"We're going to the fair, Sims," Mary declared gaily as the butler held open the door for them.
"Yes, Lady Mary," Sims agreed stoically as they filed past.
"I'll bring you back some sake, Sims," Richard promised over his shoulder as he climbed into the cart.
Sims nodded, a smile lurking in his eyes as he closed the door on the gay trio.
They traveled quickly down the road, hearing the continuous bell-ringing calling the countryside to the fair. As their cart pulled off of the road and onto the bumpy ground of the field, they could see the little city of tents that had been set up for six days of merriment and trading. Farm wagons and coaches, carts and horses crowded together as their occupants tried to get closer to the loud sound of voices coming from the enclosed area.
Richard led them first to the baker, no sign of direction needed to find his tent, where the aromatic scent of freshly baked cakes and cookies drifted in all directions and guided the hungry unerringly to his door. Richard's eyes sparkled and he licked his lips in expectation as he stared at the display of treats before him.
"And what will the young master be wantin' this fine summer day?" a cheery-faced individual asked from behind the counter.
Richard frowned as he ran his gaze over the wide assortment of baked sweets. "I'll have some of those sugar and cinnamon sprinkled cakes, and the almond pastry shaped like the lion and the eagle," Richard decided firmly even as his eye lingered over a spicy confection filled with cream.
The baker grinned as he glanced for approval at the pretty ladies standing behind the young gentleman. At their nods he wrapped Richard's selection in paper and exchanged it for the coins Richard held out in his palm. "Pleasure doing business with ye, sir," he beamed as Richard took a hefty bite from one of the cakes.
They wandered through the crowd, bumping elbows with farmers' wives herding their unruly children from amusement to amusement, their scrubby faces full of excitement and adventure. Gaily clad jugglers and minstrels strumming their tales sauntered through the milling crowd, enticing and guiding prospective customers up to various rows of stalls. The fires of hot coals smouldered as the braziers worked their malleable brass and displayed their wares behind them on loaded shelves. Pewter gleamed dully from Pewterers' Row and a cloth exchange brimming with colorful fabrics of every description filled several large stalls. Fine French cambric, Indian cotton, cherryderry, damask and denim; drab, Florentine silk and gauze; soft mohair, nankeen, and poplin all caught the eye. Silver ribbons and bright velvet bows waved in the breeze as young country maids gazed rapturously at the beautiful colors, their fingers clenching enough coin to buy a gay length of ribbon to thread through their curls, or a silk handkerchief for Sunday morning.
Mary smoothed a square of blue and green Indian silk. "I've been meaning to buy a handkerchief to match this dress. Do you think it does?" she asked Sabrina who was deciding between a striped yellow and purple handkerchief and a solid turquoise one, while Richard fidgeted beside them, his eyes watching a puppet show across the path.
"Ummm, I think it's a shade too green. Try this."
Mary held the piece of sky-blue silk against her, the shade matching the blue of her gown perfectly. She wore a long, decorative apron tied about her waist and embroidered with blue and green flowers that matched the strip of lace bordering her bodice, and a blue silk bonnet covering her red curls.
At Richard's urging they walked on with their purchases to stand and watch the puppeteer manipulate his puppets for the amusement of the gathering audience while his costumed helper made his way through them collecting any tribute they might care to make.
Laughing at their antics Sabrina and Mary moved on, tugging Richard by sticky hands behind them. A furry little monkey on a chain was dancing for bits of food, and before a large tent people were lining up to view the unfortunate freaks.
They paused as a pie-woman and a gingerbread woman blocked the way, fiercely arguing over customers, their faces hot and perspiring from hustling their goods. As they stood there waiting, Sabrina caught sight of two unmistakable straw-colored heads rising above the crowded path. A moment later a path was cleared for them and they made their way through the crowd. Sabrina looked up at the broad shoulders blocking out the sunlight.
"Now you see what we little people have to suffer, Will," Sabrina teased. "I thought you would be at the Faire Maiden with all of these thirsty people about?"
