My Home From Home - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Hertfordshire, England - August 1920
Silence. Pure, painful, excruciating silence is all that surrounded the Aldringham family as they gathered around the drawing room in Aldringham Manor; the beautiful country estate that served as the family's home base for centuries, since the fifth Duke of Hertford. Henry could feel his heart beating practically through his chest as his father smoked a cigar, staring numbly at the burning fire as he stood by the hearth surrounded by a chilling silence that counterintuitively enough seemed to drown out even the crackling that was coming from the burning logs.
Henry glanced over towards his younger sister, Georgina, his mother the Princess Alice, Duchess of Hertford and his Granny, the Dowager Duchess. Georgina looked almost unbothered by finding out her older brother was a homosexual, his mother clearly distraught as she massaged her temples and fanned herself dramatically; Granny, however, was the most surprise of them all. Being the octogenarian matriarch of the Aldringham clan, Henry reckoned she'd be most repulsed by his 'perversion', as it was known. However, contrary to his expectations, she clearly seemed as though she couldn't be bothered by it all; shelling pistachios and consuming them with a bored look on her wizened face.
"What in GOD'S NAME were you thinking!?" Henry flinched as his father slammed his hand aggressively onto the marble chimneypiece above the hearth, his rich deep paternal voice bellowing in anger and disappointment. "On Regent's Street of all places?!"
"Is there something wrong with Regent's Street?" Granny glanced around confusedly as Henry bit his lower lip to keep from cracking a smile; Granny always had some off-the-cuff remark or another to say at any given time, it was likely where Henry got his gift of being able to compliment one whilst very subtly insulting them at the same time. "I should think there are far worse places in London to be publicly indecent. The entire East End for that matter; anything east of Canary Wharf really, though I suppose there are some rather grim bits in the South as well..."
"Honestly, Papa. You mustn't be so hard on Harry. Dozens of men were arrested last night, at least he's not one of them." Georgina tried to reason with her father, though in light of recent events, reason wasn't something he was very prepared to see.
"Go to your room Georgina. You need not hear about such vile, unnatural things." The Duke said angrily as Henry felt his heart sink in his chest. His father hadn't even looked at him since he'd forced him to return from London to Hertfordshire after Daniel, or Constable Harries as he was known now, escorted Henry home to Knightsbridge after catching him in the alleyway with Pietro. Hardly uttering more than two words to him.
Daniel had been a footman at Aldringham Manor when he was younger and dreamt of becoming a police officer one day; though most of the downstair staff scoffed and looked down their noses at his dreams, Henry wasn't so quick to do so. So that summer when the family went to up to London for the summer season Henry asked the Manor butler, Turnbull, if he'd mind terribly  sparing Daniel for the season so he might go with the family to London and serve as Henry's personal valet.
Whilst in London that summer, Henry made a few inquiries and using his family's influence he managed to secure Daniel a trainee position at Scotland Yard which ultimately led to him being Constable Harries as he was at present. At the time Henry's Papa thought he'd lost the plot; social mobility wasn't exactly a societal norm in Edwardian England, nor was it terribly well looked upon in the 1920s for that matter. Nonetheless Henry wasn't much for societal norms; and in this situation it was likely this very trait that ultimately came back to help him in his hour of need. But that relief was short lived.
Henry insisted that Daniel came inside for a nightcap when they got back to Knightsbridge; a token of his gratitude for Daniel not arresting him when he legally had grounds to do so, to which young Constable Harries obliged. He was grateful to the Aldringham's and remained loyal to the Duke and his family, but he was especially grateful to Henry for obvious reasons. But just as Daniel was led into the library by Henry, they were both caught off guard to see the impressive yet intimidating Duke of Hertfordshire sitting in his armchair and enjoying his own nightcap. Henry's father had gone up to London to sit for a vote in the House of Lords as he was a Peer, and being the ever attentive and observant man he was, he knew from Henry's tense body language and Daniel's skittishness alone that something was wrong. And it only took one question to his former loyal employee for Daniel to sing like a canary.
"You know Papa, I was reading that homosexuality was quite normal with the Ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Celts, and even the Vikings." Explained Georgina matter of factly. "And if it weren't for European imperialism imposing our ways upon the colonies, many of their cultures were once open to the idea and even celebrated it as well."
"God in heaven." Granny muttered disapprovingly, glaring at her granddaughter with a mix of confusion and fear. "We've a Bolshevik in the family."
