A minute after leaving Albert's office, Friedrich, along with Heinrich and Maria stepped off the stairs, and into the quiet hallway leading to the living room.
Hannah's chiding voice, Johann's irreverent tone, and Viktor's raised voice mixed into a raccous cacophony, as it floated into the hallway, softly echoing down its walls.
Heinrich's face immediately fell, folding into a frown. Maria on the other hand, increased her pace.
A second after she crossed the door's threshold, the voice's immediately died down, giving way to an awkward silence that seemed to embarrass Heinrich more than the previous cacophony.
Upon entering the living room, Friedrich saw Maria standing by the door, eyes glaring at her children.
Especially Johann, who sat with a feigned aloofness.
Hannah on the hand turned to stare at him. And for a few seconds, she held his gaze.
However, when he inquisitively tilted his head, she averted her gaze, an almost imperceptible flush appearing on her face.
That's something you don't see everyday. Friedrich thought, then sighed inwardly. Oh the struggles of being too handsome.
Heinrich who stood behind him surveyed the room, his face as black as coal.
Ignoring his first son's whose feigned aloofness had crack giving way to an awkward head scratch, he cleared his throat. "Alright everyone we're leaving now. We've taken enough of Friedrich's time, and he needs his rest."
"Wait a moment, dear," Maria said, holding him back.
Leaning, she whispered, "Heinrich, we cannot take him in, I understand. But must we leave him in a cold, empty house with no supper? Let me at least make use of the kitchen. Let me cook a proper meal for the boy. It's the least we can do."
From his periphery, he noticed the younger of the twins, who had now abandoned the wooden horse to his older brother, poke Friedrich's legs with an amused expression.
Watching Friedrich bend down, and picked the boy, he sighed, "Fine you win."
Shaking her head at her husband's stubbornness, Maria walked toward Hannah. After a quick exchange, they left the room, and moved toward the kitchen.
The minutes slowly passed, with Friedrich playing with the younger twin, while conversing in a low tone with Johann who kept finding ways to find out what was discussed in the study with his parents.
Friedrich on the other hand kept expertly deflecting from the topic, anytime he brought it up, leaving Johann slightly red faced.
From where he was sitting, Heinrich chuckled at the scene.
With what he just displayed upstairs, it'd be a miracle I'd be surprised if you could out manoeuvre him with words.
Hopefully this will make him more susceptible and eager to learn the trade. Stroking his chin, he chuckled inwardly, Looks like I'd have Friedrich to thank when that happens.
•••
An hour later, Maria and Hannah returned to the room, the slight scent of a home cooked meal accompanying them.
The older twin immediately dropped the wooden toy, and rushed toward Maria. Tugging the leg of her gown, he looked up at her.
This foodie. Maria shook her head in exasperation, grabbed his hand, and walked toward Heinrich, who was now flipping through the ledger on the table.
Leaning in, she whispered, "All done."
Heinrich nodded absentmindedly, his gaze still fixed on the ledgers. Half a minute later, he flipped to the last page of the book, then closed it with a sigh.
Dropping it back onto the table, he stood up, and turned to his family. "Alright. Looks like our visit has come to an end, and it's time we leave."
The younger twin strutted forward, and asked, "Can... can we still come visit Brother Friedrich?" A hopeful expression on his face.
"Of course you can," Heinrich replied, a wide smile on his face. "You can come visit him anytime you want. So long as you've completed all the work you have to do."
Seeing the boy's face dim slightly, then harden with a child's resolve, Heinrich chuckled, and said, "Alright time to go."
•••
By the time the Keese stepped into the manor's porch, the suns searing orb of light had reached it's zenith, imprinting its heat on the world, like stamp to paper.
Barely a second later, an overlapped, soft neigh rolled through the air, as the carriage moved forward, before rolling to a stop a few inches from the porch, under the coachman's command.
Stepping down, he opened the door with a slight bow.
"Take good care of yourself Friedrich." Heinrich said, patting Friedrich on the shoulder. "And don't forget to visit us when you have time."
"Thank you, Uncle." Friedrich replied with a smile. "I'll keep that in mind."
"Good." Dropping the word, Heinrich lead the twins, and Bernard, into the carriage. After giving her own words of advice, Maria followed, then Johann.
Before she stepped into the carriage, Hannah paused, then turned toward Friedrich who was observing the carriage keenly.
He seems different, feels different. She thought, a look of interest flickering briefly in her eyes.
Waving bye at Friedrich, she climbed into the carriage.
Inside the carriage, Maria leaned close to her husband, and whispered, "Dear, did you notice that Friedrich seems... a bit different."
Humming a low 'hmm', Heinrich sank into the leathery embrace of the carriage's seat, and murmured, "Anyone will change... if they go through what he's gone through."
•••
Stepping into the sunlight, Friedrich walked toward the gate, with slow, measured steps.
On getting to it, he pulled it open, revealing the cobblestone path outside stretching as far as the eyes could see.
The coachman bent the tip of his hat forward, and nodded. A grateful expression on his face.
Snapping back the reins, he sent the horses moving forward. The carriage responded in turn, its wheels grinding against the soil with a coarse sound.
After it rolled out the gates, and into the cobblestone streets, it slowly began to pick up pace.
Watching its figure shrink completely, then disappear on the horizon a few minutes later, Friedrich muttered to himself, "I think they noticed."
His lips slowly curled into a smile. "I'd be really disappointed if they didn't."
Shaking his head, he pulled back the gates, effectively locking himself off from the outside world. Turning around, he walked back inside.
•••
Inside, the living room still smelled of lavender, and rose oil, courtesy of Maria and Hannah. Circling the room's center piece, Friedrich picked up the ledger on it, then sat down.
This must be the last entry Albert made. He thought, while making himself comfortable. Flipping the first page, he murmured, "Time to see what I'm working with here."
The seconds occasionally punctuated by the soft, yet rough flipping of paper turned into minutes, all while Friedrich was engrossed in his reading.
At the fiftieth minute mark, he dropped the ledger, and leaned back wearily, eyes staring at the ceiling.
Looks like i was right about moving from broke student to broke merchant. The image of the ceiling briefly turned blurry, forcing him to blink. Not exactly broke. At least I have a manor with fully paid mortgage.
Chuckling in self-deprecation, he stood up, crossed into the hallway, then the kitchen.
Though fleeting, the smell of the food Maria and Hannah had prepared still filled the space.
The moment he thought about eating, his hands moved on instinct, and opened one of the drawers in the room, revealing rows of earthen bowls.
Picking out two of them, he moved to the pot, and scooped two spoonfuls of its content into one of them.
With the other in hand, he walked to the pantry. Some seconds later, he returned with two loaves of bread that had visible black patches on its crust.
After scraping off the black spots, which caused a significant reduction to the loaves, he picked up the plate of broth, then returned to the living room to be begin his meal.
Half an hour later, a low slurping sound announced the end of his meal.
"Ahhh. That hit the spot," He murmured, a satisfied exhale escaping his lips.
After making sure the manor's entrance was locked properly, he went up to Albert's study, where he began leafing through the stacks of ledger's in the cupboard.
Once again, the sound of pages flipping occasionally punctuated the seconds, as they turned to minutes, then hours.
Before Friedrich knew it, the sky had turned a deeper shade of blue, with stars beginning to paint themselves against its backdrop.
As the world grew considerably darker, he took the oil lamp atop the cupboard, and lit it.
A faint orange light instantly flooded the room, chasing away the creeping shadows of the night.