The Winter Manor 14/?
Name: The Winter Manor
Author: Cards
Rating: R
Summery: Okay, Historical AU for Regency/Napolianic wars, Jared is the second son of a Duke and Jensen works at the families normally vacant Manor house. The family goes back for the Christmas season for the first time in 10 years.
Warnings: Mentions of past abuse, in this chapter there is a hint of force. But its near the end.
Pairing: j2 (eventually)
Jared spends the morning with the dogs and Chadwick, and for those hours they were like children again, because Jensen was right, the snow was magical, turning the manor into a blanket of white snow, the house almost indistinguishable from the barn. The stable boys and hall boys are out shoveling the snow out, taking it away as the day gets longer.
By the time they’re done the illusion is gone and when Jared and Chad walk in, Jensen is waiting with one of the men from the London house, James something or other. Jensen smiles lightly and Jared grins at how Jensen looks down, how one piece of hair seems perpetually shorter and falls into his face, how Jensen has this little sheepish smile that he never seems to notice and it makes Jared happy to see.
Jensen takes his coat and hangs it by the fire and Jared shivers, the snow fell far below his coat, him and Chad had shoved snow down each other’s necks. Jensen smiled “I have a warm change of clothes ready for you in your room.” His head is tilted down, voice quiet, and slightly horse and Jared wonders what happened and hopes Jensen isn’t sick.
Chad is brash and so is James, James doing the same exact things as Jensen but less subtle, less like its natural for him to do it. Jared doesn’t remember much about James and can only assume he’s a new hire. But Chad is excited, still flushed from the cold and Jared can feel the excitement between them and the dogs which one of the hall boys have come to bring out to the barn. Jensen catches one of their eyes and its as though they have a conversation as the young hall boy nods almost unperceivable and takes the dogs out the front door, closing it quickly almost before the cold air gusted into the room.
Jared grins at Chad who is suddenly flushing for a different reason as a maid walks through the room, her path of travel almost silent, and Jared doesn’t know how Chad even noticed her come in. Chad suddenly moves away from Jared and the man attending him starts speaking in low whispers.
Jensen smiles slightly and bows, Jared knows what that means, it means that Jensen will be upstairs in a moment to help dress him, for the second time that day. And Jared smiles weakly at Chad who is still in hushed conference his eyes sliding across the room and up and down the girl, a housemaid by the name of Jessica.
Jared instead makes his weak sounding excuse and heads up to his room and he can feel the dripping of melting snow off of his hair and its embarrassing to him and he suddenly feels like he did when he was five years old. Only instead of being on top of the world he feels shamed. He hurries up the front stairs and blushes as he sees a woman sneaking away from one of the guest rooms.
His room is warm and within a few seconds he hears Jensen tapping at his door. “Come in” He says and Jensen walks in, carrying a tray with a pot and tea cup as well as some of the delicate cakes that Jared loves but are normally only served at his mother’s teas which he has refused to go to this vacation.
Jared grins big and bright and suddenly feeling five isn’t half bad.
Jensen doesn’t return the smile but his cheeks colour against his will. He kept his face tilted down, didn’t want Jared to see the dark shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep, didn’t want to seem as though he needed anything. Doesn’t want Jared to ask the questions that he would.
Jared stands easily, more used to Jensen dressing and undressing him now then he was when they came a few weeks ago.
“It’s the grand party tonight” Jared says as he’s dressed in new warm clothes and Jensen is pouring him tea and already knows how he takes it. The china cup is warm in his hands, and Jared looks down, his hands engulf the fine cup, and it makes him think maybe he isn’t finished growing yet.
Jensen nods “Are you to attend it?” He asked stepping back and shifting awkwardly and biting his lip again.
Jared shakes his head “Not the New Years festivities… me and Meghan have to go up at ten.” He said. “I think Chadwick gets to stay later.” His voice is bitter, he knows Chad gets to stay later because as they were heading back into the house he told him.
