King and Lionheart Chapter 3
AN: Sorry that it took me so long to update this! I went to my family's beach cottage last weekend (no internet), and when I arrived back home, the motherboard in my old computer had died! I had to do a data transfer, etc. But I've finally uploaded this chapter- it's a bit longer than the others, so I hope this at least slightly makes it up to my readers. :) Thanks for all the reviews, favorites and follows! Hope everyone has a lovely July 4th holiday!
As Mollie walked back up the hill towards the manor with Lord Holmes, carrying a small satchel of basic items under her arm, she looked back down at the estate. It was just beginning to wake up- mothers were walking out of their homes with pails of water in one arm and a baby in the other. The men were going outside to check their crops and livestock. Here and there a bleary-eyed child toddled around looking for where his or her parents had gone to. She took a deep breath, acknowledging that deep in her heart she was going to feel a bit empty without being on the estate for the next few months. It would be the first time she had left the place in her entire life. She was roused from her thoughts by the deep voice of Lord Holmes.
"How long has your father been ill?"
Mollie took a deep breath, pausing to think about exactly how long it had been. It felt like forever to her. She finally decided on a number, and said, "About two months. It all came on rather suddenly."
Sherlock pursed his lips and nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that. Your father is a particularly competent apothecary."
Mollie smiled a little bit at that comment. She knew that her father was not only gifted in creating herbal remedies, but also very passionate about it. His passion for it had transferred to her, leading to her keen interest in the sciences.
Sherlock looked over at Mollie again, and then asked, "Why did your father never remarry? Your mother died relatively young, as I remember. Most men would want to remarry soon after."
Mollie was a bit affronted by his forwardness. She found it a bit rude for Lord Holmes to be asking such questions about her personal life and her family; quite frankly, it wasn't his business. However, considering her station and rank, she decided to shut out the thoughts of his rudeness and instead answer the question. She considered his question for a moment before hesitantly beginning her answer.
"Well, he really loved my Mum, you know? When she passed, I was just a little baby, but people in the village talk about how he cried for days on end after her death. Even now, I know he aches for her. When I'm watching him, he seems happy, but when he thinks I'm looking away, you can tell he's miserable. I just don't think someone else ever came into his life who could come close to replacing Mum. When you are that in love with someone, you can't just move on."
Lord Holmes stared at her for a second. Then he said, "Oh, you were being serious. And here I thought you were joking.
At this point, Molly became angry. Who was this man, mocking her feelings, her thoughts, and her upbringing? Who exactly did he think he was? She felt that her face must have communicated the mixture of hurt and seething anger that she was feeling rising to a boil within her soul. Despite her expressive countenance, Lord Holmes seemed nonplussed. She could feel her heart pounding with the desire to yell at this awful pompous prat, when he continued to speak.
"Romantic love is a myth. It is simply two people projecting ideas and expectations on one another and pretending that their partner actually can uphold these ideals. I think all that emotional turmoil and drama would be an annoying distraction, not to mention absolutely exhausting."
Molly wanted to lash out at Lord Holmes, wanted to cry, and wanted to show him how wrong he was. She felt as if he had invalidated her parents' love for one another and her own ideas in one fell swoop. But instead of doing any of those things, she was surprised at the words that came from her mouth, unbidden, in the next instant.
"That is the most awful thing I've heard anyone say. I want to be angry at you, but I just feel sorry for you. You'll never feel the love and happiness that my parents had, because you would rather let yourself be miserable for the sake of logic."
She bit her lip, clenched her fists, and diverted her eyes to the ground. She waited for him to reprimand her, to tell her to remember her place. The reprimand never came. She finally chanced a glance back up at his face, and saw him looking down at her with what may have been...regret? Hurt? A second later, he looked up, and his jaw set firm again, his face a mask of indifference and nonchalance. With this rapid schooling of features, Mollie was surprised at his next utterance.
"I am sorry if I caused you offense. Please believe in my sincerity."
He never looked at her as he said any of this, almost as though it pained him to speak the words, to appear humble in front of Mollie. Mollie was speechless for a few moments, and then quietly said, "Thank you, your Lordship."
They walked in silence the rest of the way until they reached the door of the manor. Lord Holmes reached up and grasped the large metal knocker on the door, and quickly rapped it against the door a few times before letting it rest. Shortly afterwards, an elderly lady opened the door. When she saw who it was, she smiled at Lord Holmes and nodded at Mollie in acknowledgement. The older woman then spoke in a rather cheery voice to Mollie and Lord Holmes.
"Sherlock, dear, come inside! Danny is readying your bags right now! Are you going to be staying in Ripon tonight after your shopping trip, or are you coming back to the manor?"
