Chapter Text
It was coronation day; the palace was bustling with activity. Maids were ironing banners, chefs were cooking a feast, and Reynolds was keeping watch over the King. One step forward, one step back; nothing out of the ordinary; perfectly normal for the King’s man to be belowstairs. Nothing to see here, move along. As the keeper of the biggest secret of the King, he had to watch every miniscule hint of movement as it was a potential threat to the King’s secret being exposed. There was no room for error. He wiped his hand over his mouth, before ceasing his pacing and stepping back into the perfect posture of one who is completely unbothered. That did not mean that he could not turn his head to keep watch, however. That was more inconspicuous than his pacing. As he turned his head towards the stairs, Reynolds could not prevent the smile that formed as he caught sight of Brimsley. Brimsley was craning his neck in an attempt to survey over the crowd, a serious look on his face. It was obvious he was looking for someone in particular, and as he did not come below stairs often, Reynolds was not surprised when Brimsley began navigating his way through the throngs on staff, on an apparent intercept course with him. Reynolds clasped his hands behind his back as Brimsley approached, he needed to be his formal self; not the man that he was when it was just him and Brimsley together. Grinning at Brimsley like an idiot would not do; he attempted to smother the grin as Brimsley maneuvered his way finally to stand in front of him..
“Why are you down here? You do not come belowstairs.” Reynolds asked. He could feel that grin was still on his face despite his valiant efforts to repress it; making the question come out softer and with more affection than intended. Damn; what was becoming of him that he could not suppress his affection for this man while he was on duty for the King? Brimsley was looking at him suspiciously.
“And why are you here?”
Reynolds had anticipated this question; indeed it was a logical question from the Queen’s man who knew that the upstairs and downstairs did not mix often. Reynolds had an answer at the ready. “I need to be. I am on an errand.” He said, glancing over Brimsley’s shoulder, watching maids and chefs and footmen pass by. None of the belowstairs servants seemed to notice anything out of the ordinary; continuing their treks to their destinations somewhere in the cellar. Brimsley was a different story, keeping his gaze steadily on Reynolds; Reynolds felt scrutinized by the gaze; and he hoped that Brimsley was not able to see through his calm demeanor and carefully planned lies.
“Then I need to be. I am here because you are.” Brimsley glanced down for a moment before looking back up at Reynolds’ face. “You hold the king , and she is looking for him.” Brimsley was clearly suspicious of him; he might not know what was going on, but he knew something was. The king’s man did not often leave his post upstairs, and if he did, then it would have to be for good reason. Perhaps if Reynolds distracted Brimsley, he could get him to go upstairs long enough for the doctor to finish his examination, and for the King to make his way back upstairs unnoticed.
“I thought they were not speaking.” Reynolds finally decided on, scrunching his nose and forehead as he did so. This was a true statement, that only the closest servants to the royals would know. Their charges might be the King and Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, but they apparently could still have tiffs like small children fighting over a favorite stuffed animal. It was a joke that could only be shared between the two of them. Reynolds had hoped it would make Brimsley drop his serious demeanor, but instead it caused Brimsley to look scandalized.
“It is Coronation Day.” Brimsley moved slightly closer, lowering his voice seriously. “It does not matter if they speak. They must be united. So where is he?”
“The King shall be with her soon enough.” Reynolds glanced over his own shoulder, watching as more staff passed by.This conversation was going on much too long. Every moment it continued was another moment closer to the doctor finishing, and the King’s secret getting exposed. He did not need their conversation to be the topic of gossip in the palace. “He is studying his sciences up in the library.” That was good, yes. Believable. The King was often engrossed in his astronomy books; and the library was upstairs. If Brimsley would just go upstairs to attempt to find the King in the library, that would provide enough time for the King to get upstairs, and then Reynolds would find some excuse of why he had been wrong about the King’s whereabouts. Like perhaps the King had decided to take a stroll in the gardens or some such. Brimsley raised his eyebrows at Reynolds in disbelief, scoffing. Reynolds felt another soft smile forming as he gazed down at Brimsley. Bloody hell, why was he smiling at Brimsley again? Was it because Brimsley was not taking him at word like any other staff member would have? Or perhaps it was a result of the growth in Brimsley; from being a shy, in-training Queen’s man, to a confident, full-time Queen’s man who hunted down the King’s man in pursuit of an answer? Reynolds was not sure, but he was aware of the swell of affection he felt for Brimsley at this moment. This was a feeling he was becoming better at identifying, but apparently not better at controlling. Brimsley was still looking at him, and Reynolds felt like he was under an inspection of some sort; could Brimsley see through the lie? And if Brimsley did see through the lie, then what? After an agonizing long moment, Brimsley spoke.
