The hunt started off at the signal of the huntsman. Daphne noted that Lieutenant Charles strove to be among the leaders. Earlier she had observed that he had succeeded in downing three stirrup cups, which were generously filled with mulled wine. She and Giles started out near the end of the group as a result of still being engaged with well-wishers, so Daphne could see, to her surprise, that both Captain Hicks and Major Stoner chose to stay with the hill-toppers. She hoped that Catherine’s enthusiasm for banking would last the full day.
The hounds took some time to find the scent. When they did, the hunt took off after the sounding hounds. A few good jumps started to thin the field, as horses balked at various barriers or were turned aside by riders who doubted they could safely make the jump. Daphne was not surprised to see that Lieutenant Charles was the first to be thrown off as his horse stumbled on the first jump, but he was soon up again and riding recklessly to get to the front. Just after he passed Giles, his horse refused to jump a hedge at an ill-chosen place and Lieutenant Charles sailed unaccompanied over the barrier. Daphne saw him stand as she was about to rein in Serene after the mare had cleared the barrier, so Daphne gave the horse her head so that she would keep going.
Daphne was marveling at how smoothly Serene picked her way over the uneven ground and how effortlessly she seemed to skim over barriers. It occurred to her that she could have ridden side saddle, and then reflected that being accompanied by a genuine war hero probably meant that all her eccentricities would be forgiven by others. Serene was keeping up effortlessly with Dark Paul and would have passed him if Daphne had not made it clear to her mare that they were riding in company with Dark Paul and Captain Giles.
Dark Paul was giving Giles more of a problem. He suspected that the horse had not yet given up the idea of ridding itself of its rider, and he kept a tight rein and watched not only for safe lines to take over the rough ground but also for places where Dark Paul might try one of his stunts. So far, Giles was quite clearly doing the better in the contest and he was beginning to sense that Dark Paul was accepting that his rider had control and would keep it.
The hunt lasted a much shorter time than the previous one, the fox being not nearly as cunning, and so was much more easily run down by the dogs. Giles and Daphne were in on the kill and Lord David and Mr. Moorhouse were close behind. The foray to Salton Masham had clearly been a success in terms of their all obtaining satisfactory mounts.
Christmas was fast approaching. Earlier, Daphne had not planned anything special for the festival. Just a small dinner for Lord David, Mr. Moorhouse, the Bushes and her in-laws. A bit of decoration of the Hall with mistletoe and that would be enough to mark the occasion. Now Captain Giles was at home and she wanted a far more festive occasion. He had no objection.
Daphne made a list of those she knew, discovering that, when put together, it constituted a much longer group than she had expected. The various visits that the nearby ladies had paid to mark her marriage had increased her circle greatly. There were more than twenty families she really must invite and in many of them sons had returned for Christmas and daughters were present. In all, she would be planning a dinner for one hundred people. Could they accommodate them all? The answer involved the furnishing of Dipton Hall by Mr. Edwards about which she had paid no attention, for it was unthinkable at that time that she should ever have any responsibility for the running of Dipton Hall. Steves assured her that the large dining room could take that number though they would be hard pressed if more still were invited. In the end, not everyone who was could attend, but some houses had more people who would have to come than Daphne had counted on. She was horrified to realize that as a result of her enthusiasm for a festive occasion, she would spend dinner seated far away from her husband with him at one end of the very long table and her at the other. Steves resolved that problem by pointing out that, in his experience, with a very large table, it was not unusual for the host and hostess to sit in the middle of the table, the only remaining question of importance being who should sit opposite them.
That problem solved itself for Daphne when she received a note stating that her mother-in-law, Lady Clara, the Countess of Camshire, would be spending Christmas with them. Lydia had mentioned in a letter to her grandmother that there was going to be a huge dinner and that her Aunt Daphne had given her permission to invite Lieutenant Charles. The Earl Marquis had accepted an invitation to spend Christmas with one of his political cronies in Norfolk, and had seen no need for the Countess to join him. She shared that view completely. However, the prospect of a large gathering at Dipton, with both her sons there, made her wish to participate. In addition, also present would be several people whose company she had come to enjoy, despite their distinctly inferior rank. These considerations had led the Countess to decide to grace Dipton Hall with her presence.
