"Mrs. Hughes, five shillings for this bunch here is as fair as fair can be, ask anyone in town!"
"I don't believe that five shillings for these rather sorry sausages is fair, Mr. Brigg, and I refuse to lose money over inferior product."
"Hardly inferior, Mrs. Hughes!"
"If I recall rightly, Mr. Brigg, the sausages in this shop were a bit more substantial last year, and worthy of being priced at five shillings. It seems to me that you've cut down on the product and preserved the cost, and isn't that unfortunate?"
Sarah smiles serenely to herself as Mr. Brigg blusters at Elsie and glances about the shop, clearly hoping no one else is around to hear. She watches her Scot ruthlessly haggle the butcher down to three shillings for the sausages, and somehow wrangle an extra rasher out of him at a discount. Pride wells up within her, makes her eyes shine; Elsie has learned so much in the last few years, and it is gratifying to see her put the skills Sarah taught her to use.
"We'll be going now, Mr. Brigg. A pleasant afternoon to you. Sarah?"
Without even trying to stifle her smirk Sarah nods to the somewhat disoriented butcher and joins Elsie outside, basket swinging from her hand.
"Well done, darlin'." she says, and Elsie smiles slightly.
"I'm glad I've made some improvement in your eyes." she declares, casually drifting closer to Sarah and linking their arms together. "Not so long ago you despaired of me."
"Never despaired, love." she reassures her, and knocks her hip into Elsie's to prompt a laugh. There is nothing as nice as this, she thinks, walking down the sleepy street arm in arm with this woman, Elsie lovely and smiling in the spring light. There's no skulking about behind closed doors, no filthy looks being cast.
She doesn't pretend to herself that the townsfolk here would welcome two people like them with open arms, but she and Elsie don't have to lock themselves away, either. So long as discretion is used she can kiss Elsie's cheek and clasp her hand without fear, and the people believe what they want.
They're free here.
"What's next?" Sarah asks, leaning close as Elsie draws her neatly folded list from her pocket.
"The flour and eggs and butter have been taken care of, and we've just gotten our meat- that leaves the green grocer, then."
Their town's green grocer was housed in the same building as the dry-goods store-why, no one could guess, as the town wasn't so tiny as all that. Sarah suspected it was a deliberate go at cultivating the quaintness that the tourists loved so much.
A bell clangs overhead as they step inside, and the grocer calls a greeting to them.
"Let's get the cabbage and carrots first." Elsie suggests, and Sarah follows her to where the greens were displayed. The prices were to their satisfaction, and they loaded Sarah's basket with vegetables. Sarah catches Elsie looking contemplatively at a hefty cucumber and says, before she can stop herself,
"How impressive. Should I be jealous?"
Elsie freezes, throws her a nasty look, and makes to tuck the thing among the rest of the vegetables- Sarah twists away, moving the basket out of Elsie's reach with a grin.
"You promised me that there'd never be a cucumber in our house, Elsie. Said we left all the cucumbers behind when we left Downton."
"Sarah O'Brien, lower your voice."
"Why?" Sarah asks sweetly. "Just talking about produce. Nothing shameful in discussin' a good thick cucumber, is there?"
"You are a child." Elsie hisses, striding past her with an air of ladylike indignation. Smirking, Sarah follows in her wake, eyes scanning the shelves for inspiration.
"I believe we need more honey, Mrs. Hughes."
"There's enough in the pantry at home, Miss O'Brien. Three jars of it, in fact."
"Oh, but three is nowhere near know how I love me sweet things, Mrs. Hughes. Like a little hummingbird, I am, drinking up all the nectar from the flower, day and night."
Sarah yelped when Elsie reached out with a covert hand and pinched her hard.
"Jaysus! What was that about?" Sarah demanded.
"There are others here, Sarah, they don't need to be subjected to…to your boorishness!"
"Hardly boorish." Sarah sniffed. "Considering what you were shoutin' at me this morning."
"Sarah Meara O'Brien."
Sarah laughed lightly, leaned in to kiss Elsie's blazing cheek.
"Alright, darlin'. I'll behave meself."