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Charles Phipps and Charles Grey, personal bodyguards to Queen Victoria and codenamed 'Double Charles'; they were two of her most elite and trustworthy servants and often they were sent out on missions that no one save them could complete. They were simply the best when it came to protecting England from her enemies.
Their current mission should have been routine. A lord had been discovered illegally selling immigrants into slavery and that was something that the Queen could not allow. Phipps and Grey had been sent out to discreetly eliminate him. A public trial would embarrass the country so it was best to take care of things quietly.
Unfortunately for Phipps and Grey, the lord had gotten word that servants from the Queen would be arriving at his estate and he fled in fear before they got there. A chase began on horseback, across the English countryside and into a dense forest. Finally they caught up to the lord and the mercenaries he had hired to act as bodyguards.
Despite being outnumbered, a fight quickly broke out between the two sides; Phipps and Grey weren't about to let their prey get away simply because they lacked the numbers. Grey was in Heaven as he leaped into battle, he loved fighting, his sword was practically an extension of his arm; there was no bigger thrill for him.
Phipps shook his head as he watched Grey's bloodlust while he, himself, emotionlessly killed another foe. Grey was too rash when it came to fighting and one day it would be his downfall if he didn't change.
The battle was dwindling down when it happened. Grey had been having fun, toying with his latest opponent, when a half-dead man staggered towards him from his right with a dagger in his hands.
"Demon!" he yelled before plunging the dagger into Grey's side.
The wound was deep but the adrenaline rush of battle made Grey not notice any pain as he struck down the man, killing him for good. A few minutes later the battle was completely over and Grey absentmindedly poked at his side to judge the damage.
"This is why I tell you that you need to keep a cooler head while in battle," Phipps said with a sigh as he wiped the blood off his sword. He then did a quick count of the bodies to make sure that the lord had been killed.
"I'm fine, a little wound is nothing."
"Take off your jacket and shirt," Phipps said as he dug through a bag of medical supplies. The lord was indeed dead, he had been one of the first to fall, which meant that Phipps could now turn his attention to taking care of Grey. He only hoped that his partner would learn from this mistake. "I'll clean and bandage it for you."
"It's okay; really," Grey replied as he backed away. "It's just a little scratch."
"That's too much blood for a little scratch." A frown crossed Phipp's face; he couldn't help but think that there was something wrong with the way that Grey was acting. They had patched wounds on each other before without trouble so this time should be no different. "It won't take long."
"I said, it's fine," said Grey. "Let's go find something to eat; I'm starving!"
There was little Phipps could do as Grey shoved passed him and began walking towards the horses. Then, without warning, Grey clutched his side and stumbled. He would have collapsed to the ground if Phipps hadn't easily caught him.
"I told you, you need medical attention," Phipps scolded as he gently laid Grey on the ground. It crossed his mind that Grey was lighter than he expected, but he quickly pushed that thought out of his mind since there were more important matters to attend too.
"Don't!" Grey said and Phipps felt the cold blade of Grey's sword against his throat. In Grey's eyes he could see seriousness, but also pain; therefore, he knew he had to risk it.
"Sorry," he said as he knocked aside Grey's sword and met with no resistance. He made quick work of Grey's jacket, but as he undid Grey's shirt it wasn't the bleeding wound that first caught his attention, it was the bandages that had been tightly wrapped around Grey's chest, which momentarily caused him to freeze.
A strangle cry of pain from Grey brought Phipps back to the present and he turned his attention to the wound on Grey's side. Carefully he cleaned away the blood before applying a herbal solution to the wound so that it would heal faster and ward off an infection. He then wrapped a bandage around Grey's body, neatly tying the two ends together so that it wouldn't come undone while they moved a safer location.
"That'll have to do for now," he said as he repacked the supplies. He couldn't bear to look at Grey who was quietly doing up his –no, her shirt.
"Thanks," came a quiet reply, which despite everything concerned Phipps. During their time together, Phipps had learned that Grey was rarely so quiet.
"Can you ride?" Phipps asked, changing the subject as he walked over to the horses; he didn't really want to think about what he and just discovered and instead decided to focus on Grey's injury. There was a town, less than an hour away where they could properly get Grey taken care of, but if she couldn't ride, it would take longer getting there.
"Yes," Grey replied, already back on her feet and giving Phipps an intense look. "But you've left me no choice now that you know my secret."
Phipps was caught off guard as Grey attacked, but fortunately for him, her sword stopped before striking him. Uneasily, he let out the breath he had been holding while Grey laughed.
"Kidding!" she cried before growing serious once more. "You do realize that you can't tell anyone, don't you?"
"I cannot keep secrets from the Queen," he replied, still trying to avoid the subject.
"She knows."
"The Queen's order is absolute," said Phipps, deciding to leave it at that; if the Queen didn't object, then he had no right to voice any objections either.
