By The Sea
Title: By The Sea
Genre: Drama/Romance
Pairing(s): USUK
Word Count: 2,401
Rating/Warnings: Mentions of death, homosexuality in Victorian times, 12/15
Summary: The Kirkland family had fallen from grace and now they scraped out a living with the rest of the lowest of the low. Alfred Jones, heir to the great Jones fortune, was staying with his brother in England and his biggest worry was dealing with an unrequited crush. Their two worlds brutally collide one sunny day in May. Victorian Era AU. Done for the 'road trip' prompt from the usxuk summer camp.
For the second time that month, Alfred was waiting in the entrance hall for Arthur to finish getting ready. Things were very different this time around. The servants were moving boxes and parcels out to the carriage and Arthur was upstairs to help the nanny get Peter, William and John ready for travel. Unable to stay in his brother's house anymore, Alfred had proposed the idea of taking a trip down to a house that he owned by the seaside and Arthur had gladly agreed.
"Sir, that's the last of the packages," one of the male servants said quietly and Alfred nodded his head in dismissal. The servants quickly vanished as silently as they were able and Alfred was left alone. It was so quiet in the hall and Alfred could almost hear his breath echo. The silence meant it Alfred heard the door creak open easily and he turned. Matthew stood there and they watched each other for a moment, neither of them moving.
"Alfred," Matthew said in a low voice, "please reconsider." As much as he wanted to, Alfred could not. And Matthew knew why.
"Matthew, I will forgive you one day. You're my brother and I love you so one day, everything will be fine. But you need to sort yourself out and it'll be easier if none of us are here. We're only going down for a month and then I'll come back to spend another month with you before I go back to America." Alfred smiled at his brother but even he knew it looked as false as it felt. Alfred's words were true but the anger at hearing what Matthew had said to Arthur, at what Matthew had been considering doing to all of them over such a petty reason, still burned at his insides.
The two of them turned to the stairs where Arthur was descending the stairs with Peter and John holding each hand and the new permanent nanny that had been chosen, following behind carrying William. Arthur looked at Matthew before quickly flicking his gaze to Alfred.
"We're ready to go," Arthur told Alfred quietly, not looking at Matthew now. Alfred smiled at them all as he ruffled Peter's hair. Peter stared up at him, eerily silent.
"So am I. Do you want to load up the carriage?" Arthur nodded and carefully led the others down the steps and out on the street to where the carriage was waiting. It was an extra wide one that allowed six to fit comfortably.
"Goodbye Alfred. I hope you enjoy yourself," Matthew said and Alfred looked back at his brother to see him looking downcast.
"Thank you. It won't be forever Matthew, please remember that." With those words, Alfred walked onto the street and pulled the door shut behind him.
Arthur enjoyed the carriage ride even if no one else seemed to. Alfred was lost in his thoughts and Emma, the nanny, looked faintly ill. William cried fretfully for a half hour before falling asleep and Peter had to entertain Johnny by showing him the view outside the window. Both of them fell asleep quite easily and Arthur smiled at them as he covered them in blankets when they stopped at the bottom of a hill to allow the horses a breather for a moment. It would not do for them to get cold, they were all he had left now.
Seeing her charges asleep, Emma was quickly snoozing against the side of the carriage. Arthur smiled at this sight, though for different reasons why he had smiled at his brothers. Now he had a chance to talk to Alfred, fairly alone. First he shifted so he was sitting next to Alfred with his thigh pressed close to Alfred's. This did not draw his attention but, when the carriage jolted and Arthur was thrown into his side that certainly did.
"Arthur?" Alfred asked but as he noticed everyone else in the carriage asleep, his expression soon widened into a smile. "Oh." Alfred's voice was slightly amused but him clasping Arthur's hand halted any protest to this. They were not able to do much in case they were overheard or one of them woke up, but it offered a façade of privacy.
"Are you feeling fine, Alfred?" Arthur asked, not wanting to ruin the moment but wanting to make sure that Alfred was alright.
"I am, thanks Arthur. It's just... it's hard to leave Matthew, especially since we're not on the best terms at the moment." Arthur bit his lip. He was well aware why Alfred and Matthew were on bad terms and he felt more than partially responsible. "No, no, no," Alfred said when he noticed Arthur's expression and correctly interpreting it. "Matthew's head is a bit of a mess with everything and he needs to sort it out. You were just the scapegoat for everything. It doesn't make it right still, especially when Matthew pulled Peter, Johnny and William into it." Arthur nodded and found himself a little more understanding about why Matthew, who had been so polite to him and had seemed to genuinely like him, had said those things about him.