Daphne realized immediately that the only possible person to sit next to the Countess must be her father. They had got along surprisingly well on previous occasions when they had met, and he seemed to have the diplomacy to keep her ladyship from going off on her high horse over some perceived slight. Having decided on the central part of the seating plan, Daphne turned the whole issue of precedence over to Catherine who seemed to have an interest in such things.
Steves was in his element. He added all the staff members of Dipton Manor to those of Dipton Hall and added a few other people from the village to help in the event. He also thought ahead to what would happen after the dinner, something that Daphne had, surprisingly not thought about. He hired a few musicians and had the ballroom both decorated and heated so that dancing could occur when dinner was finished. Daphne, on learning of this, made sure that Giles was aware that dancing would follow the dinner, and strongly hinted that she would not be pleased if the gentlemen lingered long over their port.
Mrs. Darling, the cook at Dipton hall was absolutely delighted that there would be a large Christmas feast. She had been a bit disappointed that the dinners at Dipton Hall were so modest when Captain Giles was away, giving her little chance to demonstrate the width of her knowledge and her ability to deal efficiently with huge groups. She planned remove* after remove for the dinner and badgered Steves to be sure that they were each served with the right sauce. She was able to persuade Mrs. Hancock, Mr. Moorhouse’s cook, to join her in the cooking, and indeed to do some of it at Dipton Manor, and she was able to call on the kitchen staff at Dipton Manor as well on the many wives of farmers and tradesmen in and around Dipton who had had earlier experience in service. If Mrs. Darling had her way, Dipton would never have seen such a festive feast before.
Christmas dawned bright, clear and cold. Giles and Daphne avoided much of the hub-bub involved in the servants getting everything ready for the evening’s events by taking a walk after luncheon to the location where the drainage project at which they first had met was now completed. But all too soon their ears started to freeze and they retreated to the warmth of Dipton Hall. There Elsie and Ralph, the footman who was acting as Giles’s valet, impatiently waited to dress the host couple before the guests arrived.
The first coach came about three in the afternoon; the short days, cold weather, and possibly treacherous roads made people eager to get to Dipton Hall early. Soon there was a steady stream of arrivals. Steves and Tisdale had arranged for the coachmen to be entertained in the servants’ hall at Dipton Manor where much food and very thin beer had been laid on so that they could stay warm while waiting to be called for the return trips.
No one seemed to mind that the time designated for the evening to start was more like tea-time than dinner-time. The guests mingled in the large drawing room, each one supplied with a chalice of mulled wine. As the numbers increased, the gathering spilled over into the small drawing room and then into other rooms where cheerful fires were blazing. Most people knew each other and many of the young people made a beeline to one of the smaller rooms where the men could compare the situations they had encountered since they left home and the women coul
d express admiration and surprise at these adventures.
Steves, his chest arched forward like a rooster’s, announced dinner. Giles led Daphne into the dining room followed by the Countess and Mr. Moorhouse. The other guests followed along, two by two, and if the order of precedence was not always what the participants thought it should be, Daphne could not be bothered about such details. The feast was indeed a feast and went on, remove after remove for over three hours. Talk was lively. It started out in the proper way of talking to the person on one side of the diner then switching to the person on the other. However, before long, conversations became more general, and the dining room became very noisy as voices were raised competitively so that they could be heard.