The answer seemed to satisfy Grey, who said no more as she walked over to her horse. She grimaced as she swung up onto the saddle, Phipps wanted to offer help, Grey was a woman after all, but an inner voice told him that it would be a mistake. Grey probably wouldn't appreciate it if he started treating her like a normal girl.
They rode in silence; every so often Grey would drop her arm, holding it to her side whenever the pain would flare up. Other than that however, she remained quiet, offering no protest.
"Do you need to stop?" Phipps asked her at one point, only to receive a glare of annoyance in reply.
It was a relief when they arrived at a small town where they promptly checked into the local inn. At first Phipps had plans of requesting two rooms until Grey interjected and harshly reminded him that they typically shared a room while on a mission. Getting the hint, Phipps reluctantly relented not wanting to start a fight between them.
Alone in their room, Phipps stitched up Grey's wound while she drunk from a bottle of liquor to numb the pain. He still couldn't quite believe that she was a girl; she acted nothing like any of the girls he had met before. They were all prim and proper; the idea of a long ride on horseback let alone fighting would be horrifying to them.
"That feels much better!" Grey cheerfully declared when Phipps was finished.
Phipps stood back, staring at her on the bed, wondering if she was drunk or not since sometimes it was hard to tell with Grey. Finally the question he had wanted to ask all night escaped his lips. "Why?"
Grey stared back at him for a moment before drowning another mouthful of alcohol and then setting the bottle aside. "You should know why. There's no way that I could hold my position as the Queen's butler if it was known that I was a girl."
"You said earlier that the Queen knows."
"She does. She sniffed me out when we met at a banquet shortly before I entered her service. I'm not sure how she did it."
"Isn't it difficult?"
"I'm use to it," she replied and there was a tint of bitterness in her voice. "It was harder in the beginning."
A sour look crossed Grey's face as she remembered her past and she reached for the bottle once more. Phipps could tell that she was now feeling its effect, so he leaned down and pulled it from her grasp. "Don't. You're injured and need to rest."
"But it tastes good!" she replied, her voice slurring. Restlessly she tried getting off the bed, but Phipps gently shoved her back down.
"Go to sleep."
Suddenly she took him by surprise. One of her arms wrapped around the back of his neck and pulled him down towards her. Before he could react, she pressed her lips up against his for a drunken kiss; he could taste the alcohol on her lips but it wasn't unpleasant.
It was over as quickly as it began. Grey was drunker than what he had thought and soon she was passed out in deep sleep. Retreating to his own bed, Phipps tried sorting things out. It was all very confusing; not just Grey's secret but also that kiss; a drunken kiss from Grey wasn't unusual, but that was before Phipps knew that Grey was a girl; it was different now.
Listening to the sound of Grey's peaceful, light snores, Phipps found himself wide awake and unable to sleep. His mind was racing as it tried processing what had happened over the past few hours. What had once seemed impossible was now reality and since Grey already had the Queen's blessing, than there was nothing that he could complain about.
As the night wore on, Phipps found himself growing tired. Eventually he found himself dropping off to sleep, still not knowing what he should do.
The next day, Grey was looking a lot better. Colour had returned to her skin, getting rid of the sickly and ill look she had the night before. She didn't even appear to have any signs of a hangover, which didn't surprise Phipps as she always could hold her liquor well.
"How are the stitches?" he asked, trying to hold back a yawn. He didn't want to her to know that he had been awake most of the night. It was odd though how easy it was having a conversation with her; it was like yesterday had been a dream, but at the same time, Phipps knew that it had been real.
"They seem alright," she replied. "They sting a little, but nothing to hold us back today."
"Good." They had a long ride ahead of them before they would reach London late that evening. He was tempted to demand that they wait an extra day, but he knew that Grey would only think that he suggested such a thing due to the fact that he found out that she was female. He didn't want that; he didn't want anything to change between them, even though it was a hard ting getting use too.
In the end, Phipps had wish he had spoken up. Despite her appearance that morning, a hard day of riding had quickly taken its toll on Grey. By mid-afternoon they were forced to stop for the day as Grey could no longer continue. At first Phipps was relieved to get her to an inn before she collapsed, but later he realized that he was going to have to spend yet another night alone with her in the same room. It didn't seem right to sleep alone in the same room as a lady.
A belch from Grey, who once again was drowning the liquor like it was water, removed all thoughts about 'a lady' from Phipps mind. Again he found himself thinking about how different she was from any other woman that he knew. If he had met her at a party, looking elegant in a ravishing party dress, he would instantly fall for her since she was so abnormal. Finding out this way though made things different; she was his partner, not a potential girlfriend.
"I'm hungry!" Grey drunkenly yelled from where she was sprawled across her bed in an unladylike fashion. "Bring something up for me!"
Phipps sighed as he went about the task. The alcohol helped eased her pain, which was the only reason why Phipps allowed her to have it. A sober Grey was often a big enough chore to look after, when drunk though, she became demanding and needy.
