Lost in Yesterday

'Siisssster dear!' The blond man’s booming voice could be heard from blocks away as he made his way through the front door of the orphanage. With his fingers firmly clasped around an overfilled basket, Augustus found a way to balance himself in the entryway. As he locked the door again, he gazed into the hallway, trying to spot a glimpse of his sister.

While the blond man wasn’t a fan of noiseless and silent entries – he liked to make a true entrance after all, to make himself known to everyone who was able to hear it - he wasn’t prepared for the flock of children that seemed to appear out of nowhere, eyeing his basket. His light eyes met three or four or five – their number multiplied by the minute – pairs of tiny eyes, quietly pleading him for one, just one item from his basket.

’Hi… everyone.' The blond man raised his eyebrows, just regarding the ever-growing audience in front of him. ’Rosslyn?' Augustus tried, his voice a tad more hesitant than it was just a few moments ago.
No, Augustus wasn’t a fan of children, not even in the slightest. He had often wondered where his sister’s goodwill towards these underprivileged infants came from – even their parents hadn’t been particularly warm and kind towards the both of them once they pursued their true passions in life, professions that differed from the Carnegie’s traditional and prearranged career plan.

’Now, children…' He kneeled down a little in an attempt to bring his eyes to the same level as the children, still clutching the basket as if his life depended on it. Augustus put on his sweetest and most harmless voice, as if he was talking to his beloved horses. ’Will you go and find miss Rosslyn for me? Tell her that her brother Augustus is here.' One of the children, a mousy girl with hair as blonde as straw, nodded happily at his request and ran back into the corridor. The blond man looked the running girl with a slightly-nervous and slightly-suspicious smile, keeping his gaze locked on the hallway.

Without making a move, Augustus stood at the doorway like a motionless statue, apart from a tensed, deep breath that seemed to escape his lips from time to time. While he was used to ruling a household with an iron fist if he needed to, this was a completely different piece of cake. The orphanage was his sister’s domain first and foremost and, in all honesty, Augustus wasn’t used to having children around. The children of the Villiers family were already grown when he arrived at the manor as their house steward, and babysitting children was a task for the nannies of the household, not for highborn, posh boys in three-piece suits. The blond man could feel the curious glance of the children burn in his skin, yet he wasn’t planning on averting his gaze from the door where his sister was bound to appear at any moment. He just silently pleaded the children wouldn't start pulling at the hem of his trousers to get his attention or worse, start crying while he was the only adult around.

‘Augustus, what a pleasant surprise!’

And what a relief hearing his sister’s voice was. Augustus immediately grinned as he watched Rosslyn, stepping down from the doorway to approach her. 'Sister dear,' he said in a sing-song voice, a grin plastered on his face. Yes, he had truly missed her, even more than he ever would admit. 'Couldn’t go down to the Middle Ring without paying my beloved sister a visit now, could I?' He chuckled, somewhat awkwardly moving the full basket he still held in his hand away so he could pull Rosslyn closer with his other arm. 'And… I got us lunch, sooo I hope you’re hungry...' Augustus smirked again, the type of boyish grin that was only reserved for those closest to him. He nodded in the direction of the overflowing basket, filled with last night’s remnants of a true Villiers family feast.