the prince of humbug

         ❝ WE ALL MAKE MISTAKES. ❞  her mind drifted to the past few years, with p.t. being on tour. after she had experienced the brutal judgement of phillip’s parents, she had been particularly harsh on him. it wasn’t to say her feelings had disappeared or she hadn’t acted on them, but she had been far more harsh in refusing to be anything official. possibly a little too harsh considering phillip clearly cared about her and her wellbeing far more than she had realised. the guilt that was settling uncomfortably in her stomach would probably have been a thousand times worse had phineas not rescued phillip from the blazing circus. ❝ perhaps we should consider ourselves both forgiven, ❞ anne suggested, forcing a far more warm smile to grace her features than she was feeling in return of her boss’ own. she truly was fond of phineas barnum and he deserved far more of her pleasantries than she could fathom given the circumstances and sombre mood. quickly, anne reached to brush the threatening tears from her eyelashes and took a deep, yet shaky, breath. crying wasn’t something she typically did openly, so it was most likely to be lack of sleep and sheer stress and worry that was causing her to be slightly more emotional than usual.

          if anything, she was embarrassed with her lack of ability to internalise her feelings in that moment. phineas had seen right through her and that in itself seemed reason enough to stop holding back. so, just as the tears were wiped away, new ones clouded her vision while she hung her head to try and compose herself. ❝ a coward wouldn’t risk his life for the sake of any man, ❞ she reminded him, voice soft and quiet while her focus lay on detangling the ragged and worn tassels on the edge of her well worn shawl. ❝ both you and mr. carlyle are extremely admirable. without you, i doubt we would be given the option of visiting him in a hospital bed. ❞ the slightly dark suggestion to her words left her taking in a sharp, emotional breath at the mere thought before shaking the thoughts physically from her mind. with a soft dab of her eyes into the material of the shawl, anne shifted back onto her feet to offer her hand to the older man. ❝ it would be lovely to have the company, mr. barnum, ❞ she answered, remaining diplomatically polite in order to prevent herself from slipping back into her emotions. however, after a moment of observing the ringleader sitting on the ashen steps, anne couldn’t help but break her societal promise to remain polite and restrained without causing any problem. 

          ❝ perhaps i can give you a woman’s perspective on the troubles plaguing you? ❞ it was forward and possibly a risk, however she cared deeply for the barnum family and couldn’t bare to see any of them in such distress. caroline and helen had become like little sisters to her, being able to provide them with little tips on how they could improve flexibility and their stage presence - particularly for caroline’s ballet ambitions - and charity had been nothing but the mothering presence that she missed deeply in her life. ❝ if that isn’t too forward of an offer, of course. i don’t mean to pry into your personal matters. ❞

We all make mistakes. Phineas knew that. Mistakes were a part of life. You took the mistakes you made and turned them into lessons, learned from what you had done wrong so that you could do BETTER the next time. But he’d also thought that he’d left his biggest mistakes behind him in his youth. He was getting older, just about to breach fifty- which was an age he’d never even considered reaching when he’d been a boy - and yet he had just made the biggest misstep in his life. He didn’t expect FORGIVENESS. He couldn’t. But he had to hope that maybe what little good he had done would do something to balance out the bad. He had to hope that Charity would agree to see him again so that he could explain, so that he could apologize, so that they could move forward from this. He couldn’t allow his own hubris to ruin over twenty years of marriage.

The tears in her eyes weren’t subtle. But Phineas was trying not to draw attention to it, trying to give her what privacy he could though they were in a public space. Of course, now he was also averting his gaze because he could FEEL his own eyes growing hot. He managed to blink away most of it but they still felt wet and he could tell with just one more push he wouldn’t have much hope of holding back his own tears. He wasn’t particularly keen on public displays of emotion, save for joy. He never saw any need to hide joy. But sorrow, anger, the rest. He considered them much more PRIVATE emotions. Ones that really only Charity was privy too and on occasion the girls as well. “...I wouldn’t have left him in there any more than I would’ve my own girls.” He’d hesitated at first, but only for a brief moment. The decision really hadn’t been a difficult one to make. The only thing that had given him pause was his daughters at his side in that moment and the thought of leaving them to run into that building.

