I'M BACK! FINALLY! I'M SORRY FOR UPDATING SO VERY LATE! This chapter needed a bit more description than any other chapters I've written and I felt...lazy. Eh...hehehe...uh sorry. But you should know, when I started writing again, it felt oh so good! I was jumpy and bubbly and squirmish all the time! *giggles* Right so, where were we? Right, Sherlock being an arse. And we continue with him still remaining an arse lol.
Thankyou everyone for the reviews! They keep me going!
The-Scorpio-Holmes-Sister-221B Communities? I found forums for that, but apparently, they're dead :(
I do not own Sherlock or any of its characters.
Happy reading! xx :)
Chapter Seventeen
Molly couldn't believe her ears. Nor her eyes.
"This is my house, Molly."
"What?!"
"My house", Sherlock was clearly enjoying the expression of bewilderment on Molly's face as he gestured towards the manor.
"You're lying…oh or this is an experiment of yours!", Molly exclaimed.
"Experiment?", he nodded and crossed his arms behind his back, "Ok. How so?"
"Well…ummm…", Molly looked away when she saw Toby and Redbeard bounding after each other on the freshly mown grass, "maybe check a modest human being's reaction to extravagance?", she stammered, but smirked at the horrified expression on his face, "What?"
"You call this extravagance? Really? You have no idea what Mycroft would have don-"
"Mycroft!", Molly gasped.
"What?", Sherlock frowned and tilted his head to one side.
Just then, a light breeze blew, making Sherlock's curls flutter and fall over his eyes. Sherlock ran a hand through his hair to push them away and saw Molly blush and clasp her hands together.
"What?", he repeated the question, but this time teasingly. Molly looked up at him and noticed how his pale face glowed in the sunlight. His cheeks had a peculiar, faint pinkish hue and she noticed his hair weren't really black and they had a bit of brown and gold. Unless he used hair colour. That made Molly burst into mischievous giggles.
"What's so funny?", Sherlock frowned down at her.
"Oh…ummm nothing…", Molly coughed and smiled sheepishly.
"Why did you shout Mycroft's name?", Sherlock asked again, this time suspiciously.
"Does he know about this?"
"Of course, he does!"
"John?"
"Nop."
"Why?"
"He doesn't need to know."
"Right…", Molly prolonged the word, even though she didn't understand why John didn't need to know, but she did.
"Come on, I'll show you around", Sherlock smiled and took her arm in his hand, pulling her towards the stairs leading into the house. Molly squeaked as she almost tripped but caught her balance and tried to keep up with him.
The more they got closer to the house, Molly caught her mistake. It was very unfair of her to call it a house. It was a large castle infact. But Molly just had to tease him. She couldn't fight the urge to tease him any longer.
"Disneyworld castle!", Molly squealed. Sherlock paused and turned around to glare at her.
"What did you call my house?!", Sherlock hissed. Molly bit her lip to fight back her laughter, making her eyes crinkle and her face to glow exquisitely. Sherlock's irritation subsided and he pulled her along towards the stairs at the faster pace.
"Slow down, Sherlock! Or my arm might come off!", Molly whined and tugged at her arm. Sherlock stopped and turned around, focusing his eyes on her face, then her arm, then his large hand, firmly holding her arm in his.
"FIne", Sherlock said hoarsely as he let go of her arm and quickly turned on his heel, "Follow me."
Molly stared at him suspiciously, "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Come on", Sherlock muttered and led her through a large hallway. It was brightly lit and had deep, red velvet curtains on each side. They mimicked the bright green bushes on the driveway outside. Molly's eyes followed the curtains up slowly. She was so deeply engrossed in the luxurious make, that when she realized where the curtains were leading up to, she gasped. The ceiling had a beautiful ancient painting and Molly stopped to look up at it. She knew she had seen it before, but couldn't recall where.
"The Painted Ceiling of the Great Hall at Greenwich Hospital", a baritone broke through her thoughts and she pulled her chin down to find Sherlock staring at her from a distance. He looked so small compared to the tall Corinthian columns he was leaning against.
"How did you manage to get it? It's from around the 18th century…", Molly frowned as she tilted her head back to stare at the ceiling properly. Her bobble hat slipped and fell off her head.
"I didn't steal it, if that's what you're thinking…"
"I know you didn't. Had it belonged to St. Bart's or me, you certainly would have", Molly murmured sarcastically.
Sherlock huffed and walked over to her. He leaned down and retrieved her fluffy hat from the floor.
"Technology". Sherlock declared.
"I'm sorry?", Molly made a face at him.
"It's not an original. And technology nowadays…", Sherlock explained.
Molly's mouth formed and "O" in understanding and blinked at the painting, "It's very beautiful."
"Thankyou", Sherlock smiled and looked up himself. He had wanted to light up the hallway brightly enough for the viewer to see the painting clearly enough, so he had got an electrician to somehow to fit a simple, golden chandelier in the center of the ceiling.
To Molly, the chandelier was not simple at all. It was posh and magnificent and she could tell it was selected very carefully. The shadows casted did not interrupt the beauty of the painting at all and made the hallway look even larger than it really was. Molly's eyes pulled together in a worried frown at the ceiling. She had just seen a hallway and it had taken her breath away. She wasn't sure she wanted to see any more luxury for the day. She had never thought of Sherlock as filthy rich nor as extravagant. Maybe he wasn't extravagant. Maybe he had too much money which wouldn't make all this count as extravagance in Sherlock's eyes.
"I'm thinking too much…", Molly thought out loud.
