A Wedding in Wottfordshire

Except maybe the washerwomen.

***

Without giving any details on how, I confirmed to Susannah while we redressed her that I had no concerns that Wilfred would be capable of doing his duty when the time came. Since she'd experienced it personally by the pond, she agreed, grinning and saying she looked forward to it.

One of the household staff arrived to tell us that more guests had arrived just as we completed changing Susannah's clothes, so she rushed down to find Wilfred and greet them while Hilary helped me with my quick cleanup and change. On getting outside myself and seeing that Susannah and Wilfred were handling things satisfactorily with the guests, I left word with Hilary that I was stepping out for a bit and would be back to work with Susannah later in the afternoon.

I was on my way to find Renald to help me, but as I approached the stables, I realized that might be a mistake. Renald knew little about Wottfordshire and besides, he might be needed by my maid. That gave me a perfect excuse to enlist a local assistant in my effort.

"Excuse me, might you tell me where I can find Geoffrey, the Third Stableman?" While shy, the man seemed to know horses, and based on his circumspect observations and him possibly on the verge of being besotted with me, he would probably be willing to assist me.

The boy, barely a teen, nodded with eyes wide, staring at me, unable to speak. He was in the middle of mucking out a stall when I approached.

I suspected that he'd never been so close to either Aunt Eliza or Cousin Susannah, so I motioned for him to move closer, bent down close, and whispered. "Tell you what, tell me your name so we can be friends, and then tell me where I might find Geoffrey the stableman, deal?"

"Third Stableman, mum," he said, correcting me. He was a little fellow, maybe 4'-6, and quite thin, with a shock of unruly dark hair and smudges of dirt on his smooth face that had never once felt a straight razor.

"That's right. Now your name?"

"Hoyt, mum. Just a stable boy."

"Well, Hoyt, you keep up the good work and you'll be a stableman someday, too. Now, where is Geoffrey?"

He beamed. "Geoffrey's inside working tack, mum. Can I take you?"

I thanked him and moments later we saw Geoffrey. A look from him sent Hoyt scampering back to his work.

"You came back, milady. Is there something you need?" Geoffrey, having been in his element with Hoyt, was suddenly nervous.

"Yes, Geoffrey, there may be something you can do to help me. You're one of Lord John's stablemen so you know horses, but do you know other horses in Wottfordshire?"

A questioning look crossed his face. "Other horses, milady? As in horses owned by others besides Lord John?"

"Yes, I'm looking for a particular horse, but I haven't seen it among those we rode this morning or here in my uncle's stable. I thought perhaps you might help me find it?"

"Uhh. I don't know, milady. I'm not sure if I could help with that. There's so much to do here. So much work." He waved to the harness-works hanging on the wall; as he did, his hand clipped the bottle of oil, knocking it sideways. It tipped over but he grabbed and righted it with only a small amount spilling on his workbench. He recorked the bottle and used his rag to wipe up the spill before continuing to apply it to the tack.

"Geoffrey," I said reassuringly, "your assistance would be of great help to me. I will speak to the lead stableman if that would ease your mind."

He nodded, short quick nods but I wasn't sure he was actually agreeing or if it was his bashfulness shining through.

"Tell me, how many horses are there in Wottfordshire?"

He gave one last wipe of the lead and hung it on the wall. "The actual number of horses? I don't know if there's a real count, milady, but there are two stables in town plus a number of horses owned and boarded privately besides those on farms in the surrounding area. What do you seek? A riding horse for purchase? Most of the horses around here, except for some of Lord John's, are coach or farm horses."

"Yes, a riding horse," I agreed. "A big roan, about 16, maybe even 17 hands high, more reddish than white, and well built, but with a broad and straight white blaze. Oh, and it had a white sock on its left rear foot."

His look changed from bashful to thoughtful as his eyes narrowed. "A very particular horse, it seems."

"As I said. Do you know it?"

"There are a few potential candidates around town, but I know of none that have the blaze you seek. I'm not sure about the stocking."

"Just a sock," I corrected, since a stocking extends further up the horse's leg. Not wanting it to sound too urgent, I added, "Uhmm, perhaps I was mistaken. Can we check with the lead stableman so you can take me to see them?"