        Showing off is precisely what Napoleon Solo lives for. He seldom gets the opportunity, as theft tends to be frowned upon on most occasions. But oh, when he indulges any sort of audience, they are most certainly impressed by the act; he’s a master at what he does, and Phineas is about to become a firsthand witness to the subtle show he puts on. A sleight of hands, an act of magic, the unsuspecting audience left in awe.

        He wonders how often Barnum has been here. How often he’s collected his acts in bars, in idle conversation, as a result of witnessing them taking hold of their talent in the public eye, unnoticed. He’s preening at the thought of catching his eye; Solo knows his talent, born from circumstance, is impressive, and though he’s no longer at a point where he requires theft to thrive, he hasn’t let it go. It’s become a habit, an indulgence, a way of life. He spoils himself, really — and that’ll never come to an end.

        It’s to his benefit that the men are rather pickled; stealing has never been a challenge, but drunken men are ripe for the picking, unaware as they are. Napoleon grins, nods his response, and stands, adjusting his attire and making his way over like a large cat toward its mangled prey. And so the show begins.

        He feigns his clumsiness before all else — bumps shoulders with another man on the way over, and though he hadn’t been selected, Solo uses the opportunity to slip his hand into his pocket and come away with a wallet, raising his other hand up with a sheepish apology. He receives a scoff in return, not that he minds, and turns his attention back toward the pair.

        Napoleon knows exactly how to put on a show. They don’t pay him mind; they don’t notice how he alters his gait, gives the impression of his own drunkenness. He plants his hands down heavily, gives his best smile as he compliments only one of the men’s ensembles, deliberately piquing the interest of the other. Oh, of course, you, too, he says, with a laugh, clapping a hand against a shoulder, and he mentions a woman having looked in their direction, gesturing vaguely with a jerk of his head. There is no woman, but it appears to have done the trick.

        The second man he’d complimented stands, and Napoleon makes a lascivious remark, giving him a wink and telling him that he’d better pluck the fruit from the tree before another does. It’s all too easy to use his posture, a step and a stumble for Solo to plant a hand against his torso, to pluck his very own fruit; a pocket watch, simple in design, but lovingly polished. His company claims that he’s hopeless, and the thief decides to say that he supposes it depends on who wins the woman’s heart — wordlessly urging them to go on.

        Solo keeps the act going, keeps his steps heavy, until he’s out of their line of sight, and he can reclaim his seat beside Phineas, chin up and shoulders broad with all of the pride in the world. 

        ❝ — Child’s play. ❞

The man easily accepts the marks that he points out and Phineas is all too eager to see what’s to come. Solo moves with ease, with CONFIDENCE. And he doesn’t need to know the man to know that this is something he’s learned from a young age, something ingrained in him. He was never particularly skilled at sleight of hand himself but he made due with the few tricks he could MANAGE when he’d lived on the streets. Ultimately the railroads had given him food and shelter and the opportunity to save up just enough money that he and Charity could rent their own apartment together.

It seems far too easy for what the man is attempting. Phineas knows how difficult it is to lift a man’s possessions off of them without alerting them to what’s occurring and he’s quite impressed by how seamless Solo’s movements are. His IDEAS are shifting, adapting now and he wonders if perhaps a bit of slapstick could be introduced. They have other performers they could certainly incorporate into an act with the other man. Magic and comedy. It would be a hit if he could get the man to agree.

