find Benedict and speak with Colin. I will handle Eloise and Hyacinth. And in the worst case, we consider return passage to India.”
Anthony closed his eyes and exhaled. “I fear this family would not last another fortnight if we left.”
“Then,” Kate said, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she rose, “we had better get started.”
He stood, lifting Edmund into his arms.
“And have you heard Mother rambling on about tea?” Anthony continued as they headed toward the door. “She has always loved it, but she seems to have developed a rather…passionate attachment to it while we were away.”
Kate patted his arm as Edmund tugged at his sleeve. “Something like that, my dear.”
Anthony sighed, pressing a kiss to the top of Edmund’s head. “We are never leaving the country again.”