V –is for Vixen
"Thank heavens that job is completed. I thought I'd never get that done." Charles slumped into the chair just inside Elsie's office and heaved a sigh of relief. "Remind me next year, if we're still working, to get one of the footmen to oversee this task."
"I'll remind you, but I doubt you'll listen. I've been telling you to pass that off to one of them for the last five years, ever since Lady Mary purchased the set. And every year, you sit in your office for hours on end, polishing the things until they gleam and sparkle … and for what? To sit on a mantle, practically unnoticed by everyone. It's just another festive decoration, love."
"Well, I'll know it's there and that it's been polished properly. I'm just thankful we only have to worry about it once a year."
"Fortunately, and now that it's done, you can rest easy. Did you get it placed on the mantle or are you going to do it later, once you've had a minute to calm down and rest?" She couldn't resist the urge to tease him just a little.
"As soon as I finished polishing every single silver reindeer and the sleigh, I took the pieces upstairs and set them in place. I even took the liberty of placing a little garland around it so it would look nice, very festive, if I do say so myself."
She kissed him cheek sweetly. "I'm very impressed, Charlie. Maybe we need to get a silver set for our mantle at home. Wouldn't that be something?"
He shook his head and swatted her bottom playfully. "I prefer our decorations at home to the fancy ones here. Ours remind me of who we truly are and how far we've both come in life. There's something to be said for sprigs of evergreen wrapped around the wooden candleholders with the white candles. And the berries you added for color make the whole thing look fresh and homey. No, I wouldn't want the silver and shine from upstairs in our cottage. I know that sounds harsh, but there it is."
She smiled sweetly at him and cradled his cheek in her hand, brushing her thumb over his lips before sliding her hand around his neck. She drew him into a fierce kiss, one that left them both a little breathless. "I couldn't have said any of that better myself, sweetheart. I love our little love nest with all of its decorations, and it makes me so happy to know you feel the same way."
He stood up from the chair and wrapped his arms around Elsie, holding her close and enjoying the loving moment between them. She tucked her head beneath his chin and gave him a little squeeze. "Mmm, I could stay right here forever," she hummed softly.
"Hold on to that thought, love. We've only a few more hours to go before we can leave. Right now, I need to go back to my pantry and do some work that doesn't involve silver polish, sleighs, and reindeer."
With a quick peck to the lips, she sent him on his way, already slipping into a daydream of how they could spend the rest of their night when they reached their warm love nest.
It was later in the afternoon, when Elsie was nearly finished with her next week's work schedule when a little brown haired girl came bounding into her office, placed her hands on her hips, and firmly declared …
"Mrs. Hughes, we have an emergency!"
Startled by the sudden appearance of Sybbie and her pronouncement, Elsie turned quickly in her swivel chair and quickly assessed the girl for any injuries, or perhaps a broken tea cup or doll. "What sort of an emergency? Does someone need Dr. Clarkson?"
"No, nothing like that. But, it's very important. Would you come upstairs with me so I can show you?"
Thinking that someone had spilled tea or hot cider on the carpet or sofa upstairs, Elsie took Sybbie's hand and let the girl lead her up the stairs and through the entrance hall. "Would you mind telling me where we're going? It might be important to know since it's an emergency."
"We're here," she said, pushing open the door to the drawing room and pulling Elsie inside.
"What were you doing in here this afternoon? Normally, you visit with the family in the library when nanny brings you down."
"Papa and Donk were at the home farm so it was just us girls in the house today. Granny thought it might be nice to play in the drawing room so we came in here instead. It's a good thing, too, or I wouldn't have seen the emergency and thought to come and get you to get it fixed right away."
With a critical eye, Elsie glanced around the room, seeing absolutely nothing out of place or soiled that would need the attention of one of her maids or Charlie's footmen. She looked at every surface, chair, rug … nothing. Her eyes landed on the newly polished sleigh and reindeer and she smiled to herself, making a note to compliment her husband on a job well done. "All right, I give up. I don't see what's wrong, lass. You're going to have to help me a little. You obviously see something I don't."