"Glady, milady, if he approves..."

"This is of importance to Susannah's wedding. I think he'll approve."

***

He did and we used Lord John's small city carriage pulled by a single horse to make our rounds. Geoffrey was quiet and looked very nervous, barely saying a word as he drove through the cobblestoned streets. I decided to try to change that.

"How long have you been working at Lord John's stable?"

"Fifteen years, mum."

"Fifteen years? Why, you must have been, what—four?—when you started?"

He'd been staring intently at the streets ahead, never once sneaking a look at me since we'd left the stable, but he glanced around sideways at me with a look of surprise when I said that only to see my grin. That, I think, put him a little more at ease.

He chuckled before saying, "I was 10 when I started in the stable. My mum originally worked for old Lord Randall, though I don't really remember him; I was young, maybe three or four when he died, I believe. Lord Charles, his younger brother and your maternal grandfather, came then and allowed her to stay, as did your aunt and her husband a few years later when Lord Charles passed. I went to work in the stable when mother became ill and Lord John continued to let us stay. She died a couple of years later and I had nowhere to go so I stayed and have worked my way up since then."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"No, no reason you would have, milady," replied Geoffrey. "However, I remember you visiting Lady Susannah each summer and riding with her. That was before your mother..."

Before my mum died. Those had been fun times and I thought I might even remember the young boy who'd grown into this shy young man.

"Yes, besides riding my horses at home, my other favorite activity as a child was our annual trips to see Aunt Eliza and Cousin Susannah here in Wottfordshire and Suzie's visits to our home." We'd tried visiting one Christmas but the roads were so bad that my father finally had the coachman turn around and head home after we kept getting stuck and it was all Father and I could do to get here in late March for Jonathan's memorial. My cousin's body, among the fallen at Nsamankow, was buried on the field where they fell.

"I remember your visits well," said Geoffrey. "But I was much too shy to speak with you then."

"So you're not too shy now?"

He nodded slightly. "I am, milady. Too shy, I mean, but I'm...I'm doing my best to overcome it."

I patted his arm with a grin. "I'd say you're doing just fine." He didn't object when my hand remained resting on his right arm, just at the crook of his elbow.

When we arrived at the first livery stable, he climbed down, secured the horse, and came around to help me. I stood, allowing him to grab my waist to lift me from the carriage. My hands grasped his arms and I could feel the strength in them as he lifted and then lowered me to the ground in front of him. As he did, I allowed my hands to slide toward his shoulders and I crossed them together behind his neck when my feet were again on terra firma.

To my surprise, my body was heated, filled with a yearning that even two days before I would never have imagined. Therefore, to his surprise, I slid my hands further around him to pull him closer to the point where we were almost touching, where I could feel the heat of his body, and the pant of his breath.

The poor man looked scared to death, glancing to the side as if to find a means of escape. When he refocused on my eyes, he saw the determination in them and seemed to surrender, allowing my lips to grace his.

It started as a sweet kiss, but to my surprise, it grew as my heat infected him and he returned it with fervor. However, something was wrong; while enjoyable, this wasn't Rob. He'd kissed me on the lips but twice, but his kiss was different, intense, self-assured, and in control whereas this was a young man who was clearly fighting to stay above the water.

No, this was a very nice young man, but he wasn't my Rob.

Hastily disengaging, I prompted, "The roan horse with the blaze?"

There were a number of horses in the first livery stable we visited, but the roan that we saw, while the right size, had no white blaze nor the white sock.

"Was this horse here in the stable yesterday morning, sir?" I asked the stableman, a shorter man with a short beard that clung to the edge of his jaw and chin. .

"Can't rightly say, I'm afraid. He's on a boarding plan, but available to his owner any time and gets exercised most days. There are 19 horses here, ma'am, so we don't keep up with their comings and goings unless they're on a full livery plan where we exercise them, too."

"So someone could borrow or even steal a horse and you wouldn't know?"

"Oh, no milady. Well, I might not know if they borrowed it for a short while, but no one in Wottfordshire would ever steal a horse so it wouldn't matter. The stable owner might know better, but he's often out riding, exercising horses, in the morning or early afternoon, or working his horse farm."

"You're not the owner?"

"No, milady, just the assistant stableman."

