----

Sitting in front of her dresser, Flora Ryan frowned slightly at her reflection as she tried to re-pin her hair for the third time that morning. Sighing in exasperation as once more another lock of hair fell down from the back as soon as she had pinned up the previous lock that had fallen out. Flinging the hairbrush down on the dresser in irritation, Flora pulled the remaining pins from her hair, deciding to wait for Grace to come back and help her.

The past few weeks had seemed to pass in a whirl and she couldn't quite believe that she was finally sitting here on her wedding day. After her miserable attempt at telling Walter how she felt, her courage had failed her and, despite Felix's many hints and insistent looks at mealtimes, she hadn't found another opportunity to tell him. Instead, they had both awkwardly apologised to the other for the previous outburst and had reverted to organising the wedding separately. The butler for one had become increasingly distant again, the nearer it got to the wedding date and so Flora kept telling herself that it was very much for the best that it had only been to Felix that she had confessed how she felt.

In fact, today would probably be the most time she had spent with Walter on her own for quite a while, not to mention tonight...swallowing slightly, Flora tried not to think about that. The Earl had suggested that they move into one of the larger servants' rooms on a temporary basis while they decided what their plans were. Not being able to explain that it was not a traditional marriage, both had mumbled their agreement but then the matter had not been brought up between them since.

A knock on the door jarred the housekeeper from her reverie and she slowly got up from the stool, smoothing out her dress to make sure it didn't become creased before the service. It hadn't seemed worth getting a wedding dress specially made up even though a part of her had wanted to badly, the frugal housekeeper in her had said there was no point spending all that money when it wasn't even a proper wedding. Walter had been next to useless on that decision and had merely stared blankly up at her when she had tried to bring it up in conversation one day.

Still, that didn't mean she couldn't make an effort with her looks. She had treated herself to a new dress over Christmas and had been saving it for a special occasion and today seemed as good a one as any. Glancing over her shoulder at her reflection, she couldn't help but be glad she had gone with her instincts and decided to buy it. The cut was very stylish, if a little more low cut across the chest than she normally wore, and flattered her in all the right places and the colour was just perfect on her even if she did say so herself.

Another, this time more impatient, knock on the door spurred Flora from her thoughts and she moved quickly over to the door, expecting to find Grace May waiting on her doorstep.

"Sorry Grace, I wa..." she trailed off suddenly as she realised it wasn't the housemaid lingering outside her door, but the butler, all dressed up in his finest suit. "Walter..." she gasped, suddenly feeling rather exposed by him catching her like this when she was only half-ready; she wasn't wearing any shoes, her hair was hanging loose about her shoulders and her dress wasn't even fastened properly. "Did...did you want something?" she asked in confusion when the butler didn't say anything but continued to stare at her in stunned silence, his eyes raking up and down her figure.

Unnerved by his intense scrutiny, the housekeeper coughed awkwardly and was about to repeat the question when Grace's voice suddenly cut in and broke the tense silence.

"Mr Jarvis sir, you're not allowed to see Mrs Ryan before the service! It's bad luck you know!"" she scolded gently as she hurried down the corridor towards the housekeeper's room, "Mr Jarvis?" she added pointedly when the butler took no notice and continued to stand in the housekeeper's doorway.

"Ahem...yes," Jarvis mumbled eventually, "I...I just came to say the vicar sent word could we delay it by half an hour, he's been delayed over the other side of town."

"Yes of course," Flora murmured, blushing slightly as Grace looked on in amusement at the pair of them, "I'm not really ready yet anyway."

"No...I mean...not that you look..." Jarvis stuttered, swallowing hard, "Anyway," he added, finally tearing his eyes away from the housekeeper, "I should leave you to...to...I will see you in church," he managed to mutter awkwardly, pulling on his collar before turning and making his way quickly back down the corridor.

"Well," Grace murmured as she entered the room after Flora, "There's a first," she said, throwing a knowing look over at the housekeeper who just turned to her in confusion, "I don't think I've ever seen Mr Jarvis lost for words before!"

