bennet_beauty | (no subject)

(no subject)

It was a strange sound that roused Jane from her sewing in the mid-afternoon. The weather outside had taken a turn for the frightful and she was not yet accustomed to having so many floors of a building as their home. It was taking some getting used to, to be sure. The bedrooms seemed to have remained on the same floor, but it required stairs to go to other places in her house -- such as the ballroom and the kitchen.

This sound, however, was coming from the bedroom of the children and it was not Lydia's voice.

Warily, Jane roused herself to her feet. "Carwood?" she summoned. "Carwood, are you busy at the moment?" It was best to investigate in numbers, she believed. If something was amiss or if someone had managed to break in, she wished for the aid.

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Lipton looked up from the wood he'd been sanding. It would be another bed, eventually. One that would be suitable for a growing little boy to continue to grow into. Richard wasn't ready for it yet, of course, but that just gave Lipton time to carve the wood to his satisfaction in his spare moments.

"Nah, it can wait. What's up?" He put the post he was working on down, absently brushing his hands off on his trousers.

Jane was stopped outside the hall door to the bedroom, a curious look upon her face as she peeked inwards. "I hear another voice within the hallway, but I cannot think that it is Lydia. It sounds quite strange to be her!"

He brow furrowed, but he wasn't particularly worried. Jane would seem more alarmed than bemused if she thought there were an intruder in the house. "Huh," he stood and joined her, a hand absently resting on her lower back.

He caught the faint sound of voices, and smiled. "Is that who I think it is?"

Jane was still taken aback with mild shock as she stared into the room, not entirely sure she wished to go inside -- lest she lose the joy of hope. "I believe it is, but I am not wholly sure," she stated, blinking. "Is he old enough to be speaking?"

Lipton had to pause and calculate how old Duckie was, given how quickly timed seemed to fly with young children around. "Thereabouts," he said, rubbing the back off is neck, grinning at Jane - excited and proud for his son.

He peered around the doorframe, at Lydia siting on the floor and playing with a babbling Duckie.

Jane stood there in shock, her eyes wide as Duckie stared up at her and opened his mouth, stating nothing more than: "Mama!" It was quickly followed by a swift and whiny, "No!" It seemed absolutely right for her son, but still, it was something that she was stunned by. She had helped raise so many sisters and cousins, but never a little boy and now, this was her little boy.

"Oh!" she breathed out. "Duckie," she said, crouching to pick him up into her arms as swiftly as she could -- with her ever-expanding stomach.

Lipton grinned, leaning in to press a kiss to his head. "Our brilliant boy," he stood close, so proud he could burst. "Two first words, how about that, huh?"

"Quite like him, too," Jane praised, bouncing Duckie against her hip and beaming away when he let out a giddy giggle and bowed his head against Jane's shoulder. "Very negative, our son, yet mischievous about it the whole of the time."

"But he's our little troublemaker, that's for sure." Lipton tickled one of his tiny feet, and looked over his shoulder at Lydia.

"Good thing we've got you to help keep him in line, hey Liddy?" He said warmly, and she stood to join them, peering up at her little brother.

Lydia stared at Duckie with a responsible look upon her face, smiling shyly as she reached both hands out to Carwood, expecting to be picked up. "He keeps saying the same thing," she said. "And I'm bored of it," she added, wrinkling her nose.

"I am sure he will learn more with time," Jane said gently.

Lipton chuckled, lifting her up easily into his arms. "I bet. We'll have to all exercise our vocabularies some to help the process along."

Jane smiled brightly at Carwood, pressing a fond kiss to the tip of Lydia's nose. "And you will have to be a very good sister again," she said, very seriously. "Can you do that for me, darling?"

Lydia rested her cheek against Carwood's shoulder, looking at Jane and Duckie warily. "Why?" she asked, somewhat shyly.

Lipton smiled softly at Lydia, having caught Jane's drift. He glanced over one last time, as if for permission, before sharing their family's latest news.

"Because you're going to have another little brother or sister." He said, his voice betraying just how pleased he was by that fact.

Lydia stared at Jane, then to Carwood, and then her eyes widened as she peered down at Duckie. "Another?" she asked, a softness in her tone that made Jane fret slightly and wish to jump straight into action.

"Darling," Jane murmured fondly. "Oh, darling, you will still be loved. You will simply be a big sister all over. Like me," she said. "I had four sisters, all younger than me, and I was the oldest of them all," she said, kissing Lydia's forehead fondly. "You will be such a dear to them."

Lipton rubbed a hand up and down Lydia's back, soothing and affectionate. "Your Mama and I have alotta love in us. Enough for you, enough for Duckie, and enough for whoever else comes along. You don't have to worry about that."

Lydia still didn't looked quite convinced, and for his part Duckie added a string of vowel-heavy nonsense words, peppered with a 'no' on the end that may or may not have had anything to do with the conversation at hand.

"I was the oldest in my family, too." He added, knowing Liddy was imagining another baby as energetic as Duckie for her to help look after. "It's a pretty special job."

It was a common element in their lives and it was something that Jane appreciated -- no matter what, Carwood understood what it was like to take care of the ones you held dear. "Will I get to name the new baby?" Lydia asked, wringing her hands.

"You can give us suggestions," Jane replied thoughtfully. "I believe you will offer us a great deal to think about, to be sure."

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