Vastra looked at the envelope in her hand with indecision. It was small and non-descriptive with her name on it. She pondered briefly whether to burn it in the fire since it was suspicious but decided with a shrug to just open it. Inside, was a paper bordered by frills. In the center was a ripped stocking below a whole one. Below the stockings were the words

High Hose!
Or the Inconvenience of an Unmarried life.
Never too late to mend!

Vastra furrowed her eyes as she tilted her head in confusion. She turned over the letter but there was nothing else on it.

"Jenny? Do you know what this is?"

The maid went to Vastra and she frowned when she saw the frilly thing. "It's a Valentine card, ma'am. People use 'em to court each other."

Vastra looked at the card with surprise. "You humans have strange courtship rituals."

She handed the letter to Jenny who, after reading it, smiled. "Oh, this one is telling you to get married."

Vastra shook her head as she went to her desk to look at more important papers. "I have a half mind to find the culprit and eat him for wasting my time."

"Could be a woman. One of my mum's friend was always trying to play matchmaker."

"Her then. It doesn't matter to me. Humans taste the same. Toss that in the fire will you? Might as well make use of the paper."


Two years later

When Vastra received a card, she took one look at the message before tossing it to Jenny on the couch. "Apes and their insipid rituals."

Jenny looked up at Vastra from where she was mending a shirt. She picked up the card and read it before laughing. "Seems someone is proposing marriage again. Didn't you eat the last one who did that?"

Vastra shook her head as she sighed. "I did not though if it's the same person I will most definitely devour them now. Besides."

The Silurian smiled at Jenny. "Why would I want any of them when I have you?"

She enjoyed the human's blush.

Summary: Trivia - Valentine cards were a big thing during Victorian Era, starting from 1840s and onward.
Valentine Image+words taken straight from postalmuseumblog . si . edu / 2010 / 02 / love-and-derision . html