Mollie was surprised by the level of familiarity that this woman addressed Lord Holmes with, but he did not seem to be affronted by her manner of address at all. Instead, he smoothly replied in his velvety voice, saying,
"Mrs. Hudson, I'd like to introduce you to Mollie Hooper. She is the village apothecary's daughter, and will be my traveling companion for this journey. Perhaps you could take her to the servants' quarters and give her an idea of her expected duties? We will be returning to the manor after going to Ripon today. Please have the cook prepare a dinner meal for us. I'm going to go upstairs and change into more suitable clothing."
Mrs. Hudson gestured to Mollie and said, "Right then, come with me dear. I shall discuss a few things with you before you go to Ripon with Sherlock. Is that dress the only thing you have to wear?"
When Mollie nodded meekly, Mrs. Hudson sighed and said, "Well, I suppose it'll have to do then; goodness knows a slip of a thing like you won't be able to wear any of my clothes. Come along dear, we'll go on to the servants' quarters. Have you had a thing to eat today?"
Mollie quietly said, "Yes, Mrs. Hudson, I had some porridge and water before coming here with his Lordship."
Mrs. Hudson smiled gently at her, already taking a liking to the thin, quiet little girl with the gentle brown eyes. She was worried about how the girl would get along with Sherlock, though. "I am pleased to hear that. Let me know if you feel a bit peckish and would like a bite from the kitchen. We should talk about Sherlock's eating habits first. You should know that he probably won't be eating a lot while he is working on this case- he hardly ever eats when he is investigating. He seems to think eating dulls his mind. So try not to be offended if he doesn't eat the dinners you make for him, dear."
Mollie said, "How can he sustain himself on a case when he doesn't eat?"
Mrs. Hudson sighed, then said, "That's the other thing you'll need to be watching for, dear. Sherlock has had a history of using spirits and the seed of poppies to sustain himself for longer. You'll need to keep an eye on that. At one point, his use became such a problem that his brother, Lord Mycroft, had to come down and intercede in order to save Sherlock's life and reputation. If you can, make sure he doesn't get a hold of those spirits- it will make him even more difficult to deal with than he already is."
"Already is? What do you mean by that?"
Mrs. Hudson pursed her lips, as if searching for a way to phrase things, before she finally said, "Well, Sherlock can be a bit headstrong at times. And his habits aren't exactly...normal. When you're cleaning around the house, make sure you don't move anything- he'll notice if anything has been moved, and he'll become quite upset. He says it interferes with his thought process. And you may find...surprises while you are cleaning up around your house. He enjoys doing experiments. I just hope you have a strong stomach, dear."
Mollie smiled at this comment, then said, "A strong stomach is one thing that I was blessed with, Mrs. Hudson. I am sure that I'll be able to handle whatever his Lordship surprises me with. Before we go back upstairs to meet him, can I make a small request of you?"
Mrs. Hudson nodded and said, "Of course, dear! How can I help you?"
Mollie looked at Mrs. Hudson and quietly asked, "Can you read and write?"
"Only a little bit- I'm not terribly skilled, but I can write simple letters."
"Good. Can you please write to us once I find out where we will be and inform me regularly on the health of my father, Anselm Hooper? His health has been ailing recently, and I'm worried about being out there without receiving any updates on his health."
"I'll try my best, dear. Now let's go back upstairs. I have a feeling Sherlock will become impatient if we take any longer down here."
Meanwhile, Sherlock was upstairs in his chambers. He had called for one of the younger servant boys to come up to his chamber. When he heard the nervous knock at the chamber door, he opened it to find a wide-eyed boy who couldn't have been more than fourteen.
"Are you Danny?" he asked.
The boy silently nodded in affirmation. Sherlock then said, "Danny, I need you to do a favor for me. Do you know the apothecary on this estate?" Danny silently nodded again, looking slightly less nervous.
"Good. I am leaving for Oxford tomorrow with his daughter as my travel companion. I will need you to stay with him and be his assistant until I return from Oxford. Can you do that?"
"Yes, your Lordship."
"Alright. You may go down to his shop now- I believe he has just opened for business a short time ago."
The boy darted out the door, seeming in a rush to get away from Sherlock's chamber. "Am I really that intimidating to people?" Sherlock mused. Perhaps he was. He knew that his forthright manner frequently alienated others. Like Molly. Sherlock curled his lips into a small smirk. It was certainly going to be an interesting journey with her. He had been somewhat surprised at her open declaration of her feelings on his statement during their walk to the manor. How her open temperament would steer the rest of the journey remained to be seen. He straightened the collar on his jacket and turned to the door, ready to travel to Ripon. He reached the bottom of the stairs leading to the front hall of the manor to find Mrs. Hudson and Mollie both waiting for him.
