Yahoo Me: A drabble about our characters celebrating something.
This fic, I kid you not, came out of my attempt to find any possible way to get Carson to utter the words "Yahoo!" still in character. And while I was ultimately unsuccessful in my attempt, this fic was the end result. I hope you enjoy.
New Years Day, 1924
The moon was bright and clear that night, and Mrs. Hughes fancied herself a walk outside after the upstairs and downstairs celebrations had been cleared away. She was ever so careful to make a point of putting on her coat just in earshot of Mr. Carson, the only other staff member remaining downstairs.
"Mrs. Hughes?" he asked, coming into the hall and seeing her don her coat. "Where are you off to at this hour?"
She smiled that he'd noticed her at all. "It's a beautiful night, Mr. Carson. It would be a shame not to take advantage of it, don't you think?"
"Well," he frowned. "You ought not to go out at night alone. It's not safe."
"Are you offering to accompany me, Mr. Carson?" Her expression was warm, welcoming and he had a sneaking suspicion she'd planned exactly this moment. He found himself wanting to accompany her. The idea was most appealing.
"If you would not mind," he said as graciously as possible. "I don't like the idea of you out there alone and-"
Her little smile gave her away, but her eyes shone so bright that he was momentarily taken aback by how charming she looked in the dim light of the corridor. She raised her eyebrows at him, waiting patiently for him to finish his sentence.
"-and it is a lovely night," he finished. "The house will be all right without us for a few minutes I'm sure."
"I'm sure," agreed Mrs. Hughes.
It took him mere moments to put on his own coat and scarf on and join her by the servant's door. They didn't touch, though it would not have been entirely inappropriate for him to offer her his arm. Instead they walked close together until they were far enough away from the lights of the house that their world was lit entirely by the moon and stars.
"A very beautiful night for a walk, Mrs. Hughes," Mr. Carson commented. "What made you think of it?"
"Why not, Mr. Carson?" she said amiably. "I plan on living a little less restricted from now on. Where I can, of course." She twisted to look at him as they walked, causing one of the bones in her corset to poke her uncomfortably. She bit her lip to suppress an irked smile. The irony of it would be impossible and inappropriate to explain.
Her expression confused him. "Less restricted…starting tonight?"
"When better to start than the beginning of the year? My New Years resolution, Mr. Carson: to live a little more than before."
"Are you unhappy with the way things are?" he asked, worried now.
"No," she reassured him with a smile. "But that does not mean one still cannot change a little, does it?"
"I suppose not, Mrs. Hughes," he agreed, wondering if she had any specific changes in mind. A dark object appeared ahead of them and he directed her attention to it. "What could that be? It looks like a plank of wood left out in the snow…?"
As they came closer they recognized it as the sled Miss Sybbie had been gifted for Christmas. She was too small to ride it on her own, but had spent hours enjoying sliding down the hills behind the Abbey with her father.
"Nanny Dallows ought to ensure the children's toys are put away properly," frowned Mr. Carson.
"She ought to have," agreed Mrs. Hughes. "But it is not a terrible offense. I'm sure it will be corrected in the morning. Or we might take it back to the house ourselves. Or…"
Even in the dark, he could see the mischievous glimmer in her eye.
"Or…" he said warily. She had that same look that she'd had back at the beach when they'd gone wading hand in hand. She didn't seem to be the buttoned up housekeeper that had chastised her maids not an hour ago about behaving with decorum during their New Years celebrations. Outside, alone with him, she'd left the housekeeper behind. He wondered if he could shed his butler persona just as easily. He didn't think so, and for a moment he felt…jealous.
"Or," she announced, "we might go sledding." She was already picking up the sled and positioning it at the top of the hill as she spoke. She turned to him expectantly.
"Living a little more," he said, considering her. "By sledding?"
"I dare ye?" she teased, thickening her brogue on purpose. "Come on, what could it hurt?"
It could hurt quite a lot, and protests jumped to his mind immediately. They might hit something, or break the sled (he and she combined were much heavier than Miss Sybbie and Mr. Branson) or fall and hurt themselves. He swallowed all of these worries instead of voicing them. Didn't he want to live a little? Live a little with her?