-------

Glancing out of the carriage window as it rumbled along the lane back towards Taplows, the housekeeper had to resist the urge to pinch herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. They had done it. They were really married. The ring that now sat on her left hand actually meant something; it wasn't just another part of her uniform as a housekeeper. All these months of talk and scheming and now they were finally sitting here, man and wife……… well in name they were, she thought hastily, a slight blush coming to her cheeks as she quickly pushed all thoughts of what was supposed to happen on a wedding night aside. This was merely a marriage of convenience, for appearances only; a business arrangement really. Nothing more she reminded herself, she was not to get carried away in her romantic daydreams again.

Despite all her misgivings about the whole idea, the ceremony had gone smoothly and without any major glitches. The bride had only been a couple of minutes late, much to the private relief of the groom. Felix, in his capacity as best man, had not forgotten the rings. Nor had anyone burst into the church at an inopportune moment to declare any reason why the marriage should not take place. In fact, it had all gone so much without a hitch that Flora couldn't quite believe it. Surely at any moment there should be a sign that what they were doing was wrong, that someone knew it wasn't a proper wedding and was going to stop them. But nothing like that had happened, no one seemed to know or assume it was anything other than what it appeared. The only minor inconvenience had been that the vicar had another wedding arriving at the church very soon afterwards and so the newly-wed couple had been bundled out of the church and unceremoniously into a waiting carriage.

"Ahem," the butler suddenly cleared his throat loudly, jolting the housekeeper from her thoughts, "Mrs Ryan, I thought it would be…." he then trailed off as the housekeeper gave him a pointed look, "I mean… ummm Mrs umm Corey," he muttered quietly as the realisation struck him, "I suppose that will take a bit of getting used to," he added awkwardly, meeting her eye briefly.

"Yes," Flora agreed quietly.

"Mrs Cor…"

"Although I don't really think you should call me that either," Flora suddenly interrupted him.

"What should I call you then?" Jarvis asked in confusion.

"What's wrong with Flora?" she said quietly, looking down at her hands clasped in her lap, "I know we haven't really discussed what the staff will call me, and his lordship probably will forget and still call me Mrs Ryan after tomorrow. But it is my name, and people will think it a little odd if you call your wife Mrs Corey and besides, you have called me that before so it won't be so strange…" she trailed off, realising she had been rambling slightly, before looking anxiously up at the butler.

"No, that's true." Jarvis murmured after a moment's pause, opening his mouth as if to say something else before losing it again and looking out the window, his brow furrowed in concentration as if he were focusing on something in the distance.

Watching him for a couple of moments, Flora gave a slight sigh of resignation before returning to looking out of the opposite window as the house came into sight at the bottom of the hill.

"You're right about the Earl too," Jarvis suddenly added after a few moments, causing the housekeeper to glance over at him again, "He wanted me to go over something with him this afternoon and was most displeased when I reminded him I was unavailable,"

"Very insubordinate of you," Flora murmured.

"Quite!" Jarvis replied, still looking out the window, "I did however, manage to get a wedding present out of him."

"Really?"

"I did," Jarvis replied, finally turning his head and looking at his wife, "Several bottles of his lordship's finest champagne no less."

"That's very kind of him,"

"Yes, though he wasn't completely sober when he agreed," Jarvis mused half to himself as the carriage pulled up into the courtyard and several eager hands reached to open the carriage door for them. Jumping down quickly he held out his hand to help the housekeeper down. "However, it would be rude not appreciate his lordship's generosity and I think we could indulge ourselves now with a drink," he murmured half-jokingly as he escorted her into the house, "or two," he added to himself, fixing a smile on his face as they made their way through the small throngs of chattering servants into the hall.

