Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
“Oh! This way!” Alison pointed across the park at a small congregation of villagers. She could not see what they had gathered around, but that did not matter. “Come on, Lord Grayhill! While we are young!”
She hurried through the throng, glancing back over her shoulder as she went, thrilled to see the Earl skulking after her. His visage, one of contempt and frustration, as if this was beyond a doubt the worst moment of his life, made her smile
The worst moment of his life so far…
“Hurry!” she shouted at him. “We’re going to miss it.”
“Miss what, exactly,” he grumbled.
“I have no idea! But if we do not hurry, we won’t find out now, will we!” She laughed gaily, which only seemed to annoy him further, and then darted ahead.
“Lady Alison!” she heard him calling after her. “Will you slow down?”
She did no such thing. But that was the entire point. The Earl had no desire to be there, just as he knew he had no choice. Having announced himself as her protector until her family collected her, he was forced to follow her about and do as she wished.
And Alison, loving the feeling of being in control like this, relishing how much it frustrated the Earl, was sure to push the moment to its absolute limits. Was it petty of her? Undoubtedly. Did she care? Not one little bit.
It is so rare for me to be the center of attention like this, to be listened to, for my own wants and needs to be given precedence. Perhaps I should not be taking such delight as I am… but that it frustrates the Earl so much makes that darn near impossible to do.
“Oh!” Alison came to a stop once she reached the gathering crowd. “It’s a menagerie! Look!” She turned to see the Earl trudging after her. “Can you see!”
The day was a fine one, so much so that the clouds had parted and the sun shone down on the village fair.
Even the winds had ceased, making the day pleasant to be found in, and not nearly as cold as it could be when considering all the snow about.
Despite this, there was a storm gathering above the Earl as he came for her.
He knew what she was doing and why she was doing it.
And better still, there was nothing he could do to stop it. He was far too stubborn for that.
“Lovely,” he muttered as he reached her.
She flashed her eyes at him and turned back to the menagerie. In her arms she made sure to hold Pickle, figuring that the little terrier might not treat the animals nearly as kindly as the children were.
The menagerie was set up on a small clearing, using a white-picket fence to separate the animals from the people.
On the outside of the fence were the adults, while inside were the children who rushed between the various animals with cries of joy and unbridled enthusiasm.
The animals varied from deer to ponies to zebras and an array of colorful birds.
“I wonder how they managed to get so many animals,” she mused as she looked between them.
“Yes,” the Earl drawled with little enthusiasm. “How curious.”
She looked up at him, grinning from ear to ear to see him so put out. And better yet, the day had only just begun!
The Christmas Fair of Whitehaven was a continuation of the markets that Alison and her family had visited early last week; as this was Christmas, the markets extended across several days, growing as more people from the neighboring villagers and estates came to visit.
It was located on the main park at the village’s outskirts, a space twice the size of the Earl’s estate.
At one end were various markets and stalls, at the other were attractions such as a travelling theatre troupe who were still busying themselves setting up the stage for later in the day, and along the sides were where games and entertainment were hosted for the children…
and those adults who wished to participate.
The mood was merry and gay, as was so often the case this time of year.
Snow covered the field, but it mattered not because the hundreds of people about were rugged up and enjoying themselves such that the weather was not felt.
Warm mead was drunk by many. Steam from hot treats drifted through the air and smelled divine.
Christmas decorations hung from stalls and decorated trees and despite the ramble and chorus of the people, Alison could hear music coming from…
she could not tell. There was just so much going on!
“Come!” She took the Earl by the arm and dragged him back across the park.
“Where to now?” he groaned.
“No idea!” she cried. “But that is half the fun!”
When Alison had first insisted on attending the fair, she had done so to prove a point. And for the first thirty minutes of so, she was sure to test the limits of the Earl’s patience because oh, how she enjoyed beating him.
But as the day wore on, and as Alison found herself moving about the fair and visiting the stalls and watching the games and snacking on treats and getting lost in the revelry of the fair… what had started as exaggeration and purposefully antagonistic cheer turned very real.
“Look!” Alison had the Earl by the arm and was dragging him across the park. Perhaps it was not the smartest idea to hold onto him as she was, but she was too excited to think about that.
