Home Is Where The Girl Is
Chapter 5 – A Summer Night's Breeze
It did not take long for the two up and coming detectives to adjust to cottage living. The country air was crisp, clean and invigorating. Even their food was fresh right off the property; at least most of it. Large cuts of meat were delivered at least once a week to help satisfy those with ferocious appetites. Jenny mostly had potatoes and scraps of meat often found in stew growing up; larger pieces were saved for holidays. However with her new daily life of exercise, she welcomed the fresh livestock. It helped her muscles grow strong and her mind sharp.
One particular evening, the Silurian commented on her new food choices. "Ummm" she purred as she placed another piece of meat in her mouth. Barely swallowing, the reptilian remarked, "Goddess, this meat is so much more taster than wooley mammoth of my day." Imagining how long ago that was, the human's eyes shot wide as she studiously watched the well educated woman gorge herself on the tender pink meat. Scarcely forcing down another large bite with a glass of blood, Vastra quizzed, "My dear what is this called again? I forgot. Whatever it is, we absolutely must have this weekly. I simply can not get enough of it."
Seeing another forkful disappear, the willing servant finally offered, "Its pig miss."
As time past, the summer days slowly begun to melt into one another. Had it not been for their weekly delivery of supplies, the two women would be at an absolute loss for what day it was. As Jenny lay in her bed each night, she would stare up at the ceiling and wonder what her mistress was doing right then. Not once did the young maiden want the day to be over; or any day for that matter. Never before had she felt so free – so alive. Even as her sore and bruised muscles begged for a reprieve from her daily lessons, the maiden could not relish the feeling of empowerment that her teacher provided.
Each morning the independent woman ate a lite breakfast followed by the vigorous dance of warriors; that concluded around eleven. Lunches promptly ended at noon; even if they started late. Madame Vastra kept a tight schedule around the cottage. It was the way of the warrior she would proclaim.
It was during the afternoons that the seasoned warrior focused solely on her pupils' body. Every day she had a new physically challenging assignment for the young match girl. Her daunting tasks spanned from picking up apples, which fell by the hundreds, to extensive labor. The well educated mentor informed her that saving the apples from rotting was good for her gluteus maximus. But by the next morning, when Jenny could barely walk, she thought better of Vastra's philosophy of 'being good for her'.
A few of the young maiden's daily grinds consisted of painting fences, mending retaining walls, chasing chickens, and making a badly needed repair to the roof that had sprung a leak during a storm one night. The Silurian also made the city girl do laps in the pool, so many that she once commented, "Are you sure you are a lizard and not a fish?" The humorous reference did not amuse the lady of the house as she retaliated by making the young land mammal swim an extra ten laps.
Thankfully Jenny's body was allowed to rest, or rather heal from her perspective, every other day, though it did not stop Madame Vastra from educating the unrefined woman. She made her read, read and read. The inexperienced pupil could not believe how much information was enclosed on such small pages. The match girl studied modern history, the basics of science, how to read maps and the art of warfare; just to name a few.
Even when it rained, the woman had an extensive chore ready for the lass. It once poured for three days straight, allowing the dark hair beauty plenty of time to scrub all the floors in the house. To the underprivileged maid, it was incredibly mundane how particular the blue eyed lizard wanted them cleaned. Up and down motions when scrubbing, large clockwise when rinsing and counterclockwise when drying them. She swore she never wanted to clean another floor again.
To an outsider it would appear that prestigious Victorian was working the poor city girl to death. However if one investigated further, they would see that prestigious Victorian had been right there the whole time. Madame Vastra did everything Jenny did. She moved boulders, painted boards, picked up apples and scrubbed the floors; along side her assistant.
Her reasoning for this shared torment was "It is not simply a person who makes a leader great – it is to have walked in the shoes of those who you lead that makes one great." It was an ancient philosophy the young match girl did not at first understand, but as the days converged into weeks, she began to appreciate the meaning more clearly. A series of exchanged glances and smiles during the chores also helped, Jenny thought.
Dinners were small and meager, unlike their hearty lunches. But it was shortly after dusk that young maiden enjoyed most. After supper, Vastra would read or tell a story of her own to the exhausted maiden. Sometimes they would sit out by the pool, in clothes not presentable for public view with their feet dangling in the water. Jenny would lie back on her blanket and stare up at the stars high above, saturating herself with each and every word that trickled off the tongue of her mistress.
The evenings had become the favorite part of day for Madame Vastra as well; not only because of the calming chirp of crickets and cool summer breeze the gently flowed over her skin. Every now and then, the mentor would peer over to the young lady she was reciting too, and stare. Struggling to keep her pace, as even the faintness pause would cause the studious companion's head to pop up. However, just as her pupil had been learning, so did she.
The skilled hunter taught herself to not betray her thoughts as she read. Often allowing her piercing blue eyes to trail over the pale skin of her assistant, she would watch as the young girl's fingers would comb through her long brown hair. One time the prestigious Victorian almost slipped when she saw the young girl's caressing hand move to her svelte stomach. The ancient warrior had to fake a cough in order to excuse her self.
As Jenny lay in her bed that evening, she pondered, "Lawd above! I 'ope Madame Vastra isn't comin' down wiv something. She sure did cuff a lot tonight."