As the time approached for Daphne to lead the ladies out, Major Stoner, who was seated next to Lady Marianne a third of the way down the table, started banging on his glass with his knife, this apparently being the approved way of getting attention in the mess in India. “My Lords, ladies and gentlemen,” the Major declared. “A great many can recall their disappointment that Dipton Hall did not take its proper place of leadership in our community under the former owner. We suspected that it might change when Captain Giles allowed a ball to be held here. It became even more evident when he was able to win the hand of one of our own. It is now confirmed by this gathering. I would like to thank our host and hostess, and recognize how splendid it is to have them take their proper place among us. I give you Lady and Captain Sir Richard Giles.” The major raised his glass and the other guests rose to their feet and murmured, “Lady and Captain Giles.”
Daphne was not at all sure what the proper etiquette should be in a feast like this one, but she could tell, rather with amusement than with distress, that, by the look on the Countess’s face, Major Stoner’s performance was not the correct one. The Countess looked only a little less displeased when Giles rose to reply.
“I thank you for your kind words. I do not know many of you as well as I would like, and it may be some time before I do. Bonaparte, unfortunately, does intervene in what I would most like to do, and will continue to do so until we defeat him.” Murmurs of agreement from the military men present interrupted Giles at this point, but he pressed on. “I assure you that Lady Giles and I intend to play our proper part in this community.”
Giles sat down, and Daphne rose to indicate that it was time for the ladies to withdraw. This they did, as the men rose from their chairs to assemble around Giles. The port was poured once, and then again. The conversation was going well, but Giles remembered Daphne’s warning. He would certainly prefer talking to her than listening to these people.
“I think, gentlemen, that we should join the ladies. I understand that there is to be dancing and I am sure you all know how the ladies enjoy that.”
Giles and Daphne led the way onto the dance floor followed by Mr. Moorhouse and the Countess of Camshire. Others joined them in short order. After the initial dance with Daphne, Giles did his “duty” dances with his mother and his half-sister and his nieces. After that he refused to dance with anyone other than Daphne. Everyone seemed to have a good time and despite the early hour of the dinner, supper was served very late in the evening.
St. Stephen’s day* dawned cold and clear. It was, of course, the day on which most of the servants were allowed to go home or otherwise entertain themselves, with only a skeleton staff to deal with the needs of the gentry. Daphne had already made sure that all her servants would be rewarded for their service in the past year with extra payments and gifts of food or other items that would be most valued. As the houses of the gentry went, Dipton Hall experienced a minimum of inconvenience, since many of their staff had come from London when the Earl Marquis of Camshire had closed his London House and were quite content to have their time off on some other occasion. Almost everyone remained indoors, but Giles and Daphne were restless and got a stable boy to saddle their hunters so that they could have a brisk ride over the frozen fields. Giles once again was forced to show Dark Paul who was in charge, when the horse took the opportunity of a loose rein to swerve violently on landing from a jump, an attempt that was easily frustrated by his rider since Giles had planned the maneuver to see if the stallion would still try to establish his dominance.
The weather remained cold and clear for the next few days. Daphne and Giles spent much of the time working on Mozart sonatas, interrupted by short walks and longer rides. After the third expedition on their hunters, in which Daphne had taken the lead somewhat to Dark Paul’s distress, Giles remarked. “Serene has a lovely smooth gait and jumping style. I would really like to see the estate where you got her. I have always been curious about where trained horses come from, even as a boy at Ashbury Abbey. I would enjoy going over to – what is it called?”
“Salton Masham Grange. I would enjoy seeing the stables again. Let’s do it.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes, tomorrow, and we might as well ride the hunters to get more used to them.”
It was a pleasant journey to Salton Masham. Giles had never been on the road past Ameschester and had never paid much attention to what lay between Dipton and Ameschester. Even in the depth of winter with snow on the ground, he found any number of pleasing vistas and was constantly remarking on the estates they were passing. He pointed out many things that Daphne, who had known the area since she was a child, had long since ceased to notice. She found that there was much more to admire and enjoy than she had been anticipating when they left Dipton Hall to go to Salton Masham.
