“Excuse me?”
“Destiny,” Glynis repeated, putting a small furrow between her brows, as though he could not keep up with her straightforward conversation. “Destiny seems to me to be an enchanting and eminently suitable name for a horse.”
Mr. Shaun Fletcher shifted his weight to his other leg and tipped his head, assessing her. “You came down here, you put on your boots and gloves and coat to come down here, to discuss a horse's name with me?”
Glynis pulled back and stood ramrod straight to her full height. “Of course not! That would be ridiculous.”
Mr. Shaun Fletcher opened his mouth as if to speak, but thought better of it.
“My mistake,” he finally said. “But if you had, I'd be game. My niece Cheryl can talk about naming horses all the day long. And whenever I visit my sister, there's Cheryl, ready with the horse books and we pour through them, thinking up names for them all.”
“Well, I am hardly a girl, Mr. Fletcher.”
“No? Well, you're not the crone you pretend to be, either.” And wasn't there the slightest snap to his voice?
“Excuse me?”
“You run Drakenfall. I get it. You know everything and you're in charge and I've never in my life worked for a place so top-notch and ship-shape. Well done. But any time I try to talk to you about things we both might have done or heard or seen, in our teens or our twenties or thirties, you get right up onto your high horse as though you're decades older than me and we can't possibly share any common ground. Forget the fact that you're the house manager and I'm the yard manager and we might have something to talk about right there.”
“Mr. Fletcher, I am fifty-two years old.”
“And I'm forty-seven.”
Glynis nodded once with precision, as though he had made her point for her, which she deemed he had. “So you see, we're not as close as you seem to think.”
“We're hardly generations apart. Five years might have been a big gap when you were twelve and I was seven, but not now. You know,” he said, taking a step closer to her and lowering his voice. “I spend a lot of time wondering why you don't want to talk to me.”
“I … I have more grey hair than you,” she answered.
He stood there, considering her. “You have more hair than I do, full stop.” He peered at her chignon. “As for how much silver is threaded through the gold, you'd have to let it down for me to get a good look and judge properly.”
“You would JUDGE how much grey is in my hair?”
“Only because you brought it up.”
“Mr. Fletcher!”
“Truth is, Ms. Ferry, I'd talk to you about your hair if you wanted to. Or horse names. I'd talk about anything with you if you wanted to.”
At that, Glynis's eyes grew wide and she stepped back.
Fletcher shook his head.
“So many of the lads are quite a bit younger than I am. The older ones have families back in the village or right here on the estate, so our worlds are also very different. I was hoping to find in you a … a kindred spirit.”
“A kindred spirit?”
He smiled and … did he blush the faintest bit? “That's what Cheryl calls us. Me and her, I mean. Kindred spirits.”
“She likes to read, Cheryl? More than just horse books?”
“That she does.”
Glynis nodded. “I think we're all kindred spirits here at Drakenfall.”
“I hope to be,” he said quietly.
“Oh, Mr. Fletcher, you are. The stables have never thrived like they have in just the short time you've been here. Mark and Maisy had all the wonderful ideas, but it took you to make them come to life.”
“Well,” he said, brushing aside the compliment. “It's not hard, doing good work here. It's as though the very soil, the land itself, is … good. Safe. Strong.”
“It wasn't always like that,” Glynis murmured, remembering the first baron. Remembering Mark's cold and robotic father. “But Mark and now Maisy … the love they've brought to the place. It makes all the difference.”
“Love does,” he agreed quietly.
“Like with you.”
“With me?” he squawked.
“Yes,” Glynis affirmed. “You and the horses. In all my days working at Drakenfall, I've never known a head groom to love the horses as you do.”
“Taking care of the Drakenfall horses,” he murmured. “Quite a job.”
Glynis smiled at him then. “But it's not just the horses. It's the way you are with the lads, getting the best work out of them and making them so happy to work. And the guests. You seem to know just how to handle each one. That's what Mark said about you when he hired you. How good you were with the horses, and with the people who dealt with the horses.”