Will shook his head. "Ain't going to get around to our place until much later. Plenty of refreshments to keep 'em happy here," he explained, "so John and me decided to have a little fun, Charlie." His deep voice boomed as he watched the growing excitement of the crowd, his breath smelling of ale.
"Hey, Charlie, they got some good horseflesh going down at that end," John told her, his cheeks flushed with pleasure and drink.
Sabrina flinched as he used their nickname for her, glancing about apprehensively as she stood there dwarfed by their large forms. She placed her hands on her hips, her chin lifted arrogantly as she stared up at the two laughing giants.
"Be sure that it is only ale you spill today and not your guts to some interested listener," Sabrina warned, a twinkle in her eye as she saw John puff out his chest in offended pride.
"You ain't got no cause to fret, Charlie. I'm just a wee bit merry, I'm not blind to the world—yet," John reassured her with a hearty laugh.
Sabrina laughingly waved them off and looked around for Mary and Richard, spotting Richard's red head amongst small heads of every shade gathered around the toy seller's stall. Cries of delight and wishfulness could be heard as they listened to a musical box with a singing bird, and Sabrina smiled at Mary who had come up beside her as they watched Richard's happy face. Suddenly Sabrina's smile faded, and Mary looked at her in puzzlement until she also heard the lyrics of the song floating through the air from the balladeer singing gently beneath a tree.
"O good Lord Judge, and sweet Lord Judge,
Peace for a little while! Methinks I see my own father,
Coming riding by the stile.
"Oh father, oh father, a little of your gold,
And likewise of your fee! To keep my body from yonder grave,
And my neck from the gallows-tree.
"None of my gold now you shall have,
Nor likewise of my fee; For I am come to see you hanged,
And hanged you shall be."
Sabrina closed her ears to the following verses that carried the heroine begging for salvation from her brother, sister and mother, all to no avail, until finally her sweetheart saves her from the hangman.
"Rather appropriate song for him to be singing— Charlie?" a deep voice spoke close to Sabrina's ear.
Sabrina looked up in surprise at the use of her nickname and stared into Colonel Fletcher's penetrating gray eyes that were locked on her face as though seeing her for the first time.
"Rather an odd name, this Charlie, that your very big friends call you," he puzzled. Then as the last notes of the song died out, he commented, "You don't care for his song, or is it that it brings painful images to mind?"
"It does not bother me, Colonel. Why indeed should it?" Sabrina responded casually, a pulse beating in her throat.
The colonel smiled thoughtfully. "It would me, if I were in your position."
"My position?" Sabrina questioned doubtfully, giving him a puzzled look mixed with concern. "Are you sure the sun is not a bit too strong, Colonel? It has been known to cause hallucinations."
The colonel continued to stare at Sabrina's upturned face, shaking his head in disbelief. "I do feel dizzy from the startling discovery I have just made, and should I dare to make it known, I do believe I should be suspected of derangement," he admitted, then staring into Sabrina's violet eyes added very softly, "but we would know different, would we not, Bonnie Charlie?"
Mary gasped and stared in horror at the colonel's tall figure, seeing only his sword swinging at his side and represe
nting disaster.
Sabrina gave an incredulous laugh that sounded convincing. "You are indeed crazed, Colonel, if you imagine anyone in their right senses would believe such a preposterous story as that. Why, one would think it had been concocted in a tavern when one had been in high spirits, but hardly believable, or indeed, amusing," Sabrina told him coldly, presenting him with a haughty profile.
"That act of affronted dignity may work on some, but not on me. This is not the time or place to discuss your affairs, but discuss them I shall. You may expect a visit from me this afternoon. Until then, ladies." He bowed and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Sabrina and Mary standing speechlessly beside each other.
"Oh, dear, what are we going to do, Rina?" Mary asked faintly, still staring into the crowd after the colonel.
"Nothing, absolutely nothing," Sabrina replied, her mouth twisting into a smile. "We shall call the good colonel's bluff, for that is all that it is. He has no proof against me, and he shall be able to find none. And should he pursue his suspicions," Sabrina shrugged complacently, "he will be laughed out of the county."
