A/N This is a very belated birthday gift for the extremely sweet libbybell (putmeinyourpocketmike). Her birthday was a week ago, but I just couldn't manage to finish this in time. I hope she enjoys it despite the delay. She requested a story in which Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes are locked together somewhere and they're forced to finally confront and confess their feelings for each other. They're not strictly locked together in this story, but they are "stuck." I hope this suits. You can imagine it taking place probably at any point during the first four seasons or even the first part of the fifth, really.
The sky to the west was dark and threatening, and the wind was whipping up; but so far, there was no rain, thunder, or lightning. Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes stood in the servants' courtyard having a heated discussion. The hot August weather had been making everyone irritable, and the two senior servants were as badly afflicted as anyone else. They'd had their little tiffs in the past, but this one had been building for some time. For the past week or so, they'd been sniping at each other over this and that. Most of the matters had been trivial enough to sort themselves out, but the housekeeper and butler still had not made amends and come to terms. For several days, they had not sought each other out, had forgone their quotidian afternoon tea and evening sherry together, and had dealt with each other only as necessary. Recent interactions between the two had been frosty at best.
This afternoon, they'd begun to air their differences inside the house, but they'd had to step out to the courtyard when their conversation became tense and they started to raise their voices. At first, they'd been alone outside in the yard, but then they'd been joined by a few maids and footmen, at which time the butler and housekeeper moved off to the side and lowered their voices a bit to avoid causing a scene.
"But surely you must agree, Mr. Carson!" said Mrs. Hughes, attempting to remain calm.
"No, Mrs. Hughes, I mostly certainly must not – and do not – agree with you!" shouted Mr. Carson.
Mrs. Hughes tried desperately to keep her composure, but she was becoming increasingly frustrated. "I'm simply pointing out, Mr. Carson, that if you will think about it for just one moment – "
"I have thought about it, Mrs. Hughes," Mr. Carson interrupted loudly. "I've given it a great deal of thought. More than you have, apparently. And I have come to the correct conclusion!"
"Oh, you're ridiculous!" yelled Mrs. Hughes, throwing her hands up. "There's just no reasoning with you!"
"Not when I'm right, there's not!" he bellowed back, raising his chin defiantly. "And you're foolish if you think that – " He stopped abruptly when he realized they'd attracted an audience: all of the others were staring at them. The maids had stopped shaking out the linens, and the footmen had ceased their polishing. They were all gawking, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, at the scene before them. It wasn't often that Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes let their tempers get the better of them – and never both at the same time.
"What are you lot doing? Get back to work!" ordered Mr. Carson when he saw the onlookers. And he took Mrs. Hughes by the hand, pulled her – firmly but not forcefully – into the wooden storage shed, and closed the door to afford them some privacy. They were just able to overhear one of the maids mutter, "There's a storm brewing, and no mistake!" – to which a footman replied, "More than one, I think! We'd best get back inside."
The shed was cramped and stuffy, but the lack of space and the absence of circulation mattered little when the two heads of staff stood toe-to-toe and practically nose-to-nose, confronting each other.
"Now, then. Where were we? Ah, yes. The scheduling debacle. Why wasn't I informed of the situation?" Mr. Carson accused angrily.
She scoffed. "I didn't inform you, Mr. Carson, because it was none of your concern!" Mrs. Hughes shot back.
"Everything that goes on in this house is my concern, Mrs. Hughes!"
They carried like this on for a few minutes: sometimes making legitimate, rational claims but at other times hurling angry, irrational accusations. Soon, they'd both exhausted their list of grievances and had reached an impasse, and a tense silence ensued. They'd moved even closer during the course of their argument, and now their faces were mere inches apart. They stood staring each other down, breathing heavily. A blinding flash of lightning and a deafening clap of thunder startled them, and they moved apart. Seconds later, the rain started beating against the shed, and they peered out the small window on the side wall.
"Wonderful!" cried Mr. Carson sarcastically. "And now we're stuck in here until the storm dies down. This is all your fault, Mrs. Hughes!"
"My fault! How on Earth do you reckon this is my fault?"
"If you had just come round to my way of thinking, we wouldn't be out here arguing in the first place."
"Oh, this is nonsense! I can't stay here and listen to you a minute longer! I'm going to make a dash for it," declared Mrs. Hughes.
"Certainly not! You must be joking!"
"I am not joking."
"But surely it will let up soon," he argued.
"Not likely, Mr. Carson. Look out there, and listen. This one's not going to blow over any time soon." She pointed to the window. Everything outside was dark and gray and ominous. The rain lashed against the window in driving torrents, and the wind was blowing leaves and twigs from the trees. Lightning split the sky; thunder shook the ground and rattled the shed. "And if you don't fancy spending the rest of the afternoon cooped up in this little shed all by yourself," she continued, "I'd suggest you also take your chances and make a break for it."
"I will not! And neither will you. I forbid it."
"Hmph! You forbid it?! Since when is the housekeeper obliged to obey the butler's orders?!"
"She is required to do so only when she is being unreasonable, when he is being perfectly sensible, and when disobeying him might place her in peril!"
"Hmph!" said Mrs. Hughes again, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms defiantly. "Peril? It's a little bit of water, Mr. Carson!"