“You're right,” he said, nodding. “About love making the difference. I love the horses so much. You can be damn sure I'm going to be very careful about how I let people treat them.”
“So Mark's Alair was left in your very good hands.”
Those dark eyes looked right into her again. Then he smiled and looked away. “For a time,” he said, nodding. “Until I moved on, a few years later. But the yard manager who came in after me was really good, too.”
Glynis smiled as she felt herself blush. She had been so foolish! Shaun Fletcher wasn't here because he was her destiny. He was here because of the horses.
“What's because of the horses?” he echoed.
Oh, dear! Had she said THAT out loud, too? What WAS the matter with her?
“No,well, I mean, because of the snow … and the horses.”
“The snow and the horses … what?”
“Right, sorry. I'm expressing myself badly.”
“Is that what you're doing?”
Glynis stood tall and cleared her throat, all business. “I'm talking about tomorrow. That's what I came down here for. I need to make an important trip into the village tomorrow. Final groceries for the party and last-minute Christmas baking. I was wondering with the weather coming in whether we might not have the sleigh into Tippingstock to pick up all the shopping.”
“We?”
“Well, just me.”
Mr. Shaun Fletcher went to the schedule on the wall. “No guests arriving tomorrow.” He looked up at Glynis. “So yes.”
Chapter 13: Kafi's Grand Scheme
At 5:15 that afternoon, Maisy almost fell right off her chair, so perched on the edge of the seat was she as she listened to Kafi. His plan wasn't only remarkable, but it was specific and precise and worked out down to the last detail. Well, almost the last detail.
“So that's why Mr. Tovell is here,” Kafi explained. “And why he brought Lea Sinclair. She doesn't know yet. The presentation is meant to persuade her.” He cocked a brow but chose not to speculate about Jamie Tovell's possible other motives for meeting Lea Sinclair at Drakenfall for Christmas. “As far as I know,” he offered with a smile.
Mark stood up and shook the young man's hand. “Maisy and I will pour over all your paperwork and details much more carefully, but if it all supports everything you've been saying, Drakenfall would be more than proud to be a part of all this. I've got to run, now. But let me just say again, Kafi, good show. Jolly good show.”
“Please don't tell Pippa.” Kafi and Maisy both said this at once.
Mark paused for a second, but decided he didn't have time to consider the synchronicity of the request. “Right.” And Mark was off, the smile glowing in his eyes.
Kafi turned to Maisy. He furrowed his brow. “I know why I said it. But why did you say that?”
“I was just thinking about what a wonderful Christmas gift it would be for Pippa. She's seemed a bit down about the holidays.” And Maisy seemed a bit down herself when she said this.
Kafi nodded, his forehead still creased. “I'm glad you think so.”
And did Kafi look … bashful as he spoke? And Maisy was struck with her second epiphany of the day.
Kafi was doing this all because of Pippa.
Kafi and Pippa! How incredibly wonderful! And what of Pippa? How did she feel about Kafi? Maisy considered. Maybe it wasn't Mark Pippa was pining for, after all, but Kafi.
Kafi took a seat and leaned in close to her. “Maisy. Could I ask your help on another matter?”
Maisy's smile lit up her whole face. “Tell me.”
“I want … I want … I want to make the magic happen for Pippa this Christmas.”
“Make the magic happen?” Maisy squeaked. “Do you mean—is that some euphemism for—”
And Kafi reared back at that, scraping his chair against the floor. “No! Maisy! I mean … Pippa was talking the other day … about Fletcher and his sleigh. And about Cyril and his snow angels in the front garden. She was talking about the magic of Christmas. And … I just got the idea that she didn't feel … a part of it. So I want to try to make the magic happen for her. Create some Christmas moments for her. Do you think you could help me? My exams are finished now, so I'll have more time. But I might need help with … supplies … or … access.”
And he looked at her with such hope that there was no possible way Maisy could have said no. Not that she would have wanted to. Pippa was surrounded by love and magic, and Maisy could think of no more enchanting way to spend the Christmas season than helping Pippa see that, like George Bailey, she really did have a wonderful life.