---------

It had not been the most conventional of wedding receptions the butler mused later on that day, but then, this wasn't the most conventional of weddings he admitted. Once they had eventually made it back to the house after the ceremony, there had been a buffet reception for the happy couple in the servants' hall. The Earl, of course, had certainly not allowed all of his staff the day off to celebrate and so it had been a rather disjointed affair with various servants coming and going as and when they could throughout the afternoon. The drink had flowed steadily, perhaps a little too much so for the butler, but, as he told himself, he definitely needed a drink or two to get through the day. The food had, naturally, been splendid, though Felix had assured the butler that he was saving the best for that evening. It was to this that they were now making their way along the corridor, Felix having promised a very special upper servants' dinner to mark such a happy day for two of his friends.

"Ahh there they are!" Felix exclaimed as the butler and housekeeper made their entrance into the dining room, "We were beginning to think you may have got lost!" he added, grinning when he received identical glares from the couple as they took their seats next to each other at the head of the table.

"I don't believe we are late anyway," Jarvis huffed as he held Flora's chair out for her before taking his own seat.

"You are here now, that is what matters," Felix remarked, waving his comments away, as he sat down to the right of the butler, "And I hope you are hungry because I would not want all my hard work this afternoon to go in vain no?"

"Felix you really didn't have to…" Flora started but the chef interrupted her.

"My dear Flora, I could have done nothing less for two dear friends," he replied earnestly, "Now," he continued, once a few remaining latecomers had taken their places round the table, "As it is your special day, it is only right that you get the first pick of my masterpiece," he added, removing the cover from a large silver platter in front of him with a dramatic flourish.

"Oysters?!" Flora mumbled weakly, "Oh Felix you really shouldn't spoil us like this."

"Nonsense," Felix retorted good-naturedly, winking at the butler whose face had now gone slightly puce, "It is only fitting, but please, Flora…….go ahead help yourself," he said passing the dish down to the housekeeper who had no choice but to reluctantly serve some onto her plate.

"I thought you told me you weren't going to cook oysters ever again after last year's incident?" Jarvis hissed at the chef, resisting the urge to get out of his seat and throttle the chef there and then at the dinner table, settling instead for taking a deep sip of wine.

"This is different," Felix replied airily, "Besides," he sniffed disdainfully, "This time I made sure none of your footmen knew I was ordering them," he retorted pointedly.

"Hmph," was the butler's only retort to that as he took the dish of oysters from his wife.

" Oh and before I forget, there was one other thing I had to ask you," Felix added suddenly, "I bumped into Miss May just before dinner, she wanted to know what you wanted to do with the top tier of the cake?"

"Top tier of the cake?" Jarvis muttered in confusion.

"She said she would wrap it up and leave it in the larder so it wouldn't get pilfered if that was alright with you?" Felix continued, ignoring the butler's remark.

"Yes, that will be fine, thank you Felix," Flora murmured, her cheeks tingeing slightly pink as the chef smiled at her before turning away and striking up a conversation with one of the valets to his right.

"What was he talking about, top tier of the cake?" Jarvis muttered to Flora as the rest of the senior servants chatted amongst themselves.

"Oh, it's tradition really," Flora mumbled, not meeting his eye.

"Well why isn't it eaten?"

"It's just tradition," Flora repeated hastily, wanting to move away from this topic of conversation, "People don't and so…."

"What was the bloody point in having it then?" he muttered moodily, "Honestly, the thing was plenty big enough with just the one layer. Must have been Felix being over the top as usual."

"I'm not so sure it was."

"Of course it was," Jarvis retorted in a half-whisper, "Who else would think to do that so we'd be virtually up to our ears in wedding cake for the next three months," he added, glaring over the rim of his wine glass at the chef, "A complete waste if you ask me, anyone would think this was a bloody royal wedding by the amount of…."

"It's supposed to be for the christening!" Flora finally interrupted in exasperation.

"The christening?" Jarvis snapped, turning round to look at her properly and looking even more perplexed than before.

"Yes," Flora muttered, her face now bright red as she concentrated on her plate.

