some Christmas fluff. I don't own any of them, I just like to play.
On Christmas morning Jenny woke up in her own bed at Paternoster Row. First she felt deep sadness and hurt at Christina's betrayal, then relief, wonder and joy at Madam Vastra's easy re-acceptance of her. She kept thinking of how the lizard woman looked with snow on her veil and her swords drawn.
Jenny didn't know what she'd done to deserve Madam Vastra's forgiveness, but she was certain she would never again leave her, or the crime-fighting lifestyle they shared.
Once she was up and dressed, Jenny came into the parlour where a fire was already burning.
One of the ferns was decorated with some strings of popcorn and links of colored paper. It wasn't much for Christmas decoration, but she guessed Vastra had done it that morning. Jenny hadn't gotten a Christmas tree, it hadn't felt important in her rush to follow Agnes and be with Christina. Now she was so grateful for Madam Vastra's effort that she started to cry.
Her mistress beckoned her, and Jenny collapsed in her arms. All the pain, grief and fear of the past month flowed out if her while Vastra just held her.
In her maid, Vastra saw more than ever a vulnerable child forced to grow up too fast. She was proud of how her protégé had handled herself once the truth had been revealed. Jenny had calmly aided the escape of three other victims, gotten herself out of bonds and incapacitated six conspirators.
Once Jenny caught her breath, she leaned back and smiled. "Thank you for taking me back Madam, I don't even have a present for ya."
"You being back here is present enough. You're the closest thing to family I have Jennifer Flint"
Jenny's heart fluttered. In that moment she realized she was in love with her employer. She also knew she mustn't let her know, it could ruin everything. For the time being, it seemed like they were more like a beloved aunt and niece, and that would have to be enough. They sat by the fire in companionable silence, Vastra rubbing Jenny's back.
As Vastra comforted the grieving maid, she started to wonder at the factors that had made Agnes' plan so nearly successful. The isolation that the young toms felt was certainly a major factor. Isolation was definitely something Vastra had known since waking up in this strange, cold, ape-infested world. Her half-grown ape girl eased her loneliness, but she could understand isolation.
In her ancient world, sexuality and reproduction had mostly been severed from each other due to advanced genetics programs. Sex for social connection and cohesion was common enough, but romantic attachments were rare, and treasured in any configuration. In her time with humans she knew this value was not shared, that romantic relationships were both common and tightly regulated.
She could read the tightening social control coming in, and feared that tighter legal prohibition was being considered. As the calendar prepare to turn to 1884, only 'buggery' was forbidden, and the standards to prove the crime were high. There was a movement afoot to ban a much wider range of sexual behaviors. Some of the changes would be welcome, like raising the age if consent for girls from thirteen to sixteen, but, as the doctor told her, "gross indecency" would leave many men imprisoned, chemically castrated, dehumanized and dead, including the man who would invent the best computing machines the planet had seen since Silurians had walked the surface. Thirteen Paternoster Row would become a place of safety for all inverts, and the Great Detective would be their protector.
When Jenny went to get up in order to make lunch, Vastra told her to stay seated. She had the day off from maid duties. It may not have been Jenny's plan, but she had ended up taking a major role solving an important an difficult case. She needed time to recover and to understand her experience.
Under the fern tree was one wrapped present; a box for Jenny. "It's a tool for your training, please open it. I know the tradition is to keep gifts for ones staff for Boxing Day, but I'd like to start this training today."
Jenny opened the box to pull out a checker board with a beautiful set of ebony and ivory figurines.
"They're beautiful Miss. How am I to train with these?" Jenny imagined throwing the figurines, but that didn't seem right. She had played checkers with her cousins, perhaps it was something similar.
"This is a chess set. I've seen many of your contemporaries play checkers, and the principle is somewhat similar, but this is a sophisticated game of strategy, and will teach you to plan, come up with strategies, and anticipate the moves and motives of your enemies. This game will train your mind.
Jenny and Vastra spent Christmas Day playing chess. Jenny quickly picked up the basic rules and soon Vastra had to actually pay attention. She lost her queen foolishly in their fourth game, and by the end of the night, Jenny spotted an opportunity and caught Vastra in a fool's mate with a forgotten rook.
At Vastra's insistence, Jenny bundled up some food and delivered it under the cloak of Boxing Day morning darkness to her aunt's home. Her brother still needed to eat, and now that Madam Vastra realized that John Flint left two orphans, the boy would not be forgotten.
Vaster and Jenny found a new rhythm and routine in the new year. Jenny had acquired a passion for fighting crime, and studied hard.
Household chores got done, though not to victorian standards. It was becoming clear that more staff would make their work go more smoothly. It was sometimes hard to get a cab in the wee hours of the morning when they did their investigations. It was time for a chauffeur who could help maintain the grounds, and care for the horses they would need.
Jenny was tasked, as head housekeeper/butler, with finding the right person. Vastra's only request was that they find an invert. If circumstances were going to get more difficult, as the papers suggested, their household would need to be a sanctuary of safety.
I just watched the imitation game. Did you catch my teference to Alan Turing? The only way I ever beat my brother at Chess was a fool's mate. Largely a bit of luck. Written and edited on my phone, so sorry for grammer and formatting errors.