Fic: Mrs. Hudson's Magic Broom: Gen

Title: Mrs. Hudson's Magic Broom
Rating: Gen
Length: 500
Notes: for

smallhobbit HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!
Summary: A magic broom appears in the kitchen of 221B Baker Street.

Mrs. Hudson would always remember that the broom appeared on a Monday. She noticed it that morning when she returned with the gentlemen’s breakfast things. It was propped against the wall of the kitchen, a new, stiff broom of excellent quality. Mrs. Hudson asked Mabel, who had been tending to the fire upstairs about it, but the girl knew nothing. Mrs. Hudson felt rather silly questioning the gentlemen about it, but she did so. They assured her they knew nothing of it, but, as a precaution, Mister Holmes make a thorough inspection of it.

It was a broom, he concluded, and a nice one.

That afternoon, Mrs. Hudson had a minor dispute with a vendor in the street, and when she returned, she found the kitchen had been cleaned, everything scrubbed, swept, and neatly arranged in her absence. She knew Mabel had already left for the day. Mrs. Hudson was astounded. She didn’t bother to ask the gentlemen about it. She kept her wonder to herself.

On Tuesday, Mrs. Hudson used the handle of the broom to successfully retrieve a jar of spice which had rolled off the table and under cabinet, but as she brought out the jar, there fluttered, too, a ten-pound note. Now, Mrs. Hudson was very certain she was not missing that amount of money.
Nevertheless, she tucked it in a biscuit tin under her bed with no little thrill.

On Wednesday, Mrs. Hudson did battle with a pernicious rat with designs on her fruit cake. The primary weapon in her arsenal? Domestic wits and, of course, the new broom.

On Thursday night, after Mrs. Hudson had retired for the night, a rat visitor of the two-legged variety called, and it had designs on Mister Holmes’ wellbeing. The blackguard must have been thinking to effect entry to the rooms upstairs by way of the kitchen, but he tripped over the broom, twice, and the noise produced brought Mister Holmes, Doctor Watson, and Inspector Lestrade down to deal with the problem.

On Friday, Mrs. Hudson decided to bake. The mess produced was considerable, but, by way of experiment, she abandoned it for a visit to Mrs. Turner’s and when she returned, to her delight, she found her kitchen set to rights.

On Saturday, Mrs. Hudson was leaving 221 Baker Street when she heard someone call her name.
Esme! Dear Esme! Mrs. Hudson had not seen her former housemaid for a long.

Esme was glowing. Just married. Setting up a household of her own.

Mrs. Hudson made a decision, then asked Esme to wait while she quickly ducked back into the kitchen of 221B Baker Street…

…where she found the broom, looking very new, with clean, stiff bristles. It showed not a single sign of being used for a week, and it was decorated with white and pink ribbon.

Mrs. Hudson nodded, feeling the rightness of her decision. Then she took up the broom and hurried out to Esme to present her with a very useful housewarming gift.