This is a story written for a friend who likes sneezing.
All characters in this story are over 18
The old stable, thought Fiona, was just about the perfect place to hide on a rainy day. Smaller than the new stable, it was rarely used now except for storage. She'd needed the escape. Mrs. Pleasant had been right cross these last few days, and like to snap at anyone who dared to put her feet up for a moment. As a rule Mrs. Pleasant lived up to her name, but Simon the footman said that the butcher had been seen to walk Mrs. Gage from over at Pinehurst home after church last Sunday, which surely spelled doom for Mrs. Pleasant's romance with said butcher, seeing as Mrs. Pleasant and Mrs. Gage got on only slightly better than two wet cats in a sack. Normally with Mrs. Pleasant in a bate, Fi would take refuge in the kitchen. Dottie in the kitchen, however, was also in a mood. Fi suspected the new lack of choice cuts of meat might have something to do with that, though it could also have been that Dottie'd burned the scones. Regardless, Fi knew better than to cross paths with the cross cook.
Rain made the gardens too wet for comfort, so Fi had absconded with an old quilt and a basket of mending, the latter to be virtuously presented to Mrs. Pleasant should Fi need an excuse for her absence. With the quilt spread over a few bales of hay and the big door open to let in the light but not the rain Fi would have been able to lounge and sew like the grandest of fine ladies except for one thing. Hay made her sneeze. Still, it was better than staying in the house.
Sniffling, Fi hummed to herself as she worked. The sound of the rain on the roof made a peaceful noise that shielded her from the outside world. She'd finished with 3 rips in Miss Alice's petticoat (Miss Alice was given to climbing trees) when she heard the door at the far end of the stable creak open. Fi went quiet, hoping whoever it was would get what they came for and leave. Or at least she tried to go quiet. Three stifled sneezes in quick succession made it rather difficult to conceal her presence, and the small squeal of surprise made it clear she'd been discovered. Fi sighed, and peeked over the old packing crates that shielded her refuge.
"Hello?" The damp looking figure by the door appeared to be peering around, but hadn't spotted Fi yet.
"Hello!" Fi waved, and the figure jumped as it spotted her. Fi realized it was a stranger, a young woman about her own age. Her blond curls were tucked into a tidy bonnet, and her cloak was dripping. Her clothes weren't rags, but there wasn't much to indicate wealth either. Fi pegged her for one of the staff's sister or daughter. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Fiona. I'm the housemaid."
The young woman moved forward just a step, and nodded to Fi. "Hello. I'm Lucy. I'm, ah, well my uncle works with the horses, and he said I could get a position here, if he spoke to the housekeeper. Mrs. Pleasant? Um, yes, well, he said I was to wait here, and he'd come for me after dinner, and we'd go speak to her together? I'm sorry, I didn't realize anyone was in here, I can go..." She trailed off uncertainly, looking at the rain outside.
Scrambling over the boxes, Fi moved to take Lucy's hand. "No need to get wetter than you are. I was just doing some mending, you'd be welcome to sit and keep me company." She sneezed again, and Lucy flinched slightly, and gave a stifled sort of squeak. Fi smiled. The poor thing was as nervous as a cat in a room of rocking chairs! Taking Lucy by the arm, she drew the shy girl over to her seat, making sure to remove the damp cloak and bonnet and drape them over an old trunk to dry.
"You can help with the mending if you like, or just sit and keep me company. Either's welcome. You'll not want to go in just yet at any rate. Mrs. Pleasant is rare cross today. We think it's because the butch-ah-ah-Atchoo!" Fi interrupted herself with a sneeze, and Lucy flinched again. Fi patted her reassuringly on the arm, and tugged her down to sit on a hay bale. "Never mind that, hay gives me the sneezes is all. It's still better than getting scolded for not looking busy enough."
