For what felt like the thousandth time that night, Jarvis turned over in bed and tried to make himself more comfortable. He tossed and turned, rearranged the bedclothes and generally tried to make things more conducive towards sleep. Perhaps it was all that cheese he had eaten tonight after dinner that was plaguing him he told himself, or perhaps that new continental starter that Felix had decided to try out that night which was what was disturbing him so. However after a good hour or so more of futilely trying to get some rest, the butler swung his legs over the side of his bed and lit the candles on the bedside table. He knew deep down what it was that was interrupting his sleep, why it was making it so troublesome for him to get any rest that night, yet each time the thought arose he pushed it down and tried to dismiss it. Oh good god what was he doing!
Shaking his head he moved over to the window and looked out over the shadowed grounds, his mind taking him back to earlier that evening. Stop being so ridiculous, he told himself! Why was he still thinking about it? It wasn't as though he had never kissed a woman before or never done anything else with a woman in fact. So why the hell couldn't he sleep? It was clearly just another of the valets' smutty ideas for what, in their opinion, constituted an evening's entertainment. Why the hell did it have to be her though! Any one else then it wouldn't have mattered he told himself. Any one else then you would have outright refused, a little voice in the back of his mind piped up with, which he wilfully tried to ignore.
Realising that sleep would probably be a long time in coming that night, Jarvis walked over to his bedside table and picked up the novel that lay there before moving over to his fireside chair and settling down in it. Maybe a bit of light reading would help him sleep; take his mind off things a bit…
The atmosphere at the senior servants' Christmas dinner had been exceptionally jovial that night. The food was exemplary, the wine flowed freely, conversation never ceased, and everyone without exception was in a good mood. As the meal came to an end the talk turned to that evening's entertainment as was customary for this time of year.
"No Felix! We are not letting you choose the games this year, not after last time when you had us playing that ridiculous Prussian number game or whatever it was." The butler exclaimed, reaching for the port and pouring the remainder into his glass.
"Oh Mr Jarvis, come now, you seemed to quite enjoy it for a bit….until you started to lose that is!" The chef added slyly.
"Hmph, absurd game it was, anyway are there any other suggestions?" Jarvis replied, appealing to the rest of the table. "Except charades!" He cut in quickly as he saw Mrs Diggins go to open her mouth.
"Well there is a game we could play..." One of the valets began. "We'd need that empty bottle…and some paper for..." However he was suddenly cut off mid-sentence by the shrill ring of a bell calling for the butler. Sighing and wiping his mouth with his napkin, Jarvis got to his feet.
"I'm sorry, do excuse me for a few minutes and just start without me." He said, nodding at the valets as he turned to leave.
"So, what is this exciting new game then?" Felix inquired as the door closed behind the butler.
"Well it's one we saw played when the Earl was up in London a few weeks ago. It's called Spin the Bottle…."
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Twenty minutes later the game was in full swing and so far had produced some interesting results. The game had been modified slightly at the request of some of the ladies and now consisted of a pile of cards in the middle of the table, each with instructions written on them, and the empty port bottle next to it. Despite her initial misgivings about the morality of such a game, Mrs Diggins had allowed herself to be persuaded that it was all in the name of festive spirit and had joined in with gusto. So far she had been made to dance an Irish jig with one of the valets, Mr Jenkins the head valet had had to perform a duet with Mrs Ryan, and Felix had got away with merely kissing Cook on the cheek. It was at this point that the butler returned to the festivities, just as the bottle had been spun to land once again upon the housekeeper.
"Your lucky night tonight it would seem Mrs Ryan!" The chef joked, to which she just gave a slight smile whilst wondering slightly apprehensively just what she would be made to do next.
"What game did you decide on in the end?" Jarvis asked as he sat back down and reached out for his glass.
"I'm sure you'll pick it up as we go along Mr Jarvis!" Felix replied jovially as he spun the bottle again. "In fact you can join in right away!" He added with a sly grin as the bottle came to rest pointing straight at the butler.
"Oh really, and what must I do as part of this game?" Jarvis inquired, sitting back in his chair.
"Well that depends on what it says on the card!" Felix retorted, indicating the pieces of paper next to the bottle.
Felling slightly put upon the spot, Jarvis slowly put down his glass and took the top card from the pile and turned it over to read. "Kiss on the lips." He read out loud, doing his best not to grimace as the rest of the staff tried to smother their laughter, all except the housekeeper who had suddenly turned a lot paler. "Tell me Felix, who exactly am I supposed to bestow a kiss upon? Your fair self perhaps?" Jarvis added dryly.
"No no Mr Jarvis, whoever the bottle landed on previously…………..Mrs Ryan." He said with a smile, indicating the now blushing housekeeper who was studiously avoiding eye contact with the butler.
For a moment Jarvis just sat there, silently cursing the fact that he had chosen that particular moment to re-enter the room, if only the Earl had been five minutes longer then he would not have to embarrass himself in this way in front of his staff. He couldn't very well refuse; it would seem to be making too big a deal of it and would probably cause more problems between them just as things were beginning to resolve themselves after last winter. Slowly Jarvis pushed back his chair and got to his feet.
"Very well then, it is Christmas after all." He said impassively as he made his way round to the other side of the table. "Merry Christmas Mrs Ryan." He muttered to the housekeeper before leaning down and placing the briefest of kisses on her lips.
"Oh come on Walter, that was NOT a kiss, and as you said so yourself, it is Christmas!" A rather merry Felix interposed wickedly, pouring himself another brandy and grinning at the butler who was now glaring at him.
Reminding himself to have strong words with the chef tomorrow, Jarvis leant down once more, this time brushing some of the loose strands of hair off her face and cupping the side of her face gently before kissing her again, surprised this time to feel her kiss him back and suddenly wishing that there wasn't a whole room full of people watching them. Pulling away after a few moments he had to quell the sudden very real urge to continue the kiss and he caught her gaze briefly before both of them looked away. Clearing his throat self-consciously, Jarvis made his way back to his seat, pouring himself a large drink from the decanter on the sideboard on the way, while the housekeeper continued to study her napkin, a deep blush still suffusing her cheeks.
Quarter of an hour or so later and the two most senior members of staff had still not managed to make eye contact, some of the staff began to take their leave and retire for the night, including the housekeeper.
"Good night Mrs Ryan……and Merry Christmas!" Felix called out cheerfully as she said her goodnights and made her way to the door.
"Good night Mrs Ryan." Jarvis muttered, nodding at a space two feet to the left of her, much to the chef's amusement.
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Jarvis put down his book with a sigh, he'd read two chapters but honestly hadn't a clue what had happened in them. Blowing out the candles he determined not to give Felix the satisfaction of knowing that he had been kept up thinking about the evening's entertainment and to also make sure he was not coerced into doing something similar come New Year's Eve...