He thought back to his own silent New Year's resolution that he'd made after their traditional toast in the servants hall and made up his mind.
"Very well, Mrs. Hughes. I will indulge this…bit of living if it would please you."
"It would," she said, very surprised and pleased at how easily he agreed. She climbed onto the sled and beckoned him to come sit behind her.
"You might hold on to me, or we'll fall off before we've started," she warned him. The moonlight illuminated enough to show that their path was clear of trees or obstacles, but she had a point. It amazed him how easily this suggestion fell from her lips, as if wrapping his arms around her middle wasn't by far the most they'd ever touched before. What he could not see however, with her back to him, was her blushing furiously at her own boldness, and when he did take hold of her gently around the waist she blushed deeper still.
"Ready?" she asked him, excited and terribly nervous at the same time. She'd half expected him to refuse the entire idea outright, maybe even hoped he would, but they were in too deep to turn back now.
She felt so wonderful leaned back against him; Mr. Carson couldn't help but smile. "Yes," he said confidently, giving them a little push to get them started. The sled picked up speed as it whipped down the hill and Mr. Carson found himself forced to hold on to her tight while she attempted something of steering them in a straight line.
The freezing wind whipped through his hair, and burned his cheeks. It was exhilarating in a way that nothing had exhilarated him in a very long time, and made him feel like a boy again. A great bellowing laugh escaped him as their sled ride stripped him of the ridged butler he'd thought so impossible to let go of at the top of the hill. His laughter in her ear made her heart swell with joy.
"Oh!" she cried out in surprise. It was then that they DID hit something, just as he had feared: a bump that made it impossible for her to hold on any longer. The sled went left and the two of them went right, tumbling over each other down the short remainder of the hill. He landed at the bottom on his back in the snow. An instant later she landed squarely on his chest, them both slightly winded.
Instinctively he put his arms around her. "Mrs. Hughes! Are you all right?"
She took half a moment to catch her breath before replying. "Yes. Yes, I am. Are you, Mr. Carson? Did I hurt you?"
She went to move away, mortified to have fallen right on top of him, but he held her to him instead. "It's okay," he told her. "I'm perfectly fine… though you may have to ask me again tomorrow morning."
She laughed shakily. It was overwhelming and delightful, being held so close to him. His hair was tousled, he was positively covered in snow (as so must she be, but strangely she didn't feel the slightest bit cold) and for just a moment, as he beamed at her, there wasn't a trace of the uptight butler of Downton Abbey. He started to laugh too, and for just a second, lying in the snow, Charles and Elsie forgot themselves.
Mrs. Hughes recovered first. It wasn't proper and she hadn't meant for them to end up in such a compromising position. When the adrenaline wore off, he might be humiliated and cross with her for the way their little adventure had ended. She ought to sit up and eventually she summoned the self-discipline to do so.
She'd felt so good in his arms, and she was so beautiful, her hair coming loose around her face in the moonlight. He could hardly bear to let her go.
"So this is your idea of living a little more?" he asked her, sitting up but still slightly breathless. "Your New Year's resolution?"
She looked somewhat embarrassed at where her flirting had landed them. "Well, it wasn't really supposed to end with-"
He cut her off by kissing her tenderly, and she responded immediately, pulling herself closer into his embrace. She found it impossible to keep herself from kissing him back with enthusiasm. He pushed her gently but firmly backwards, pinning her against the snow now and kissing her with purpose. The ground beneath her was cold, but she'd never felt so warm. Kissing her, he was completely the man she'd only ever seen hints and glances of before. A man full of passion with kisses full of promise, and she knew then that she had his heart just as entirely as he had hers.
After a few moments when they broke apart, simply holding on to each other and staring in delight.
"Mr…Carson," she managed, still somewhat taken aback by how passionately he'd kissed her, how obviously he returned her feelings. "What was… that?"
He cupped her cheek, and bent his head to whisper to her, even though there was no one about. "My New Year's resolution," he told her, before kissing her again.
Look, some clichés are just irresistible, okay? I hope you liked it.
Our final chapter will be…Zip Me!