Jensen smiled “I’ll bring something up for you then.” He said and suddenly he grinned. “Me and my sister normally are kept away from the parties as well, there’s a place you can watch the ballroom from.”
Jared grinned “really?”
Jensen nodded “Yeah, I’ll show it to you tonight…” He trailed off and looked away, realizing he’d been talking to Jared like he would a fellow servant, a friend instead of one of the family he served. He stepped back and looked away.
Jared was oblivious to the impropriety of their conversation. “Really? Where is it? This is amazing! I know where me and Meghan watch in the London house, there’s this stairway, that looks down on the ballroom, you know, where the…” Jared paused. “You’ve never been to the London house have you?”
Jensen smiled shaking his head “I’ve never left the manor and the town.” He said softly looking down.
“London is amazing. You’ll have to come with me when I go to University.” Jared said smiling. “Like how Joshua is going with Jeff.”
Jensen looked over at him “If my father agrees.” He said softly, but there was a blush on his cheeks and a smile on his lips, flattered that Jared is pleased with him, that he doesn’t even think it to be debatable.
Jared smiled looking up at Jensen. “Good.” He said and launched into the details of the London House wanting Jensen to know it like he did the Winter Manor. He wants to tell Jensen about him, about the place he considers home, just like how Jensen knows this place as home. Jensen stands and listens to him, asking questions quietly. Jared grins every time he does. Glad that Jensen isn’t just listing to seem polite but actually listening.
Jared took a bite of the cakes on the tray and moaned happily “I love these” he said talking around the tiny cake. “The only bad thing is that they’re tiny. I have to eat like a hundred to have it make any impact” He said a couple crumbs spitting out of his mouth.
Jensen smiled and relaxed into the easy banter, his throat still hurt a little, but he had left after that, Mr. Hartley not seeming to care about anything else, he had stumbled into his room and coughed until he threw up. He didn’t know that Josh had stayed awake until he’d heard Jensen gasp out a sob and curl into bed. Neither one of them sure how to deal with the issues that Jensen was facing.
But time with Jared was a respite from that, Jared didn’t know any of that, didn’t know what hateful things were spat out behind his back in the kitchen. Jared didn’t know about the fact that he came in late. All he knew was what Jensen showed him.
Jared grinned up at him as he talked, telling him about all of the small nooks and crannies that he hid in as a child, the place where he goes out to buy books, or to get candy or pastries. To Jensen leaving the manor and its lands is unthinkable, pastries are made by him or his mother, with his sister demanding to know how to make the flakey crust of tarts and how to make the icing flowers on top of the petite fours. The idea of going out and buying them is totally foreign, of not making his own.
But he loves how excited Jared is, how he tells him of the ball room in the London House, which isn’t as big as the one here, but the paintings were done more recently, the pictures of the greek gods, standing, the muses frolicking. Instead of the religious angels on the ceiling of the ball room downstairs where there will be a party neither of them will go to.
At that Jared stops, sitting quietly. “I don’t know what my father wants from me.” He said softly.
Jensen looks over at him. “Your father just wants what’s best.” He says, because he doesn’t quite understand the question, where its coming from.
“I don’t know if he wants me to be a child, or if he thinks I’m growing up.” Jared looked hopeless then, looking up at him. “I mean, Chadwick gets to go to the party tonight, he’s younger then me by a few months! He’s not a beacon of virtue or any of that. He’s a fool!” Jared bit his lip and gulped. “I don’t know what he thinks will go on. I just want to be there.” He said “Or just be able to… even if I don’t like it and make my excuses.” He looked over at Jensen. “I’m polite! I’m far more polite then Chadwick.”
Jensen gulped and Jared watched the line of his Adam’s apple slide down slightly then bob back up.