Fi settled herself back onto the quilt and drew a spare needle out for Lucy. After watching her neatly reattach the pocket and half the trim to an apron (Miss Alice's, of course) Fi decided if she did everything else as well as she sewed Mrs. Pleasant would be a fool not to hire her. She said as much to Lucy, who blushed and looked pleased, but still twitched again when Fi concluded her remark with another sneeze. Setting down the apron Lucy rose.
"Is there, ah, where could I, I mean I need the, um, the privy?"
Trying not to smile at her shyness, Fi knelt on her hale bale and pointed the way out the door Lucy had entered by, giving the clearest directions she could. Lucy nodded at her instructions, and Fi nestled back into her seat. It was only a few minutes later that she realized that although she'd heard the door open and close, Lucy's cloak was still dripping nearby. That was odd. No sooner had she thought that than Fi heard rustling somewhere behind her. She sat up and turned, anticipating a damp Lucy, but no one was there. Come to think of it she hadn't heard the door again either.
The noise came again, and this time Fi could tell it was coming from a back corner, over near the small door. Rats, maybe. She shuddered. Well, if they were rats, best to find out so she could ask someone to set traps, or get the dogs in here. Looking around for something to poke with, she grabbed an old pole that had the remains of a broom at one end. Suitably armed, she crept towards the corner.
As she approached, she could hear more rustling, and the occasional soft squeak. It was coming from... there! Behind those three trunks all stacked up. Raising her ancient broom, Fi stepped around the trunks and stopped, mouth agape. It wasn't rats. It wasn't any sort of animal, unless you were going to be very particular about your natural history.
It was Lucy.
Leaning against the wall, eyes closed, one hand holding a handkerchief over her mouth, and the other buried under her skirts but working busily, it was prim, shy Lucy. Every so often she shifted her legs, making soft rustling noises. The small squeaks were definitely coming from her as well. Fi stood a moment, stunned. She felt a flush creep over her body, and was suddenly very aware of the way her clothing rubbed against her skin. She also realized that this was a very private moment, and she really ought to step away. Still, there was a very strong urge to lean up beside Lucy, kiss her, and... well Fi wasn't honestly sure quite what came after the kissing, especially with two girls. She might have dithered there longer, torn between giving Lucy her privacy and finding out what did come next (parts of her were quite certain she could figure something out) but the decision was taken out of her hands. Once again, Fi sneezed.
Lucy's reaction was immediate. Her eyes flew open, she screamed, and she burst into tears while hastily trying to adjust her skirts, which would have been easier if her dress hadn't gotten caught up on a nail or something sticking out of the wall. Through her tears, she tried to speak. "Please don't tell anyone, please, I'll be turned off before I even have a job, please don't, I'll do anything you want, oh please, I can't have this happen again, my mother will die of shame, she'll beat me, you don't have to say anything, just tell them I was horribly rude or something, please I'll go, or anything you want just don't tell, oh please!"
That was what Fi gathered, anyhow. It was a bit hard to understand through the tears. Recovering from her own shock, she moved to comfort Lucy. "Shhhh shhh, there there, it's alright, I won't tell, it's alright." She managed to wrap her arms around Lucy, who was clutching her handkerchief to her face and looking absolutely miserable. If Fi had been more worldly, the "anything" might have suggested ideas to her. As it was, she held Lucy close, and tried to ignore that if felt very nice indeed. "I won't tell, I promise, it's alright."
A sniffling Lucy looked up at her. "You won't?"
Fi shook her head. "Cross my heart." Her next offer was prompted by the way she and her sisters ensured everyone's secrets were kept. "I'll tell you something about me, alright? Then if I tell you can too, and we'll both be in trouble." She sneezed again, trying to stifle it as she felt Lucy flinch.
Looking slightly bewildered, Lucy nodded.
"I do, ah, well," when it came to it, Fi hesitated a moment before she took the plunge. "I do the same thing sometimes. Touch, myself like that, I mean. Not in the stables usually, but, ah... why were you doing it in here anyhow?"
Lucy looked at the ground, and flushed a shade redder if that was possible. She mumbled something Fi couldn't catch.
