Dinner at the But'n'Ben Pt 1

Posted on Mon Jan 20th, 2025 @ 6:13pm by Lieutenant Commander Kevin Kilbane & Lieutenant Commander Shoniara T'ghann-Dex. Doctor

2,985 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: The 'Eagle continues.
Location: Shon's quarters/holodeck
Timeline: Current.

Finally, Kevin's shift finished. It had felt like a long shift but he was now free to do what he wanted, and what he wanted was to go and see Shon, find out how her day had been, and get some dinner with her.

He retuned to his quarters, and once showered, he was about to get dressed in his civvies when he had an idea. A smile spread across his face, this was hopefully going to be fun. He changed, but not into his civvies...as such...then made his way to Shon's quarters. Pressing the chime, he stood back and waited to see if there's was a reply.

Shon had just stepped into the shower. She preferred water to the ‘sonic shower’. Standing there whilst the hot water poured down and into every crevice on her body felt so good. Sometimes if felt to her as though it was washing all her sins away. In the middle of her reverie she heard the far away sound of her door chime so, switching the water off she squeezed the water out of her hair and wrapped a towel around her, walking out into the lounge she called, “come in.”

The doors opened and Kevin walked in, "Hey Shon, I was..." and he saw her standing there in just her towel, her wet hair draped around her, "Oh, sorry, caught you at a bad time, I can come back in a bit if you want?"

Shon’s smile was wide with greeting. “Kevin, no it’s wonderful to see you. I was hoping we could get together this evening.” She hesitated….”if that was what you were going to suggest? Give me a minute, say hello to Puss, he’s had his dinner you will be glad to know, he loves being stroked under the chin.” She closed the panel to the bedroom, quickly dried herself and her hair, put 0n a pair of white linen trousers and a blue linen long sleeved shirt.

Back out in the living room, Kevin was stroking Puss under his chin, "You know, you're Mum's a wonderful woman, and she's beautiful to boot. I know you probably can't understand a word I'm saying, but you're one lucky feline."

Hearing the panel open again, he turned round and saw Shon standing there. He wasn't wrong about what he'd said, she was indeed beautiful. "I was going to say, how about we go out for dinner, to Castle Sanquhar. There is a caveat though, if you're willing, I'd like us to dress for the part, in period clothing. It would be circa seventeen hundred clothing, would that bother you?"

She thought for a minute, “would that be long dresses?” She asked not knowing anything about the clothing of the period although she remembered long dresses. “I suppose there would be someone to help me dress?”

"It would be long dresses, yes, and Mrs Shephard the main Housekeeper could help you dress" Kevin replied. "If you don't feel up to it, I could programme the holodeck to just change our outward dress appearance automatically when the programme starts, but it could be fun if we 'get into the parts' I thought" he smiled shyly.

“I would prefer to be ‘dressed’, it makes it real for me, can I ask did they have cellos in the seventeenth century?”

"Yes, cellos were around then, though it may be a little difficult for you to play in a long dress as they'd have petticoats upon petticoats underneath the outer dress" Kevin replied, "It may not seem very lady like to Harris and Mrs Shephard!" he laughed.

“I see what you mean, then I will leave it for now and just get used to the place and the people. Maybe next time I can take Puss, he is rather like the old Scottish wildcat I think, although I am sure there were a few people around that might think he was a witches familiar.” She gave Kevin a peck on the cheek. “I am so excited, if you are ready I am?”

"Oh yes, I'm ready" Kevin replied, holding his hand out for Shon to take, "and this time round, I think you're going to like the food even more. I was thinking we could have Cullen skink, it's like a thick fish soup, a meal all on it's own I dare say. It's not from around the Sanquhar area, it's from the north east of Scotland, but it tastes braw, I can assure you of that."

Shon took his hand, it felt warm and firm and he smelled good, No scent but earthy and clean which, to her Vulcan nose smelled good. “Let’s go.”

"Your command is my wish" he laughed as he lead them out into the corridor and along towards the turbolift. Soon they were outside the holodeck, "Computer, run Kilbane programme one, set it at Castle Sanquhar" he said.

There was a chirrup and the computer replied ==^==Programme running, enter when ready==^==

"Let's have dinner" he said to Shon. The doors opened and they walked inside, once again in the main hall oif the castle. Kevin saw Harris coming out of the dining room and said, "Harris, Lady T'ghann-Dex will need Mrs Shephard to dress her for dinner, can you have her go up to the Kirkpatrick room and meet the Lady there so she can dress her."

"Very good M'Lord" Harris said, and bowing to Shon he asked, "Will your Ladyship require Mrs Shephard to look you out some jewellery as well, she has quite a keen eye for such things?"