He’s doing his best not to stare, trying harder not to erupt into laughter as the man leads the other two on but he keeps his COMPOSURE and buries his smile in his glass, taking another drink, until Solo is returning to their stools at the bar. Only then does he laugh, clapping the other man on the shoulder and grinning. He’s fairly certain Solo has no intentions of returning the stolen items but Phineas can’t bring himself to feel remotely sorry for the men he’s witnessed spewing hatred and physically assaulting his performers.

                   the girl glances past him, over all the other people that were around before her eyes land back on him. he’s crouched down now - and he SMILES. so, that means she’s not in trouble, right ? he hasn’t yelled at her to get lost yet so that was good. she manages to smile back and after a moment of hesitation, a small, somewhat dirty hand reaches for his. phineas. she liked his name. “               jamie. ”

there  was  no  hesitation  as  she  did  what  he  asked,  turning  to  dash  towards  the  hall  closet.  short  as  she  was,  helen  managed  to  tug  her  dark,  florally  designed  coat  from  its  hanger.  draping  it  around  her  shoulders,  she  bounded  back  down  the  hall,  shoes  CLAPPING  against  the  marble  floors.  “  i’ve  got  it !  ”  she  exclaimed,  bouncing  on  her  toes  as  she  sashayed  into  her  parent’s  bedroom.

Sleep is supposed to be a retreat from the day’s events, an ESCAPE from whatever misfortunes it had brought, but her fears take hold of her dreams. Caroline’s imagination can’t be controlled as her nightmares consume her, the images of her father leaving, her father running into a burning building. There’s fire and smoke, flames reaching out for her as well and it’s not long before a fearful cry is ripping past the surface of unconsciousness. It’s enough to startle her awake, though confusion plagues her as her mind tries to differentiate what’s real and what’s not. Her breathing is uneven as she tries to make sense of her surroundings and as her father, her SAVIOR comes through the door, Caroline can’t help but let out another cry as she reaches out for him. 

“ Daddy. ” He was still alive, still here with their family. The months that he had spent away from them all was heartbreaking, had her questioning whether or not she should continue following her dreams if it meant her father would be away. Now that he was back, Caroline clung to him more than ever. She buries her face in his shirt, clutching onto him as tears continued to fall down her face. “ Daddy don’t leave us again, please don’t leave us. ”

Her words just about break his heart and Phineas finds himself clenching his jaw against the sudden tightness in his chest that steals his breath as he pulls his daughter into his arms. He’s done a great deal of LEAVING in the past months, he supposes. He’d gone across the country on tour and once he’d returned he’d almost left them again, running into that building after Phillip. And, he supposes, it must’ve appeared to her that he was leaving once more when Charity took them to her parents’ house.

          ❝ I’M AFRAID THERE IS, ❞  anne protested with a soft, shaky exhale of breath. it had never been her place to be anything but quiet, in the background. speaking her opinions and thoughts openly had never been something she’d done to anyone bar her brother without some form of guilt or repercussion. however, she couldn’t hold back and let the guilt eat away at her when phineas had risked his life for one of their own. he admitted that they were all family. and anne felt truly awful for ever believing that p.t. had thought of them as anything but. shifting uncomfortably on the step, anne moved to pull her knees in closer before deciding better of the less-than-ladylike position considering their public setting. ❝ i have been rather unkind in assuming things, which i had no place in assuming regarding yourself. ❞ her fingers fidgeted in her lap as she avoided the older man’s eye and looked out across the street, feeling the few loose curls blowing against her skin in the light breeze. ❝ you have been nothing but kind to my brother and i. to all of us, ❞ anne continued, a slight smile tinting her features even with somber undertones. it had been so pleasant having a father figure in her life again that wasn’t her brother. as much as she loved w.d., there was a different comfort in being able to rely on someone else for that warm feeling she’d missed out on for over a decade.  

          ❝ and i was foolish enough to believe you no longer cared for us. ❞ feeling the admission leave her felt both parts relieving and frightening. having her words taken the wrong way was very likely to happen in her own experiences. it left her swallowing quickly as she turned to gage the ringmaster’s expression before bowing her head. ❝ which is why i extend my deepest apologies to you. i should never have doubted your loyalty. none of us should. ❞ hesitating, anne lifted her hand to gently touch phineas’ shoulder at the cough, causing her to wince slightly at the reminder of how recklessly brave both he and phillip had been that evening. they had all lost; a business, a home, a job, their safe space, their little utopia in the midst of an imperfect and cruel world. but she knew that the weight resting on her employer was far more crushing than she could ever imagine. the sacrifice he’d made for them all, the risks he’d taken were never always so obvious. she had to learn to appreciate them more. ❝ me too, ❞ she admitted eventually, voice cracking just slightly in the whispered sentiment as she turned her face away again and fought back the incessant tears continuously threatening to spill. ❝ the nurses all but ushered me out of the room the first chance they could. much to my brother’s delight. he’s been trying to get me to get some fresh air for some time, ❞ anne continued once her emotions were back under control, although a watery laugh followed the recounting. with a soft nod, anne pulled her shawl around herself while offering p.t. a soft, fond smile. ❝ it would be cruel for the world to punish him for his bravery. much like yourself. ❞