"But…..it's a wed……who's having a baby?" he asked in confusion, picking up his wine glass before turning back to Flora who managed to drag her gaze up from her plate and look him in the eye, "Well," he added when she didn't say anything, just gave him a pointed look, "You're not making any se……." he trailed off, the wine glass poised an inch away from his lips, "You….you don't mean….." he managed to gasp.

"Yes," Flora muttered, her blush only deepening as the butler's face turned pale and his eyes inadvertently dropped briefly to her midriff before he quickly brought the wine glass to his lips and took a deep sip, "It's just a silly tradition Walter, people expect it." She muttered, turning back to her dinner, "We're not required to have a baby after all," she couldn't resist adding after a moment, biting her lip to hide the smile as the butler immediately spluttered into his wine glass.

"Are you alright Mr Jarvis?" Mrs Diggins enquired from the other end of the table.

"I'm fine thank you," the butler managed to gasp, wiping his mouth with his napkin before signalling for his wine glass to be refilled as everyone else returned to their dinner, vowing to himself to keep quiet and not to enquire after any more peculiar wedding traditions.

"My my, isn't it getting late," Felix murmured in the butler's ear as he sidled up to him later when the upper servants had rejoined the rest of the staff in the hall to continue the celebrations, "You'll be turning in soon I imagine…" he added, pointedly checking the time on his watch.

"As will most people I imagine," the butler replied guardedly, ignoring the chef's smirk as he took another sip of his drink.

"Ah yes, but for most of us it isn't such a special night eh!" Felix replied with a wink.

"Felix will you stop it," Jarvis hissed, turning to glare at his friend, "You know what's going on yet all these little remarks of yours are not helping matters any."

"I don't…"

"And serving oysters for dinner!" Jarvis continued, glancing around quickly to make sure no one was eavesdropping on their conversation, "You might as well have put up a bloody banner across the staircase."

"Well actually now you mention it, I was thinking of doing tha…." Felix began in amusement, trailing off rapidly as he noticed the butler's expression turn murderous.

"Stop trying to make a fool out of me Felix," Jarvis retorted, "It's complicated enough already without you interfering."

"Me make a fool out of you!" Felix exclaimed, "I think you are doing that perfectly well without any help from me," he remarked pointedly, "Besides, someone has got to interfere, as it's clear the pair of you are as hopeless as each other."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ohh, I give up," the chef exclaimed in exasperation, "You two are the most frustrating couple I have ever encountered in my…"

"We're not a proper couple," Jarvis retorted stubbornly, taking another deep swig of his drink.

"Exactly my point," Felix retorted victoriously, "Now will you please promise me to talk to Flora properly later on?"

"About what?"

"You know perfectly well what about!" Felix retorted, "About this….this ludicrous arrangement you have somehow ended up in and where you think this is………..are you listening?" he trailed off as the butler seemed to studiously avoid his gaze, "And don't you think you've had enough to drink already!" he added as the butler quickly drained his glass and looked around for a refill.

"You said yourself Felix," Jarvis retorted tensely, "It's a special night, why shouldn't I?"

Sighing in frustration at the butler's attitude, the chef was about to give up and leave the butler to his self-delusions when he suddenly spotted the housekeeper not five yards away, chatting to some of the
maids.

"Ahh Mrs Ry…I mean Mrs Corey!" he called out cheerfully, "Walter here was just looking for you," he added as the housekeeper cut her conversation short and made her way over to them, ignoring the glare the butler shot him.

"Oh was he?"

"Yes, he was thinking about turning in for the night fairly soon," Felix continued mischievously, "And I must say I agree, it would almost be almost bad manners to stay so long at your wedding reception," he added, resisting the urge to grin as a deep blush spread rapidly across the housekeeper's cheeks, "People might start to think you didn't want to leave!"

"Oh well….I….yes…" Flora mumbled, studiously avoiding the butler's gaze, "I should just go and thank Grace and the girls for all their work today. "I'll not be long," she added, nodding briefly at the chef before quickly turning and making her way over to the far side of the room.