“Yes, thank you that would be wonderful.” Shon said as she flowed him upstairs. They walked along a corridor the walls of which seemed to be covered in tartan and turned into a room with the smell of lavender and a smiling red faced woman. “I am Mrs Shephard Milady here to help you dress. but, first you must take that…whatever it is you are wearing off. Shon stripped. “I’ll hope you not be wanting to wear those things” pointing to her underwear. “A lady does not wear such things.”

Shon’s eyes opened wide but she said nothing and removed every stitch of clothing. Mrs Shephard placed a white cotton shift over her, then a heavy petticoat of some kind of tapestried damask. Then a low cut bustier was placed over the top of the shift and laced tight. Shon’s waist was not very large but she found it difficult to breathe and her breasts seems to stick out like soft globes. Then hemp like stockings were put on tied to stop them from falling down. Something that Shon knew she was going to get rid of. Then she opened a cupboard and Shon gasped as a full purple silk dress was taken out and she was laced into it. Finally a pair of low shoes and a kind of cloak called a mantua was tied to her collar so it flowed behind her. Mrs Shephard tutted as she gathered Shon’s hair up off her neck and folded soft curls around her face. Then she opened a velvet box and drew out a simple necklace of what looked like diamonds and placed it round Shon’s neck so it lay between her breasts. Then a small tiara that flowed in the light was fastened into her hair. Shon knew that she looked like nothing she had ever done before. Yes she wore no underwear and the whole thing was heavy but it felt, and looked glorious. Mrs Shephards eyes gleamed.

“Verra nice, verra nice indeed.”

Shon walked slowly downstairs and stopped as she saw Kevin. She smiled.

Kevin had taken time to dress in his kilt as Shon had been getting dressed. He was back down the stairs before she was, and as he waited, he heard the soft 'swish' of a dress and he looked up. The sight that met his eyes was more than he could ever have imagined, Shon was the pinnacle of beauty, her prurple flowing bustier dress, her hair, and the jewellery she was wearing brought tears to his eyes.

"Aww lass, you look like a piece of heaven on Earth, you really do" he said, returning her smile and walking up the stairs to take her hand and help her down.

They met Harris at the bottom step, "What do you say Harris, isn't she a picture."

"If you don't mind me saying M'lady, his Lordships right, you're a bonny looking lass, ye are indeed."

Shon almost bowed but attempted a curtsey. “Thank you Harris I feel like a Lady but Kevin why are you wearing a skirt? Not that it doesn’t look very nice.”

Kevin smiled, "This called a kilt, it's the national dress of Scotland, I thought I'd surprise you."

He leaned in a little closer, having seen Harris' reaction to what Shon had said about wearing a 'skirt', and whispered, "Saying I'm wearing a skirt doesn't go down well here, Harris and Mrs Shephard are traditionalists, but you weren't to know."

Shon blushed a little, "I apologise, now I know I will use the appropriate term in future." she looked at him and smiled, "nice knees," she said. She looked at Harris and Mrs Shephard. "Please forgive me, you will have to teach me the right way to do and say things as I am, from Vu...far away."

"Of course M'lady, it'll be our pleasure" Harris replied. Turning to Kevin he said, "The dinner gong will be about half an hour your Grace, shall you and Lady T'ghann-Dex have drinks in the library till then?"

"Yes" Kevin replied, and turning to Shon he put his hand out flat in front of him, palm down, "You place your hand on top of mine and we walk into the library, the doorway opposite us" he said out the side of his mouth.

She did as asked and they proceeded in what she thought was a stately manner into the library. The walls were covered in bookcases containing many, she presumed paper print books. There was a large fire in the grate and the floor was covered with small thick woven rugs. Two large carved back chairs were set either side of the fire and a small round table contain a silver tray with exquisite stemmed glassed. Two windows were set into the side wall with what looked like stained glass with a coat of arms set into them. Outside trees moved in the wind and rain hit the panes belaying the warmth inside. Candles were being lit. "shall I sit?" Shon whispered.

Kevin smiled, "Yes" he whispered back, "it's not seen as 'Lady like' for females to stand. I know it must seem odd, but everything's done for you here, you literally don't lift a finger."

Harris returned to them once the candles had been lit and the fire set. "Champagne your Ladyship?" he asked Shon.

"Yes please Harris." Shon said as she went to sit. It took her several attempts to do so but she at last managed it, the weight of the garments pulling her down. "I have no idea how ladies managed to wear these heavy garments" she leaned over to Kevin's ear, "and apparently women do not wear any undergarments!"

Kevin stopped himself from laughing out loud at Shon's attempts to sit down, and her remark when she finally did. "Things were so much simpler back in this day....underwear wise I mean. Have no fear though, neither am I" he winked.

"And you your Lordship, Champagne?" Harris asked.

