King and Lionheart: Chapter 2

AN: I guess I gave y'all a big treat tonight! I managed to pump out two chapters in one evening. :) I'm really excited to have some followers and favorites already on this story- thanks to everyone who favorited/followed! I have to work tomorrow so I may or may not have another chapter up tomorrow. But enjoy this- I enjoyed writing this chapter! Night, lovelies. :)

"My Lord! H-hello," stuttered out Mollie quite nervously. She really wasn't sure about why Lord Holmes was at the apothecary shop, much less this early in the morning. Most times if he was ill, he would either send out a servant to pick up the required herbs, or he would have her father come up to the manor to see to him. She felt incredibly nervous in her plain dress- her hair wasn't even covered! She could feel a blush tingeing her cheeks due to embarrassment at her own verbal inadequacies. She took a deep breath, smoothed out her skirt, and looked back up at him. He really was quite handsome in a unique way; he looked something like a cat, what with the angled definition of his face, his lean, lithe body, and his eyes…

"Ahem." Mollie startled when she heard Lord Holmes clear his throat- she hadn't realized that she had been silently admiring his physique so obviously. She unnecessarily smoothed out her skirt again, and looked up at him.

"What can I do for you today, my Lord?"

Sherlock smirked at her. He was practically feeding off of her nervousness; it stroked his ego to know that this girl was a little intimidated by his presence. Furthermore, she clearly found him physically attractive, something that would be very beneficial to him in their travels together. He could tell that she had fixed breakfast that morning, judging by the tinges of soot on her wrists that could only have come from a fireplace. Dark circles under the eyes- she slept poorly during the night. Collarbone and scapulae protruding slightly- she hasn't been eating well. Bodice laces were threaded unevenly- she dressed in the dark without a mirror. Burn on her left thumb, obviously from candlewax- she's been up late- but doing what? He took a deep breath of the air around them, and distinctly smelled thyme- someone in the house had a cough. Moving on to her physical attributes, he decided that she may work to suit his purposes. Yes, she was a bit too thin, and looked a bit waifish, but that could easily be fixed with proper nourishment. She did have lovely brown hair (he was glad she hadn't covered her hair as so many women were inclined to do), and big brown eyes. Her lips were perhaps a bit too thin for his liking, but she would do for the purposes he required. He ended his quick assessment, looked down at her, and addressed her.

In his baritone voice, he began, "Funnily enough, I was going to ask what you could do for me."

Mollie tilted her head to the side, squinting her eyes, "Begging your pardon, my Lord, but I'm not quite sure what you mean."

Sherlock cut her off, and asked, "What is your name, girl?"

Mollie was more than a little abashed by Lord Holmes's rudeness; however, she knew it would be very bad if she refused to address him, so she quietly said, "Mollie, my Lord."

"Well, Mollie, I need help from you."

At this point, Mollie was incredibly confused. Why would Lord Holmes need her help? If he needs herbs to treat an ailment, he would have gone straight to her father. So this must be something else. But Mollie could think of no other skill she possessed that would prove useful to Lord Holmes. So she said the only thing that she thought appropriate in this situation.

"My Lord, I will do whatever I can to be of service."

Sherlock's lips twisted a little again. He clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Excellent! Would you like to hear my proposition for you?"

Mollie nodded numbly. She didn't know what she anticipated to hear from him next, but whatever her mind conjured up, it was far more realistic than what reality placed at her feet.

"Mollie, I am in need of a travel companion, and I would like that travel companion to be you."

She nearly fainted then and there, and had to steady herself by placing her hand on the counter beside her. He needed a travel companion? What would he expect of her? And why did he choose her specifically? Everyone on the estate knew that he usually worked with a local retired knight, Sir John, when he needed assistance on a case. She had no experience working cases, so what did he have in mind for her? Fortunately, she didn't have to voice these thoughts, because right then, Lord Holmes continued.

"I need a young woman to help me with a variety of housekeeping-style tasks, such as cooking and cleaning. I have deduced that you are capable of cooking and cleaning, not only from your appearance, but also because you have been your father's caretaker for many years. Furthermore, I will require you to pretend to be my wife."

