Heart of Stone Ch. 09

Mary looked at the rest of the picture carefully. Standing as close as she was, she was able to see more detail than she could before. She could just about make out a stone wall and portrait of someone who wasn't either of the twins. There was something familiar about that smaller image, but where she had seen it before stayed just out of her reach. A creaking door startled her back to reality.

She got down off the chair, expecting to see Rose with her coffee. Instead she saw the door to her bedroom open slowly, then stop. She was certain it had been securely shut. Her feet felt rooted to the floor, but Mary forced herself to walk across the room. She reached out to close the door, but before she could touch the knob, it slammed hard enough to rattle the pictures on the walls. Mary stepped back, her heart racing. The light rap on the hall door startled her. She opened it only a crack at first, until she saw that the person on the other side was Rose. She opened the door wide.

"Are you alright, Miss?" Rose set the tray on the coffee table and looked curiously at Mary. "You look rather pale."

"It's nothing. I'm just not used to this house." Mary managed a smile.

"Parts of this house take more getting used to than others. How do you take it?" Rose pulled hot coffee into the cup. Mary told her, barely thinking about the coffee anymore.

"What do you mean?" She tried to will her heart to stop pounding.

"These grand old houses are like grand old people. They have long memories and not all of those memories are pleasant." Rose shrugged. "Will you need anything else, Miss?"

"No." She said, resisting the urge to ask for more details, she would only make herself more nervous. "Thank you."

Mary wrapped up in a blanket and took her coffee out onto the balcony. At least she felt safe when she was close to Aiden.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mary found her way to the sunny, plant-filled conservatory at a little before nine to find Robbie reading the paper.

"Morning." She smiled and sat across from him.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" He smiled and set the paper aside.

"Yes." She said. It wasn't exactly a lie. When she was with Aiden she had slept just fine. "Those rooms are beautiful."

"They're one of those wonderful little nooks you find in a house like this." Bennett and Rose brought in breakfast and set it on the sideboard. After they withdrew, Mary and Robbie served themselves. "Unfortunately they're never used."

She sat down and spread jam on her toast while she thought about how to frame the question in her mind.

"The portrait-"

"Do you ride?" He asked, cutting her off mid-question.

"Ride? As in horses?" Mary was a little surprised.

"You'll love it." He smiled and picked up a cordless phone that was laying next to him on the table.

"Well I don't know-"

"Jack, my guest will be joining me this morning." He was silent, presumably listening to whoever was on the other end of the line. "No she hasn't, so I was thinking of Briar Rose." He listened again.

"I really don't think-" Mary said, taking advantage of the silence.

"About forty-five minutes I should think." He said into the phone again, smiling at Mary. "Thank you." He hung up.

"All arranged." He smiled. "The estate is so large it's best experienced on horseback."

"You're making the assumption that I'll actually be able to stay on." Mary said, nibbling at her toast. Robbie laughed.

"I promise, you'll be fine. Though you'll be very hungry if you just have toast." Mary smiled a little.

"Alright, but if I hate it you have to bring me back." She smiled and dug into the scrambled eggs.

"Agreed, but somehow I doubt it will come to that." He laughed.

"How many horses do you have?" Mary asked, suddenly curious about this other side of him.

"Six at the moment, soon to be seven." The look of pride on his face was unmistakable.

"Congratulations." Mary said.

"Thank you, though I can't take full responsibility." He laughed again, and Mary couldn't help but smile. "Horses are a hobby of mine, this will be the first birth here in a long time though."

"Is it something you've always enjoyed?" She asked.

"No, in fact I had never even been on a horse until I was in my thirties. A young woman I was seeing enjoyed riding and she convinced me to come along with her one time. After that I was hooked, on the riding that is. It didn't take me long to find out the woman was mind-numbingly dull. I bought my first horse a few months later." He answered.

"Do you show them?" Mary was genuinely curious.

"Good God no, that would be entirely too much work." He chuckled. "No the animals I own wouldn't be called top-notch by anyone, but they provide me with a great deal of joy."

After breakfast Robbie and Mary stopped by the kitchen to get a plastic bag of apple slices, and then out through the back door of the house. The path they walked down was not one of the manicured garden walkways, but it was well-traveled and wildflowers had sprung up in bunches along the edges of it and to Mary that was more pleasant than manicured gardens. As they walked, he explained the the stables had stood empty for years while the family's finances had been in decline, and only one of the structures had been fully restored and updated. He lead her through a gate and into a neat, cobbled stable yard.

