I didn't know I was a casualty

❝ You're going to make it, trust me. You're going to be okay ❞

He had tried to leave the house before she came, as he always did. He didn't like to be in the same room as her or even spend time with her. Now, before she had told her secret to them, he was fine with her. He always felt a little intimidated by his aunt, but it was never so bad that he would go out of his way to avoid her. Now that she had put all of that out on the table, it had made him so uncertain about himself. Who was he supposed to be? What did she want from them? Why not keep it from them? What did it even matter if they knew or not. All it brought was stress. He was a horrible liar and he just knew that one day he would slip up. Was it to get some sort of control over them? Why...? They were doing fine, were they not? He was a successful doctor and Charles even worked for her. It was true that he had fallen behind on some things physically, but he had never shown that he couldn't do something. He just couldn't understand her, couldn't see her as his mother. For him Dorothy was his mother, someone who had always cared very deeply about him. Yea, Clarence was a mothers boy, that much was clear. Perhaps that was also the reason why he had taken the news so badly.

He had taken his coat, ready to go out. She wouldn't be arriving for another couple of hours, he was sure. So he could go out now, the orphanage was working on a new rood anyway. He had already gotten some planks earlier that morning. He only needed to get them over there. He had done some roof work before when he was working on his own house, so he was sure that he could do some good... Or at least try until a professional could take a look at it. The leaking in the roof just had to stop. With this cold they didn't need something like that. It would only make the children sick... And like he always said; it was better to prevent then to cure. He smiled at the thought. It would be for the first time in ages that he wouldn't have to come as a doctor. This time he would just go as a normal guy, fixing the roof and then helping around the kitchen or something. He was really looking forward to it. It had been so busy as of late.

The smile remained on his face when he opened the door, ready to leave. But as soon as his eyes met hers he froze. The happy expression on his face melted away rapidly. She had arrived early...? Why? He rapidly blinked in surprise, feeling the uneasy feeling creep up on him. As his eyes quickly averted from hers, he took a step back, bowing his head. "Your grace... You are early. Please come in," Dammit. Why did it have to be like this... Maybe he could get Charles to come and entertain her so that he could still get out of this confrontation. He just hated things like this, especially with her.