She pointed up to the mantle and sighed. "Right there! It's all wrong! You've got to fix it before anyone else notices. Please, Mrs. Hughes. The reindeer … they're out of order. Well, Vixen is at least. I think everyone else is where they're supposed to be, except for Comet. That one's all wrong, too."
Elsie stepped closer to the mantle and studied the reindeer, mindful not to touch them in case she left fingerprints on the newly polished pieces. "They all look the same to me. What makes you so certain they're out of order?"
"That's easy. They have ribbons around their necks. That's how to tell the order. At least, I think that's how it's supposed to go." She mumbled something under her breath and ticked off each thing on her list on a corresponding finger on her hand. "Yep, I'm right, and they're wrong. If we can just switch them around, no one will ever know they weren't right in the first place."
"Miss Sybbie, Mr. Carson placed them here, and I can't simply move them about without his knowing about it. I'm sure he wouldn't have intentionally placed them in the wrong order. Maybe he knows something that we don't?"
She placed her hands on her hips and plopped down on the sofa facing the fireplace. "Can't we just call him to come up here instead of going all the way downstairs and then coming back? That's a lot of stairs, Mrs. Hughes, and my legs are only so long."
Through a great show of willpower, Elsie managed to resist the urge to roll her eyes at the dramatic declaration from the little girl she loved so much. "Yes, I suppose that is a lot of stairs for someone so small, though you do have a lot of energy. I'd think running up and down the staircases would be a good way to use some of it since you can't go outside and play, though why I'm giving you ideas is beyond me!" Elsie walked over to the doorway and pressed the button on the wall which would ring the bell down in the servant's hall. She sent up a silent pray that Charles would be the one to answer the call and not one of the others downstairs.
It only took a few minutes for the door to the drawing room to open and for Charles to step in, the confusion on his face very obvious to his wife. "Summoned by my wife and Miss Sybbie. I have to say this was most unexpected. What can I do for you, ladies?"
Sybbie ran over to him and grabbed him by the hand, tugging on it with all her might to get him to hurry along to the mantle. "You have to fix them, quickly, Mr. Carson, before anyone else notices what you've done."
His eyes widened and his eyebrows rose significantly with her urgent declaration. "And, if I might be so bold as to ask, what is it that I've done that needs mending?"
"You've put the reindeer in the wrong order," she replied, as if it was a clear as the sky on a summer day. "If you'll lift me up, I'll show you, but I noticed it when I was in here earlier today. I didn't say anything because I didn't want anybody to get into trouble, especially not you or Mrs. Hughes."
Charles looked to Elsie for help but she was finding it hard to keep a straight face given the circumstances. She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders and a nod that suggested he might want to play along, at least for a bit.
Feeling slightly curious and also defeated, he reached down and picked up the child, holding her high so she could get a better look at the silver sleigh and reindeer on the mantle.
"Yep, I was right. Comet and Vixen have to be switched. Vixen is where you went wrong."
Charles leaned in closer and inspected each reindeer, all eight of them. After having spent hours polishing them, he knew there weren't really any identifying marks on them, nothing but the tiny ribbons around their necks. "Forgive me for asking such a silly question, but how can you tell a Vixen from a Comet from a Dasher or Blitzen?"
"Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen," she repeated, ticking them off one by one on her fingers. "That's how they're listed in my book. But, you've put them in the wrong order: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Comet, Vixen, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen. Their ribbons are all wrong."
His arms were growing a bit weary from holding her up so he gently eased her to the floor then removed the reindeer from the mantle and placed them on the table. "I still don't understand how you can tell the difference. I polished these myself earlier today, and I didn't see their names written anywhere."
"Oh, it's not the names, it's the ribbons like I said before. Red is for Dasher. Orange is for Dancer. Yellow is for Prancer, GREEN IS VIXEN, BLUE IS COMET, indigo is Cupid, violet is Donner, and white is Blitzen."
