Changing Times
September 1888
Claire glanced outside the large window in Sherlock Holmes's flat, smiling slightly at the changing leaves and the cooler weather. Ever since the Beethoven concert in July, her employer had been watching her closely watching for any signs she might give towards her intentions towards his brother. Watson was trying to be helpful by encouraging her communications with Mycroft, but she still couldn't help but feel that Mycroft was losing interest.
She sighed and hung her head before opening a very large envelope. Her pupils grew large and she had to restrain from laughing. Holmes cocked an eyebrow at his amused assistant; ever since the concert she had been quiet but he could tell that she was beginning to doubt his brother.
"Remember the kidnapping case with William Gardner?" she asked him quietly, unaware that Watson had re-entered the room. Both men nodded in unison, allowing her to read on. "We've been invited to a New Year's Masquerade Ball at Miss Gertrude Steward's estate. Mr. Holmes, you cannot refuse this ball since it is their thank-you for solving such a case," she said in a mocking tone, as if daring him to refuse.
Watson clapped his hands together in glee. "I cannot wait until the occasion, and it will finally give me and Mary an excuse to dance again," he said happily before remembering Claire's past with William. "What about you, Claire? Do you think it wise you go after what went on between you two?"
His cousin simply rolled her eyes at him.
Holmes decided to speak at last. "I think your cousin has established enough times that she will be fine, and with so many others there it would be inconceivable for Mr. Gardner to single her out."
Claire nodded in approval. "Thank you, Mr. Holmes."
Both men noticed that Claire was acting like a rational human being, and normally with anyone else they wouldn't have cared - but coming from Claire, it meant she was probably hiding something.
"What are you hiding from us this time, Miss Watson?" Holmes asked, as if expecting her to be honest with him.
Claire gave a bored look. "I'm not hiding anything, Mr. Holmes. Am I not allowed to act like a normal person or must I always be the secretive secretary you've come to adore?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
Watson thought he had seen all of the personalities of his cousin but he was evidently wrong. "Are you sure you're all right, Claire?" he asked just to be sure.
His cousin nodded, "I am perfectly fine, John or I might be if you stopped second-guessing my actions!"
Claire's quick tongue still carried a sense of supreme honesty and Watson felt good about this change in his cousin. Holmes too was beginning to feel a change in the air of the room and he had a sense that at long last his assistant had laid down the rest of her self-consciousness to allow them all to see the real her.
Claire had to stop smiling to realize how far she just went with deciding to stop caring what the world thought of her and her past. With that refreshing boost of confidence she began to write a letter to her good friend Roger. But before she did, the secretary looked at her employer.
"Do you think if it's all right if I invite my friend Roger along? He loves these sorts of gatherings and I know both of you would benefit from getting to know him," she said hoping they would agree.
Watson looked confused. "I thought you would want Mycroft to escort you?"
It was Holmes's and Claire's turn to raise their brows. "I don't know if Mycroft will want to escort me, but even if he does I'm still inviting Roger; he's not going as my escort but as my friend." Claire shook her head with an amused smile at Watson's confused appearance. "Roger is a bachelor for life like Mr. Holmes here, he will never marry and he has never mentioned to me any inclinations towards myself or any other lady so there is nothing to fear," she said to the pair of them.
Holmes nodded. "I thought he seemed the type, but I was unaware of his preference for certain company until now." He gave Claire a knowing look who in turn gave him the put-off look Watson regularly recognized.
"John, would you be so kind as to give me a moment alone with Mr. Holmes?" she asked politely, trying to bite her tongue.
Watson didn't like not being told something but from the look Claire was giving Holmes, he knew it was for the best. On the other side of the door, Claire was sitting across from Holmes.
"You are correct in your assumption for his preference, and I know it is frowned upon in most respects in society but I don't think having him with us in Kent will damage any of our reputations. Those closest to Roger like me know that he won't do anything rash when in mixed company. I beg you not to tell John, since we both know what his reaction will be."
Claire was speaking in a type of social code but she made sure Holmes knew every word she said. "Thank you once again, Mr. Holmes." She dipped her head in respect before reopening the door to let Watson back in.
Watson was still annoyed that he didn't know what they had done but from the unchanging face of Sherlock and Claire he decided to wait to ask them.
"Stop hoping, John; you may never learn the secret I've given Mr. Holmes. But then again, I've been wrong before," Claire said to him before ringing for Mrs. Hudson.
The elderly woman was happy to go put in the letter in the post for she knew that the nice young lady was expecting someone. Claire sat back down at the desk and began to read the untouched pile of letters from past clients and fans of the detective.
Mr. Mycroft Holmes looked at his watch, glad to see that he was on time for his weekly visit with his good friend Miss Claire Watson. He wasn't really sure how he felt about her - he certainly liked the young lady but there was something about her he wasn't really sure of. Mycroft didn't like the fact that she was still secretive with others after all this time and she still seemed unwilling to let go of the past.
Mycroft had his share of friendship with women, most of them lead to unfulfilling romances and he left them feeling cold and bitter like his younger brother. But with Claire there was something different about her, she had worked for the government and did so many thing that he had originally thought impossible, that Mycroft couldn't help but be amazed at her accomplishments.