"You really aren't worried, are you?" Mary said in amazement as she saw Sabrina's calm expression.
"I've been up against far smarter men than the colonel and won. Besides, this charade is drawing to a close and then we need not worry at all about Colonel Fletcher," Sabrina said contemptuously, hiding the momentary fear she had felt under mocking laughter. "Come on, let's enjoy ourselves. I'll not have that redcoat spoil my day," Sabrina cried gaily, urging Mary along with her.
They moved on through the crowd with Richard in tow, passing groups of men whose voices were raised as they called for their favorites in a wrestling match or cockfight, the refreshments flowing generously as the heat parched their throats and spirits rose as the alcohol heated up their blood. They stood for a minute watching the auctioning off of colts and horses at the trader's stalls, but turned back before reaching the area set off for bull-baiting. The cruelty and viciousness of setting dogs at a chained bull for a shilling, and watching the dogs get tossed around and the bull bitten at by the snarling dogs, had never appealed to them.
Threading their way back the way they had come they gradually made their way towards their cart. There were more people than before crowding the lanes, pushing and shoving, laughing and arguing as they enjoyed the festivities. Nearing the butcher's stall, the flies hovering close above the cuts of beef, a fistfight suddenly erupted into the noisy chatter.
Two young farmers, who had had too much ale, were rolling and punching in the space cleared by the yelling spectators. A young, bright-eyed girl was watching eagerly, a bunch of colorful ribbons clutched in one hand, and a locket in the other.
"Fightin' over a woman." Sabrina heard someone say as the two men grunted in the dirt at the crowd's feet.
"Come on, Richard," Sabrina said nervously. "The crowd's growing restless."
Someone pushed a brawny boy, who turned and slugged a bespectacled clergyman whose friend tackled the offender in outrage and in the process fell into a pie-woman whose pies slid into the dust as she shrieked in rage. Fists began to fly and feet up-ended as people were knocked down in the scuffle. The butcher grabbed a cleaver should anyone come too near his display, and stood watching the tumbling bodies with glee.
Sabrina grasped Mary's arm, and pulling Richard between them they tried to press their way out of the mass of sweating bodies that surged forward at the sound of a fight.
Mary tripped, crying out as she began to fall to her knees, disappearing under the countless heads and shoulders surrounding them. Sabrina tried to reach out over Richard's head, holding onto him as he was pulled off balance as Mary fell, then just as suddenly as she had disappeared, Mary reappeared, her blue silk bonnet knocked sideways and a scarlet arm encircling her shoulders as Colonel Fletcher cleared a path through the crowd. He moved before Sabrina and Richard, shielding them from wildly flailing elbows and fists that were spreading throughout the crowd as tempers flared in the crush.
"Hold onto my waist," he called over his shoulder. Sabrina gratefully grabbed his wide waist, hooking her fingers through his belt and holding Richard close under her other arm.
Colonel Fletcher's shiny boots stepped on toes and kicked up dust as he cleared an avenue of escape through the melee. Sabrina thought she heard the sound of a fist hitting a jaw once and a cry of pain before they quickly passed a crumpled form. Sabrina kicked out at unprotected shins as they passed, often making contact with satisfaction as she heard grunts of surprise. She took a deep breath of fresh air as they made the open, the colonel leading them clear of the battling foray behind.
"Thank you so much," Mary murmured faintly as the colonel looked down at her pale face. His arm tightened around her small waist protectively as he watched her with concerned eyes.
"Are you all right, Lady Mary?" he asked worriedly.
Sabrina glanced up sharply at his words. Since when had he been concerned about Mary's welfare? She watched them closely as Colonel Fletcher handled Mary like a piece of porcelain. He glanced up suddenly, encountering Sabrina's interested and slightly hostile gaze, and flushed.
"Where is your carriage?" he demanded.
"We came in a cart. Over there." Sabrina indicated their cart, and followed as Colonel Fletcher half carried Mary to it.
Richard jumped in and helped the colonel lift Mary in, although the way he held her so easily, Sabrina thought he'd need little assistance.