"I know, let's move on?", Sherlock asked softly. Molly nodded as Sherlock handed her, her hat back and started walked up towards the end of the hallway. She followed him quietly, counting the number of marble tiles on her way. Finally, they reached the end of the hallway, which lead to three different areas of the mansion. Sherlock paused for barely two seconds and disappeared into the left corridor. Molly quickly followed him, before she got lost in the maze of hallways. Sherlock turned right, then left, then left again and then Molly lost sense of direction. She quickly leaned forward and tugged at Sherlock's leather jacket.
"Slow down…please…", Molly whispered and rubbed her fist over her eyes. She let go of his jacket when he stopped and she sat down on the floor with her eyes closed, "Am I supposed to live in this maze for the next three weeks?"
"Yes…but I can help you", Sherlock kneeled down and tugged at her jacket, "Pull this off", he demanded while he rid her neck of the scarf. Molly did as he told her and even pulled her bobble hat off.
"I need water…", Molly whispered as she opened her eyes. Molly caught Sherlock smirking and frowned, "What?"
"Oh nothing…", Sherlock smirk grew into a triumphant grin.
"Why are you showing off your teeth, then? Oh, you brushed your teeth today?", Molly asked innocently. That made Sherlock's teeth retreat back into his mouth and stand up.
"I just showed you a security mechanism of the house. Burglary is not possible here until and unless you're involved with someone from the inside. Now get up", Sherlock scowled.
"I was joking, Sherlock", Molly whispered but stood up, nonetheless.
"I'll make sure you don't get to bear the sight of my teeth ever again, if that's what you prefer. After all, I do not brush my teeth", Sherlock scoffed and crossed his arms across his chest. His face donned a cute pout making Molly smiled at him.
"I'm sorry. You have the whitest teeth ever. You most definitely must be chewing fluoride all the time. Is that better?", Molly giggled and pinched his cheek.
"Oww! Yes fine, that will do", Sherlock brushed her hand away, feigning irritation, "Can we move now?"
"Yes…", Molly nodded and collected her discarded items of clothing. When she straightened up, Sherlock wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her along.
"What are you doing?", Molly whispered tentatively.
"Helping you walk", Sherlock smirked at her pink face.
"Right…"
Now that Sherlock held Molly to him, he had to walk at a slower pace, matching it with a dizzy Molly's. They walked quietly and Molly noticed how claustrophobic the hallway made her feel. Just when she thought they were lost, they ended up in the beautiful hallway from before again. Molly breathed in deeply and coughed. The butler arrived with a silver, circular tray in his hand, supporting a wine glass with water for her. Sherlock picked the glass and pushed it towards her hand.
"Go on", Sherlock murmured. Molly took the glass thankfully and emptied the glass in one swig. The butler blinked at her while Sherlock smirked. He took the glass from her and placed it on the tray as he nodded to the butler to leave them. The butler nodded back and left them in peace.
"What do you want to see first? The living room or the bedroom?"
"Bedroom!", Molly exclaimed a bit too desperately, embarrassing herself, "I meant…uhm…bedroom please…?"
"My bedroom?", Sherlock grinned wickedly and leaned towards her. Molly quickly backed away and held her hands up defensively.
"No…umm I mean sure yes..but first I need to rest…I'm tired…", Molly tried to explain when Sherlock kept advancing towards her, "Umm…I don't th-think I like y-your teeth, Sh-Sherlock."
"It doesn't matter", Sherlock smirked as he backed her against the red curtains. Molly touched the curtains and closed her eyes in pleasure at the silky fabric. Her knees started to buckle when the smooth velvet couldn't provide enough friction against the wall to support her weight, but Sherlock quickly wound his arm around her waist, firmly and hoisted her up. Molly opened her eyes and saw him bent too close towards her. Her eyes were as big as saucers when she blinked at him and held her breath for what she knew was coming this time. Full on.
Instead, Sherlock leaned down and pressed his lips against her hairline, "You're a kind person, Molly. Stop belittling yourself over tiny mistakes and stop thinking low over your appearance. You are very pretty", Sherlock whispered and pressed his nose into her hair, "Promise me, you won't deprecate yourself nor doubt yourself. I was just teasing earlier. I'll stop if it makes you feel awkward…"
Molly was quietly wrapped in his arms, blinking against his woolen turtleneck, feeling her eyelashes stroke against it. Sherlock Holmes was lecturing her over self-esteem, so calmly. But all she could think of was his leather jacket, smelling of cinnamon and wood, his skin smelling of after shave, and his damned voice.
"Well?", Sherlock pulled away slightly to look down at her face, hidden in his chest.
"S-Sorry…what?", Molly stammered and pulled back, embarrassed at the situation she found herself again in. Sherlock shook his head lightly and smiled.
"Why are you stammering? I should be the one stammering. I pushed you against the wall and pulled you against me. But I didn't, then why should you? Do you want me to stop teasing you, if it makes you uncomfortable?", Sherlock asked again.
Molly smiled at his weirdly considerate offer. She was definitely not expecting any such thing from him, and she knew it made him just as uncomfortable as it was making her. Instead of teasing him over his discomfort, she decided to end the subject here.
"Umm…ok…no, it's fine…", Molly smiled softly, "Can you show me my bedroom now?"
"Of course", Sherlock grinned at her and took hold of her hand, instinctively. Molly again felt the itch to tease him.
"Now that we're in such a big house…I have so many more opportunities to make you pay for your insistent teasing", Molly gave him a smug smile which quickly turned into a giggle at the appalled expression on Sherlock's face.
Sherlock "The Great Arse" Holmes can sometimes be very nice and flattering it seems!
Reviews! xx :)