“What?” He asked, looking and sounding extremely suspicious. He definitely wasn’t buying Reynolds’ explanations, but Reynolds could not backtrack, he could not change his story now.
“What?” Reynolds replied, lifting his hands slightly as if to say that he had no idea what Brimsley could possibly be asking. He met Brimsley’s gaze steadily, hoping he appeared sincere . Nothing to hide here; nothing hiding behind his eyes, nothing out of place here. Just the King’s man, belowstairs, on Coronation Day.
Brimsley gazed up at him a moment longer before licking his bottom lip slightly as he glanced around quickly, taking a step closer to Reynolds, a sure sign that whatever he said next he did not want to be overheard. Brimsley lowered his voice as he spoke, and Reynolds had to lean in slightly just to hear him. “If you allow yourself another rider, do not think I care.” Brimsley said, glaring up at Reynolds, his tone sharp; sounding like he cared very much indeed if Reynolds had another rider. “But mind he is of the right station.” Reynolds was smiling again as Brimsley finished; partially out of relief that Brimsley had not come to the conclusion he thought he would, and partially because it was such a ridiculous conclusion. Did Brimsley seriously think that he was meeting some footman belowstairs in the middle of the day, when all eyes were on the King, and hence on him? When he thought about it though, they had snuck away together in broad daylight before, for the fifteen minutes that were so hard to find.
“I am not…” Reynolds was chuckling slightly, smiling still at the ridiculousness of Brimsley’s accusation. “That is not what…” Reynolds closed his mouth, swallowing the chuckles in favor of attempting to sound as serious as he could in the moment. “There are no other riders, I am simply belowstairs.” Brimsley’s eyes had not left Reynolds,a fire shining brightly in his eyes, a muscle ticking in his jaw. He clearly did not believe him. They had never explicitly discussed being exclusive with each other; but did Brimsley really not know how Reynolds felt about him? It had taken some time for Reynolds to identify the feelings in himself, but he knew exactly how he felt about Brimsley. Perhaps he needed to do a better job of expressing it. There would be ample for that later, for now, Reynolds softened his voice, hoping he sounded as sincere as he felt. “I am simply belowstairs. Go, attend to your Queen.” Brimsley’s posture changed subtly, although he was reminded they were not alone in one of their quarters, but in a hallway below stairs.This was a conversation that would have to wait until later; but Reynolds hoped he had at least convinced Brimsley that there was no ‘meeting other riders’ happening.“Coronation Day is a great day for her and the country.” Brimsley did not look entirely convinced, but seemed to accept the explanation, for now anyway. He turned away, licking his lip lightly, presumingly back to his Queen. Reynolds watched as he left; he couldn’t believe he’d actually gotten away with it. The King would be finished with his examination any moment, and then would be upstairs after that. Brimsley and the Queen would be none the wiser. Just another step and the danger would be past…
Just as Brimsley was passing by the door, it opened, an aide to the doctor exiting. The King was visible for a brief moment, so briefly that anyone could have missed it. Anyone but Brimsley, who had come to a stop at the opening of the door, and continued to be immobilized even after the door had closed. Before Brimsley could voice a single thought, Reynolds crossed to be by his side, doing so in one long stride. ‘Damn.’ He thought. In his reassurance of Brimsley, he had failed in his duty.
