Fic: In the Kitchen: Gen
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holmes_minorTitle: In the Kitchen
Length: 500
Rating: Gen
Notes: My last July prompt fill
Summary: Holmes, Watson, and Mrs. Hudson in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon.
Initially, Mrs. Hudson did not know what had spurred the gentlemen upstairs to announce they were taking possession of her kitchen that Sunday. She hadn’t dared to ask. She’d supposed it had been a bet, but who’d won and who’d lost, she couldn’t have said. As it was, Mister Holmes and Doctor Watson were of equal temper about the meal they were planning to prepare.
Later, Mrs. Hudson would admit the whole experience was an upending of expectations.
First, the gentlemen arrived bearing the costly item, chicken, and the items which would have been difficult to find on short notice, field mushrooms and gooseberries.
Then they asked for her assistance, it being Bessie’s day off, and she agreed to help. Really, Mrs. Hudson wished Bessie had been there, not because they needed the extra hands, but because Mrs. Hudson would’ve liked a witness.
Mrs. Hudson was wholly skeptical that the two gentlemen only need ‘some’ help from her, and she was waiting for the moment when they slipped away to smoke or read the paper or catch harden criminals, abandoning the lion’s share of work to her alone.
But her suspicions were unwarranted. Both rolled up their shirtsleeves and set to at once.
Mister Holmes proved apt at pastry-making, and Doctor Watson chopped onions like he’d been doing it all his life. He also seasoned and prepared the meat after a brief orientation by Mrs. Hudson as to the peculiarities of her stove.
Mrs. Hudson dedicated herself to the gooseberries with one eye on her kitchen mates.
Mister Holmes laid the top layer of pastry on the filled dish with a delicacy that impressed Mrs. Hudson, and Doctor Watson didn’t shirk from tackling the scullery business once the meat pie had gone in the oven.
Reassured that there wouldn’t be any fires or other mishaps, Mrs. Hudson turned her energies to the gooseberries in full. She had them cooked, strained, stirred and whipped with cream by the time the savory pie was bubbling.
If Mrs. Hudson was surprised when the invitation came, she gave no outward sign. She simply remembered that she had some Victoria sponge fingers and a bottle of elderflower cordial that would go nicely with the dessert.
The final surprise for Mrs. Hudson was that they ate at the kitchen table and only when all the cleaning had been done—and most of it not by her!
The praise heaped on the meal, chicken and field mushroom pie and gooseberry fool, was legion and not hyperbole in Mrs. Hudson’s opinion. Conversation flowed, and it seemed that on a long train journey, the gentlemen had discovered they both had at one time had an aunt in Dorset and that had led to a discussion of meals at their respective aunt’s houses and dishes they were especially fond of.
The gentlemen proposed to clean the last of the dishes, but Mrs. Hudson declined their offer. She wanted a few minutes to herself to savor the last of the day.
Length: 500
Rating: Gen
Notes: My last July prompt fill
Summary: Holmes, Watson, and Mrs. Hudson in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon.
Initially, Mrs. Hudson did not know what had spurred the gentlemen upstairs to announce they were taking possession of her kitchen that Sunday. She hadn’t dared to ask. She’d supposed it had been a bet, but who’d won and who’d lost, she couldn’t have said. As it was, Mister Holmes and Doctor Watson were of equal temper about the meal they were planning to prepare.
Later, Mrs. Hudson would admit the whole experience was an upending of expectations.
First, the gentlemen arrived bearing the costly item, chicken, and the items which would have been difficult to find on short notice, field mushrooms and gooseberries.
Then they asked for her assistance, it being Bessie’s day off, and she agreed to help. Really, Mrs. Hudson wished Bessie had been there, not because they needed the extra hands, but because Mrs. Hudson would’ve liked a witness.
Mrs. Hudson was wholly skeptical that the two gentlemen only need ‘some’ help from her, and she was waiting for the moment when they slipped away to smoke or read the paper or catch harden criminals, abandoning the lion’s share of work to her alone.
But her suspicions were unwarranted. Both rolled up their shirtsleeves and set to at once.
Mister Holmes proved apt at pastry-making, and Doctor Watson chopped onions like he’d been doing it all his life. He also seasoned and prepared the meat after a brief orientation by Mrs. Hudson as to the peculiarities of her stove.
Mrs. Hudson dedicated herself to the gooseberries with one eye on her kitchen mates.
Mister Holmes laid the top layer of pastry on the filled dish with a delicacy that impressed Mrs. Hudson, and Doctor Watson didn’t shirk from tackling the scullery business once the meat pie had gone in the oven.
Reassured that there wouldn’t be any fires or other mishaps, Mrs. Hudson turned her energies to the gooseberries in full. She had them cooked, strained, stirred and whipped with cream by the time the savory pie was bubbling.
If Mrs. Hudson was surprised when the invitation came, she gave no outward sign. She simply remembered that she had some Victoria sponge fingers and a bottle of elderflower cordial that would go nicely with the dessert.
The final surprise for Mrs. Hudson was that they ate at the kitchen table and only when all the cleaning had been done—and most of it not by her!
The praise heaped on the meal, chicken and field mushroom pie and gooseberry fool, was legion and not hyperbole in Mrs. Hudson’s opinion. Conversation flowed, and it seemed that on a long train journey, the gentlemen had discovered they both had at one time had an aunt in Dorset and that had led to a discussion of meals at their respective aunt’s houses and dishes they were especially fond of.
The gentlemen proposed to clean the last of the dishes, but Mrs. Hudson declined their offer. She wanted a few minutes to herself to savor the last of the day.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-03 08:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-03 06:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-03 08:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-03 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-06 09:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-06 03:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-08-06 01:17 pm (UTC)A couple of favourite lines:
Really, Mrs. Hudson wished Bessie had been there, not because they needed the extra hands, but because Mrs. Hudson would’ve liked a witness.
Mister Holmes proved apt at pastry-making, and Doctor Watson chopped onions like he’d been doing it all his life. He also seasoned and prepared the meat after a brief orientation by Mrs. Hudson as to the peculiarities of her stove.
The gentlemen proposed to clean the last of the dishes, but Mrs. Hudson declined their offer. She wanted a few minutes to herself to savor the last of the day.
no subject
Date: 2021-08-06 06:06 pm (UTC)Yes, I wanted it to be a happy afternoon with everyone doing a part and enjoying the whole.
no subject
Date: 2021-09-10 05:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-09-10 01:59 pm (UTC)