"Forgive me if I sound rude, my Lord, but why will you need me to pose as your wife?"

"I have found that I frequently attract the attentions of noblewomen at social events. They are often attracted to my family's wealth, although some of them also find me physically attractive. I find their attentions irritating and distracting. I think I will be able to escape their attentions if I announce that I am attached to someone else already. Additionally, it will be easier to travel with you as my companion if we uphold the pretense of our marriage."

Mollie nodded; what he said did make sense. It made her nervous, but she felt like she could handle this task.

"My Lord, will I be receiving compensation for this? And where will we be traveling?"

Sherlock gave a quick smile of appreciation at her- perhaps she was slightly sharper than he gave her credit for.

"You will be more than adequately compensated for your travels with me. We will be leaving from Ripon tomorrow morning. We are traveling to Oxford, so it will be a three day journey in the carriage."

Mollie stood quietly and thought about Lord Holmes's proposition for a moment. She opened her mouth to respond to him when she heard, "My Lord! Welcome! What brings you here at this hour?"

She turned around to see her father descending the stairs. Mollie was about to answer her father's query, but Lord Holmes quickly cut her off.

"Anselm, I have come here with a request for Mollie. I'd like her to be my travel companion for the next few weeks. We will be traveling to Oxford to work on a case that I have been given."

Anselm looked stunned for a moment- Mollie wondered if that's how she looked when Lord Holmes gave her his request- before he responded carefully with, "With all due respect, my Lord, my Mollie is a most valuable presence here for me in the shop. I'm not sure if I'll be able to manage without her. I will worry greatly for her health and safety over the next few weeks, and what with my health already ailing, I don't think that would end well."

Mollie looked back and forth between her father and Lord Holmes. She could practically see the wheels turning in Lord Holmes's head; he must really want her to be his travel companion. When she looked at her father, she could see the worry written plainly on his face. She had to acknowledge that her father made some valid points. He did need her in the shop, and his worrying would certainly not improve his health. But Mollie also felt that she could manipulate this situation to her advantage if she really wanted to.

She looked at Lord Holmes, and said, "My Lord, may I have a moment alone upstairs with my father?"

Lord Holmes nodded his consent, and with that, Mollie and Anselm quickly ascended the stair steps.

When they were in the privacy of their upstairs apartment, Anselm whispered, "Mollie, I don't think this is a wise idea. We don't know Lord Holmes very well, and we don't know his intentions for you."

Mollie whispered back, "Papa, I know that you may be feeling some apprehension about all of this, but all he wants me to do for him are the basic duties of a housekeeper and cook while he is working on a case." She chose to exclude the rather major detail of having to pretend to be his wife; she knew her father would balk at that.

Anselm shook his head, and said, "I simply don't understand why he couldn't just stay at a boarding house. They provide all those things in a boarding house!"

Mollie said, "I shall go ask him; that is an excellent question, Father." She darted back down the stairs, where she found Lord Holmes pacing (somewhat impatiently) through the shop.

She cleared her throat, "Excuse me, my Lord. May I ask why you cannot simply stay at a boardinghouse? They have cooks and housekeepers there."

Lord Holmes looked at her for a second, and then explained, "I cannot simply trust a person who I don't know at all to prepare my food on a daily basis. I have death threats put to me regularly by criminals. Someone who cooks at a boardinghouse could be paid to poison my food. It wouldn't be very logical for you to attempt to kill me. As I am Lord of this estate, your family would be out of a job if I died, considering that there is no heir, and my brother holds little interest in managing the affairs of the estate."

Mollie nodded again, and said, "We'll only be a few more moments upstairs, my Lord."

Mollie arrived back upstairs and quickly relayed what Lord Holmes had told her to Anselm. Anselm frowned for a second, and then said, "What he says does make sense, Mollie. But I am so concerned for how this will affect your reputation in the village. Many people already talk about how odd you are because you are so interested in medicine, reading, and the like. When I die, and you know that my death isn't far away, you will need someone to take care of you. That person is going to have to come from this estate. If the young men hear that you've been off gallivanting with the lord of the manor, they won't be nearly as keen on marrying you."