"You said the owner had a horse farm? Where is it? And does he have any roan horses there?"

"Just outside of Wottfordshire, milady, and no, no roans, not the last time I was there to help anyway."

I thanked the man and we returned to the carriage, with Geoffrey holding my hand a bit longer than was really necessary when I climbed up. I gave his hand a little squeeze before letting go and watching him climb up.

"Geoffrey, what are your plans for the future?"

He shrugged.

"I'm too old and Myles, the Lead Stableman, is too young so I'll probably never be the Lead Stableman for Lord John, but I'm learning more every day and someday I'll be able to head a stable somewhere. When the time comes, whether to serve Lord John, another, or myself, I'll be ready."

"You'd consider opening a stable of your own?"

"Yes, milady. I save most of my wages and plan to be able to make a choice someday."

"Hmm. Third Stableman Geoffrey, perhaps when your time comes, maybe Humden, my own village, will be on your list. There are fewer than a hundred souls there, and believe me, it's every bit as humdrum as its name sounds, but maybe it will need a good Lead Stableman someday. If so, I'll be sure to let my father know of your availability."

"Oh, thank you, milady, but it will be quite some time before I know enough to assume such responsibility."

"Perhaps, but you know what they say about the chance of fortune? It rarely knocks twice."

He nodded and we rode in silence to the other livery stable and then to several private stables where he thought a roan might be boarded. None played out so I was quite disappointed as we made our way back to Uncle John's estate on the edge of Wottfordshire.

"Lady Catherine, may I ask you a question?"

"What is it, Geoffrey?"

"I remember you and your mother coming here. She seemed so young, so beautiful, and then they said...she...was gone. Lady Eliza was beside herself and Lady Susannah cried for days after they returned from the funeral in Humden. If it's not too much to ask, what happened?"

He was being a bit too meddlesome, but I'd never had anyone to talk to about it, so like wax near flame, my reluctance melted away as tears started slipping down my cheeks at the memories.

"My mother was with child when we visited Aunt Eliza early that summer, but soon after we returned home, she felt pains and went into labor well before her time. Mother survived the birthing but my little brother didn't, and Mum, so weakened, passed within a few days. Father and most of our village entered a very dark period that shook it to its core."

"Most? Some were so callous as to not be sad to see her go?"

"Oh, no! Not like that. Some few of us, including me, had to look ahead to keep things going despite our great sadness. Father was lucky in a way. He retreated into a bottle, blaming himself for her pregnancy, as unexpected as it was, at 35 and for her death."

"What do you mean about keeping things going?"

"Our small estate, our village, everything that Father had managed was left without direction, with most of the people being unwilling to make decisions without him. I tried consulting him at first, but he was beside himself, and eventually, I did what I thought best, making the decisions myself and passing along word as if he'd given the order. Most soon came to realize that wasn't the case, but no one called me on it, and we survived and eventually prospered."

"Your father emerged from his depths?"

"Not voluntarily, I'm afraid. I ran into his chamber and woke him from his drunken stupor one night about three years after Mum's death, with flames licking the ceiling of our small manor. That was what it took, I guess, to shake him out of it, and he emerged to become the man he'd once been."

"What do you mean?"

"While I could have gotten out on my own, he couldn't so I pushed him out of the bed and tried to help him, yelling at him, telling him we'd either both live or we'd both die because I wasn't leaving him there to die alone. I think that's what it took to get through to him just as the fire was getting worse—"

I recalled the nightmare of the searing heat, the smoke, and the harsh brightness of the flames as they spread, cutting off my escape and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I was about to die.

"—but then, he later told me, my words got through to him. He got up, picked me up, and kicked something out of the way to force an opening through the flames, allowing him to carry me out. I'd have surely died if he hadn't gotten up when he did."

To my surprise, Geoffrey patted my hand and then gave it a squeeze. "I'm so glad that you got through to him and that you survived."

His hand returned to the reins, leaving me to fall into silent reflection as I listened to the echoing clip-clop of the horse's hooves and the turning of the carriage wheels. I recalled how we'd saved a few things as we made our way out the main room, but everything of my mother's was lost, including her beautiful portrait, painted just two years before her death. All I had left of her were my memories and the little locket that never left my neck. Inside was the tiny portrait and a lock of her golden hair.

