A Shelby Mistress

Foundation Dinner

"What's this?" Polly frowned seeing Aurora stood on the other side of her door with a large white box in her hands and an innocent smile on her face.
"Esme is craving chocolate cake and sex and I thought while I was 'ere delivering some of my finest cake I'd come to your house and treat you too. This one is vanilla sponge with chocolate frosting, I know you hate it when a cake is all chocolate" Aurora explained holding out the box to Polly and dropping it into her hands before she could refuse it.
"It makes my tastebuds shrivel up but this, this is a cake I can get on board with. Come on in sweetheart, I hope you don't mind I've already got company this morning"
Stepping inside, Aurora removed her coat and passed it over to the maid with a a grateful nod and polite hello. She would never get used to the maids within the Shelby houses. It didn't matter how much money came in, Aurora was still happy to be in her small house, maid free. It's not that she disagreed with it, the maids seemed to love their job, Aurora just had no need for any. Tommy had brought up the idea once and she'd all but laughed in his face, there was nothing a maid could do that she couldn't simply do for herself. Now if she were to live somewhere as grand as Tommy then Aurora would see the benefits of having staff.
"Do I know them?" Aurora wondered thinking Polly had invited the man from the wedding who she'd took a fancy to. She try to say she hadn't but Aurora say the way Polly's face lit up and Ada had all but confirmed it on the phone.
"It's a very sweet Shelby boy" Polly winked leading Aurora through the house towards the lounge "I say sweet, he's currently teething and sleeping less than his Father"

In the middle of the lounge, sat on one of Polly's expensive rugs was Charlie throwing his little blocks with a small smile. Aurora could see that the right side of his face was flushed a deep red colour, his mouth salivating more than what was usual and yet despite the painful frown on his face, he was trying to smile, finding humour in the sounds his blocks made when they crashed into one another.
"The pain is making him fussy, I've tried to get him to sleep but it seems to upset him more"
Giving Charlie a sympathetic look, Aurora slipped her feet out of her heels and joined him on the floor, collecting the blocks he'd thrown and placing them back in front of him.
"Are those teeth of yours giving you trouble darling?" Aurora cooed, her palm gently cupping his red cheek and feeling the heat rushing through her hand she let out a sigh "Very troubling indeed love"
Enjoying the coldness of Aurora's hand, Charlie leaned his head into her her palm and closed his eyes, his face becoming a picture of contentment. Aurora knew it would all fade once her hand warmed up and began looking for another solution, her new purpose for today was to soothe little Charlie Shelby for as long as she could.
"Where is Tommy?" Aurora asked lifting Charlie up from the ground and placing him on her knee so he could lean back into her whilst he rested his head.
"Meetings, I said I wanted to spend more time with Charlie so he dropped him in early this morning and off he went"
Polly didn't regret asking to have Charlie but she hadn't prepared for how difficult it was going to be. No matter what she did to help him, Charlie continued to be upset leaving Polly both exhausted and feeling guilty for not being able to help.
"Did he bring a teethin' rattle with him?
Charlie needed something hard and cold to press his aching gums against as the coldness from Aurora's hand was beginning to warm up causing the poor boy to begin to fuss.
"Yeah I've tried it, he just throws it" Polly huffed and turning to look at her, Aurora truly noticed her Aunt for the first time since arriving. Her hair was dishevelled and wild, her face flushed and her breathing fast and heavy telling Aurora that Polly had bent over backwards to try and please Charlie.
"Will you fetch it for me Pol?....I want to try" Aurora hesitated feeling that familiar crippling guilt running through her just as it had the last time she held Charlie. It didn't feel right to hold him but it also felt perfectly right and Aurora didn't want to put him down and not try especially when he was experiencing such pain.
"Think you can do better than me?" Polly teased, her eyes searching the room for Charlie's teething rattle until she found it resting on the small table beside the bottle of gin she'd been slowly taking sips from.
"No but we're goin' go try, aren't we Charlie boy?"