Chapter 14: Canoodling?
Glynis woke up in the mostly dark again. But she was not writhing and sweating in her sheets. No. This morning her eyes opened from the dream and she lay still. The images from the night resounded with their portents of sadness. Of a desolation brought about by a love given insufficient attention.
Glynis shivered, then shook herself.
Was Drakenfall's woeful history really the fault of one not pursuing love with enough resolution? After all, what else but misery should anyone have expected from such a barony? Drakenfall and the title had been bestowed by the nefarious Charles to appease a vengeful father. The king had taken the man's daughter as a mistress and she rather quickly and carelessly died in a riding accident. Her death passed with no pomp or circumstance, but with a mere hiccup of inconvenience for Charles. He'd had the angry father quieted, well, in fact, killed, but he made his dead mistress's brother the first Baron Shiley with lands he'd seized from disloyal farmers.
Glynis sighed. Thinking on the black history of the place made it all the more difficult to credit that Mark had ever made something constructive and thriving out of Drakenfall. But the charm of the place had not only succeeded as a constructive enterprise for the village and for all who worked and lived at the estate, but it had drawn Maisy to Mark. Oh, that woman had a gift for trouble-shooting and for highly efficient resource management. Mark had always known what pieces he'd wanted to comprise the great estate. And he knew what he wanted the final picture to look like. He even knew how to make the disparate parts dovetail into his coherent vision. But Maisy ... Maisy knew the quickest, most efficient, most streamlined ways to make the whole machine of Drakenfall zip and sing. And she always made it such ripping fun.
Glynis rolled over in bed, deciding to go back to sleep with such pleasant thoughts in her head. For indeed, she could not keep waking up so early every day. With such a schedule, she would look a frightful zombie by the December twenty-third Christmas Ball. Her nerves would be so frayed and disjointed that it would be anyone's guess as to what she might put in either the punch or the Christmas socks. No, she needed her rest.
But then she heard it. The squeak of the kitchen door bolt as someone shot it back and let themselves out. No. Someone didn't go out. Someone came in. Someone had let someone else in. Was it Shaun Fletcher? Had Cook let him in? But it was early yet even for exercising the horses. And she hadn't seen any hooves outside her window.
Glynis crept out of bed and for the second day running, she slipped into her furry slippers and plush robe before she hurried soundlessly into the passage leading to the kitchen. She was just in time to catch Maisy leaving the kitchen with Kafi skulking in her wake.
Maisy and Kafi? Sneaking around Drakenfall in the wee hours? That was decidedly odd. Glynis could see them make their way further down the passage and … had they paused? Yes. They bumped their heads together and said something so softly that Glynis could not make it out, but she could hear soft giggling.
What? Maisy and Kafi sneaking around … and … and … canoodling?!
No. Of course not. They were giggling, that was all. With their heads pressed close together. In a dark corner by the stair. Surely, they were merely up to something and did not want to wake the entire household. But what were they up to? Did Mark know?
Of course!
Mark.
Maisy must need some assistance to arrange a surprise for Mark for Christmas, and she'd enlisted Kafi to help her make it happen. That must be it.
Chapter 15: Hello Kitty
It was almost noon when Kafi looked at the key in his hand. He looked back up at the lock. Should he really be doing this? Should they? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea.
“Oh!” Maisy cried. “I forgot the blankets! They're crucial.” She looked quickly up at Kafi. “Why don't you go in, bring in all the boxes, and I'll be right back.”
“Hurry up.” Kafi was anxious enough that he didn't pad the words with any pleasantries.
Maisy climbed into the Rover and sped back to the main house.
Kafi sighed, staring at the door to Pippa's flat in the estate cottage. Kafi had felt okay about sneaking into Pippa's place when Lady Shiley was with him, but now? Alone?