"Your father? Did he ever go back to drinking after that?"

"No, when he was forced to emerge from the bottle that night, he left it behind for good. He resumed his role as leader of our village and he tried to give me what additional training he could to make my work more effective, while allowing me to keep much of the responsibility I'd assumed during his dark time."

Our conversation ended then and I suspect that Geoffrey didn't hear the last part since he was looking around as we pulled into the courtyard to see another carriage already stopped in front of the main house. Wilfred and Susannah were hugging a man with another man, older and heavyset, and a woman standing to the side.

Susannah saw me then and waved, motioning for me to join them. Geoffrey helped me down and I thanked him before I walked over to join her.

"Lord and Lady Doyle-Hyde, allow me to introduce my cousin, Lady Catherine Debane of Humden. Catherine, these are Wilfred's parents, the Doyle-Hydes of Manchester."

We greeted each other before Wilfred cleared his throat. "And this strapping oaf over here is Stephen, my little brother."

I turned and my eyes widened as I looked. He was tanned and had twinkling brown eyes, with an engaging smile that made me want to forget all about my search for my mysterious Rob.

He took my hand in his own and drew it toward his lips before he said, "Lady Catherine, I've heard so much about you. It is such a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

Something of the way he said it made the thought explode in my mind. While he was Wilfred's little brother, the man was the right size with the right eyes and the right characteristics.

He might very well be my mysterious Rob!

***

Chapter 5: The Second Evening

With more guests, including Lord and Lady Doyle-Hyde, present, Susannah and Wilfred had no choice but to attend the evening banquet. Tonight, though, they no longer had any doubt regarding their union so both were in happy agreement about meeting to make their entry together.

When we entered the house and I told them it was time to prepare, they parted painfully as newer lovers often do, not wishing to separate for a moment. Holding hands after their embrace and gentle kiss, their arms were fully outstretched until I'd pulled her far enough in one direction and Stephen pulled Wilfred far enough in the other that their fingers finally lost the last of their connection.

"Oh, Cat, I love him so much. I can't wait to be his wife, to be his lover. To feel him against me again."

I frowned, thinking that maybe I'd let them get away with too much at the lake earlier in the day. "Can't but will anyway," I muttered under my breath as I dragged her into her chambers, trying to commiserate with her plight and fulfill my duty while struggling to avoid laughing.

Mary, Susannah's handmaid, and I helped prepare her for dinner while Suzie chattered on and on about her afternoon, her man, and her concerns. Over the next hour, I assured her any number of times that all would be well, doing my best to boost her confidence and help give her the strength she would need to get through the next three days. While her comments were somewhat humorous, I knew Suzie was quite serious about her concerns so when I caught Mary rolling her eyes, I had to warn her to be careful with mine.

Mary looked frightened on being caught, but I gave her a little wink and a finger to my lips to let her know it would be our secret if she didn't slip up and let Suzie catch her. She gave me a little nod and a silent thank you.

When Susannah was almost ready, I told her I needed a few minutes to prepare on my own so I left her in Mary's hands and went through the connecting door to my quarters.

Hilary was there and had my evening dress already out, so she helped me wash quickly and slip into the gown before starting on my hair.

"Cat, we kissed last night and kissed and kissed—

"Got that, Hillie. Remember, you demonstrated your new prowess this morning?"

She giggled. "You're right. I was wondering, well, about tonight?"

"Going to see him?" I teased, knowing all the while what she meant.

"No! About...well..."

"How far you should go?"

She nodded, smiling while at the same time showing embarrassment.

"Sweetheart, it's not 'should go.' You don't have to go anywhere. It's how comfortable you feel with him, how much you care about him, and how far you want to go, whether a little, a lot, or even none at all. Don't pressure yourself, Hillie, and don't let Renald pressure you either. Just remember that, and if you ever feel uncomfortable, stop and let him know."

With me being dressed, I helped her into a nice, clean dress and brushed her hair, braiding the sides of her red mane back behind her long tresses so she wouldn't suffocate the poor man if they were to engage in any activities during the evening. Tying it off, I kissed her cheek and swatted her soft bum as I told her to enjoy herself while remembering what I said.