“Jared, I think your father just wants you to not have to interact with those people.” He said softly. He’s heard the gossip from the Murray’s servants, that there was a woman only a few years older then Chadwick who his father was marrying, that Chadwick and his siblings were allowed to pretty much do as they wished, that none of the servants thought that highly of the Lord Murray and how he was abandoning his sons and daughters to boarding schools to revel in his fortune.
Jensen paused “I think he wants to protect you. Allow you to be a child”
“I’m not a child! Meghan is a child, she needs a nanny and a governess and to be reminded how to curtsy to our grandmother! She forgets that she’s can’t speak to just anyone! She doesn’t mind singing in front of mother’s friends. I’m not a child!”
Jensen backs up and looks up at Jared who is curled around himself, and the two of them look at each other and for the first time Jared looks away first, breaking that connection that he can feel literally building between the two of them. There is something there in Jensen’s eyes a little hurt a little “I’m older listen to me” and a little of something else, something softer that causes his pupils to enlarge as their eyes met.
Jared looked away.
“I’ll be back to dress you for this evening.” Jensen said softly moving to the door. His entire body was flushed red, h couldn’t believe he’d just said that to the young Lord. How could he have said something so insulting and so familiar to the man.
Jared stood up quickly, nearly flinging himself away from the chair, his body snapping out into its long limbs. “Jensen! I didn’t mean it like that…” But he didn’t know what he didn’t mean, how he had meant that. But he knew it didn’t involve Jensen looking as though he expected to be dismissed.
Jensen bowed courteously “If you have no further need of me sir?”
Jared nodded and looked down, as though he’d been scolded.
Authors’s notes: Sorry this took so long to finish. But now I’m on a ten hour train ride so hopefully I’ll get more done if not in this then in the two stories I have going in my other ‘verse. But yeah, so here’s to hoping that I get that done. There are like three more chapters in this “arch” of the story and then we go onto the Easter break when the boys meet up again! Please leave me a comment.
I don’t claim to be a master of history, I have done a lot of research for this though, so if you see a historical issue please don’t hesitate to point it out to me, however I’d appreciate it if you’d not just point out my mistake and left some sort of comment on the story asides from it.
Author: Cards
Rating: R
Summery: Okay, Historical AU for Regency/Napolianic wars, Jared is the second son of a Duke and Jensen works at the families normally vacant Manor house. The family goes back for the Christmas season for the first time in 10 years.
Warnings: Mentions of past abuse, in this chapter there is a hint of force. But its near the end.
Pairing: j2 (eventually)
Jared spends the morning with the dogs and Chadwick, and for those hours they were like children again, because Jensen was right, the snow was magical, turning the manor into a blanket of white snow, the house almost indistinguishable from the barn. The stable boys and hall boys are out shoveling the snow out, taking it away as the day gets longer.
By the time they’re done the illusion is gone and when Jared and Chad walk in, Jensen is waiting with one of the men from the London house, James something or other. Jensen smiles lightly and Jared grins at how Jensen looks down, how one piece of hair seems perpetually shorter and falls into his face, how Jensen has this little sheepish smile that he never seems to notice and it makes Jared happy to see.
Jensen takes his coat and hangs it by the fire and Jared shivers, the snow fell far below his coat, him and Chad had shoved snow down each other’s necks. Jensen smiled “I have a warm change of clothes ready for you in your room.” His head is tilted down, voice quiet, and slightly horse and Jared wonders what happened and hopes Jensen isn’t sick.
Chad is brash and so is James, James doing the same exact things as Jensen but less subtle, less like its natural for him to do it. Jared doesn’t remember much about James and can only assume he’s a new hire. But Chad is excited, still flushed from the cold and Jared can feel the excitement between them and the dogs which one of the hall boys have come to bring out to the barn. Jensen catches one of their eyes and its as though they have a conversation as the young hall boy nods almost unperceivable and takes the dogs out the front door, closing it quickly almost before the cold air gusted into the room.
Jared grins at Chad who is suddenly flushing for a different reason as a maid walks through the room, her path of travel almost silent, and Jared doesn’t know how Chad even noticed her come in. Chad suddenly moves away from Jared and the man attending him starts speaking in low whispers.