Salton Masham Grange lay in a valley and presented a pretty picture as the two riders topped a ridge to see it lying before them. Giles paused and pointed out the features of the landscape to Daphne such as the way the house was positioned with gardens to one side and the stables to the other, with vistas stretching to the stream that flowed through the valley, and the horse paddocks giving way to fields that in turn gave way to the woodland that climbed to the next ridge. Daphne was enthralled, as much by the enthusiasm with which Giles pointed out the features as with the view itself. She had, on her previous visits, simply ridden past the view-point, hastening to get to her destination. Plumes of white smoke rose from several of the many chimneys of the house, but their location suggested that they came from the kitchens rather than from the family’s rooms. Smoke also rose from the corner of the stables which was occupied by Mr. Griffiths’s office. Following their guess that the master of the estate was not in residence, Giles and Daphne proceeded directly to the stables.
Mr. Griffiths came out of the stable block to greet them, “Lady Giles, how do you find Serene? I heard that you were in at the kill in the last hunt.”
“Yes, indeed. She is a marvelous horse, Mr. Griffiths. This is my husband, Captain Giles.”
“An honor, sir. An honor. That must be Dark Paul you are riding. You are, I am told, the first rider to keep your seat on him throughout a hunt.”
“What do you mean?”
“You probably haven’t heard, but he has succeeded in ridding himself of anyone who tried to take him over the jumps before you. Not just Lady Giles – and that hardly counts since she was trying to ride him side-saddle -- and Lord David, but everyone who tried to ride him for his former owner as well. I am afraid that your man who bought him for you knew good horseflesh, but was not aware of the stories about how horses perform which circulates among those of us who follow hunting closely.”
“Dark Paul certainly has tried several times to unseat me. So far I have been able to show him who is in charge and he is starting to accept me. Now, Mr. Griffiths, Lady Giles tells me that you are willing to let us look over the stud farm.”
“With pleasure, sir. It is, I believe, an excellent operation, though the present owner has no real use for it.”
Giles showed a keen interest in all aspects of the farm as Mr. Griffiths showed the various features to them and detailed his methods for breeding and training horses. Daphne was surprised. She hadn’t known that this was an intere
st of her husband’s. She realized that there were still many things about him that she had yet to discover. She hoped that they would prove to be as pleasant as those she already knew.
When the tour of the stables had been completed, Giles turned to Mr. Griffiths and said, “I understand from Lady Giles that the stud farm here will be closing.”
“Yes, sir. The new owner has no interest in horses, I am afraid. Everything is for sale except the stables and, of course, the land. I do not know how much he wants for it. Lady Giles can tell you more than I can about the business side of the farm. She looked at the accounts and got far more understanding from them than I ever have.”
This statement produced a red face from Daphne, who had not told her husband about how she studied the monetary aspects of the venture. Giles only gave an interested glance at Daphne, before pushing ahead.
“I understand that the owner is away at present.”
“Yes sir, Mr. Audley has been away for Christmas, but I expect him back by New Year’s Day. Certainly before Twelfth Night*.”
“Do you have a big celebration on Twelfth Night, Mr. Griffiths?” asked Daphne.
“Oh, no, my lady. Quite the opposite. Mr. Daniel would stand for no frivolity in the servants’ hall, ever. Mr. Charles feels much the same. He will be returning so that he doesn’t have to endure Twelfth Night festivities wherever he may be spending Christmas.”
Daphne and Giles then took their leave. By mutual agreement they stopped for tea in Ameschester.
“I didn’t know that you knew so much about horses, Richard,” Daphne opened the conversation.
“Yes. My father was very keen on race horses, especially for the jump races, both to own them and, even more, to bet on the results. He was equally unsuccessful at each endeavor, just as in most of his ventures. But when I was growing up, there were always hunters and race horses in the stables and our stableman was quite knowledgeable. I will have to tease Edwards when I see him about getting fooled over Dark Paul, but the way the horse is shaping up, the laugh may be on those horse traders who thought they had pulled one over his eyes. I was surprised to learn that you had examined the accounts.”
A Continuing War_At Home and at Sea, 1803-1804 Page 19