"Georgina you're far too young to know what a homosexual even is. As your Papa, I order you to retire to your room at once." Papa muttered mutedly to young blond haired girl.
"I am not. I am sixteen years old and perfectly capable of holding adult conversations. Therefore I most certainly shan't be leaving." Argued Georgina vehemently, earning her a frustrated huff from her father; his eyes only momentarily glazing over his disgraced youngest son before staring mindlessly at nothing at all with his jaw clenching furiously.
"Papa, I'm sorry." Henry said softly, watching as his father clinched his fist with his emotionally exhausted brown eyes sheathed behind his eyelids; his body language practically seeping with disappointment. "Though if I'm being terribly honest, I should think it all could've been worse..."
"Worse?! Worse?! How the devil could it possibly have been worse?!" Papa roared angrily, causing Henry to flinch patiently. "Caught in a dark alleyway, in a the arms of a man, no less." he muttered lividly.
"Are you more put off by the 'man' bit or the 'alleyway' bit?" Smirked Henry, momentarily forgetting he was quite literally skating upon terribly thin ice.
"I'll have no cheek out of you, boy!" Scolded Papa angrily as Henry's smirk fell clear off his handsomely chiseled face. "You're bloody lucky young Daniel was the one who caught you, or I daresay you'd likely be in His Majesty's Custody; rotting away in a prison cell somewhere in Essex."
"Heavens, Essex." Scoffed granny with a  cheeky smile. "What a ghastly prospect."
"Ten men had been arrested last night and await trial." Papa muttered angrily, simply ignoring his mother's interjection. "If even one of them so much as mention that the son of the Duke of Hertford was in that.. that... place, then God help you, Henry."
Henry felt a pang deep within his chest as he heard his father call him 'Henry'; the only people who called him Henry were teachers, professors, and strangers. To friends and family he was Harry, always Harry.
"None of my mates have been arrested, Papa. It's highly unlikely I'd be given away by anyone." defended Henry, though his father clearly wasn't having it.
"But why were you even there, Henry!? What on earth would possess you to do something so obscene!?" The Duke scoffed as he threw his hands up in disbelief.
"I think you already know the answer to that Papa." Henry trailed off as his father's dark brown eyes, fiery with anger flashed towards him.
"God in heaven." The older man shook his head as Henry's Mama grimaced at the thought.
"Surely you can't be that naive Papa, you sent me to an draughty old all-boys public school in the middle of bloody nowhere. Surely you can't find notion to be so outlandish, not when you yourself went to an all-boys boarding school as well. Surely you must know what goes on there behind closed doors." Reasoned Henry, but to no avail.
"You mind your tongue, boy. There are ladies present." Papa seethed angrily, once again refusing to look Henry in the eyes. "I'm only sorry your poor Granny had to witness this day."
"Why?" Granny craned her neck to look at her son. "I've been alive for a long time, Richard. I've seen  more than you can imagine."
"I don't believe this, are we honestly having this conversation?!" Papa huffed frustratedly at the whole overwhelming situation that he saw himself entangled in. "Disgraceful..." He straightened his posture ever so slightly as the door came crashing open to reveal Henry's eldest brother Edward, his wife Sybil, and their darling little three year old daughter Anna.
"Grandpapa! Grandmama! Granny!" The precious little girl bounced into the room, her precious blond ringlets cascading down the back her little blue frock with white lace. She greeted everyone in the room sweetly with a kiss on the cheek before finally settling down in her favourite Uncle's lap.
"Hello Uncle Harry." The little girl climbed into Henry's lap and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Hello poppet. Did you enjoy your walk?" He asked lovingly as his little niece nodded and snuggled into his black tailored dinner jacket. Henry absolutely adored his little niece and in turn she thought the world of him; no matter how busy his day was at the hospital he always loved to sit and listen to her babbling about everything she did in a day. It was the absolute highlight of every night.
All children in the Aldringham family had very structured and planned daily activities, they'd spend all day with their governess; usually a horridly strict older woman with a stiff upper lip and a terribly cold demeanour about her. Then after children's dinner is brought up to the nursery, they'd join their parents for a walk in the back garden and later have a few minutes with the rest of the family before being whisked off by their governess back to the nursery to be tucked into bed.
It wasn't exactly a warm or loving childhood, yet it was what it was; when it all boiled down to it, Henry knew absolutely nothing about his parents, and neither did they him. He knew them a few hours out of the day during the first seven years of his life before he was sent off to an elite boarding school in Aberdeen. At which point he only ever truly saw them at Christmas in Hertfordshire or during his summer holidays spent in London. He often sent the family letters, which most would find extremely formal and cold, but a part of him longed for a warm, normal family even if it meant having no social standing or money.