Jensen smiles slightly and bows, Jared knows what that means, it means that Jensen will be upstairs in a moment to help dress him, for the second time that day. And Jared smiles weakly at Chad who is still in hushed conference his eyes sliding across the room and up and down the girl, a housemaid by the name of Jessica.
Jared instead makes his weak sounding excuse and heads up to his room and he can feel the dripping of melting snow off of his hair and its embarrassing to him and he suddenly feels like he did when he was five years old. Only instead of being on top of the world he feels shamed. He hurries up the front stairs and blushes as he sees a woman sneaking away from one of the guest rooms.
His room is warm and within a few seconds he hears Jensen tapping at his door. “Come in” He says and Jensen walks in, carrying a tray with a pot and tea cup as well as some of the delicate cakes that Jared loves but are normally only served at his mother’s teas which he has refused to go to this vacation.
Jared grins big and bright and suddenly feeling five isn’t half bad.
Jensen doesn’t return the smile but his cheeks colour against his will. He kept his face tilted down, didn’t want Jared to see the dark shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep, didn’t want to seem as though he needed anything. Doesn’t want Jared to ask the questions that he would.
Jared stands easily, more used to Jensen dressing and undressing him now then he was when they came a few weeks ago.
“It’s the grand party tonight” Jared says as he’s dressed in new warm clothes and Jensen is pouring him tea and already knows how he takes it. The china cup is warm in his hands, and Jared looks down, his hands engulf the fine cup, and it makes him think maybe he isn’t finished growing yet.
Jensen nods “Are you to attend it?” He asked stepping back and shifting awkwardly and biting his lip again.
Jared shakes his head “Not the New Years festivities… me and Meghan have to go up at ten.” He said. “I think Chadwick gets to stay later.” His voice is bitter, he knows Chad gets to stay later because as they were heading back into the house he told him.
Jensen smiled “I’ll bring something up for you then.” He said and suddenly he grinned. “Me and my sister normally are kept away from the parties as well, there’s a place you can watch the ballroom from.”
Jared grinned “really?”
Jensen nodded “Yeah, I’ll show it to you tonight…” He trailed off and looked away, realizing he’d been talking to Jared like he would a fellow servant, a friend instead of one of the family he served. He stepped back and looked away.
Jared was oblivious to the impropriety of their conversation. “Really? Where is it? This is amazing! I know where me and Meghan watch in the London house, there’s this stairway, that looks down on the ballroom, you know, where the…” Jared paused. “You’ve never been to the London house have you?”
Jensen smiled shaking his head “I’ve never left the manor and the town.” He said softly looking down.
“London is amazing. You’ll have to come with me when I go to University.” Jared said smiling. “Like how Joshua is going with Jeff.”
Jensen looked over at him “If my father agrees.” He said softly, but there was a blush on his cheeks and a smile on his lips, flattered that Jared is pleased with him, that he doesn’t even think it to be debatable.
Jared smiled looking up at Jensen. “Good.” He said and launched into the details of the London House wanting Jensen to know it like he did the Winter Manor. He wants to tell Jensen about him, about the place he considers home, just like how Jensen knows this place as home. Jensen stands and listens to him, asking questions quietly. Jared grins every time he does. Glad that Jensen isn’t just listing to seem polite but actually listening.
Jared took a bite of the cakes on the tray and moaned happily “I love these” he said talking around the tiny cake. “The only bad thing is that they’re tiny. I have to eat like a hundred to have it make any impact” He said a couple crumbs spitting out of his mouth.
Jensen smiled and relaxed into the easy banter, his throat still hurt a little, but he had left after that, Mr. Hartley not seeming to care about anything else, he had stumbled into his room and coughed until he threw up. He didn’t know that Josh had stayed awake until he’d heard Jensen gasp out a sob and curl into bed. Neither one of them sure how to deal with the issues that Jensen was facing.