"No, I'll have a whisky I think Harris, thank you" Kevin replied. Taking the glass, he raised it to Shon and said, "To beauty in all it's manifestations, long life and happy times."

Shon raised her glass and tried to think of something to say, "V'at vash Tsuin." The only toast she knew was in Vulcan. "May your life be long," she said blushing as she drank her glass dry. For some reason she had become nervous as she raised her empty glass to her mouth. "Oh" she said. "You must think me a fool?"

Harris walked over and and took Shon's glass, returned to the drinks table, refilled it and came back to her with it, "It is rather warm in here your Ladyship, perhaps this second glass will help cool you down further."

Kevin snorted into his glass of whisky, "Oh my God, that's priceless, I'm so going to use that on you when we're back on du...back to our other place" he said.

Shon looked at Kevin with a 'don't you dare face.' "Thank you Harris, it is rather warm in here with all these clothes on." The minute she had said it she wished she could have taken it back. She only meant with the weight of the clothes. Standing she walked to the window and looked out at the gathering dusk. "Will we eat soon?" she asked.

"Let me go and check with the cook M'lady" Harris replied, turning and walking off. Kevin looked at the whisky he was drinking, "you know this may be synthahol, but it sure is lovely stuff."

The words had just been spoken when the gong sounded in he hall. Harris entered the library again and said, "Dinner is now served you Lordship, M'lady" and left again.

Kevin turned to Shon, "I do think you'll like the Cullen skink, and as I said, it's basically a meal on it's own, shall we?"

Shon placed her hand on his and together they entered the dining room. The grand table stood in front of the fire seating twelve it was the greatest prize in the room. There was a huge tapestry hanging on one wall displaying what seemed like a hunting scene by a river. Candles blazed in sconces on the walls and set into the window space. Kevin pulled out the chair for Shon and she sat down nodding gracefully trying to adjust all the skirtage that had begun to consume her. “What a lovely room”, As she waited she looked at Kevin as he sat at the head of the table. He looked every inch the young laird and she wondered if he preferred this world to the world of the Blackeagle and she found herself wanting to spend more time with him in whatever world he wanted.

"Shall I serve M'Lord?" Harris asked.

"Yes, by all means Harris" Kevin replied, tearing his eyes away from Shon for a second. He looked back at Shon, smiled and said, "The Cullen skink soup we're having is served up in a hollowed out thick bread round. The beauty of that being that as your soup goes down, you can tear the upper crust off and dip it in the soup."

Harris placed the silver platter before Shon that had the bread round with the soup inside, "I hope you enjoy it M'Lady."

Shon stared at the bread with fish soup inside it. "I have not had fish since I was a girl with my grandfather in Yellowstone. We caught it ourselves and cooked it on skewers in our camp by the lake." She took a small spoonful and sipped, a look of pure delight appeared as she tore off a small piece of the bread basket and popped the soaked morsel into her mouth. "Harris please tell whoever made this beauty that it is the most wonderful thing I have ever eaten." She whispered aside to Kevin, "who is the cook?"

"I'll be sure to pass that on M'lady" Harris replied.

Kevin smiled at Shon's comment to Harris, and when asked about the cook answered, "That'll be Mrs Jessop, she's been part of the cooking in our household since I was knee high to a haggis, she's head cook now. Tell me Shon, would you like to go riding?"

“Riding” Shon said, “I haven’t been riding since Yellowstone.” Then she paused, a comic tilt to her mouth, “would this be astride or side saddle?” She raised an eyebrow and smiled.

Kevin caught Harris lifting an eyebrow at the question from Shon out of the corner of his eye and stifled a laugh, "Ladies discretion, which ever you feel more comfortable in whilst riding...the big animal" he added quickly, now biting his clenched fingers to stop from howling with laughter.

Shon really wondered what Kevin was laughing at, and thought that Harris would have a lot to tell the downstairs staff. She had some more soup then leaning over to him she whispered, "astride if I want to jump fences and gallop flat out, but don't put me on a small pony or else I will be able to walk it. " she smiled loving being with him more and more.

Kevin thought he was going to have a coronary, was Shon leading him on?

"Astride it is then, as we shall indeed be jumping big things and encountering small streams" Kevin replied, "don't worry, I'll see to it you have a big mount, definitely can't have you sitting astride anything small, there's no joy in that."

Shon raised an eyebrow, "No there is certainly no joy in riding .....something small, although if you know how to ride well small mounts can be encouraged. More soup again please Harris."

Harris edged forward and took the silver platter and went back to the soup taurine to refill the bread round. Returning to Shon, he laid it back in front of her and said, "If you'll forgive my mentioning it M'lady, we have some mounts that are many hands, would you care to see how many hands you can take?"

Kevin was now slapping the table, his fist still in his mouth, tears running down his face at Harris' inadvertent comment.

TBC

 

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