What Lies Beneath

A Historical Netherlands x Reader Story

It was not often a young woman like yourself went looking for a job, but some luck had managed to gain you a simple position within the draper’s shop of Mister Van Leeuwenhoek, who’d been developing something recently to keep him from the shop floor. You were not the only one working for him as a handsome gentleman named Abel was also working in the shop although also for the draper. You spent most of your day stretching out the fabric sheets and allowing the boss to look in detail at the threading before you moved on to the next roll, going back and forth for the master or dealing with the customers. Abel had a very different job; he would go into the back room with the master with some unusual collections of things and then come out a few hours later with letters to be sent off.

It was a good a comfortable time and you were never being bothered by anyone and always very busy. Sometimes there were more unusual customers that were there specifically for the master’s ‘other’ wares but would often leave feeling a little disappointed by the master’s unwillingness to show them anything. You could not read very well so even if letters or newspaper articles were left about the shop to explain the situation, you couldn’t understand them or be that bothered by them. So despite the fact many people were pondering your master’s name, you maintained content although you’d found yourself admiring the tall, silent and imposing figure of Abel as he would step out of the shop with a letter and return as if he’d just slain a dragon!

One afternoon, you were busy checking the stock of the shop as the master had requested, reading a list that had become so regular it was probably one of the few things you could read particularly well. You had pulled out a ladder near the shelves and double-checked that the list requested a thick roll of carpet material of a particular colour to be sorted. If you could no find the roll or it was only half the size it had been last time, then you would have to circle the colour near the name for the master to purchase more. It often meant you would sit on the shelf for a little while, which was quite an embarrassing situation to say the least. With the master out all day, you scampered up the ladder and swung your backside onto the top shelf, pulling one great roll of dark red fabric onto your lap and checking it over.

At the same time, Abel stepped into the shop with a much more relaxed look upon his face. He had just been seeing the master off and was completely in charge, which meant nothing exciting would happen of course. Abel was already pulling out the box where the previous stock list had been put as well as the receipts to see what had been bought and the correlation between. You froze in your own work to peer across the room at where he sat on the edge of the desk, a quill in his hand and various scraps of paper. His beautiful blue eyes darted back and forth over the parchment, practically caressing the yellowed sheets with those darling orbs, making you swoon on the shelf. Sadly though, the moment you breathed a sigh of pleasure at the sight, your leg flicked out and knocked the ladder down.

There was a loud clatter as it toppled onto the ground and you not only grasped your face in horror of making a noise, but practically howled as you realised you were stuck. The clattering made Abel jump on the table and he straightened himself immediately, suddenly stabbing the quill to the side and jabbing himself in the hip. He gave a yelp and you could not help but snigger at the accident as Abel swiftly put his things away and tried to brush off his surprise. He turned toward you with gentle eyes and then cocked an eyebrow as he realised what was happening.

“That’s the first time you’ve ever knocked the ladder down. I doubt you’ll be able to climb down that thing without getting your skirt ripped… do you want some help?” Abel questioned his voice practically a bored snort until he looked up at your uncomfortable expression. You gulped nervously and nodded your head, your cheeks turning crimson because of how stuck you were on top of the shelf. Abel just shrugged his shoulders and then stepped over, pulling the ladder up and placing it against the shelf. You swiftly turned, having done your work and tried to put your foot onto the ladder. You could not seem to find it however but Abel stretched out a hand and grabbed the bottom of your foot, being careful not to look directly up your skirts or touch your ankles. He put you onto the ladder and then held a hand out to assist you as you scuttled down.

Abel kept his back to you, looking away so that he did not see anything or make you feel anymore embarrassed then you already were. As you stepped down you grasped his hand for support as the ladder wobbled beneath you as if you’d gained sudden extra weight. You blanched at the idea that the ladder had been damaged by the fall and how much your master might not be pleased with that. However, focusing on your weight on the ladder, you started pushing outward and leaning on Abel’s back as you came down. He seemed a little startled and released your hand, bending his back and giving a grunt as you practically elbowed him in the spine so the ladder would not break on you.

“Oops… forgive me Abel, I didn’t realise I was bashing you.” You stated with a sweet blush as you lifted your hands to your mouth. Abel straightened himself and then gently opened his hand for you to give him the list. It was only then that you realised you’d left the list up on the shelf and nervously you pointed back upwards. “Uh… I must have forgotten to bring it down.”

“It’s okay; I’ll go up and get it.” Abel sighed gently as he straightened the ladder and began to climb up it. You watched him stomp up and grimaced slightly as Abel managed to get a painful splinter but reached the top to grab the paper. No sooner had he grabbed the paper then the bar under his left foot cracked in half! With his foot slipping down he bashed his jaw on the shelf and slid the rest of the way down with a grunt of pain. You watched, startled at the sudden accident before Abel stumbled off the ladder with a bloodied lip and a nasty looking set of splinters in his hand. Shaking his head and looking a bit startled, you rushed toward the back room and gathered up a damp cloth and a pair of small pliers. You pressed the damp cloth straight to Abel’s lip though he grunted and then took his hand, pulling out each individual splinter as Abel grunted.

“Oh dear… I’m so sorry Abel, I did not think that you’d hurt yourself!” You stated in surprise, cleaning his hand with the wet cloth to suck up any tiny splinters that you might have missed. Abel just groaned gently over it all but you looked at how painful and swollen his lip already looked and gently you stretched forward. Cautiously but sweetly, you let your lips press against his very tenderly to soothe his wound. His eyes widened and he seemed to freeze in surprise as you then gathered the list to keep working. “I am sorry.”

For a while Abel just remained standing there, clenching his hand to recognise that the splinters were gone, he then shook his head. He strolled after you and gently grasped your wrist, pulling you away from work and towards the back rooms. You were startled by this but he rushed you toward the strange looking objects, microscopes belonging to the master. Steadily Abel encouraged you to wait as he set up the machines to shine a light into a small glassy sphere for him to have a look at something. In fact, he encouraged you to step over and have a look at one of the items the master hand been looking into.

“This is what the master and I have been looking into… under here is a piece of moss close up… take a look at how pretty it is.” Abel stated, smiling widely as he introduced it to you. Nervously you smiled at him and stepped over to have a look, only to be surprised at the pale image of little pale blocks filed with tiny green specks, almost like patterns on some of the fabrics. You were startled and intrigued, looking toward Abel with a curious smile upon your face.

“That’s really pretty.” You chuckled gently, only to be surprised as Abel looked really excited and lunged forward. He hooked you up in his arms and bending forward to kiss you firmly. You were then released and stared up at him in surprise although you were blushing very heavily. He then encouraged you to step away from the microscope and into his arms, you were compelled to do as he asked and pressed your hands to his chest in case of anything.

“I’m glad you think so… shame the microscope can’t show you what’s inside me, making my heart beat feverishly whenever I look at you. Forgive my usual brash manner…” Abel stated gently, looking suddenly very sweet and his words made you sweat with excitement. You could not believe he felt just as much of an attraction to you as you had felt to him, although you felt quite embarrassed now as you realised you had kissed him first. Feeling a little naughty you leant forward to kiss him again, only to be kissed even more firmly before he released you and a stern look came upon his face. “But let’s get back to work and don’t tell the master I let you have a look at this work.”

“Uh… alright Abel.” You stated with a shake of your head and a look of confusion upon your face. What could you do but get back to work….