He looked towards Mollie and said, "I'm ready to leave for Ripon. Are you ready to leave?" Mollie nodded in response. "Good. The carriage should be waiting out front."
When they reached the door of the carriage, Sherlock offered his hand to help Mollie get up into the carriage. Mollie gratefully took it and stepped into the carriage. Once they were both comfortably situated inside the carriage and headed towards Ripon, Mollie decided to ask a question that had been nagging at her mind for the better part of the morning.
"My Lord, why did Mrs. Hudson speak to you with such familiarity? I wouldn't expect a servant of the house to be able to address you so casually without reproach."
Sherlock looked out the window of the carriage for a moment before quietly saying, "Mrs. Hudson is more than a house servant to me."
Mollie was taken aback by this statement; she also wasn't quite sure what he meant with it. "How are you acquainted to her?"
Sherlock said, "She was my nurse when I was a baby, and my governess as I grew older. I do not like to discuss my family, but understand that Mrs. Hudson is the closest thing I have to family."
Mollie nodded, and chose to remain quiet for the remainder of the journey so as not to overstep her bounds. She could feel that Lord Holmes was a troubled soul, clearly plagued by issues that ran deep from his childhood. She wished she could do more to help him, but felt that perhaps the best thing she could do at this point would be to give him privacy.
When they arrived in Ripon, Lord Holmes said, "I'll be taking you to a dressmaker's shop this morning. They'll fit you into your dresses this morning, and tomorrow morning we will retrieve the dresses before we leave on our journey." The carriage slowed to a halt, and Lord Holmes stepped out of the carriage and held out his hand to her so that she could safely exit. He then set off across the street to the dressmaker's shop, Mollie following close behind him. When they entered the shop, the dressmakers and seamstresses all looked up from their work, a little surprised to see a man entering the shop. They looked even more surprised to see a peasant girl following close behind him.
Sherlock wasted no time in making his demands clear. "Good morning. I'm willing to pay you a significant sum of money for you to have five dresses prepared for this girl by tomorrow morning. Can you do that?"
One of the dressmakers (Mollie assumed she was the head dressmaker), quickly responded, saying, "Yes, sir, we can have five ready by the morning. We have cutouts prepared on some designs already, and we can tailor them to her and have them ready quickly. What will you be needing, miss?" At this, the dressmaker looked at Mollie. Mollie had no idea what she would need, so she looked back to Lord Holmes. Lord Holmes looked back to the dressmaker, and said, "She'll be needing two dresses appropriate for social functions in high society, one dress appropriate for receiving company, and two dresses appropriate for a housekeeper." Lord Holmes then looked back at Mollie, and quietly said, "I'll be back in a few hours to collect you." He nodded at the dressmaker, and left the shop.
After Lord Holmes exited the shop, Mollie felt painfully awkward and self-conscious. She was wearing the clothes of a dowdy peasant girl, and she could feel the judgment of every woman working in the shop upon her. What did they think of her? What assumptions were they making about her? After a few more seconds of awkward silence, the head dressmaker cleared her throat, and said, "Come to the back with me. We'll get you down to your undergarments and start fitting you." The dressmaker gestured to a few of the seamstresses to follow her to the back.
When they got to the back, Mollie quietly said, "What did you mean by undergarments, miss?"
The dressmaker furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment, then her eyes widened as she exclaimed, "You mean to say you have no proper undergarments, child? That simply won't do. We have to outfit you with undergarments if you are to look proper in society. Stand up on the pedestal here and undress yourself. We'll retrieve you some undergarments to fit you into."
Mollie couldn't believe it. She was going to have to undress in front of women she had only just met. Mollie didn't enjoy this concept for a number of reasons; among them, the fact that she felt enormously insecure about her body. She was painfully thin, something that most people did not find attractive. As Mollie pulled off her stockings, she wondered if Lord Holmes found her attractive. Perhaps that was why he asked her to pose as his wife? Mollie removed her bodice and tunic right as the dressmaker and seamstresses returned to the fitting area.
"My, my, you're nothing more than a twig, are you child? Well, I'll fit your dresses a bit looser, as I hope that your benefactor will help you to put some meat on your bones to fill out the dress a bit more."