But then again, they had only a very short window until someone would come back to the cottages and see them. And then the surprise would be ruined. Pippa was meant to come home to her suddenly secretly decorated flat so that the unexpected infusion of Christmas cheer would chip away at some of the frost around that big heart of hers.
A gust of wind kicked up, sending shards of icy snow down his collar. He better just get in and get started so he and Maisy could get done. They weren't going to open any drawers or cupboards or closets. They were just going to drape and festoon some surfaces with Christmas blankets, Christmas candles, boughs of holly … hang some mistletoe.
Kafi put the key in the lock. He picked up one of the boxes, twisted the key with one hand, and pushed the door open with his shoulder.
“MROW!”
The screech had Kafi jumping back just in time to see a cat race out through Pippa's door into the snow. The beast seemed disoriented and stopped suddenly, prancing in a circle, arching its back. Kafi pushed the door open wide and stepped away. “Here, kitty kitty,” he said. “Just go back inside where it's warm and dry.”
The cat hissed at him.
“Here, kitty kitty,” he crooned again.
Kafi heard a soft meow behind him and turned around. Another cat stood just inside the door of Pippa's flat.
TWO of them? Pippa had two cats? Kafi hadn't even known she had ONE.
“No, no,” he said. “Stay in there. He put out his hand like a bobby at a traffic crossing, trying to hold off the second cat from coming out.
The cat already outside jumped up out of the cold wet snow. VERTICALLY. The cat jumped straight up in the air! Kafi yelped and the cat inside bolted out, heading straight for the other cat. The first cat shot off around the side of the cottage and the second cat followed. “Hey!” Kafi dropped the box and chased them both. But when he rounded the corner, they were nowhere to be seen. He followed their footprints, but sure enough, they disappeared into the copse of gorse bushes and yew trees behind the cottages.
Oh, God! He'd let out Pippa's cats! Would they come back? Kafi tried to think if there were any winter predators in the Cotswolds that might endanger the cats. Foxes? Were there winter foxes? Did foxes attack cats?
Oh, God. He thought about Maisy and how much she loved her dogs. Loved loved loved her dogs. So much of Maisy's life at Drakenfall hinged on the happiness of those hounds of hers.
&nb
sp; Pippa was going to KILL him. He might have just ruined her Christmas. And if he couldn't get her cats back, Christmas would always be a miserable memory reminding her of the time she'd lost her beloved cats.
“Kafi!” Maisy had just driven up and she must have seen the door to Pippa's flat gaping open.
Gaping open! What if there were more cats inside and they'd escaped, too?
Kafi ran back to Pippa's front door. “Oh, Maisy. I've ruined everything.”
Chapter 16: A Bracing Ride
About an hour after breakfast, Jamie found Lea sitting in the library, staring into the fire. She was surrounded by all manner of literary delight. But she just watched, enraptured, as the flames danced and died and shot back up again.
“Oh.” She started out of her reverie as she noticed him standing by her chair. “Shall we sit at the table and get down to business?”
“What? No, of course not. Have you looked out the window? The sun's not too bright, but enough to make the world sparkle. I'm off to go riding. I came to see if you wanted to join me.”
“Join you? Leave this fire to go get all cold and wet? Are you insane?”
“Oh, come on. A good, brisk, bracing ride on such a beautiful morning?”
“Why do British people say 'bracing' when they just mean crazy cold?”
“Dear me,” Mrs. Stockleton entered the room with a displeased look etched into her features. “Not enjoying our English winters?” She looked Lea up and down. “I guess you prefer more … tropical weather.”
Lea smiled as she got up and headed toward the bookshelves. “You know, I bet they have the book Bambi. Thumper's mother has something so interesting to say to Thumper. I'd love to read it out loud.”
“Now,” said Jamie coming up behind her and snaking his arm around her waist, making her jump. “Forget the book. Let's go back upstairs and have sex.”
And Lea burst out laughing.
“Come on,” he said, dragging her out of the library and into the hall, where they both erupted into fits of laughter.
A Drakenfall Christmas: A Novel Page 6