The cab stopping made his thoughts float away as he ascended the stairs to his brother's flat. Claire saw the grey head of Mycroft through her window and had to suppress a grin and the wanting to spring on him the moment he set foot in the door. Holmes heard the sound of his brother greeting Mrs. Hudson and turned to get a better view of him.
Mycroft entered, oddly enough, with a bouquet of flowers, which made Claire blush a light pink as she rose from her chair. Everyone exchanged bows of greeting, and then sat back down except for Claire who remained standing.
"Brother, is my sitting room so destitute that you had to bring flowers to make it look approachable?" Holmes asked trying to see if Claire would look deflated at all by his comment.
Mycroft shook his head, "I do not think flowers alone could make this place approachable. These are for Miss Watson's desk, so she will have something else to look at besides the view."
Claire took the nice bunch of lilies and baby's breath. "Thank you, Mycroft, these are wonderful!" she said, smiling before setting them in a vase on her desk.
Holmes immediately lit a pipe and watched the two interact. Watson unintentionally decided to kill their moment by mentioning the ball.
"So, Mycroft, I think you would like to know that we have all been invited to a New Year's Masquerade by Mr. Gardner's fiancée. Claire was hoping you would agree to…" He was stopped by Claire glaring at him as if silently trying to get him to shut his mouth.
Mycroft glanced at the invitation and nodded, "It seems we cannot say no to this one, Sherlock. I will go if Miss Watson is agreeable enough to allow me to escort her?" he said politely, trying not to blush to give his brother any indication on how he was feeling.
Claire smiled. "I would be honored, Mr. Holmes," she said with a bow of head. "My friend Roger is coming along, if you don't mind. Both your brother and the good Doctor think he would be a welcome addition to the party. What do you think?"
Mycroft shrugged and nodded his approval to the arrangement.
The young lady called for tea in one flowing moment before sitting across from Watson and the two Holmeses. Holmes finally spoke for the first time since his brother had come in.
"Let us hope your dancing has gotten better, brother, since my assistant seems the type who likes to dance."
Mycroft turned a light shade of pink, "I think my dancing skills are still usable and if not I could always force you to dance with her in my stead since you are the better one of the two of us."
Holmes glared at him while Claire giggled slightly. "That is true, but I doubt that Miss Watson would want to."
The two men looked at Claire for a response only to have her smiling at them both. "I do love to dance, I suspect it runs in the family. As for whom I would rather dance with it would have to be Mr. Mycroft; since he is my escort I will feel more compelled to dance with him," she said rationally. "Although, in the unlikely event Mr. Holmes asks me to dance I would most likely dance with him as well." Claire added with a hint of another smile, causing her employer to scowl once again.
The tea arrived and the four sat in comfortable silence except for a few words about the cool weather and good flow of cases. Watson then spoke aloud to the group. "It's nice to see the three of you are getting along at long last."
Three pairs of eyebrows raised in unison to the Doctor's observation.
"What did you expect, Mr. Holmes to still be objecting to the friendship? I think he's setting himself up for an inevitable break-off between me and his brother," Claire said, trying to hide her amusement in observing the lanky detective.
Holmes looked at her oddly, "You are getting better at detecting my moods, and you are right by the way. So far, your relationship with my brother has progressed at a steady pace but now you've come to a slow standstill and you aren't sure what to do."
Claire nodded, "True, since my last relationship with a man was five years ago I have to admit I am a bit rusty at this," she said, giving a reassuring look to Mycroft.
Watson felt bad for introducing an awkward subject and squirmed in his seat while Mycroft continued to boil in his position.
"You are making it sound like we're courting, Sherlock! When you know very well that we are just good friends," Mycroft said scoldingly.
Watson nodded in Mycroft's direction, "I don't know why Holmes is thinking you two have stronger feelings then you are letting on, but maybe he's trying to prove something," he mused out loud.
Claire nodded in agreement, "I think he's trying to prove that his brother won't ever change completely, which is the truth, but he also wants to prove to me that I can't take his brother's personality in stride." She tilted her head to get a better view of her employer only to be disappointed when he stayed silent.
Mycroft couldn't stand a battle of wits at the present so he decided instead of admitting his stronger feelings to go back to work.
"Thank you for the tea, Sherlock, your company is always illuminating," he said dryly. He rose to go and Claire rose as well.
"At least let me take you to the door, Mycroft, I want you to have a copy of the invitation," she said walking until she was beside him.
Holmes stood, "You're welcome, dear brother, feel free to keep calling on my assistant - she has barely any work to do anyway," he said characteristically unsociably.
Claire rolled her eyes at his words before letting Mycroft hook his arm in hers and walk down the stairs.
"I shall see you soon then?" she asked him when they reached the door.
Mycroft only nodded and drew up her bare right hand and kissed it before departing.
Watson peeked out the crack in the door only to be asked for by Holmes.
"Watson, you won't miss anything they do, as it probably has something to do with discussing foreign policy with India again," he said in a flat, bored tone.
Watson shook his head. "I think you underestimate them both, I think we may have a budding romance if there's any more hope for them," he said nodding in the direction of the door.
Holmes only shrugged, "Well, we do live in changing times - who knows, I may be proven wrong. But I am never wrong, so you may hope all you want, Watson; I am going to stick to the facts."
Watson gave a smirk towards his doubtful friend as he watched the two friends bid farewell.