Geric | An Inspector Calls fanfiction

2

Arthur Birling always likes to wake early in the morning. Sometimes he wakes just after the crack of dawn, when the birds come out of their nests and chirp their morning songs. After dressing in to his formal work suit, he goes down to the dining room, where varies amounts of breakfast food has been placed neatly on the table. He then waits for the rest of his family to wake and join him at the table.

Sybil is always the first to join her husband at breakfast. She places a light kiss on his head as she passes him on the way to her place at the table. Then Sheila arrives, usually looking fresh faced from a good nights sleep, although this morning she looks as though she didn't sleep at all.

"Good morning Sheila." Mrs Birling smiles at her daughter as she sits down. Sheila doesn't respond. She reaches across the table for a slice of bread, and starts buttering it. Mrs Briling stares at Sheila, aggravated by her rude behaviour.

"How did you sleep, darling?" Sybil says, trying not to burst with rage at her daughter's lack of communication.

"Fine." Sheila says, not looking up from her plate.

Sybil breathes in a deep breath and slowly releases it, moving her attention away from Sheila to Gerald who is just entering the dining room. He sits down next to Sheila and bids everyone a good morning.

Mr and Mrs Birling, oblivious as they are, have no idea that last night Gerald slept in the same bed as their son, they just assume that he slept with Sheila. It's not the first time this has happened. In the past, Gerald has spent many nights with Eric when Mr and Mrs Birling thought that he was with Sheila, and it was easy for them to believe that as he and Sheila were engaged.

"Coffee, sir?" A parlour maid appears at Gerald's side, holding silver jug of hot coffee.

"Oh, no thank you." Gerald smiles up at the young maid, thinking that she could be one of many like Eva Smith.

"So Gerald, have you taken over the family business while Lord and Lady Croft are abroad?" Mr Birling asks, dabbing at the corners of his mouth with a white napkin. 

"Yes I have." Gerald speaks politely.

"How's that treating you?"

"It's tough, but it's nothing I can't handle." Gerald says and Mr Birling chuckles softly.

"If you need any business pointers, I am always here to help. I've been in the trading business for years."

"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind." Gerald gives Arthur a polite smile before quickly turning his attention to the silver platters spread across the table. He can't bare to talk about business any longer with Mr Birling.

"Where is that boy?" Arthur's stern tone matches the expression on his face. He twists in his chair to peer out into the hallway, looking for any sign of Eric. "He needs to come down here and deal with the consequences of stealing."

"Leave him to rest, he had a tough night." Sheila says.

"A tough night?" Mr Birling scoffs. "If he hadn't kept emptying my port jar every five minutes, he would have got some rest."

"The only reason why he kept doing that was because of you! He feels extremely guilty about Eva Smith, and stealing from you, but you didn't help. You had to make him feel worse and make him feel as though he couldn't confide in his own family!" Sheila's cheeks have flushed a faint colour of pink. She glares at her father, who glares back with wild eyes.

"Eva Smith doesn't exist, Gerald explained it all last night! That boy need to start pulling his weight. I won't stand for lying and stealing, even if he is family. I didn't raise him to be like this."

"You didn't raise me at all." Eric's presence startles everyone. He trudges over to his chair and slumps down with an exhausted sigh. He looks unkept and tired.

"I want you doing over time at the factory to pay for what you owe me, and any savings you have will be given to me." Orders Mr Birling. His thick eyebrows are furrowed and angry crease lines form on his forehead. "Are you listening to me?" He leans across the table so that he's closer to Eric, almost inches away from his face.

"I'll give you all the money back eventually, it might take some time though." Eric says.

"No, I need it back as quickly as possible. That was a lot of money you stole from me, it's put the whole business in jeopardy."

"No it hasn't. You only found out about it last night, so how can you know it's affected the business?" Eric rolls his eyes at his father.

"Stats have been rapidly dropping recently, so I knew something funny was going on." Arthur leans back in his chair as the young parlour maid clears away his plate.

"That could be because the business hasn't been trading much lately, you have lost quiet a lot of your usual traders." Sheila says, staring her father in the eyes.

Everyone knowing that she is right. Due to the high prices at Birling and Company, trading has plummeted. Other businesses can't afford the costs and have taken their trade elsewhere. Also, maybe sparked by Eva Smith's strike, workers at Birling and Co have left, due to 'poor work conditions' and 'poor pay'. This has all left the company on the verge of shutting down. However, Mr Birling won't admit that it's his fault, he won't admit that the prices are high and worker's pay is low because he's a money greedy man. He will find something, or someone, else to blame.

"Birling and Company is doing just fine Sheila." Arthur turns away from Sheila and faces Gerald. "When it comes to business, women never know what they're talking about."

Gerald smiles at Arthur, feeling obliged to agree with him.

"Right, we better be off to the factory." Arthur rises from his chair and looks down at Eric. "C'mon Eric, you've got work to do."

Eric stands up without looking at anyone, especially Mr Birling. His face wears a sulky expression as he follows his father out of the dining room.