"Morning Mr. B." An older man with short-cropped gray hair and a full gray beard called as he pushed the wide, double doors open. "They'll be out in a bit, one of Briar Rose's shoes was loose."

"There's no hurry." Robbie said. "How's Sandy doing this morning?"

"She fine, though I think she's looking forward to having the little one. You can just tell she's at the point of uncomfortable." He looked at a group of four horses walking over to the corral fence, a rotund buff-colored mare walked slowly at the back of the group. Robbie walked over to the fence with his bag of apples and the older man turned to Mary. "You must be Miss Mary Beeson, I'm Jack Dawkins." He wiped his hand on his handkerchief and offered it to her.

"It's nice to meet you." She smiled and shook his hand.

"If you don't mind me saying so, you're looking a bit nervous." He said.

"I guess I'm still a little unsure of all this." Mary smiled at him and then glanced over at Robbie. He petted and scratched the two brown horses, the buff colored one and a smallish gray one.

"Mr. B.'s a good teacher and Briar Rose is as gentle as a lamb. I think you'll take to it Miss." He smiled reassuringly. The clatter of hooves on cobblestones drew everyone's attention. "There we are now. That shoe fixed Danny?"

A young, sandy-haired man lead the two horses out of the dim building and nodded at Jack. One was sleek and black, the other seemed to be a pinkish shade that surprised Mary. He tied each horse to a rail loosely and walked back into the barn. Jack turned back to Mary.

"You'll have to excuse our Danny, he's a charm with the horses, but he's a bit shy around people. Come on, meet Briar Rose."

"She's pink." Mary said, as she approached carefully.

"Strawberry roan to be technical." Jack smiled broadly, took something out of his pocket and held it out for the horse. "A mixture of chestnut and gray hairs." Mary stroked the mare's arching neck and then her velvety nose when the animal nuzzled her.

"Well you're smiling, I'll take that as a positive sign." Robbie smiled and handed her a piece of apple. "Hold your hand flat and she'll take it." Mary followed his instructions and the horse took it delicately, she laughed softly.

"Need anything else, Mr. B?" Jack asked.

"I think we'll be alright, thank you." Robbie handed Mary another apple slice. She fed it to the horse in the same way. "Ready?" He asked.

"As I'll ever be." She answered.

"Good. Stand facing the horse and give me your left leg."

"Why?" Mary looked at him curiously. Robbie laughed.

"So I can help you up." He said.

"Oh." Mary laughed a little and looked at the stirrup. She stepped up onto air with her right foot, put her left foot in the stirrup and swung her leg over. "Is this right?" She asked. Robbie was looking at her with a mixture of surprise and awe.

"Do you do that often?" He asked.

"Do what?" She asked, gripping the pommel of the saddle tightly when Briar Rose shifted her weight.

"Most of us need specific words for something as intricate as your step up." He smiled and untied the loose knot in the reins that tethered the horse to the rail. He handed them to Mary and then mounted his own horse in a more usual way. "Hold the reins like this." He demonstrated and Mary did her best to copy his actions.

"Why do you need words? It was in one of Ambrose's books that all that is needed is desire and ability to focus."

"Just let her follow me until we get out of the yard." Mary could hardly refuse, she gripped the saddle and tried to get used to the motion of the horse. "Was that Gryston's book?"

"Yes I think so." Mary tried not to look down. For some reason she felt like she was a great distance off the ground.

"We all read him, few of us can practice his techniques." He led her out onto one of the park-like lawns of the estate. "Speaking of techniques, let me teach you a few so you feel more comfortable."

For awhile, Mary simply followed his instructions and found that her comfort level was growing with each step the horse took. She learned how to guide Briar Rose, stop her, encourage her to speed up and slow down and how to move her body to make the ride more comfortable. After about an hour, Robbie directed her toward the edge of the forest. As they drew closer, Mary could see the entrance to a wide path.

"No desire to turn back?" He asked with a half smile. Mary laughed.

"None."

"Good." They began to pass other, narrower paths as they rode and Robbie explained that most of the estate was crisscrossed with them. Some were disused and had become overgrown, others were too low and narrow to ride on safely. All of them fed back into the main path eventually. She tried to bring up the painting again several times but each time Robbie changed the subject before she could finish the question. Around noon, Robbie started down one of the side paths and Mary was surprised when they emerged in a spacious clearing. A stone cottage sat in the center.

"Does someone live here?" She asked.

"No. It used to be a hunting lodge, but then it fell into disrepair like everything else around here." He dismounted and she followed suit, stepping down onto air again. He led the horses into the small corral next to the house, and taught her to take off their saddles and bridles and let them graze. "I don't hunt, but it makes a nice retreat."

