Belladonna
Chapter Five: Belladonna
With Tony back at MIT and Howard disappearing every day for a research project at SHEILD, Eris was left alone with no one other than Maria, Jarvis and her nanny for company and, while Eris loved all of them dearly, she knew better than to start getting attached to them considering what was going to happen. There were other people around as well, mostly maids and butlers but Tony had made it clear that no one other than Eris’ nanny, Jarvis and Maria were allowed around Eris without him there to vet them. It made Eris feel all warm and fuzzy as well as annoyed because of how overprotective he was.
Currently, Maria and Eris were settled in the nursery – Eris placed carefully on Maria’s lap – reading in Italian. Eris had to admit that she loved the sound and the accent Maria occasionally allowed into her words and Eris had gone so far as to attempt to mimic it – badly – which Maria found adorable. It was now known by the family that Eris could speak so Maria and Howard had decided to start Eris’ education now since she seemed so eager to start.
Jarvis was pottering all around the nursery, cleaning everything from the smallest doll to the largest bookcase. He even made sure that Tony’s new crib security system – he had installed it before he left after hearing about several attempted kidnappings in the area – while being as silent as possible so as to not interrupt the two girls.
“Jarvis!” yelled Howard. “Jarvis where are you?”
Stopping, Jarvis turned to Maria and Eris, his eyes asking a silent question as he placed the cleaning supplies in a bag. Maria sighed and nodded before turning back to Eris and reading the next passage.
“Coming, sir!”
Hearing the front door slam close, Eris sighed a little: she was sad that Jarvis had to leave since he was the one that would raise Tony and Eris when Maria and Howard died but it couldn’t be helped. was soon distracted by Maria standing up and grabbing Eris’ coat. Maria gently pulled it around her and walked out of the nursery, ignoring Howard speaking very harshly to Jarvis about something being amiss in his workshop just outside the front door. Jarvis seemed to only be half listening – this seemed to be a normal occurrence in Stark Mansion – as Maria walked past them and towards the side doors where the garage was located.
Entering the garage, Eris was surprised to find someone waiting for them and she squealed in delight when she spotted who it was: Peggy Carter! Peggy was dressed to the nines as she usually was and looked every bit as stunning in real life than in the films. Her face instantly lit up upon seeing Maria and Eris coming out of the house and Maria was just as happy.
“I was more than happy to get your call,” said Peggy, gently hugging Maria. “I really wanted to spend some time with my God daughter.”
“I’m glad. Howard is doing something in his workshop today and I was worried about the noise,” sighed Maria. “Besides, Tony was hoping that we’d be able to get Eris some more outfits for when he comes home. Apparently, he has plans.”
Laughing, the two women slid into Peggy’s car, placing Eris gently into her car seat before settling down and beginning the long drive into the city. Maria drove, allowing Peggy the chance to bond some more with her God daughter since it would be at least a few hours before they exited the estate and entered city limits.
“She has your looks,” said Peggy, running a finger through Eris’ tiny curls. “Let’s just hope she doesn’t have Howard’s personality.”
“Oh, I doubt she has that,” laughed Maria. “You’ve seen her with Tony.”
“That’s true, Howard wouldn’t be caught dead with either of them,” sighed Peggy. “I don’t know how you stand it.”
“You’d be surprised, I’ve often found Howard sneaking into Eris’ nursery in the middle of the night, telling her stories about Steve and Bucky and the Howling Commandos… he’s sweet, it’s like seeing the old Howard again.”
The two were silent for a moment listening to Eris babble as much as she could in hopes of breaking the slowly forming tension. In all honesty, Eris had never really though Howard was a bad father – sure he was a neglectful one but he made sure that Tony had everything he needed – or a bad husband – again, Maria had everything she could ever ask for … but maybe this world was different? Then again, Eris was new to this world and had no prior experience with good fathers since he had died when she was younger.
“He wasn’t always like this, Peggy. When we first met, Howard was the sweetest guy I’d ever known, learning Italian for me, flying all over the world for me, dropping everything at moment’s notice to be by my side. He was a dream.”
“So?”
“After Bucky died and Steve disappeared, he changed. Howard began to draw away from us, from me… he only trusted Jarvis after that, only allowed Jarvis to know what he was doing as he worked away trying to find Steve.”
“Steve’s disappearance changed all of us.”
“I know,” said Maria. “But it seemed to bring out the worst in Howard, it destroyed him but – as his father always told him – Stark Men are Made of Iron and thus, Howard bottled everything away… becoming the man we all know today. And I think if I ever left him … I don’t think Howard would survive losing someone else.”
“So you have thought about leaving him?”