"I hope he sorts it out," Arthur murmured and Alfred dared to place a kiss on his cheek.
"Me too Arthur, me too."
They stopped at the inn a several hours later where they could rest for the night and change their horses. Arthur woke Emma up and she carried William inside while Arthur took charge of Johnny and Alfred had Peter. None of them woke up and they were put to bed easily. Emma took William and Johnny into her room while Alfred and Arthur had Peter with them.
"Goodnight Emma. Call if there are any problems," Arthur told the nanny who just smiled and nodded.
"Goodnight sir. See you in the morning." Arthur bit his lip as he watched the door close, shutting him away from his two younger brothers. He knew that Emma was good, she had been cross-examined more than enough, but he was used to being the one that cared for his brothers. He kept having to remind himself that in the higher classes, it wasn't that anyone available looked after the children, it was women and servants who did the task.
"Arthur? Are you coming?" Alfred asked as he stuck his head out of the door and Arthur turned to face him. He nodded, and with one last look at the door, he moved towards the open door. "Everything fine?" Alfred asked, his blue eyes scanning Arthur's face with a worried look to them.
"I'm fine, thank you Alfred. So are you going to enlighten me about where we're going? All you've said so far is the seaside and that it will take four days to get there." Arthur walked to their trunk and started to rifle through searching for a nightgown. Peter was deeply asleep so Arthur tried to make his movements as quiet as possible so he would not wake.
"We're going to Swanage in Dorset. Rather, we're going to a house right outside Swanage so we're not around people all the time. It's right by the sea as well." Arthur looked at the excited Alfred and sat back on his heels, halting his search for a moment.
"That sounds really good Alfred," Arthur said with a smile. He enjoyed living by the sea but knew that with the way the family finances were going, there was no possible way of that happening. Alfred smiled back and came to sit beside Arthur.
"I knew you would like it. And it will just be us two, Peter, Johnny, William and Emma. There will be a cook and a maid to clean, but they have the afternoons off. We'll basically be on our own." Arthur could definitely see the appeal and knew exactly why Alfred had arranged it so.
"And you say I'm the eager one," Arthur whispered teasingly to Alfred who turned red. Arthur laughed, and put a hand on Alfred's cheek so he could bring him closer. "You're not wrong with that though," Arthur said, unable to help himself now that he and Alfred were alone for what had been days. In the end, Alfred was the one who moved forward so their lips met but Arthur gladly returned the kiss.
A snort from Peter pulled the two of them apart quickly but he did not wake. After they got over their fright, Alfred and Arthur smiled at each other but knew that nothing more would happen tonight. Arthur changed into his nightgown and tried to pretend that he could not sense Alfred's eyes on him before climbing into the double bed with Peter. Alfred had the single bed next to it which he climbed into, dressed in his undershirt and drawers.
"Good night Arthur," Alfred murmured, sounding rather like his face was pressed into the pillow.
"Night Alfred," Arthur said clearly back before he turned his back and faced his brother. There would be no temptation tonight.
The next day had very much the same structure except for all three of the children were wide awake by the time they had got to the inn and seemed determined to remain that way. Arthur had relieved Emma of Johnny and William while Alfred had tried to wear Peter out. He was playing a card game with him while Arthur paced the room with William to try and get him to settle. Johnny was stacking several of his wooden bricks in the corner and knocking them over every time he built a tower.
"So what is Swanage like?" Peter asked curiously. He had been told where they were going that morning and not being able to remember much about the sea side, he had been curious how different a coastal city was to London.
"It's quite cut off since it's a little hard to get there but the air is really clean and fresh and at night, you can see the stars in the sky. We're staying a little outside Swanage in one of my family's houses and it is right on the coast so we'll be able to see the sea from our windows. At least the south facing ones," Alfred explained and the watching Arthur could not help but smile at his enthusiasm. Peter seemed to react well to Alfred’s manner because he smiled more brightly than he had so far. The worry about his brothers, his family and what would happen to them had taken their toll on Peter but ever since they had received the letter from their family, even though it contained bad news, Peter had relaxed and settled down. He could see that life was better for them with Alfred than with the rest of the family, Johnny had managed to get rid of his persistent cough and William was much more alert than usual.
"That sounds good! Will you teach me how to swim Alfred?" Peter asked, the cards in his hand dangling, forgotten. Alfred looked a little surprised but nodded all the same. He looked at Arthur with a question in his eyes but Arthur studiously ignored his glance. "Arthur can't swim. He loves the water but none of our brothers would teach him. They normally preferred to push him under the water and keep him there," Peter explained in a matter-of-fact tone and Alfred looked shocked.