The inside was as quaint as the outside, with most of the space devoted to a common area that combined a kitchen and living room, both done in a rustic style.

"Hope you don't mind a light lunch." He washed his hands and then took cheese from the fridge and set crusty rolls and apples on the table.

"Sounds good to me, but that was a long ride -"

"Through that door." He smiled.

"Thanks." Mary emerged a few minutes later to find that he had set the table, put the food on it and poured wine. "This looks delicious."

"Sit down." Mary took a roll and an apple. For a few minutes they ate in silence.

"Do you have lunch here often?" She asked.

"Often enough to keep a few of the basics on hand, but not nearly as often as I'd like. Even on week ends it seems like there's always something else competing for my time. By the way, I think I've found the perfect dinner companion for you."

"I didn't know you were looking." Mary was surprised and anxious.

"Well I didn't take out ads in The Times, but there is one other fairly new member of our little group. At our last gathering he spent most of the time sitting alone in a corner." He took a bite of crisp apple. "I thought the two of you might be more comfortable if you had each other to talk to."

"So you're the social director as well as keeper of the gargoyle's history." Mary laughed softly and sipped her wine.

"Not officially," He laughed. "Though since I play host I feel some sense of responsibility for the comfort of my guests."

"I know I'm not a social butterfly, but I don't think I want to be set up with someone who hides on corners." Mary said, only half joking. She was still trying to think of the right way to introduce the topic of Aiden, and rejecting every option as awkward.

"Don't think of it as a set-up, just think of him as a new acquaintance called David Milbourne. He recently took his father's place in the group. He's a bit older than you are, but the difference shouldn't be large enough to cause too many difficulties. He's single, no bad habits that I've heard of. His abilities aren't on the same level yours are-"

"No." Mary said firmly, her eyes fixed on his.

"Well, I know that's not the most romantic consideration, but usually when a couple are too mismatched-" Robbie looked concerned.

"That's not what I mean." Mary paused for a moment to sip her wine and figure out the best way to tell him. Before she could even start though, Robbie was speaking again.

"Good God, I do need to move into the twenty-first century. It's too late to find a young lady at this point-" He paused when he saw the look on Mary's face. "That's not it either."

"No. I'm already committed to someone." Mary nibbled on the bread.

"And here I was worried that you were spending all your time alone in that big house." Robbie laughed. "Why didn't you bring him along?"

"I did." Mary replied, her eyes on his. Robbie was confused, his eyebrows drew together.

"You only brought Aiden." Mary was silent, her eyes steady. Robbie shook his head and spoke gently. "Mary, there are rules, very strict rules that have been in place as long as anyone can remember. He can't return your feelings."

"He knows the rules, and he explained them to me. None of that mattered to how either of us felt though." Mary's heart was pounding. She gripped the edge of the chair tightly. The silence stretched on for what seemed like forever.

"How long have you been-" He paused, searching for the right word. "Together?"

"Mated." Mary said. His eyes widened for a minute as he processed the meaning of what she was saying. "Close to a year and a half." The silence stretched on again, but Mary felt relieved that everything was out in the open.

"Sometimes the heart wants what the heart wants." He smiled and Mary felt the tension leave her body. "Not everyone will agree with me and if you tell the others you can expect some harsh criticism. I'd recommend keeping silent for now."

"So, I have to ask, what makes you so accepting?" Mary took a bit more of the cheese.

"When I was a little younger than you I fell in love with a young woman from the village called Elaine. She wasn't of the same social class of course and she had already had a child out of wedlock. None of that mattered to me of course, we were compatible in all the ways that really mattered so I thought that my parents would come around eventually. That didn't happen and I allowed them to convince me that my life would be more fulfilled if I chose someone more appropriate." His eyes were on his glass of wine, but they seemed to be looking into the past. His index finger moved lightly around the rim of the glass.

"Meaning someone of your own class?" Mary asked, appalled at the thought.

"Or at least someone who was wealthy. My parents were good people, but they were short-sighted about certain things. I saw how miserable my sister was in her 'appropriate' marriage. So, I looked for someone in that narrow group who fulfilled me in but same way that Elaine did, but I've never found anyone else I felt that connection with and there isn't a day that goes by that I don't regret my choice."

"But now, your parents are both gone." Mary said, her heart aching.

"And Elaine is married." He smiled sadly. "The time has passed anyway. If you're happy - truly happy - with Aiden, you need to be together, no matter what convention says."