Elsie had to cover her mouth to stifle the belly laugh that was threatening to break free. Now that it was explained in such simple terms, she could understand fully what Sybbie was trying to say.
"Do you understand now, Mr. Carson?" Sybbie asked, looking up with hopeful eyes.
"I think I do, though I had no idea Father Christmas organized his sleigh by the colors of the rainbow. Who, on earth, taught you that?"
"You did, ages and ages ago … just this past summer," she said as if it was as obvious as the large nose on his face. "We saw the rainbow and you taught me the little saying to help me remember the colors. You said someone named Isaac Newman … Newsman … New … something or other …"
"Isaac Newton," he supplied with a slight smile curling about his lips.
"Yes, Newton … he is the one who named the rainbow. And since rainbows are super special and magical, Santa must somehow use that same magic to make his reindeer fly. They do fly, don't they?"
"Well, it does say so in your book, so I wouldn't want to argue with that. Not today, at least."
"There you have it. Rainbows are color magic. Father Christmas is flying magic, so his reindeer must go by the same colors."
Charles threw his hands up in defeat. Some days, there was no reasoning with a child … or his wife. "Very well, Miss Sybbie. You have explained yourself well and defended your argument. You've convinced me that I've accidentally placed the reindeer in the incorrect order. So, if you'll be so kind as to help me get them in the correct order, we'll see that it's fixed before anyone else notices my mistake."
Sybbie grinned, very happy to have helped her favorite person and to have been correct about the whole thing. After being reminded not to touch them to avoid fingerprints, Charles used his handkerchief to handle the silver reindeer, arranging them in perfect order until his wife and Sybbie were satisfied.
"Thank you for putting Vixen back in the right spot, Mr. Carson. I feel much better about it all now," she said, giving him a quick hug and then ran to give one to Mrs. Hughes. "I think I'll go upstairs now. It's been a busy day, and I'm a little tired. I think I need a nap."
"Want me to walk you back to the nursery?" Elsie asked, brushing her hand through the little girl's hair lovingly.
"No, I'm okay, but thank you." After being reminded to go straight back to the nursery, Elsie and Charles watched her skip through the room and out of the door, singing softly to herself.
Once she was out of sight, Charles rubbed his forehead and temples and sighed heavily.
"Are you feeling unwell, love?"
"I have a pounding headache, now. Must be the smell of the polish, no tea, and all of this," he said, waving his arms in the direction of the mantle.
"Oh, dear, we can't have that." She took his hand and led him from the drawing room. "We'll go to my sitting room, and I'll give you a Beecham's to help with the headache. And, I wasn't going to tell you this until later, but Mrs. Patmore is making one of her seven layer chocolate cakes. She was planning to send us home with two hearty slices to enjoy as we curl up in front of our tree."
He looped his arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her temple. "That is for not laughing at me during this whole debacle." He pinched her bottom and laughed as she yelped in surprise. "That is for allowing the little vixen to ambush me with those reindeer." He looked up and down the corridor to make certain they were alone before pressing her against the wall and kissing her soundly on the lips. "And that, love, is for fireplaces, chocolate cake, and a mantle with no silver reindeers … only greenery, candles, and a cottage full of love."
She carded her fingers through his hair and lightly scratched the base of his neck, causing him to visibly shiver from her familiar touch. "Just you wait until I get you home, Mr. Carson. I'll make you forget all about rainbows and reindeer, but you can be sure of one thing … there's magic to be made tonight at the Carson cottage."
With a renewed spring in his step, Charles happily followed his wife down the stairs, greatly anticipating the rest of the day ahead of him.
A/N: When I first started this series, I was a little concerned about how to work "vixen" into a Charles, Elsie, Sybbie story. And then, this idea came to me … and it was such fun to write. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. It's one of my favorites. I'd love to hear what you think, too, if you'd like to leave a comment or two.