He’d wondered what they must have thought of him after he’d left. Of course, it wasn’t something that crossed his mind until he was already off across the country on tour with Jenny. It worked, or it would have if she hadn’t QUIT before it had finished. That money was supposed to carry the circus through the next year and instead it had all come down on him. The money was gone. There wasn’t enough to rebuild and for the first time in a while he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. Take it day by day. That was all he could do at the moment. He was back to where he’d STARTED so many times before. Losing work over and over again, trying to scrape pennies together for himself or his family. He always found a way through it but this time there were so many more counting on him. He could hardly blame Anne for her assumptions. He’d lost sight of things, he’d been unkind on a couple occasions because he’d feared losing favor in the eyes of people he shouldn’t have cared about. Thinking back, he was still ashamed of his actions at the party after Jenny’s initial performance. He’d been out of line in more ways than one and only succeeded in embarrassing himself in the end.

◆ ✯  CLOSED STARTER   ▻    @tailorsboy

          ❝ MR BARNUM? ❞  there was a meekness to her voice as she shifted towards the showman, anxious fingers toying with the frayed ends of her shawl. it felt like the past few days had been years, sitting by phillip’s bedside and not even stopping her continual panic that she would lose him to even consider the loss outside of those walls. it had only been on her brother’s insistence that she gave phillip some space, now that he was relatively stable, and actually get some fresh air and a change of clothes that she’d left and begun to imagine what everyone else was going through. ❝ i wanted to apologise, ❞ she began, head hanging slightly. when phineas had left on tour with jenny, her thoughts for the ringmaster had soured quite considerably. as fantastic as phillip had been, there had been an underlying current of sourness - mostly perpetrated by listening to her more than slightly pessimistic brother talking about the situation after one or two too many drinks. 

          ❝ and to extend my deepest gratitude. ❞ anne was entirely sure it wasn’t her place to thank him for saving phillip without even a second glance; it was far more phillip’s place. and, yet, she felt she owed him every ounce of gratitude for doing what she couldn’t in that moment. after all, it had been partially her fault he’d been in there in the first place. with a shaky exhale, she moved to sit on the ashen steps of the former circus next to the man who had given her a chance in life and to who she would be forever grateful for multiple aspects in life.

It had been a long day. A long few days. There wasn’t much to salvage from the ruins of the building but he was still sifting through, in an attempt to see if there was anything at all that had survived the flames. It was something. A DISTRACTION from everything else. Phillip was in the hospital, everything he had built had gone down in flames quite literally, and Charity had taken the girls and gone back to her parents. Something to occupy his mind was exactly what he needed. But there was only so much he could do on his own, sifting through the wood and ash. He was sore, TIRED. He wasn’t as young as he’d once been and he was feeling the physical toll on his body. The doctors had released him after the fire but he still had a rather persistent cough from the smoke that he had inhaled.

EXCITEMENT  !   it  lit  up  gloomy  features,  eyes  dancing  at  the  prospect.  no  matter  how  many  shows  she  attended,  she  would  never  tire  of  the  colored  lights.  the  reassurance  hit  her  deeply,  allowing  some  semblance  of  peace.  the  hug  did  just  as  much,  bringing  a  grin  to  rosy  lips.  an  eager  nod  caused  ponytails  to  bounce,  gold  locks settling on either shoulder.   “ oh,  please  –  can  we ? ”