"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Arthur said, scandalised but careful not to raise his voice too high in case he disturbed the now slumbering William.
"Have you two heard anything from your family at all? I know that the runner reached them and brought a letter back. Is everything okay?" Peter shuffled the cards and Arthur laid William down in his cot, both of them careful to avoid Alfred's eyes. Arthur picked up Johnny, who was looking very tired, and started to rock him softly.
"We did receive a letter," Peter said slowly and although Arthur's eyes shot up to him, he did nothing to stop his brother talking. "It was from Ellie, our sister. She said that Mother was dead and that Father blames us so it would be better if we didn't come home for a while. They wanted to see us but maybe in a few months when everyone had calmed down." Peter's voice was flat and he kept his eyes on the cards. Alfred looked between Peter and Arthur in horror.
"What? Your mother's dead?" Alfred said loudly and Arthur shot him a glare, pointedly looking at William and Johnny. "Did she at least get a funeral or something?" Arthur and Peter were now the ones to stare at him.
"It costs money for a funeral. Besides, she had been sick for a very long time but she died from one of the machines at the factory where she worked. It injured her and she was too weak to survive." Arthur tried to explain to Alfred why their mother's death was not much of a shock and how, in the slums, death was as common an occurrence as fights were. Alfred had never worked in the factories where everyone understood that the work was dangerous but it was better than dying of starvation. He would never live in one room with nine other members of his family. And, Arthur hoped, he would never experience the death of a loved one that they all knew was coming but could do nothing to stop it.
"I don't understand," Alfred said and he sounded lost and confused. It broke Arthur's heart to see him like that. It seemed that the Kirkland's entrance into his life had only brought painful issues to the forefront.
"And that's a good thing Alfred. It would be better if we didn't understand as well," Arthur said sincerely as he looked at Peter. He could spare John and William but Peter had already seen too much and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Arthur's right. You haven't lived where we did so you can't understand. But that's not a bad thing," Peter spoke up and he smiled at Alfred.
Alfred smiled at the two of them and made a vow to himself that their memories of the place where they lived before would become a distant memory to them. He would take them back to America if needs be.
Links aren't working again. Hope you like, I think they may only be a couple more parts before I'm finished with this AU. Thanks for your comments! Enjoy!
Genre: Drama/Romance
Pairing(s): USUK
Word Count: 2,401
Rating/Warnings: Mentions of death, homosexuality in Victorian times, 12/15
Summary: The Kirkland family had fallen from grace and now they scraped out a living with the rest of the lowest of the low. Alfred Jones, heir to the great Jones fortune, was staying with his brother in England and his biggest worry was dealing with an unrequited crush. Their two worlds brutally collide one sunny day in May. Victorian Era AU. Done for the 'road trip' prompt from the usxuk summer camp.
For the second time that month, Alfred was waiting in the entrance hall for Arthur to finish getting ready. Things were very different this time around. The servants were moving boxes and parcels out to the carriage and Arthur was upstairs to help the nanny get Peter, William and John ready for travel. Unable to stay in his brother's house anymore, Alfred had proposed the idea of taking a trip down to a house that he owned by the seaside and Arthur had gladly agreed.
"Sir, that's the last of the packages," one of the male servants said quietly and Alfred nodded his head in dismissal. The servants quickly vanished as silently as they were able and Alfred was left alone. It was so quiet in the hall and Alfred could almost hear his breath echo. The silence meant it Alfred heard the door creak open easily and he turned. Matthew stood there and they watched each other for a moment, neither of them moving.
"Alfred," Matthew said in a low voice, "please reconsider." As much as he wanted to, Alfred could not. And Matthew knew why.
"Matthew, I will forgive you one day. You're my brother and I love you so one day, everything will be fine. But you need to sort yourself out and it'll be easier if none of us are here. We're only going down for a month and then I'll come back to spend another month with you before I go back to America." Alfred smiled at his brother but even he knew it looked as false as it felt. Alfred's words were true but the anger at hearing what Matthew had said to Arthur, at what Matthew had been considering doing to all of them over such a petty reason, still burned at his insides.
The two of them turned to the stairs where Arthur was descending the stairs with Peter and John holding each hand and the new permanent nanny that had been chosen, following behind carrying William. Arthur looked at Matthew before quickly flicking his gaze to Alfred.
"We're ready to go," Arthur told Alfred quietly, not looking at Matthew now. Alfred smiled at them all as he ruffled Peter's hair. Peter stared up at him, eerily silent.