But time with Jared was a respite from that, Jared didn’t know any of that, didn’t know what hateful things were spat out behind his back in the kitchen. Jared didn’t know about the fact that he came in late. All he knew was what Jensen showed him.
Jared grinned up at him as he talked, telling him about all of the small nooks and crannies that he hid in as a child, the place where he goes out to buy books, or to get candy or pastries. To Jensen leaving the manor and its lands is unthinkable, pastries are made by him or his mother, with his sister demanding to know how to make the flakey crust of tarts and how to make the icing flowers on top of the petite fours. The idea of going out and buying them is totally foreign, of not making his own.
But he loves how excited Jared is, how he tells him of the ball room in the London House, which isn’t as big as the one here, but the paintings were done more recently, the pictures of the greek gods, standing, the muses frolicking. Instead of the religious angels on the ceiling of the ball room downstairs where there will be a party neither of them will go to.
At that Jared stops, sitting quietly. “I don’t know what my father wants from me.” He said softly.
Jensen looks over at him. “Your father just wants what’s best.” He says, because he doesn’t quite understand the question, where its coming from.
“I don’t know if he wants me to be a child, or if he thinks I’m growing up.” Jared looked hopeless then, looking up at him. “I mean, Chadwick gets to go to the party tonight, he’s younger then me by a few months! He’s not a beacon of virtue or any of that. He’s a fool!” Jared bit his lip and gulped. “I don’t know what he thinks will go on. I just want to be there.” He said “Or just be able to… even if I don’t like it and make my excuses.” He looked over at Jensen. “I’m polite! I’m far more polite then Chadwick.”
Jensen gulped and Jared watched the line of his Adam’s apple slide down slightly then bob back up.
“Jared, I think your father just wants you to not have to interact with those people.” He said softly. He’s heard the gossip from the Murray’s servants, that there was a woman only a few years older then Chadwick who his father was marrying, that Chadwick and his siblings were allowed to pretty much do as they wished, that none of the servants thought that highly of the Lord Murray and how he was abandoning his sons and daughters to boarding schools to revel in his fortune.
Jensen paused “I think he wants to protect you. Allow you to be a child”
“I’m not a child! Meghan is a child, she needs a nanny and a governess and to be reminded how to curtsy to our grandmother! She forgets that she’s can’t speak to just anyone! She doesn’t mind singing in front of mother’s friends. I’m not a child!”
Jensen backs up and looks up at Jared who is curled around himself, and the two of them look at each other and for the first time Jared looks away first, breaking that connection that he can feel literally building between the two of them. There is something there in Jensen’s eyes a little hurt a little “I’m older listen to me” and a little of something else, something softer that causes his pupils to enlarge as their eyes met.
Jared looked away.
“I’ll be back to dress you for this evening.” Jensen said softly moving to the door. His entire body was flushed red, h couldn’t believe he’d just said that to the young Lord. How could he have said something so insulting and so familiar to the man.
Jared stood up quickly, nearly flinging himself away from the chair, his body snapping out into its long limbs. “Jensen! I didn’t mean it like that…” But he didn’t know what he didn’t mean, how he had meant that. But he knew it didn’t involve Jensen looking as though he expected to be dismissed.
Jensen bowed courteously “If you have no further need of me sir?”
Jared nodded and looked down, as though he’d been scolded.
Authors’s notes: Sorry this took so long to finish. But now I’m on a ten hour train ride so hopefully I’ll get more done if not in this then in the two stories I have going in my other ‘verse. But yeah, so here’s to hoping that I get that done. There are like three more chapters in this “arch” of the story and then we go onto the Easter break when the boys meet up again! Please leave me a comment.
I don’t claim to be a master of history, I have done a lot of research for this though, so if you see a historical issue please don’t hesitate to point it out to me, however I’d appreciate it if you’d not just point out my mistake and left some sort of comment on the story asides from it.