Work Text:
December 1934
It must have been the darkest night in the coldest year, Siegfried thought as he stumped across the muddy way that led up to the waterfalls outside the village. It was way after midnight and his clothes were completely soaked with rain and traces of mud. Every inch of his body felt cold and wet and his bones were aching from wandering around in the icy air and the exhaustion.
Audrey Hall, his housekeeper for less than a year, was walking next to him with a flashlight in her hand while he was trying to shield both of them with an umbrella. The rain was ghastly and was now more and more mixing up with thick snowflakes. He knew she must feel just as cold and miserable as he did, though she didn’t say it. They had been out in the dark for hours and they still had no clue where Tristan could be, but she didn’t complain. In fact he hadn’t even asked her to join him, she had just slipped into her thickest coat, had chosen a woollen hat, and had picked a pair of his old wellies and had followed him to his car. She was a stern woman, his housekeeper. Kind, with a good head on her shoulders and an even better heart, but also firm when she needed to be. She had this soft spot for his little brother although she tried to hide it, because she knew the boy was made of mischief.
From time to time he barked Tristan’s name as loud as he could, but the answer was always freezing silence. It was unnerving and his desperation grew.
Heblamed himself for the whole ordeal that had brought them into this messy situation. He and his little brother had been caught up in a blazing row in the afternoon. It had been nothing but a stupid misunderstanding, but as so often with the two of them, the situation had escalated quickly. One word led to another, one accusation followed the next and then boom. Doors had been slammed, curses had been made. His new housekeeper, God bless her religious soul, had tried to mediate their argument, but her attempt had been in vain. Tristan had stormed off with his bike in the pouring rain, huffing and puffing, and Siegfried had yelled after him, “To stay the hell away, you silly little beggar!”
The hours had passed and Tristan hadn’t come back home. Darkness had claimed the village and soon Audrey had been so worried that she had called on the neighbours. Tristan hadn’t been seen by any of them. When Siegfried had come back from a farm call he had expected to find his brother sitting in the kitchen, lamenting about his fate and his older brother’s harshness, but instead he had found his housekeeper, clinging to her tea cup with tears in her eyes and anxiety radiating from her slender body.
Tristan being gone without as much a single trace about his whereabouts had scared the life out of him - and he had instantly blamed himself for it.
Together with his housekeeper had started searching the whole village. They had checked on every friend, visited every favourite place Tristan had ever mentioned and at this time of night the waterfalls were their last chance.
Siegfried knew that his brother loved this place. As a little boy had learnt to swim in the cold waters. He had spent many summer afternoons with his friends up there and once many years ago after their mother had died Siegfried had found him hiding here under a big tree, a willow, that spent cooling shade in the summer and securing comfort when one didn’t want to be found. Back then he could dry his brothers’ desperate tears, but over the years he had lost the ability to get through to him.
He prayed to the Almighty he didn’t truly believe that Tristan was there, hiding from the world - but ultimately him, the only relative he had left.
The way up to the tree was squidgy. It had rained all day long and although the two of them were wearing wellies, it was hard not to slip or lose one's balance. It was pitch dark out there and the flashlight in her hand was shaking. Siegfried noticed she wore no gloves.
“You must be freezing,” he muttered under his breath.
“I’m fine,” she answered, her teeth clattering. “Don’t worry about me. Let’s look for the boy.”
But he did. He did not only worry about Tristan. She was under his care, too. He was responsible for her well-being. He scolded herself for not telling her to stay put, where she was warm and safe. What was wrong with him? He swallowed the rising self-disgust and tried to reassure her, “It’s not far,” he said. “I just hope he’s there.”
She didn’t answer, but stopped dead in her tracks and grabbed for his arm. “Look!” She said, pointing the light beam to the muddy vehicle by the wayside.
As quickly as the mud allowed it, they approached the bicycle. “That’s Tristan’s,” Siegfried confirmed. He recognized the colour and the twisted pannier. “Tristan!” he barked as loud as he could, almost blowing out Audrey’s eardrum.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly and gently touched her arm, when she froze from the shock of being shouted straight into the face.
“It’s all right, Mr Farnon,” she assured him with a small smile.
Both kept yelling after Tristan and after climbing up some more yards they heard someone calling for help.
Frantically Siegfried abandoned the umbrella, leaving it to his housekeeper to catch it and ran into the direction where the cry for help came from. She followed him as quickly as her wellies allowed it.
Siegfried found Tristan where he had believed him to be. He was sitting under the bleak, skeletonised willow, freezing and crying, only wearing his sweater and his cords.
“Are you all right?” Siegfried asked, his voice high-pitched and full of panic. He touched his brother's cold, wet, and blue coloured face.
“My right ankle… I fell and twisted it. It hurts.”
“Mrs Hall! I found him!” Siegfried yelled back over his shoulder. “Let me have a look!” He took Tristan’s foot and gently removed the shoe. Even through the sock he could feel the swelling. “A doctor will have to see to this!” But the twisted ankle wasn’t the worst. Tristan could have easily caught a nasty flu. He must have been sitting under this tree for hours.