"So am I. Do you want to load up the carriage?" Arthur nodded and carefully led the others down the steps and out on the street to where the carriage was waiting. It was an extra wide one that allowed six to fit comfortably.
"Goodbye Alfred. I hope you enjoy yourself," Matthew said and Alfred looked back at his brother to see him looking downcast.
"Thank you. It won't be forever Matthew, please remember that." With those words, Alfred walked onto the street and pulled the door shut behind him.
Arthur enjoyed the carriage ride even if no one else seemed to. Alfred was lost in his thoughts and Emma, the nanny, looked faintly ill. William cried fretfully for a half hour before falling asleep and Peter had to entertain Johnny by showing him the view outside the window. Both of them fell asleep quite easily and Arthur smiled at them as he covered them in blankets when they stopped at the bottom of a hill to allow the horses a breather for a moment. It would not do for them to get cold, they were all he had left now.
Seeing her charges asleep, Emma was quickly snoozing against the side of the carriage. Arthur smiled at this sight, though for different reasons why he had smiled at his brothers. Now he had a chance to talk to Alfred, fairly alone. First he shifted so he was sitting next to Alfred with his thigh pressed close to Alfred's. This did not draw his attention but, when the carriage jolted and Arthur was thrown into his side that certainly did.
"Arthur?" Alfred asked but as he noticed everyone else in the carriage asleep, his expression soon widened into a smile. "Oh." Alfred's voice was slightly amused but him clasping Arthur's hand halted any protest to this. They were not able to do much in case they were overheard or one of them woke up, but it offered a façade of privacy.
"Are you feeling fine, Alfred?" Arthur asked, not wanting to ruin the moment but wanting to make sure that Alfred was alright.
"I am, thanks Arthur. It's just... it's hard to leave Matthew, especially since we're not on the best terms at the moment." Arthur bit his lip. He was well aware why Alfred and Matthew were on bad terms and he felt more than partially responsible. "No, no, no," Alfred said when he noticed Arthur's expression and correctly interpreting it. "Matthew's head is a bit of a mess with everything and he needs to sort it out. You were just the scapegoat for everything. It doesn't make it right still, especially when Matthew pulled Peter, Johnny and William into it." Arthur nodded and found himself a little more understanding about why Matthew, who had been so polite to him and had seemed to genuinely like him, had said those things about him.
"I hope he sorts it out," Arthur murmured and Alfred dared to place a kiss on his cheek.
"Me too Arthur, me too."
They stopped at the inn a several hours later where they could rest for the night and change their horses. Arthur woke Emma up and she carried William inside while Arthur took charge of Johnny and Alfred had Peter. None of them woke up and they were put to bed easily. Emma took William and Johnny into her room while Alfred and Arthur had Peter with them.
"Goodnight Emma. Call if there are any problems," Arthur told the nanny who just smiled and nodded.
"Goodnight sir. See you in the morning." Arthur bit his lip as he watched the door close, shutting him away from his two younger brothers. He knew that Emma was good, she had been cross-examined more than enough, but he was used to being the one that cared for his brothers. He kept having to remind himself that in the higher classes, it wasn't that anyone available looked after the children, it was women and servants who did the task.
"Arthur? Are you coming?" Alfred asked as he stuck his head out of the door and Arthur turned to face him. He nodded, and with one last look at the door, he moved towards the open door. "Everything fine?" Alfred asked, his blue eyes scanning Arthur's face with a worried look to them.
"I'm fine, thank you Alfred. So are you going to enlighten me about where we're going? All you've said so far is the seaside and that it will take four days to get there." Arthur walked to their trunk and started to rifle through searching for a nightgown. Peter was deeply asleep so Arthur tried to make his movements as quiet as possible so he would not wake.
"We're going to Swanage in Dorset. Rather, we're going to a house right outside Swanage so we're not around people all the time. It's right by the sea as well." Arthur looked at the excited Alfred and sat back on his heels, halting his search for a moment.
"That sounds really good Alfred," Arthur said with a smile. He enjoyed living by the sea but knew that with the way the family finances were going, there was no possible way of that happening. Alfred smiled back and came to sit beside Arthur.
"I knew you would like it. And it will just be us two, Peter, Johnny, William and Emma. There will be a cook and a maid to clean, but they have the afternoons off. We'll basically be on our own." Arthur could definitely see the appeal and knew exactly why Alfred had arranged it so.
"And you say I'm the eager one," Arthur whispered teasingly to Alfred who turned red. Arthur laughed, and put a hand on Alfred's cheek so he could bring him closer. "You're not wrong with that though," Arthur said, unable to help himself now that he and Alfred were alone for what had been days. In the end, Alfred was the one who moved forward so their lips met but Arthur gladly returned the kiss.