"I mean it, Mrs. Hughes," said Mr. Carson gravely. "It's dangerous out there! Look at that lightning. And the wind is carrying all sorts of debris. You'll never make it back to the house safely – never mind the fact that you'll be drenched in the process. I cannot and will not allow you to come to any harm!"
She started to turn towards the door, but he was faster. He grasped her by the elbows and spun them both around, placing himself between her and the door, effectively barring her exit. She squirmed, trying to break his grip, but he held her fast. When writhing and twisting failed to free her, she placed her arms on his chest and pushed. He wrapped his arms around her back and squeezed tightly. When Mrs. Hughes realized her efforts were futile, she stopped struggling, but her hands remained on Mr. Carson's chest. He loosened his hold somewhat, though he still kept his arms around her. Both were breathing heavily from the exertion as they glowered at each other.
"Mrs. Hughes, you are an obstinate, vexatious, insufferable woman!" he exclaimed.
"And you, Mr. Carson, are a pompous, exasperating, incorrigible man!" she rejoined.
But Mr. Carson's annoyance was lessening as he held Mrs. Hughes so close, and his passion turned in a different direction. He almost couldn't help the words that escaped him next. "If I weren't so absolutely livid right now, I would kiss you. I would hold you in my arms and never let you go. I would tell you how beautiful you are and how much I love you, and I would ask you to be mine."
Mrs. Hughes was shocked by Mr. Carson's words, though his proximity had its effect on her as well, and she responded equally frankly. "And if I weren't so irate right now, I might allow you to kiss me and hold me. I might even tell you that I love you, too, and that I've been yours for a great, long while."
Surprised but emboldened by her profession, he pressed on. "If I were less irritated, I would tell you that I've been in love with you for a very long time … and that I dream of living with you in a little cottage on the estate and growing old with you. Sitting by the fire … walking through the village or to church with you on my arm ... falling asleep in your embrace and waking next to you."
"And I were less cross, I would tell you that I dream of those same things," she confessed.
"If I were calmer, I'd ask you to marry me."
"And if I were more settled, I'd say yes."
She raised her hands to his shoulders, and he lowered his hands to her waist.
He took a deep breath and drew her even nearer. "Mrs. Hughes, I find that somehow my anger has vanished entirely. Are you still furious with me?" he asked.
"I do believe my wrath has dissipated, Mr. Carson," she told him.
"Why we were even arguing in the first place?"
"I can't remember. Does it matter?"
"Not a bit."
"Did you really mean what you just said?" she needed to know.
"I did. Every word of it. I'll admit that it was the heat of the moment that caused me – or finally allowed me – to say it, but everything I said was true. And if you'd like, I'll gladly repeat it all now that I'm more myself. But what about you? Were you in earnest?"
"I was completely sincere. Even in a fit of rage, I wouldn't say those things unless they were true."
"Well, then. Perhaps we might actually do some of those things that were mere speculation a moment ago," he ventured, "now that we're no longer at odds."
"I remember there was talk of holding and kissing," she reminded him.
"There was," he confirmed. "I recall that."
"Well, you're already holding me, and it's lovely, I must say. But I'm still waiting for the kissing part. You're talking too much."
"I'm sorry, my love. Forgive me. It's only that I've spent years imagining this moment. I can't believe it's actually happening. I don't want it to be over too quickly. I suppose I'm just trying to draw it out and savor it."
She was growing impatient. "Who says it's going to be over quickly? As a matter of fact, this is just the beginning. I hope it's never 'over.' Now, will you please kiss me, or will I need to kiss you?"
"Either. Both," he rumbled softly as he lowered his head and she raised her face to his.
When their lips met, the contact was soft and tender, in contrast to the storm still raging outside. Their caresses were as gentle as the storm was violent. Though their hearts pounded wildly, their movements were deliberate, and their touches were delicate. After a time, Mrs. Hughes rested her head on Mr. Carson's chest, and he rested his cheek against her head. They both let out little sighs of contentment.
"That was even better than I'd imagined," said Mr. Carson.
"It was delightful," agreed Mrs. Hughes.
"But there was more to our talk than just that. We spoke of love and marriage."
"Yes, we did."
"I do love you," he said, drawing back slightly to look her in the eyes. "Very much, in fact."
"And I love you, too. With all my heart," she assured him, smiling brilliantly.
"Then you'll marry me?"
"Of course … though I can scarcely credit you're truly asking!" She laughed, and he joined her.
"I never would have believed that it would take a heated argument in the storage shed for me to finally declare my feelings to you."
"It is rather an unlikely scenario," she allowed.
"Do you think anyone misses us yet?" he wondered.
"Oh, they're all glad to be rid of us for a time, I'd wager. I doubt they're organizing a search party just yet."
"Hmm. Then perhaps we should take advantage of being stuck here together … before the storm dies down and someone does come looking."
"What do you have in mind?" asked Mrs. Hughes.
"Well … " said Mr. Carson. "At first I wished this storm would be over quickly so that we could get out of here and back to the house. But now I find myself hoping the rain and the wind will keep up for a very long time. I want to stay here and hold your hand and wrap my arms around you and caress your face and touch your hair and whisper my love in your ear."
"Goodness, Mr. Carson! All that? That will take some time! This had better be one very prolonged rainstorm!"
"I do hope so, Mrs. Hughes. I do hope so." And he kissed her again. The storm raged on, no one came looking, and the newly promised couple spent a blissful afternoon alone together in the shed.