"Mr Kraus, did you not understand me before when I told you to stop interfering?" Jarvis hissed furiously as soon as the housekeeper was out of earshot.

"Someday my friend, you may thank me," Felix replied good-naturedly, "And I've changed my mind about you talking to Flora later on."

"Really?"

"Yes, definitely," Felix replied emphatically, "Actions speak much louder than words Walter!" he added cheekily, giving the butler a wink before flouncing off over to the drinks table to secure another glass of champagne.

--------

Quarter of an hour or so later, the butler and housekeeper finally made their way out of the hall, Jarvis had narrowly avoided the temptation to strangle the chef and they had eventually made their way through the groups of inebriated servants wanting to pass on their congratulations. It seemed that several of the servants had taken full advantage of the readily available liquor and Jarvis anticipated he wouldn't be the only one to wake up in the morning feeling slightly ropey.

As they began to climb the stairs, a slightly tense and awkward silence descended upon them. Reaching the second floor landing, Jarvis cleared his throat awkwardly, fiddling nervously with his necktie.

"I'll…….I'll walk you to your room," he mumbled quickly, wanting to prolong the moment before saying goodnight.

"Thank you," murmured Flora, her fingers closing softly around the arm he offered her as they made their way down the corridor.

"Damnit!" Jarvis suddenly uttered a few moments later, breaking the silence that had once again fallen and causing Flora to start slightly.

"What is it?"

"I'd forgotten….All of our stuff has been moved out of our rooms," Jarvis muttered, not looking directly at Flora as a slight blush crept over his cheeks, "Even all the bedding has been removed, Felix told me earlier as we're…"

"We're sharing rooms on the next corridor for the meanwhile," Flora mumbled in embarrassment as the butler trailed off awkwardly, "Well we'd better…" she added,

"Yes,"

A minute or so later they arrived outside their new rooms. Swallowing nervously, Jarvis fumbled with the key for a moment before opening the door, letting the housekeeper enter first. There was a cosy little sitting room with two comfy-looking armchairs by the fire and a room leading off it that Flora assumed was their bedroom.

"I haven't really had a chance to sort everything out in here at all," Jarvis explained hastily as her gaze lit upon their cases of belongings that were piled haphazardly just inside the door, "I'm afraid I had to leave most of it to Mr Adams as I've been so busy this week."

"I'm sure we'll have it sorted in no time," Flora murmured, running her finger approvingly over the clean mantelpiece as she moved out of the doorway and properly into the room. Peering round the doorframe that led into the bedroom, she took in the rather sparse looking room, gulping slightly as her eyes flicked over the double bed that was one of the few pieces of furniture present.

Fiddling awkwardly with his cuffs, Jarvis's gaze suddenly alighted on a bottle of port that was sitting on a little sidetable by the fireplace. Moving over to it, he flipped over the little note that was lying next to it on the table.

"A present," he said after a moment, glancing up at Flora, "From Felix…..he mentioned something earlier about there being a surprise waiting upstairs. To be honest, I was slightly worried about what it might be," he added half to himself.

"That's very kind of him," Flora murmured, moving over to stand in front of the sitting room mirror that hung over the mantelpiece. Frowning slightly at her reflection as she tried to rescue the wayward strands of hair that had escaped, she eventually gave up, pulling the remaining pins out so her hair hung loose about her shoulders.

"Well it seems a shame not to try it, tonight of all nights," Jarvis mumbled, forcing himself to stop staring at her, instead reaching for the two glasses that had been conveniently placed next to the bottle. "A nightcap Flora?"

Hesitating only for a moment, Flora smiled over at him before nodding and moving to take a seat in one of the armchairs as the butler poured two generous measures into the glasses.

Perching on the edge of the chair, Flora raised the glass delicately to her lips, watching as the butler sat back contentedly in his chair.

