It is the working man who is the happy man.
Between Christmas and New YearI know I haven't made that many friends among the staff here. Most of them're siding with Percival with his nose still out of joint about my getting what he'd already thought of as his job, and the rest're wary of my having known the Colonel - his Lordship - in the past. And between the Army and the places I've
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"She doesn't look how I'd imagined, for all the Colonel's describing of her. Can't say she's not striking though, can you? Not the kind of woman I'd notice if she was for me to notice, but."
"What did you imagine she looked like? Some crow-faced harridan?" I laugh. I can imagine how soldiers talk of their wives. "But striking, yes, I suppose so. Personally, I prefer a woman with some tits on her." I smirk, sipping my beer. "But from what I've heard from the housemaids, she's quite the wildcat in bed. And you have to respect a woman with some enthusiasm." My grin widens as I lean across the table. "And there have been plenty of times she and his lordship have come back from a ride looking rather more dishevelled than they should after a ride, if you see what I'm saying." Another deep pull, and my smile doesn't slip. "Also have to respect a lady who likes a good shag in the bushes." Far too few of them get squeamish.
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"What did you imagine she looked like? Some crow-faced harridan?"
He laughs, but I'm thoughtful. "No - less..." I try to find the word, give up. "More - vulnerable, I think. The Colonel always worried about her, and the family. But she's tough as nails, isn't she?" Always strange to think about her and A - his Lordship fucking, but I knew that from the start, didn't I? Just different to see her, and know it.... "Personally," I add, "I like a woman with a bit more arse on her, usually."
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"Oh yes, and he knows it." I start to say, but then he's going on.
"Personally, I like a woman with a bit more arse on her, usually."
I spit beer onto the table and roar laughter, leaning across to clap him on the shoulder. "Now you're talking like a soldier. Something to grip when you push, eh?" Take another swig, and then stand up and take the lantern down. "Come on, let me show you something."
I lead him out into the stable, dark and silent, broken only by the low sounds of sleeping horses, shifting bodies and heavy breathing. A low mellowness settles over me, warmth in my mind to match that in my head. I love the stable at night. It's the most peaceful place that I know. Many a night I haven't bothered going back to the house, just settled on the cot with the door open, breathing in the warm and quiet.
We come to a stall near the back, and I hang up the lantern before tapping on the door and clicking my tongue against my teeth. There's a heavy shuffling and a grunt of effort, and a massive bay head swings out over the door. "This is Lampus," I say, patting the broad neck with affection. "He was her hunter for ages." Let him take in the big horse; he's tall enough that I can just see over his back. "Now, he's not a bad fellow, but he runs hot, and he tends to get the bit in his teeth. First time she took him out, he dumped her in the mud and ran home alone." I laughed my arse off that day, but I worried too. I'd seen good horses ordered shot for less. "But she got right back on him the next day, worked him in the ring until she learned his habits and got him to respect her. And she rode him in hunts until he started getting creaky a couple years back and she bought Frost." He's lipping my pockets hopefully, and I did wake him up, so I fish some sugar lumps from my coat and grin as he licks my palm clean. "And it was his lordship's idea that she start working him. The two of them are quite the bloody match for each other, and best to remember that."
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Follow him through the stables, listen to what he says. Look the horse over; though 'm not a horseman myself, I've enough experience. His Lordship's idea. Makes me thoughtful, that.
"The two of them are quite the bloody match for each other, and best to remember that."
Does sting, but I let it. I do love my wife, he said to me, a long time ago. And seeing them here, know they're a match in ways we could never be. Was bad enough in Africa, officer and soldier-servant. But here.... Cut my thoughts off before they turn maudlin. 'S...difficult, is all.
Shake my head a bit. "Can't see him with a meek wife who'd do naught but good works in the village and that," I say, honestly. And, more thoughtfully: "Or her with a man who'd not respect her, from what I've seen." Discussing our betters, as we shouldn't. He's not the sort to tattle to Mrs Parras or the butler, though.
"You never married?" I ask him. Could be a widower, I suppose. Hard to see him settling down.
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Lampus is sniffing at my jacket, hoping for more sugar, but I push his nose away. "Go on now, my lad, back to bed with you." He sighs as I take the lantern down, and I can hear him resettling himself as I lead the way back to the kip room. "No, I think they'd both go mad like that. Well, him, he'd probably indulge in the oh-so-gentlemanly life of quiet suffering for his duty." I smirk. "Her, on the other hand...well, let's just say I could see some arsenic going missing from the kitchen. If she didn't just burn the bloody house down." Laughter as we settle back down at the table, and I open another bottle.
He asks if I've ever been married, and I grin. "Not me. Been able to avoid the rope so far. What about you?"
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What he says about Lady Sylvia makes me worry for Alex, though, if she ever finds out. Her, too, strangely. Know how much he cares about her, and - don't want to see her hurt. So why'm I doing what I'm doing? Too complicated for me, all this.
"Not me. Been able to avoid the rope so far. What about you?"
"Came close," I say, "but she turned me down in the end." Shake my head. "Still don't know whether to be regret it or be glad. You planning to be a bachelor to the end, then?" Raise my eyebrows. "Not quite old enough to be put out to grass, but a time'll come..." Grin at him. Better topic, this.
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"Time'll come when what? I'll want a ball and chain around my ankle, telling me to stop drinking so much and quit watching the maids' backsides?" I laugh. "No, thank you, son. My old age will be spent on my own terms. When I want a tumble, I don't have any difficulty finding it, and I rather like the challenge variety poses." Raise my own eyebrow back at him. "You'd rather be shackled down, then?"
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Am now, aren't I, like it not. "Nearly married," I say thoughtfully, "but she chose another fellow at the last minute. Cut me up at the time. Now - well, 'd have to leave service, wouldn't I, and what'd I do with myself then, washed-up old soldier like me?" Shrug one shoulder. "Maybe when 'm old, if someone'll have me," cos 'm hardly going to be Alex's valet then, am I.
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"One thing a stableman knows, a gammy leg don't mean shit at stud," I grin.
""Maybe when 'm old, if someone'll have me."
I nod, understanding. When it comes to both men and women, seems everybody wants perfection in marriage. That's just why Lady Hope'll likely end up a spinster. "But some ladies have a thing for war wounds, and you'll have some savings after you retire. Money goes a long way, when it comes to finding a mate."
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