Behind him he heard Mrs Hall appearing. “Tris, are you all right?” she asked with unconcealed worry.
“I thi… think… soo,” Tris informed her, his teeth clattering.
“We have to get you home,” Siegfried said. “Can you get up?”
“I don’t know.”
“Well, you’ve got to try, Tris.” Siegfried told him earnestly and patted his shoulder. “Otherwise I don’t know how to bring you home. You can do this, little brother.” His voice was much gentler now, soothing. He stroked Tristan’s face with his thumb and gave him a small smile.
“I’ll help you!” Mrs Hall offered quickly and closed the useless umbrella and crawled down to help Tris to rise to his feet. With a lot of effort and more tears from Tristan Siegfried and his housekeeper helped Tristan to get up. He was truly frozen to the bone and his body didn’t obey him as he tried to get a hold on them. They manoeuvred both of his arms over their shoulders and dragged him down the slippery path until they reached his brother’s car. The old vauxhall was dirty and smelled of dogs and barns, but it was dry and there was always a blanket for emergencies stored inside.
Siegfried heaved Tristan into the backseat. Audrey followed him and cradled the teenage boy into her arms and spread the blanket over him. Tris fell asleep as soon as his head hit her shoulder. Siegfried climbed behind the wheel, grateful to have found his brother, afraid this was just the beginning of Tristan being seriously ill.
“I hope all he caught tonight were the flu and nothing worse,” Audrey said to Siegfried. “He’s so cold!”
Siegfried said nothing, but hoped the same. He wouldn’t forgive himself if his little brother would die from pneumonia.
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Back at Skeldale House Audrey undressed Tristan and lovingly wrapped him in every blanket that she could find and Siegfried added more wood to the fireplace in the drawing room. They tucked him onto the sofa and fed him with hot tea - the considerate housekeeper had added some drops of whiskey - and later with the soup they had meant to eat for dinner.
“The doctor will be here first thing,” Siegfried reported after he returned to the drawing room. Audrey was kneeling next to the sofa, stroking a strand of Tris unruly hair back. He had fallen asleep again and he looked utterly peaceful and relaxed. Some colour had returned back to his face.
“He’s warming up,” Audrey said, gently running the back of her hand over his forehead.
“Good.” Siegfried tried not to look too closely at his housekeeper and stuffed his pipe instead. It wasn’t the first time that he noticed how utterly beautiful she was despite her efforts to hide it. Underneath her high collared blouses, her pinnies, and her cardigans she was a young woman with a perfect figure. Aside from her body, her eyes were definitely her most distinctive feature. He had never seen this kind of blue before. It reminded him of glaciers in the sunshine on a cold winter day. And then there was her hair. This rigid hairdo suited her and was practical, but tonight her dark curls didn’t obey her attempts to tame them. Some strands had come loose and fell over her dimpled cheeks… He found himself caught up in a fantasy, in which he was the one pulling out these blasted hairpins one by one, until her long hair was cascading over her shoulders…
He lit his pipe and helped himself to a big whiskey. He had to exorcise his indecent thoughts about the woman who so kind-hearted took care of his little brother and him. She didn’t deserve to be looked at as if she were a piece of fresh meat.
“You should eat rather than drink,” she reprimanded him.
He smirked. She had quite a mouth as well. She was quick-witted and sharp in her observations. All of these traits mixed with a body like were a dangerous combination for a man like him. He liked them witty and clever. And yes, he liked them beautiful. His Evelyn had been a natural beauty just like her.
“That’s kind of you, but I’m not hungry.”
“I’ll get it anyway and you can get me one of those.” She came to her feet and pointed at the glass in his hand. It was the first time she demanded a drink from him and he wouldn’t say no to her request.
“Fine,” he said and watched her as she left the drawing room. He liked the subtle swing of her hips and tore his eyes away from and slowly moved towards the sofa. He tenderly ruffled Tristan’s hair, enjoying that he was too far away to complain about it. To him Tris was still the small boy who needed supervision. He liked to ignore his brother’s real age, but today had proven to him that this was a dangerous path to follow. He sank into his armchair and kept watching Tristan while he puffed his pipe.
He didn’t Audrey as she returned with a tray and two soup plates, filled with hot, delicious chicken soup. She put the tray on the diner table, switched on the lights, and strolled over to Siegfried who was lost in his thoughts. He only noticed her when she gently placed her hand on his shoulder and her fingers gently massaged him.
“Mr Farnon,” she said mildly. “Food’s on the table.”
He blinked and looked up to her. “I’m not sure I deserve it,” he said, feeling the effect of the alcohol.
Her smile was cheeky, but also soothing and endearing. “We can agree on that, but Tris will live. But the next time you argue, think twice before you tell him not to come back home. And now get a move on and join me for dinner.”