“Is that a physician?” Brimsley asked; Reynolds struggled to regain his composure, knowing he needed to shift from the Reynolds who loved Brimsley, to the King’s man, a man who was a superior to Brimsley, and whom Brimsley must obey. Reynolds floundered for a moment as he struggled to make the shift; he opened and closed his mouth soundlessly.“Why is he being examined by a strange doctor in the cellar? Why is he not being examined by the Royal Physician?” Brimsley pushed on; asking all good questions that Reynolds could not answer. Finally, he was able to make the shift into the King’s man. The King needed him, and Reynolds had to make sure that Brimsley knew that under no circumstances was he to reveal what he had seen. Reynolds drew himself to his full height; making his tone resolute.
“Brimsley, you have seen nothing.”
Brimsley took in Reynolds' appearance; and met his eyes. Reynolds did not shift, and he knew his eyes were hard. They had to be, there was no room for argument. Finally… finally, Brimsley looked away, and turned again.
“I must attend my queen.” Brimsley sped away from Reynolds, headed back to his five paces behind his Queen. Reynolds watched Brimsley as he left, knowing a conversation between the two of them was inevitable.
XX
The King and Queen were no longer adhering to even days. They were in harmony, at least for now. That harmony meant less bells being rung until morning; and, although they had no way of knowing it, more time for their secretaries to be alone for more than twenty minutes at a time.
Reynolds had been building the courage to talk with Brimsley about their ‘no other riders’ conversation;but every time he came close, Brimsley distracted him with lips, and hands, and questions about the doctor that Reynolds dodged. One night, after one of those ‘distracting’ conversations, Reynolds found his opening. He and Brimsley were laying in Brimsley’s bed, with Reynolds propped up against Brimsley’s chest. Brimsley was running a hand over Reynolds shoulders absentmindedly, drawing nonsensical shapes as he did so. With a light sigh, Reynolds moved to turn on his side, Brimsley’s arm slipping from his shoulders as he did so.
“What’s wrong?” Brimsley asked, his tone edged with concern, but Reynolds could also detect panic underneath. Reynolds brushed his hand down Brimsley’s arm in what he hoped was a comforting action. Then he propped himself on an elbow, putting his chin on top of his bent knuckles. Brimsley followed suit so that they were face to face.
“We need to talk.” Reynolds started, trying to keep his voice from slipping into King’s man tone. The corners of Brimsley’s eyes crinkled in amusement.
“What, are you finally going to tell me about the doctor?” Brimsley was clearly teasing Reynolds, his tone light. Reynolds did not answer, and Brimsely’s face fell. “Oh.” He dropped his elbow, allowing himself to fall back against his pillows. “Alright then, what do you want to talk about?” Reynolds was still propped up on his elbow, looking down at Brimsley. Brimsley was nothing if not dramatic.
“I believe we have not had time to discuss the ‘other riders’ conversation.” As expected, Brimsley sighed dramatically, and crossed his arms over chest. He stared at the ceiling resolutely.
“I see.” He said quietly. “You are free to have as many riders as you would like.” He closed his eyes briefly, breathing in deeply. “We never did agree on exclusivity.” An uncomfortable silence hung in the air, before Reynolds reached out his free hand to caress Brimsley’s cheek, applying pressure gently until Brimsley finally turned to look at him. Reynolds could see a glint of wetness in Brimsley’s eyes. He leaned in slowly, keeping one hand on Brimsley’s cheek, shifting to support himself with his other hand. This kiss was gentle,and slow; Reynolds poured what he didn't know he had words for into it. As he pulled back, he caressed Brimsley’s cheek with his thumb.
“There are no other riders.” Reynolds said quietly, hoping that Brimsley could hear the ‘I love you’ behind the words. Brimsley let out a soft, wet chuckle, and placed his own gentle hand on one of Reynolds’ cheeks.
“For me either.” He said, much to the relief of Reynolds who felt a goofy grin coming on as he leaned in to kiss Brimsley again. When he pulled away, he could not help the words that slipped out in the space between their lips.
“I love you.” He hadn’t meant to say it, had never said it before to any man. But he couldn’t find it in himself to regret saying it. He felt Brimsley stiffen slightly under him at his words, but he could feel the smile against his lips as Brimsley responded.
“I love you, too.” Brimsley kissed him then, and then while still smiling against his lips, said, “So, no other riders then?” Reynolds would have playfully swatted Brimsley in that moment, but his hands were otherwise occupied.