"You ladies should not have attended without proper escort," he told them angrily. "These fairs always degenerate into rowdyism and fisticuffs."
He turned from Mary, who had closed her eyes, and -stared accusingly at Sabrina. "I could scarce believe my eyes when I spotted you in the thick of things. You forget, Lady Sabrina, or are you more comfortable being called Charlie, that your sister and young brother are not quite up to your escapades, nor used to a certain element that you must come into contact with often. I thought I would never get them safely out of that crowd of ruffians."
"We are most grateful, Colonel Fletcher, but I for one have had enough of your company for the day," Sabrina told him coldly. "First you accuse me of being a highwayman, and now of mistreating my brother and sister. You go too far. Good day to you, sir."
"If you were under my command I would have had you whipped long ago," Colonel Fletcher said through gritted teeth as he struggled to hold on to his temper.
Sabrina smiled unpleasantly. "I have felt the lash, Colonel, and it only serves to strengthen my resolve not to be bullied by the likes of you."
The colonel looked surprised for a moment at the sudden blaze of hatred in her eyes that just as quickly died, but a tightness remained around her mouth that betrayed her deep feelings.
"I will escort you ladies home now," the colonel said, not waiting for the refusal he expected as he looked down at Sabrina's frown beneath the wide brim of her straw bonnet, daring her to contradict him.
Shrugging, she accepted his escort and climbed into the cart. They waited patiently while the colonel fetched his horse and left orders for his men.
"Are you going to arrest all of those people?" Richard asked in awe as the colonel rode alongside their cart.
"No, that would certainly cause a riot, they'll be suffering enough with sore jaws, so I think 111 let that be their punishment."
"How are you, Mary?" Sabrina asked softly, the colonel's criticism still stinging as she touched Mary's arm lightly.
Mary smiled tiredly. "Fine, Rina. I'm sorry I acted so silly, but all of those bodies pressing in on me—I just couldn't bear it any longer. Thank goodness Colonel Fletcher was there." She glanced up at him shyly as he rode alongside of them, his back straight as a board as he sat easily in the saddle.
"Keep your attention to the road ahead, Richard," Sabrina reprimanded him sharply as his eyes kept stealing up to the proud military figure in awestruck wonder, "or I shall think twice about letting you t
ake the reins."
Richard turned back to the road ahead, his hands firm on the reins. "I'm watching, Rina," he reassured her. "But did you see the way he cleared a path through that crowd?"
Colonel Fletcher glanced down at Richard's words. "When you're my size, Richard, you'll be able to push your way through a crowd too."
"Richard," Sabrina fumed inwardly. The colonel was certainly on friendly terms with her family, addressing them so informally, acting the uncle with Richard.
"Sabrina is going to teach me how to shoot now that I can see really good," Richard boasted. "She can shoot a pistol better than anyone."
"I'm sure she can, Richard. But then you've had a lot of practice, haven't you, Lady Sabrina?" Colonel Fletcher commented sarcastically.
Richard flushed, looking chagrined as he realized what he'd let slip out. He glanced up at Sabrina worriedly and received a reassuring smile, his frightened features relaxing.
They rode the rest of the way to Verrick House in an uncomfortable silence, and when they reached it the colonel followed them in uninvited as though he belonged there. Sabrina quickly excused herself and followed Richard upstairs. The colonel could just wait for that little talk he wanted.
"Please be seated," Mary told the colonel as they entered the salon.
"It would please me if you would call me Terence," he said softly, startling a blush across Mary's cheeks.
"R-really, Colonel, I know that I am grateful for your assistance at the fair, but before that you made some rather serious accusations against my sister which I really cannot forget, nor forgive," Mary spoke quickly, mixed emotions flickering on her usually serene face.
"I am sorry if I upset you, Mary," he said her name deliber-ately, "but I think it is about time that a man stepped in and took command of this household. Your sister has been running wild long enough. God knows it started that morning so long ago in the hills of Scotland with a loaded pistol in her hand. Can't you see that I want to help your family? You have no idea of the danger your sister is in each time she masquerades as Bonnie Charlie."
Moonstruck Masness Page 23