Once full with food, Grey promptly passed out. It was still early though so to pass the time Phipps helped himself to some of the liquor that had been left over. As he drank, he stared at Grey's sleeping form and couldn't help but once again think that she would be quite cute dressed as a proper lady at a fancy party. He wondered if she had ever been allowed to attend a party like that, she never told him when she had started dressing like a man.
As sleep overcame Phipps he found himself lost in dreams about dancing across an elegant floor with Grey in his arms. Afterwards they would share a sweet, sensational kiss before retreating to a location where they could be alone together.
"Wake up!" a familiar voice yelled breaking into Phipps' peaceful dreams. As if that wasn't enough, he felt a foot kicking his bed, jostling him awake.
"What's wrong?" he asked looking up at Grey who was standing over him. She was wearing a loose shirt and at first Phipps, still in a sleepy haze, didn't notice anything odd but then he saw the small mounds that were pushing out the fabric. Quickly he diverted his glaze and saw that in one of her hands she was holding the bandage that was normally wrapped around her breasts to hold them down. "What did you do?"
"I decided to clean up a little," she replied, her voice casual as if there was nothing weird about the situation. "But when I try to wrap myself up, it pulls on the wound. You'll have to do it for me."
"No." He was only getting use to her when she was fully clothed; no way would he be involved in something that required her to be half naked.
"You're the only one that can do it," she insisted. "I can't return to London looking like this."
"It probably won't be noticeable when you put your jacket on."
"My breasts are small, not non-existent."
"You can wear my jacket too. We'll say that you're chilled because of your injuries."
"I understand," Grey replied and Phipps could hear the disappointment in her voice. Taking a risk, he glanced at her again and saw the sadness clearly written across her face. "And here I thought a butler of the Queen could accomplish any task. I guess that isn't so."
He knew what Grey was trying to do and hated himself a little bit because it was actually working. Nevertheless he wasn't about to have someone question his abilities as a butler. "Give me it."
Grey smiled triumphantly as she handed over the long bandage wrap. Before Phipps could change his mind, she spun around and removed her shirt. "Remember, it has to be tight."
A long scar ran along Grey's back and Phipps stared at it for a moment, wondering where she got it, before starting on the task. Reaching around Grey, Phipps wasn't exactly sure where to begin and he didn't want to ask, so he decided to start at the top and work his way down. Accidently his hand brushed against something, but he tried not to think about it until Grey spoke up in an amused voice.
"Too low."
"Don't be complaining when I'm doing you a favour," he replied, determined not to be beaten by her.
No further words were exchanged as he quickly finished the task. When he was done, he sat back on the bed and stared at Grey's back while he watched her poke her chest with a finger.
"It's a little loose," she said as she put her shirt back on and glanced over her shoulder. "But it'll work fine."
"I'm glad it meets your approval."
Fortunately for Phipps the rest of the journey home was uneventful. Grey even managed to report to the Queen about the result of their mission before disappearing off to meet with the Grey's family doctor to check on the injury. Phipps supposed that the doctor was one of the few people who knew her real identity. He then found himself wondering just how many people knew the truth.
Phipps didn't expect to see Grey again for a while after that. He knew she needed time to heal, which was why he was surprise when she sought him out the next day.
"Thanks for keeping my secret, I owe you one."
Phipps didn't know quite how to respond. Of course he had been bothered by the reveal but it had never crossed his mind to betray her by outing her secret. "You're my partner; it would be bothersome if you were replaced with someone inadequate."
"I suppose you want some answers, right?"
"Perhaps."
A sigh escaped Grey. "It started when I was twelve. My father was involved in a riding accident and they didn't know that he'd live. My grandfather was already suffering from health problems but refused to step back unless there was an heir. But there was none, my father was struggling to survive and my uncle had been disowned before I was born. As for the kids, we were all female."
"Take a daughter and turn her into a son," murmured Phipps; the situation was becoming clearer.
"Exactly," Grey said as she continued with the story. "My younger sister who was ten was chosen, since she was the youngest and rarely seen in public until that point because she had been ill when she was younger. But she was scared so I volunteered."
"You seem to have adjusted well."
"I didn't have much choice. My family would have been disgraced if I hadn't been able to pull it off."
Phipps stared at her, pitying her. It wasn't fair that she had to live her life as a big secret. "What were you like as a child?"
"Hmm..." hummed Grey as she thought it over. "My parents would probably say that I was a troublemaker. That riding accident my father got in? He was chasing me because I stole one of our horses and wanted to go for an adventure."
Phipps was in shock as it sunk in. He then chuckled, realizing that she really hadn't changed much since that time. "You should go get more rest," he said, bringing an end to their conversation. "The Queen is going to send us on a new mission soon and you need to be healthy for it."
"You're no fun, but since I don't want to be groped by you again, I'll obey so that I can bind myself next time."
Phipps sighed as Grey walked away. Grey always had been a handful and now things would only get worse, especially since Grey was rather cute, even dressed as a man. But he was a butler to the Queen so he'd make it work... somehow.