Besides… it wasn’t as if the Earl was trying to stop her.
“What is it now?” he groaned.
She rolled her eyes at his mood. Maybe she was being hopeful, but she thought she saw a smile trying to escape from his lips. That he was enjoying himself more than he let on but refused to admit it.
“A snowball fight!” She pulled him to an area by the edge of the park that was separated by a fence. On the other side was a man who Alison recognized to the be the mayor of Whitehaven, dressed in a colorful coat that was a tad garish but all in good fun.
“Wonderful.”
She scoffed loudly so he could see it and then went back to watching.
The snowball fight was yet to start, as the mayor announced it would begin once enough people had signed up.
He was a portly character with rosy cheeks and a pointed white beard, his smile jolly and his cadence joyful.
He beckoned to various people around the fence, trying to wave them over to join in.
And Alison, taken by the thrill, could not help but ask a question she already knew the answer to.
“Say…” she began casually. “Shall we –”
“I do not think so,” the Earl cut her off.
“Why not?”
The Earl wore an expensive coat. His scarf too, and his gloves and boots, just as rich. He folded his arms and cocked an eyebrow at her, the storm above his head growing so it might burst. “I will not dignify that with an answer.”
She puffed her cheeks out. “I am a guest, you know. And you promised –”
“To look out for you,” he cut over her again. “Which is what I am doing. But if you think I am going to involve myself in a snowball fight.” He scoffed. “After your theatrics last night, I figured your imagination to be the stuff of legend, but I had no idea just how bad it was.”
She furrowed her brow, figuring that she did not need his permission. In fact, she liked the idea of doing it without him agreeing. But before she got the chance to tell him as such, someone spoke from beside them.
“That’s a fancy looking coat!” the voice was high pitched and came from down low. “Looks darn regal.”
Alison blinked in surprise and turned to find a young boy looking up at them. He couldn’t have been older than ten, was dressed poorly, dirt on his cheeks and with messy blonde hair than fell over his eyes. But he wore a coy smile, cheeky in the way he used it to judge the Earl.
“Excuse me?” the Earl turned on the boy. He stood over him like an ogre, but the boy did not so much as blink.
“Can’t be blamin’ you for not wanting to get involved,” the boy continued. “Wouldn’t want that coat to get all dirty like. Probably cost more than me Ma makes in a year.”
The Earl blinked in surprise and looked around as if for help. “That is not… that is none of your business. Whoever you are.”
“Name’s Tommy,” the boy said with a wide smile. “Hopin’ that you don’t be getting involved, truthfully. I would hate to hurt ya.” He found Alison grinning and winked. “Bet the lady here don’t want to be leavin’ any bruises on ya either. Skin soft as yours probably is.”
It was the strangest thing. The young boy, brave and bold, was goading the Earl for no reason that Alison could tell. Likely, he just didn’t know any better. Likely, he was just the type who liked to see what he could get away with.
Alison looked between the Earl and the young boy, fully expecting the Earl to snap at him. No doubt, he had never been spoken to like that before. No doubt he wasn’t about to start now.
Only… Alison caught the Earl’s eyes and saw a flash of mischief behind them. Finally, the smile that had been threatening to break free from his lips all day reached them, and he narrowed his eyes at the little boy.
“Are you calling me a coward?”
“If the nice coats fits!” the boy cried.
“Right!” The Earl glared at the boy and then raised both eyebrows at Alison. “Just don’t think I’ll be taking it easy on you.”
She beamed. “Does that mean…”
“It means my honor has been questioned.” The Earl shrugged off the coat and threw it on the fence. “And I am not about to leave it to fend for itself.”
Alison laughed excitedly as she watched the Earl climb over the fence and approach the mayor. She found the boy grinning and winked at him. “That was either very brave or very stupid.”
“Can’t it be both?” he asked.
Alison was quick to join the Earl in the middle of the field, by which point another fifteen had hurried to see themselves a part of the games. The mayor then split them into two teams, and Alison elected to be on the opposite team to the Earl.
“Is that a challenge?” the Earl joked when she said as much.
“Me?” she shrugged innocently. “I just know that with you looking out for me, as you claim, you would not dare to attack me. Not even with a snowball.”