Chapter 1 Their New Home
Bernard awoke in his comfortable oversized bed at his Uncle Apollo’s manor in Wales, eager to get to know all of the new kids who were staying there with him. When he had been dropped off at Eagle and Salmon in August, he had only known his sisters, Apollo’s son, Donnie, Donnie’s ward, Maylis, and Apollo’s step-son, Alfred. Connell and Caron had taken in four German Jewish refugees, and there were now five girls from Ireland, five small children from Cardiff, and Apollo’s grandniece and her servant. And that wasn’t counting Aldo, an orphan they had rescued on their way home from London. What had originally been nine family members was now twenty-six guests staying at Apollo’s, and he couldn’t wait to get to know them all.
Thank goodness Apollo has such a big house, he thought to himself as he rolled over.
Aldo was curled up in a ball next to him in bed, looking tiny and frightened. Aldo was only ten, and had lost his mother and aunt the first night of the bombing of London. He had spent almost a week doing his best to survive on his own without help from anyone else when he had rescued Bernard and his uncles when they were caught without shelter during an air raid. The moment they found out Aldo was an orphan, Apollo insisted he come home with them, promising to take care of him. But the manor house was huge and filled with strange people, and after Aldo had gone to bed, he had been lonely and scared, and really missed his mother and Aunt. Bernard was the only other kid Aldo knew, so he had asked if he could stay in Bernard’s room. Bernard had been sharing a room with someone, whether it be his cousin or his schoolmates, for over a year, so it just felt natural to invite Aldo in. Now he couldn’t wait for him to wake up so he could show him around the manor house and introduce him to everyone. He was pretty sure Apollo would start them on lessons within the next day or two, if not that morning.
~❦~
When Aldo got up Bernard had already gotten dressed, brushed his shoulder length chestnut hair, and tied it back. The clothing Bernard was wearing looked expensive and fit him perfectly, further emphasising the class gap between him and Aldo.
I’m Bernard’s charity case, and perhaps eventually, his servant, Aldo thought to himself as he sat up. He initially tried to slip out before Bernard noticed he was up, but Bernard saw him and called him into the washroom. Aldo timidly approached, not wanting to intrude, but also not wanting to disobey.
“You’re finally up,” Bernard smiled. “I hope I didn’t wake you. It’s been a long week, and we all need our sleep.”
Aldo didn’t know how he should respond, so he just shook his head. “No. I got up on my own.”
“Well, wash your face, comb your hair, and get dressed. I can’t wait to introduce you to my family. And there are a bunch of new kids to play with. I can’t wait to get to know them all.”
Aldo looked up at the over six foot tall, broad shouldered twelve-year-old and couldn’t help but laugh. No one would ever guess that Bernard wasn’t an adult, until he started talking. But once he did start talking, it was obvious he was just a kid.
“Do all of the guys, except Aelfric, have long hair?” Aldo asked as he combed his short dark brown hair.
“No. Apollo, Donnie, and I are the only ones with long hair. None of the staff does.”
“Is that to differentiate between master and servant?”
“No!” Bernard answered, as it had never occurred to him to think that way. “Dad and my brothers, and uncle Brendan and my cousin Brennan, and my brother-in-law, Frederick, and my sister’s beau, Rolf, they all have short hair. But my uncle and cousin live in the northern highlands, and my dad is staying with- my mum’s cousin, and my brothers and Frederick are assigned to guard my sister’s beau. He’s a prince.”
“Wait, you’re saying your sister is engaged to a prince?”
Bernard nodded. “He’s really nice, and not overly formal. He fits into our family perfectly.”
Aldo just shook his head in awe of what Bernard saw as no big deal.
“Apollo and Aelfric will probably start us all on lessons today or tomorrow. They’re really big on learning, but they’re also really good teachers.”
“So they’re royal, but they’re teachers?”
“Yes. Apollo’s a marquess.”
“So, then, what are you?”
“Sixth in line for Duke of Argyll, so pretty much, nothing,” he snorted with a smirk.
“You’re still noble.”
“Meh…”
Aldo looked over at him, confused. “What does that mean?”
“Oops,” Bernard laughed. “I’ve been hearing Rolf, Egon, David, and Oskar say that for so long now, I forget that it’s not common. It kinda means ‘It doesn’t really matter’. It’s probably Hebrew.”
“You’re Jewish?”
“No. But some of our friends are.”
Aldo nodded. Bernard considered a lot of strange things, normal. “I’d better go to my room and see if my clothes got washed. If they didn’t, I guess I’m already dressed.”
Bernard chuckled. “Caron already brought in some trousers and a shirt for you, but she warned me that they would probably need to be altered, as Conell bought them a little big in hopes that you’ll grow. She also had him buy you a jumper and new shoes. Your old ones are falling apart,” he said, handing him a small folded pile of new clothes.
Aldo’s storm grey eyes were huge as he stared in awe at the brand new outfit in his hands. “Thank you!” he gushed with a grateful smile.
