Chapter 24 #2
Georgie threw her hands up in the air. “But that could take ages!”
“Then you will just have to wait.” Alistair shrugged, and Tobias half expected him to stick his tongue out.
“Why don’t you let Mother help you? Then we can—” Georgie was tugging on Tobias’s sleeve, and was interrupted by Alistair saying, “I don’t want Mother to help me.”
Tobias heard a small noise escape Rowen. “Your mother is perfectly capable, Alistair.”
Alistair looked from him to Rowen. “I know that, but I want your help.”
Tobias’s heart sped up, but before he could say anything, Alistair continued, “Maybe Mother can spend some time with Georgie, and I can spend some time with you?”
“But Mother cannot fence!” Georgie exclaimed.
“I do know a little bit of swordplay, Georgie. Besides, Alistair does need to finish his homework.”
“It is not fair!” Georgie glowered. “Alistair tricked me. He said he was going to do his homework, and if I had known—”
“I didn’t trick you; I am doing my homework,” Alistair cut her off. “Besides, I want to spend time with Father.”
His words hit Tobias like a punch to the gut, driving all the wind from his lungs. He gripped the desk to steady himself.
He called me Father.
“But you spent all of yesterday with him.” Georgie folded her arms over her chest. “It is my turn.”
Tobias knew that he should intervene, that he should correct Alistair, but his mouth would not obey him.
The twins continued squabbling, apparently unaware of the impact of their words.
“No, I didn’t.” Alistair shook his head.
“You did.” Georgie tugged on Tobias’s sleeve again. “I want to spend time with Father too, and I do not want to do boring maths.”
It was a second blow. Tobias’s stomach churned violently. Father. A part of him knew that he should stop the children from arguing, but how?
Do I correct them first? Do I stop the fight? What is the right thing to do?
He wished his mind were less clouded.
They called me Father.
Alistair stamped his foot. “I don’t care.”
“It’s my turn.” Georgie leapt off the desk and attempted to tug Tobias towards the door. “And I say we are going fencing.”
“No, it isn’t.” Alistair grabbed hold of her hand, clearly attempting to peel her fingers off Tobias. “I have to do my homework, and he agreed to help me first.”
“I think, darlings, that you might want to ask what Tobias wishes to do? There is more than enough of him to go around.” Rowen’s face was half in shadow, and Tobias thought he could hear amusement in her voice. “If you keep tugging on him like that, you might pull him apart.”
She moved towards them, and every muscle in Tobias’s body tensed.
Will she correct them? What kind of coward am I that I expect her to do it for me?
“I am not that fragile.” Tobias swallowed and looked down at the twins. “Though my shirt looks a little worse for wear.”
Georgie and Alistair hastily released his sleeve, their cheeks flushing scarlet. He thought he heard Rowen let out an amused laugh, but could not be sure.
“Sorry,” Georgie and Alistair chorused.
“I understand you are both excited, and I promise, we can all spend some time together.” Tobias tried to keep his voice light and even.
His heart thundered in his chest. The world around him seemed to be spinning. He glanced at Rowen, wondering if it was the moment to correct the children. Then, he looked at the hopeful expressions on Georgie and Alistair’s faces.
“But Alistair does not even need help. He knows how to do all of this! He is lying,” Georgie blurted.
“Is that true?” Tobias looked at Alistair.
The boy flushed and looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry. I thought maybe if I came to you with a problem to solve, then we could spend more time together. I’m not as chatty as Georgie, and I didn’t want you to get bored with me, so I thought if we were doing things together, that would be better.”
“You’re not boring, Alistair!” Georgie took her brother’s hand. “You’re just quiet.”
Tobias thought of all the times over the last few weeks that Alistair had appeared with a problem he needed help solving.
Had that all been just to spend time together? His chest ached. How did I not realize it sooner?
Tobias knelt in front of the boy. “You and Georgie have different strengths, different interests, different thoughts. And I value both of you immensely. I am always happy to talk to both of you, even if it is simply to hear about your day. You do not need to make excuses.”
“But maybe you’ll like Alistair more than me because he’s a boy and…” Georgie wrung her hands, panic clear on her face.
“You are both wonderful,” Tobias assured her. “And there is enough room in my life for you.” He looked between the twins, reading their faces. “It is not a competition.”
Alistair swallowed. “You promise?”
“I swear it.” Tobias nodded solemnly. “If you want to spend time with me, you just have to ask. There will be times when I might be busy, but if I can, I will do as you ask.”
“All right.” Georgie nodded, as did Alistair. “If Alistair can share, so can I. As long as you promise not to like him more than me just because he’s a boy.”
“I promise.” Tobias put a hand over his heart and glanced at the clock. “It is nearly time for dinner, and we all need to get ready. If you want to spend some time together after, Alistair, we can do that, and tomorrow we can all go out for a ride. How does that sound?”
“It sounds good to me.” Alistair looked at Georgie.
“If I can spend some time with you, then it sounds good for me too,” she added.
“Of course,” Tobias said.
Georgie let out a squeal and sprinted out of the room, tugging her brother after her.
Tobias could feel Rowen’s gaze on him as he watched the children leave. He expected her to ask what he had been thinking, but she did not. Instead, she moved towards the door and gently brushed her hand against his.
“You should really get changed—I would not want you to be late for dinner.” And then she left without another word.
Tobias glanced at his brother’s portrait. “She did not correct them.”
What does it mean?
The tightness in his chest grew, even as he felt a smile stretch across his face.
“She did not correct them.”