"I think it's time little Anna got to bed, isn't it?" The Duke said coldly, prompting henry to glance up
"Fräulein Hilda, bitte bringen Sie Anna ins Kinderzimmer." (Miss Hilda, please take Anna to the Nursery.) Henry's Mama requested softly  to the older Bavarian woman wearing a black dress with clean white lace trim; prompting the older woman to came up and scooped Anna swiftly out of Henry's lap, making haste towards the nursery. "Danke schön, Fräulein Hilda." (Thank you, Miss Hilda) The Duchess thanked the woman.
"Edward, Emily. I think it's best if you both went to bed as well, it's quite late." The Duke said flatly, his eyes serious and devoid of the warmth Henry was used to seeing in him; his father always saw Henry as the problem child who questioned everything and loathed conventionality, nonetheless it was clear he loved him dearly.
"But Papa, it's only half eight!" Argued Edward with a confused, cocked brow.
"Yes, so it is. No doubt, you must be absolutely exhausted. Now off to bed with the both of you." The Duke shot him a warning glare, and the message came across clear. Edward turned to Emily and with that they both went up to their rooms for the night.
"Will you be driving each of us away, or are some of us allowed to exist of our free will?" Granny chimed in sarcastically, smirking ever so slightly as her son clenched his jaw; he knew better than to engage in a row with his own mother.
"Pack your things, Henry." The Duke muttered as Henry's bright blue eyes shot up to meet his. "I've rung our barrister and he's suggested that you ought to lay low for a bit. Leave the country until the preliminary interrogations and perhaps even the trials are over for the men arrested."
"Leave the country?! Why on earth would I do that?!"
"Why?! Why?! Because in case it has somehow escaped you, Henry. What you have been doing, is a crime! Until not long ago it was a capital offence!" Henry's Papa scoffed, pure disgust in his voice.
"And where is it you're exiling me off to, Papa?!" Henry cried out in disbelief.
"That is of no concern to me. Pack your things, and decide where it is you wish to go. I'll provide the money and your Uncle Bertie will send over new passports and documents with a different alias should your name comes up during any interrogation. You're jolly lucky he didn't ask too many questions as to why." Uncle Bertie was Henry's Papa's old friend from Cambridge and now the Home Secretary. "Decide your fate yourself. You've made your bed now you bloody well will lie on it. This has been absolutely exhausting and so I shall be going to bed. Good night."
Henry furrowed his brows as his father stormed out angrily with his fists clenched. His eyes looked so aged and tired in that moment; as though finding out his son was a homosexual was the worst piece of news he'd ever received. Likely because in England of 1920, it was rather the worst piece of scandalous and disturbing news that anyone could unearth. He didn't blame them for being unsettled, but at the same time it hurt him to think that his family didn't understand him for who he was.
"Harry... You're crying..." Georgina sat down next to Henry and took her brother's hand supportively in her own.
"Oh erm..." Henry touched his hand to his cheek to feel a salty wet residue on his fingertips. "I suppose I am, aren't I?" He flashed his sister a pained smile though she like saw right through it.
"Wherever shall you go?" She asked softly as Henry glanced up to see his mother let out a deeply unsettled sigh; still staring off into the distance with her bright bleu eyes transfixed onto the burning fire.
"Not sure, really. I suppose I could go anywhere." Henry shrugged as he stared down at the silk carpet below his feet.
"You could go somewhere on the Continent, perhaps. Somewhere that has decriminalised homosexuality." Offered Georgina. "Perhaps Turkey, Holland, or Italy. France maybe?"
"I should think I've had quite enough of the Continent after the war, thank you very much." Henry thought about it seriously with a shudder; though Henry didn't see direct combat in the war, treating the injured men who came off the battlefield was emotionally and psychologically taxing in its own way.
"What about the colonies?" Mama chimed in, her voice cracking heart wrenchingly as she spoke for the first time since all this started. Henry clicked his tongue in disapprovingly, shaking his head in response to the notion. "What? I think it to be a brilliant idea; they're our colonies after all so it won't be terribly different from home. Besides, I don't see the point of owning half the world if we can't jolly well go there if need be?"