“Sometimes, when he says something to Tony that angers me or ignores me for too long… but those moments are few and far between now that this little one has come into our lives. I think having a daughter, someone he can’t parent like his father parented him, it helps.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Peggy sat back, rolling her shoulders and glancing between Eris and Maria, thinking over everything that was being told to her. Then, she smiled, a soft, warm, comforting smile, one that showed that she understood Maria and the pressure she placed upon herself. “You’re a good woman, Maria. The world needs men like you.”
“And like you,” said Maria with a similar smile. “Now, let’s go shopping.”
Eris was scooped up into Peggy’s arms and Maria stood on her left and the two began walking down the Manhattan streets towards the shopping district.
~Stark~
Eris really hated shopping especially when she couldn’t disappear to somewhere other than the shop. She had been dressed in about twenty outfits, all in colours Eris wouldn’t wear if her life depended on it – who would wear pastel orange? – though it did something for her self-esteem to hear everyone fawning over how cute she was.
“Now, where too?” inquired Peggy, the shopping bags easily balanced on each arm. “Shoe shopping or dress shopping?”
“A book shop,” smiled Maria, “This little one has read through almost the entire library – well, the books Howard would allow her to read – so I intend to pick up some more. We’ve started her education early anyway so I want to make sure we have educational books for all years.”
Peggy chuckled and motioned towards the small, family-owned book shop near the end of the road. Maria beamed, as did Eris, and they headed towards it with a pep in their step. Passing over the thresh-hold, Maria headed towards the children’s section only for Eris to let out a whine of protest.
“I think the little one wants to chose her own books,” chuckled Peggy.
“I guess so.”
From that point, Maria wandered around the bookshop, checking with Eris to make sure they were in the correct section before reading every book title out loud for the baby to hear. Eris was quick to babble at the sound of any title that intrigued her, making sure to include both educational and regular books in her selection. By the end of this trip, Maria had several carriers full of books of varying lengths and subjects ready to be sent to Stark Manor. The clerk practically had dollar signs in his eyes as he cashed them out and packed them into boxes for transport.
“Well, the little one will certainly be well read.”
The two ladies continued their shopping trip for several more stores, making sure to spend Howard’s money everywhere – to better the economy, laughed Peggy – until they physically couldn’t carry any more. Heading to the car, Maria and Peggy easily filled the trunk and the back seats with their shopping – obviously making sure the car seat was unencumbered for Eris.
“Today was fun, we really must do it again, soon.”
“I hope we can, I’m not looking forward to returning to SHEILD just yet.”
Eris was simply enjoying being held in Maria’s arms when she heard a voice that terrified and angered her all at once. It was a voice she had always hoped to avoid hearing again until she was old enough to tell the owner to shove his head up his arse.
“The lovely ladies Stark and Carter, how lovely to see you both,” beamed Stane, “I hope you’ve had an enjoyable day.”
Maria felt Eris tense up in her arms and the memory of her daughter’s birthday came back into her mind. Her maternal instincts kicked in without a second of hesitation and Maria carefully positioned herself so as to shield Eris as much as possible from this interloper. Peggy was no slouch either and was quick to notice the atmosphere change as she shuffled forward to act as a barrier between mother, daughter and business partner.
“Mr Stane, I’m surprised to see you here, surely you should be at work?” inquired Maria with practiced politeness.
“I had a business meeting nearby, saw your car and thought I’d come and say hello. We, after all, don’t get enough time to talk, you and I.”
“It’s rather hard for you to speak when you follow Howard around like a lovesick puppy hoping to gain genius by osmosis,” said Peggy, who unlike Maria didn’t care to keep a cordial relationship.
Stane barely glanced at Peggy, instead focusing his eyes on little Eris, who was trying to make herself as small as possible. The moment, though, that she felt his eyes on her, she turned to stare at him, her face morphing into one of distrust and dislike that confused the older man.
“Hello, little one, I’m your uncle Obe,” said Stane, reaching towards Eris.
Three things happened in that second: Maria took a large step away from the man, a glare etched into her delicate features; Peggy stepped forwards to cut Stane off from Eris and protect mother and daughter should the need arise; finally, Eris began to cry, wailing her poor heart out in hopes of attracting as much attention as she physically could.
“I’m sorry, we must be off,” said Maria, softly.
They were moving before Stane could even answer, getting Eris settled into her car seat as Peggy got into the driver’s seat and Maria into the passenger seat. Stane was left on the side of the road, alone, and it was only once Eris was sure they were gone that she stopped crying and allowed silence to reign.
“Your daughter is a very good judge of character,” said Peggy.