The dressmaker handed Mollie a small piece of fabric with three wide holes cut into it first. She said, "You slip your legs through the bottom two holes, and it will hold around your waist. It's to cover your womanly parts." Mollie nodded and put on the garment as instructed. She thought it looked a bit like a diaper they put on the babies, but she decided if this is what the fashionable ladies wore, she too could wear it. Next, Mollie was handed a loose white dress that was much shorter than a conventional dress. When she put it on, it only came halfway down her thigh. The dressmaker explained, "This is a chemise. You wear it under your dress for modesty." Finally, she was handed a long white skirt. Mollie put on the skirt. The dressmaker smiled and said, "Now that you're properly in your undergarments, we can fit you in your dresses." The first one that was brought out was a plain cream colored linen dress with long sleeves. Mollie put on the dress. Then, a light blue bodice with a blue apron attached to it was brought out to wear over the dress. The seamstresses tightened the bodice to an appropriate point, then stepped back to inspect the fit of the dress. The dressmaker said, "I think we can let this dress be. Take it off, and we'll hang it up for you to wear for your journey back." Mollie nodded and went through the process of trying on one more dress that was fairly similar to the first dress, although the color of the bodice was light yellow, not blue. After she had removed that dress, the dressmaker said, "Since money seems to be of no object, we're going to fit you in one of our finest sitting dresses." Mollie took a deep breath. She had always lived a simple life out of necessity, and the prospect of receiving fine things made her incredibly excited.
The dressmaker returned with a light blue dress that opened in the middle to a dark blue underlay. The dress was held together in the middle by bodice strings that Mollie assumed would go around her waist. Mollie obediently slipped on the dress, hoping that it would fit. She was disappointed to see that no matter how tight the bodice strings were pulled, the dress was still much too loose. The dressmaker waved her hands and said, "No matter. We will make some adjustments so that you'll be able to fit into it." The dressmaker then announced, "Let's fit you into your ball dresses now. I have a few ideas of some lovely looks for you." Mollie was stunned by the beautiful dresses that the dressmaker brought back. One was a deep red color, made of a shiny, soft fabric with gold lacing for the bodice and gold details. The other dress was a deep purple color, was cut low in the front, and had a gold-embroidered sash around the waist. When Mollie tried on the red one, she didn't think she had ever felt more beautiful. She also didn't feel quite like herself. Somehow, the woman in a red dress who looked back at her in the mirror seemed too vixen-like and seductive to be the Mollie Hooper that she knew herself to be. However, she also knew that she was neither a noblewoman nor the wife of a nobleman. Therefore, there was no hurt in playing a bit of dress up for a short period of time. The dress was, again, a bit too large on her, but the dressmaker assured her it would be adjusted to an appropriate fit by tomorrow morning. The purple dress was equally lovely, if a bit more modest in its cut and fabric. Mollie gently ran her fingers over the fabric, which was oddly soft and rough depending on which direction your fingers moved on it. This dress was also too large, and the heaviness of the fabric made it droop off of her body like a damp rag. The dressmaker told her to take the dress off. The dressmaker then did some measurements on Mollie in order to estimate her size and needs for the cuts on the dresses. After a few moments of hemming and hawing, the dressmaker gave her back the linen dress that she had first tried on.
"You're all done, dear! Go right ahead and put on that dress, then you can wait for Lord Holmes to come collect you and pay for your new dresses."
Mollie smiled and quietly thanked the dressmaker, then pulled on the plain dress that she had first tried on. While it was nowhere near as elegant as the last dresses Mollie was fitted in, she still admired how much more attractive she looked in a dress that fit properly, and was made for a lady, not for a peasant girl. When Mollie stepped out to the front of the shop, the dressmaker cheerily announced that she had chosen headdresses for Mollie to wear to social functions. She indicated said headdresses with a grand sweep of her arm. Mollie stepped closer to the proffered table, and gasped at the beauty of the headdresses that had been selected. The first one was a simple gold circlet, with a ruby on each side, and a sheer red veil to accompany it. The second one was a silver circlet, with lavender ribbons attached to it. The dressmaker said, "Many young ladies will braid ribbons like those into their hair when they go to the ball." Mollie smiled and nodded, acknowledging to herself that she might do the same thing when the occasion arose. Once she was finished admiring the headpieces, Mollie took a seat near the window of the shop. She leaned her head against the wall, closed her eyes, and let herself be caught up in fantasies of being swept off her feet in a ballroom by a certain handsome, dark haired man with piercing blue eyes…
"Right then. I see that you've enjoyed your fitting a bit too much. Don't let it go to your head. Draping oneself in a chair is never a good look for a housekeeper."
Mollie inwardly groaned at the now-familiar baritone voice. She couldn't help but think that her dashing, dark-haired prince was perhaps more attractive when he was mute...