"Walter," she began hesitantly a few moments later, "I know we've both been very busy lately and this…….this has all come around so soon really….."

"I know, it hasn't really sunk in yet," the butler agreed.

"But, we've never really had the chance to talk properly about what we're going to do now," Flora continued tentatively, "I know you mentioned briefly that you wanted to travel once we'd left Taplows but…well you didn't really say when that would be….."

"Oh, well I need to go to London soon and see the solicitor who's dealing with it all but…….well all in good time," Jarvis replied sleepily, all the adrenaline from the day seemed to have worn off and combined with the drink was making him feel all dozy.

"Yes but whose good time?" Flora insisted a little more sharply than she had intended.

"I said I will do it in good time, it is a delicate situation," the butler retorted in surprise, a hint of annoyance creeping into his voice. "There are lots of factors to take into consideration; it will take a bit of time to transfer the capital and everything, then of course there is his lordship…"

"Oh well of course, his lordship's needs must come before ours," Flora snorted sarcastically, not sure what had prompted this little outburst but suddenly feeling the need to air these issues that were all bubbling up.

"It's not that, but we have a responsibility Flora," Jarvis retorted sharply, "We can't just up and leave tomorrow."

"I'm not saying that! And I would like to think you know me better than that. I just wanted to have some idea of when we might be leaving that's all, I don't think that was unreasonable," Flora retorted angrily, "After all, we need to look for replacements and make plans for what next, all this takes time Walter."

"Yes I am well aware of that thank you."

"Well then why are we not doing anything about it?" Flora cried in exasperation, "Honestly, was there even a point to this…..this whole charade if we aren't even going to do anything about the money until we are both too old to care?!"

"I said I would do it in good time and that is my final word on it," Jarvis retorted irritably, glaring over at his wife, why on earth had she picked now of all times to have this argument when he really wasn't in the mood and just wanted to go to bed and sleep off all that champagne he shouldn't have drunk, "it is my inheritance after all." he added childishly under his breath but the housekeeper caught it.

"Yes but a lot of good it would do you without me," Flora snapped without thinking, surprising herself by the petulance in her voice.

"Oh so what, you'll be wanting your share now I expect won't you?" Walter retorted bitterly, "I should have known really."

"That's not what I meant!" Flora exclaimed indignantly.

"Oh really? It seems like it's always about the money with you Mrs Ryan, isn't it?" he sneered into his drink as he looked away from her into the fireplace.

"How dare you," Flora gasped, pushing herself up from her chair, unable to believe he was being so mean when he had been nothing but considerate all day and for the past few weeks, maybe now he had got what he wanted from her, this was what it was going to be like from now on. "And I really don't think you are one to moralise. This was all your idea after all." She added bitterly, "And don't you think you've had enough for today?" she added waspishly, when the butler didn't reply but merely reached for the bottle, intending to pour himself another.

"I can have another drink if that is what I want," Walter retorted angrily, "Besides, we're supposed to be celebrating this happy day," he added mockingly as he poured himself another glass, "Anyway, if all you're going to do is nag then I certainly need this," he muttered to himself.

"You……you insufferable, ungrateful man," Flora gasped in outrage, marching forward and snatching the bottle from the butler's grasp before marching over to the door and flinging it open, "Get out!" she hissed at the stunned butler, "I don't want to see you."

"Oh and where am I supposed to go?" Jarvis scoffed, pushing himself out the chair, subtly steadying himself with one hand on the back of it before walking over to her intending to talk some sense into his wife. "Not really in keeping with wedding night traditions is it Flora?" he added sarcastically.

"Anywhere," Flora snapped, "Just get out of my sight and take your stupid inheritance with you." She added, forcing the bottle into the surprised butler's hands before pushing him through the doorway, "Drink yourself into a stupor for all I care," she muttered bitterly, biting back her irrational tears and slamming the door shut before the stunned butler had a chance to argue, leaving him stranded in the corridor clutching the bottle of port and his glass.

---------