The sun had already risen when he sat down in the car again. The child in his arms was wide awake, his clear large eyes staring at him while his mouth made vigorous noises as he tried to move around as if wanting to get off from his lap.
"Settle down now, Theo." Neil squished his cheeks and spoke seriously.
Theo doesn't seem to be listening to him at all as he sends his wet, sucked on fingers to his face and tries to grab his nose.
Neil let him play around and sighed softly, eyes looking around the familiar scenery. The rising sun had made things much clearer to see. After the war ended, he could see his father spared no money in Crestwood town to rebuild roads to cater to his new car collection.
His eyes moved back to Theo and he tried to grab his small fist which Theo was trying his best to choke himself with. The wet fist was cleaned by his handkerchief and Theo once again sent it to his mouth to suck on.
His emerging teeth were probably irritating him.
Neil leaned back on the seat and mindlessly traced his lips and then his hand unconsciously went to his pocket for a cigarette. He pulled out the box but then put it back inside again, remembering he was in the car with his very young son.
In just about a few minutes the Crestwood manor soon came into view. He raised an eyebrow to see his father had hired more gardeners to bring the glory of the manor back to its day before war, not that war had much effect on it. The Crestwood town mostly passed the war in silence and fear rather than in smokes and exploding minefields.
After entering the iron gates, he could see his mother, a maid and butler standing in front of the main door waiting for his arrival. The rigid expression on his mother's face let him know that as usual, she wasn't that happy to see him coming. Whether it had to do with him personally or the reason he was called, he didn't bother to find out.
When the car stopped, he secured Theo on his shoulder and got out.
"Mother." His expressionless face didn't move.
"Why did you had to bring this child with you every time?"
"Why? Has my father gotten so poor he can't feed another mouth?" Neil spit out and started making his way inside.
This was the usual nonsense which happened every time he came to the point he was almost bored with it.
Almost.
He was met with silence as he walked till he reached the hallways.
"Go take the child from him. Everyone is waiting for you at breakfast." His mother spoke again, he could tell she spoke from between her teeth.
One of these days she might lose a few in between her constant grinding.
The maid, Linda, came forward to grab Theo from him but he moved away and spat out, "Don't touch him. Where is Alice? Alice! Alice!"
"Alice is my assistant! Why do you have to push her to take care of your wretched child?"
He ignored his mother and once again shouted out for Alice.
Few seconds later, he could hear the rushing of steps coming from the stairs and soon bright red hair came into his view.
The petite figure wrapped in a yellow sundress had always reminded him of a sudden rush of bright light. Whether it was the allusiveness of her red hair or her exceptionally pretty face, he found himself staring at her. Her brown eyes held his while her lips moved to a loopy smile.
"Sorry, Master Neil. I was just cleaning up your room." Alice softly said and leaned forward to take Theo from him who without complaining went to her arms and immediately grabbed her loose hair which had fallen out of her braid.
"Hello darling." She kissed Theo's fist which was grabbing her hair.
"Take him away." His mother said but he once again ignored her and spoke to Alice, "Bring him to the dinning hall. He still hasn't had breakfast."
Alice's eyes shifted to his mother, but she still nodded at him and started to follow him.
His mother's current mood wasn't really his concern or was his concern anytime. Her spite for his son had not changed since he first brought Theo home. The reaction towards him was always as if she was seeing him for the first time.
He could hear the loud chatter from outside the closed doors of the dining hall and paused.
"Everyone is already here." Alice reminded him softly.
He frowned in annoyance and pushed the door open. The chatter immediately stopped and he could feel all the eyes staring at him. Each held different expressions, each he had no thought of unraveling.
"Neil, you finally arrived." Jane, the wife of his older brother, was first to greet. She was a small, charming woman when she wanted and only when she wanted.
Neil found her dull.
"I thought it was a family gathering. Why are we already receiving outsiders so early in the morning?" Neil said as he took a seat after opening a chair for Alice.
"I am already set to marry Charlie in June!" Emma snarled. Her beautiful face falling to the visible eye.
Neil laughed. It was a dark, hollow laugh, empty of any humor.
"In your life, you have been set to marry too many men already for us to assume any good from you and what about you, young man? William was it? I have heard no mention of any such news from your side yet? Your parents are not eager to marry you yet?"
Neil turned his attention to a pale, thin young man sitting beside his youngest sister. His flat hair made him look much older than his twenty-one year old claimed self. The large glasses covering his face couldn't hide the intelligence behind them. The first time Neil saw him, he knew the man was a young fox who had completely wrapped his stupid sister around his finger.
His presence being so naturally accepted when this was an only family gathering made Neil even more sure of his doubts.
"My parents are still on their trip to Paris. We will make it official when they are back in the country." William assured him but Neil was anything but.
"An engagement only requires a ring and I see my sister's finger is still empty." Neil replied lazily and leaned back on his seat. His eyes falling on Theo who was loudly making unintelligent noises to Alice who was very seriously replying to his baby talk softly.
These two were completely in their own world at this point.
"Do you have to cause a scene the minute you arrive?" His older brother Oliver finally spoke.
His old habit of playing the peacemaker just annoyed Neil and he almost rolled his eyes. His eyes moved to silent Charlie, who acted like he was sitting in a crowd of strangers. He had not even bothered to speak for his fiance.
"Where is his food?" He asked Alice instead.
"I already told the kitchen. It will be brought soon."
He nodded and turned to Oliver saying, "You look worried, work giving you trouble?"
Oliver glared at him and cleared his throat, Jane also looked at her husband in confusion. Her eyes questioning her husband.
"Nothing like that at all. Just try to keep it quiet during the week you are here."
Before Neil could answer, the door opened and he saw his father walking inside with his mother. While mother still looked like she had swallowed something bitter, his father looked very content which to Crestwood family never any good news.
His father's habit of marching to his own beat had brought enough trouble as it is.
Beside his father was another woman. An older redhead, dressed in a long one color dress. She had a small smile on her face but Neil just felt disgusted when he saw her walking beside his father so habitually like it was the most natural thing in the world. Her steps held a kind of confidence which usually the mistress of the house has.
She also took a seat on his father's left side as naturally.
He turned to look at Alice and saw her staring at her mother silently. Her eyes were empty of any feeling but soon she turned her attention to Theo as if no one else was around.
Neil's rigged shoulders relaxed.
"You finally had time to come home? What is about London that we lack here? Do I have to get sick for you to show me your face." His father had a heavy, authoritative voice which matched his bitter looks.
Neil didn't answer him and just stared straight ahead. He had no answer to his question or to simply say, he had no answer which would satisfy his father.
Whatever he would have replied with would turn into a roaring match between them. His father wanted to hear very specific words from him, words he never planned on saying.
Seeing that he didn't answer, Benjamin Crestwood just sighed and leaned ahead.
"I called you all here to announce something to you all."