Prompt from Aleine Skyfire: Silver and gold

Presents

Wynona sighed and wiped her brow with the back of her wrist. All this sweeping and dusting, and what was it for? It would just get dusty again. Still, better to have a job than not. And, she knew for certain there were worse situations to have. At least Mrs. Hudson was a kindly lady, even if she was demanding. And, Billy was nice to talk to. He was always ready for a bit of fun so long as it didn't put him behind his work. Since Mr. Holmes bought him that nice bicycle, he wasn't often behind.

"All done in here," she said, shaking the last bits of dust into the bin. She stopped and looked at the tree with all of the bright decorations and sighed. "Not yet I'm not."

The tree had dropped more needles since yesterday. The thing must go bare before Christmas at this rate. She went to it and knelt with her whiskbroom in hand and her dustpan. Before she made her first sweep, Wynona noticed a small package tucked in neatly near the base of the tree.

"Now, who would put that there?" she wondered aloud. "Not supposed to be any until Christmas Eve. It's tradition."

She swept up a few needles before the temptation was too much. Reaching out, she lifted the little box, hardly larger than her palm, and read the tag.

"Wynona?" She frowned at it and stole a glance over her shoulder. No one was about, and what would it hurt if she gave it a shake? She heard paper crinkle. She gave it a sniff. "Doesn't sound like anything. It's not soap."

Peering at the tag again with its angular printing gave her no idea who might have tucked it under the tree.

"Well now, what would Mr. Holmes do?" she murmured and smirked. This was rather fun. "He would say something smart like 'Eliminate the impossible.' Or something like that."

Mrs. Hudson would not put a present under the tree until Christmas Eve. She had them all tucked away on top of her armoire. The gentlemen upstairs had their own hiding places. Dr. Watson was ever so good at hiding things. Of course, he had to be because Mr. Holmes was ever so clever at finding things.

"And I didn't put it here," she said, her smirk turning into a grin. "Billy!"

She felt her cheeks grow warm. Of course, it was Billy. He would spend Christmas with his parents.

"It's a good thing I found you," she said to the present and tucked it up under the tree where it had been. "I'm almost done and the shops are still open. Mrs. Hudson won't mind me being gone for an hour or two. Not when I tell her why I'm going."

An hour later, Wynona came through the back door into the kitchen and there was Billy, refilling the coal bin. She stopped dead in her tracks, unsure what to do for a moment.

"Everything all right?" Billy asked.

"Yes," she said, flustered. She had meant it to be a surprise and now here he was, and surely, he would guess what she was up to. But, why did it need to be a surprise? "Billy, come with me a minute."

"Let me wash my hands," he said. "Need something?"

"Wash your hands and come to the sitting room," she said, leaving him to do what he needed to.

When Billy stepped out of Mrs. Hudson's rooms, his eyebrows rose, apparently surprised to see her standing beside the Christmas tree.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Well," Wynona began, "I found the present under the tree. And, I figured out it is from you. Don't blush. I know it is and I think it is sweet. So, I thought, since you won't be here on Christmas Day, why not open them now?"

"I suppose you can," he said, frowning. "It isn't all that much but… What do you mean by 'them'?"

From her pocket, Wynona pulled a small gift box. Billy smiled.

"You didn't have to do that," he said.

"You either," she said and held the box out to him.

"Get yours," he said. "We'll open them together."

When each held their respective boxes, they hesitated long enough to laugh and then undid the ribbons, opening the lids at the same time.

"Oh, Billy!"

"Wynona, you shouldn't have!"

"They're beautiful."

"It's so fine. And a fob. You really shouldn't have."

"I don't know when I'll wear them, but my, how they glitter."

"I was setting aside money for one of these."

The pair went silent, smiling at the gifts and then at each other.

"How did you know I wanted these?" Wynona asked, holding up the pair of gleaming hair combs.

"When we went to the market for the vegetables the other day," said Billy. "I went off to fetch the potatoes and when I came back, I saw you in front of Mr. Bligh's shop. I knew you wouldn't be staring at hats or that tweed jacket. And the purse wasn't something you would want. Had to be the combs. They aren't real silver, though. You know that, don't you?"

"I know," she said and her smile did not falter. "Silver plate is good enough for me. You know that's not gold. It's just brass."

"Shines like gold," Billy said admiringly, holding up the watch so that the light reflected from its smooth surfaces. "And the fob is a good one. It'll hang on my vest just fine."

"It'll keep time to within a minute as long as you wind it twice a day," she said. "My brother is a conductor, you know. That's the same kind he uses. Says it's the best."

"Thank you, Wynona," he said, still smiling at his watch.

Wynona leaned down and kissed Billy on the cheek, making his smile blossom into an embarrassed grin.

"Thank you for these, Billy," she said and stepped over to look at herself in the mirror above the mantel, pulling her hair back and inserting one of the combs. "They really are fine. Merry Christmas, Billy."

"Merry Christmas, Wynona," he said, watching her.