"To bleed them of their wealth and natural resources whilst oppressing them and taxing the lives out of them." Georgina rolled her eyes as she glanced up to see her mother, grandmother and brother all glaring daggers at her.
"Alice, dear, you simply must stop allowing Georgina to read these republican books." Scolded Granny sternly, her eyes darting between her daughter-in-law and her granddaughter. "It's a miracle she hasn't already had us all guillotined like the entire French aristocracy."
"What a beastly thing to say, Georgie." Scoffed the Duchess at her daughter's rather radical views for the time. "I should think our involvement in the colonies do far more good than anything unsavoury as you're so implying. We've given them the English language, industrialisation, European ideals and values! The railway system, for heaven's sake! One begs to wonder what state some of these countries would be in had it not been for our influence."
"To be fair, Mama. They managed to crack on just fine before we got there, I should think they'd've got on just as well without us." Muttered Henry dismissively; he hadn't the strength nor the time to discuss politics with his family "Regardless, the colonies are simply out of the question. Their laws are British at the end of the day, it'd be utterly counterproductive." Henry tutted, veering the conversation back on track.
"What about America?!" Georgina placed her finger thoughtfully on her lip.
"Surely the can't have come to that..." Mama shuddered at the prospect.
"I should think I'd rather go to prison, to be quite honest." Scoffed Henry as he rose to standing and stalked over towards his Papa's bar trolley, pouring himself a glass of scotch on the rocks; Lord only knew he needed it.
"What!? It's just a thought!" Georgina said blankly, once again earning her blank glares from the other three present. "Why is it that nobody ever has anything nice to say about America?"
"I quite disagree, dear. I think America to be a lovely country." Tutted Granny cheekily with a glint in her wizened eyes as Henry sipped silently from his crystal tumbler; a slight smile creeping over his lips as he braced for what was to come. "The people on the other hand leave much to be desired." Henry choked on his scotch at yet another of the Dowager Duchess' off-the-cuff remarks.
"Hang on... Mama might just have a point." Henry cleared his throat and pursued his lips to recover his composure, setting down his glass as he locked eyes with his weary looking mother. "The colonies might be an option after all. Think about it, if I'm to be getting new documents from the Home Office as Papa says. That too under a false alias, then I'll have a clean slate. So long as I play my cards right and don't do anything terribly foolish, it might be a possibility."
"Oh how marvellous, dear!" Granny sang cheerily, perking up as she clasped her hands together with a wide smile. "The Colonies are simply lovely! So much culture, diversity, beauty! You know, I met some of the loveliest people whilst my Papa was stationed in the Colonies, and don't get me started on the food! I think it's a marvellous idea."
"Quite right, Mama. Now Henry dear, what about India? You could live with our Archie in Lahore. I could send a telegram in the morning and book your crossing once we've received word back." Mama offered, her brother was a colonial officer working under the Viceroy in India.
"Oh Mama, you know I simply can't bear the heat." Henry shot her a look out of the sides of his eyes. "Besides I hardly see how ending up in colonial social circles where everyone knows who my Mama and Papa are quite satisfies the original need for me being exiled in the first place."
"Harry you've literally survived war, surely you can survive a bit of heat." Georgina glared at her older brother out of the sides of her eyes.
"As grim as it sounds, I should think I'd rather brave war than heat." Grimaced Henry at the sheer thought.
"But would you rather brave jail, over heat; that's the real question, dear." Granny said without beating about the bush.
"Fair point, that." Shrugged Henry with a frown as he stared out into the distance in deep contemplation; where would he go, and most importantly what would he do there? If he was to be exiled by his Papa, at the very least, he thought, he might as well go somewhere that suited him in terms of climate and social circles. He couldn't imagine having to deal with both hot or humid climate on top of having to deal with the same stuffy upper-class social circles he'd dealt with all his life.
"For God's sake Harry, surely there's somewhere in the Empire that suits your fancy." Henry's Mama tutted impatiently at her youngest son's indecisiveness.
"Australia, perhaps?" Asked Georgina.
"Cousin David said he saw a spider the size of my head during his Royal Tour in Australia. If I ever saw a spider that large I reckon I'd simply die at the sight of it." Henry shook his head vehemently; he was terribly close to his cousin the, Prince of Wales. "I'm afraid Australia is simply out of the question. I can't stomach spiders here, one shudders to imagine one that bloody big."
"How about Canada...?" Asked Granny as Henry leant forward in thought resting his elbows on his knees, his finger lightly placed on his lips as he stared off into the distance.
"Canada..."