A snort from Peter pulled the two of them apart quickly but he did not wake. After they got over their fright, Alfred and Arthur smiled at each other but knew that nothing more would happen tonight. Arthur changed into his nightgown and tried to pretend that he could not sense Alfred's eyes on him before climbing into the double bed with Peter. Alfred had the single bed next to it which he climbed into, dressed in his undershirt and drawers.
"Good night Arthur," Alfred murmured, sounding rather like his face was pressed into the pillow.
"Night Alfred," Arthur said clearly back before he turned his back and faced his brother. There would be no temptation tonight.
The next day had very much the same structure except for all three of the children were wide awake by the time they had got to the inn and seemed determined to remain that way. Arthur had relieved Emma of Johnny and William while Alfred had tried to wear Peter out. He was playing a card game with him while Arthur paced the room with William to try and get him to settle. Johnny was stacking several of his wooden bricks in the corner and knocking them over every time he built a tower.
"So what is Swanage like?" Peter asked curiously. He had been told where they were going that morning and not being able to remember much about the sea side, he had been curious how different a coastal city was to London.
"It's quite cut off since it's a little hard to get there but the air is really clean and fresh and at night, you can see the stars in the sky. We're staying a little outside Swanage in one of my family's houses and it is right on the coast so we'll be able to see the sea from our windows. At least the south facing ones," Alfred explained and the watching Arthur could not help but smile at his enthusiasm. Peter seemed to react well to Alfred’s manner because he smiled more brightly than he had so far. The worry about his brothers, his family and what would happen to them had taken their toll on Peter but ever since they had received the letter from their family, even though it contained bad news, Peter had relaxed and settled down. He could see that life was better for them with Alfred than with the rest of the family, Johnny had managed to get rid of his persistent cough and William was much more alert than usual.
"That sounds good! Will you teach me how to swim Alfred?" Peter asked, the cards in his hand dangling, forgotten. Alfred looked a little surprised but nodded all the same. He looked at Arthur with a question in his eyes but Arthur studiously ignored his glance. "Arthur can't swim. He loves the water but none of our brothers would teach him. They normally preferred to push him under the water and keep him there," Peter explained in a matter-of-fact tone and Alfred looked shocked.
"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Arthur said, scandalised but careful not to raise his voice too high in case he disturbed the now slumbering William.
"Have you two heard anything from your family at all? I know that the runner reached them and brought a letter back. Is everything okay?" Peter shuffled the cards and Arthur laid William down in his cot, both of them careful to avoid Alfred's eyes. Arthur picked up Johnny, who was looking very tired, and started to rock him softly.
"We did receive a letter," Peter said slowly and although Arthur's eyes shot up to him, he did nothing to stop his brother talking. "It was from Ellie, our sister. She said that Mother was dead and that Father blames us so it would be better if we didn't come home for a while. They wanted to see us but maybe in a few months when everyone had calmed down." Peter's voice was flat and he kept his eyes on the cards. Alfred looked between Peter and Arthur in horror.
"What? Your mother's dead?" Alfred said loudly and Arthur shot him a glare, pointedly looking at William and Johnny. "Did she at least get a funeral or something?" Arthur and Peter were now the ones to stare at him.
"It costs money for a funeral. Besides, she had been sick for a very long time but she died from one of the machines at the factory where she worked. It injured her and she was too weak to survive." Arthur tried to explain to Alfred why their mother's death was not much of a shock and how, in the slums, death was as common an occurrence as fights were. Alfred had never worked in the factories where everyone understood that the work was dangerous but it was better than dying of starvation. He would never live in one room with nine other members of his family. And, Arthur hoped, he would never experience the death of a loved one that they all knew was coming but could do nothing to stop it.
"I don't understand," Alfred said and he sounded lost and confused. It broke Arthur's heart to see him like that. It seemed that the Kirkland's entrance into his life had only brought painful issues to the forefront.
"And that's a good thing Alfred. It would be better if we didn't understand as well," Arthur said sincerely as he looked at Peter. He could spare John and William but Peter had already seen too much and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Arthur's right. You haven't lived where we did so you can't understand. But that's not a bad thing," Peter spoke up and he smiled at Alfred.
Alfred smiled at the two of them and made a vow to himself that their memories of the place where they lived before would become a distant memory to them. He would take them back to America if needs be.
Links aren't working again. Hope you like, I think they may only be a couple more parts before I'm finished with this AU. Thanks for your comments! Enjoy!