Mollie took her father's hand gently; she could see in his eyes that his concern was genuine. So she proceeded cautiously when she calmly said, "Papa, I know that you are concerned for my reputation and my virtue. However, I think that there is a lot of good that could come from this as well. Lord Holmes has promised to compensate me generously for my services. The money will definitely help to pay for my care for the next few years. I can live modestly here on the estate until I find a man I want to marry. I can defend my virtue well enough, and I don't think that Lord Holmes is interested in defiling me. I can ask him to get someone to help you in the shop while I'm away, and most importantly, I know that he and I are heading south to Oxford. I can ask him to take me to London, and maybe I can discover a way to arrange a royal touch ceremony with King Henry to heal you of your illness. I know you're worried, Papa, but this will help me and you."

Anselm became a little teary-eyed as he heard Mollie explain all of this to him. "Mollie, you are so grown up now. What you're saying makes sense, and while I know I'm still going to worry about you desperately, I trust you to make wise decisions while you're traveling with his Lordship. I will let you go with him, since you have argued convincingly that it will benefit both of us. Let's not keep Lord Holmes waiting any longer- we have an answer for him."

Mollie hurried back down the stairs with her father following behind her. Lord Holmes looked a bit impatient at this point, but Mollie couldn't really bring herself to care. She then announced, "I will go with you as a travel companion- however, I have conditions before I wholeheartedly agree to this."

Sherlock raised his eyebrow- he certainly hadn't expected this from her. "Go on," he said.

At his raised eyebrow, Mollie felt her confidence waiver slightly. She hoped that he wouldn't find someone to replace her because she was too demanding. But she knew that this had to be said, so she bit her lip before opening her mouth and saying, "First, I'd like to ask that you send one of your servants from the manor here to the shop to help my father in the shop and around the house. Second, I would like a guarantee that you will in no way touch me without my express permission. And finally, I would like to go to London. I would like to arrange for a royal touch ceremony to cure my father of his illness."

Sherlock was speechless for a few seconds; who knew this slip of a girl would be so demanding, and know exactly what she wanted? Strangely enough, Sherlock wasn't bothered by it- in fact, he rather enjoyed it. Mollie, meanwhile, was quaking in her shoes, terrified that he would say no and leave. Then she would be back to saving coins in a jar, vainly hoping for a trip to the palace that would never come. Finally, Lord Holmes spoke.

"That is quite a list, I must say. However, I will concede to your conditions as long as you obey me in every way unless it breaks one of your conditions."

Mollie broke out in a smile of relief. "Thank you, my Lord. That is very generous of you."

Sherlock shook his head, and then said, "It was merely logical. We must leave for the manor at once. What have you in the way of clothes to wear on the trip?"

Mollie said, "A few simple linen tunics- I don't have much occasion for dressing up, your Lordship."

Sherlock said, "Well, that simply won't do. We will go to Ripon after we leave here and arrange for you to have a few new dresses made that are appropriate for a housekeeper to wear." He chose not to mention, "dresses appropriate for my wife, the noblewoman, to wear". After that was said, he indicated to Mollie that it was time to leave.

Mollie looked back at her father, and desperately hoped that this wouldn't be the last time that she would see him. She threw her arms around his neck, not caring that Lord Holmes was watching. She whispered in his ear, "Stay well, Papa, until I can send for you to come to London. I'll be back to you as soon as I can."

Anselm tearfully whispered, "I love you, Mollie. Stay safe." He kissed her on the cheek, and let go of her. Mollie squeezed his hand and said one last "I love you" before she left the shop with Lord Holmes. As they left the shop, all Mollie could think about was that she may be seeing her father for the last time. All Sherlock could think of was that it would be very inconvenient to tell Mycroft and Anthea that they would have an extra female guest staying with them in London soon.

AN: So I guess we'll find out in the next chapter what sort of clothing Mollie will get, and how well she and Sherlock are going to get along. :)