Chapter 21 #2
Alison noticed the villagers watching them with curiosity. No doubt they were surprised to see the Earl behaving in such a friendly manner, as they had never seen such a thing before.
She could not help but smile at him. Her eyes twinkled, and her heart swelled. This was the Daniel that she was getting to know. The same who had spoken such kind and honest words to her earlier today.
And as sad as it was to say, this was the Daniel she was sure to miss once she returned home…
“… never thought I’d see the day,” Alison heard two ladies speaking from the neighboring stall. They were preparing tarts, and the smell was wonderful.
“Same here,” one of them agreed. “I’ve lived here all my life, never once seen him so much as smile. Let alone join in, like this.”
“Someone ought to check what he’s been eating,” the first lady agreed. “Likely, he’s been poisoned.”
“Maybe I should give whatever he’s had to my husband,” the other joked. “Might see him stop being such a cold lump of cow dung.”
Alison laughed to herself, knowing they were speaking of Daniel. She glanced at Daniel, noticing that he heard them too, just as she noticed the smile he wore.
“You hear too, how he’s hosting his whole family for Christmas dinner?” one of the ladies continued, a little too loudly.
“Is that right?”
“That’s right. Don’t know how his sisters can stand it, truth be told. After what he did – sold ‘em off like cattle.”
“Maybe he wants to apologize? It is Christmas.”
“Apologize?” the woman scoffed. “Try not doing it in the first place. Then you don’t have to apologize. No, no…” She shook her head to herself. “The best apology is one you don’t have to make in the first place. That’s what I always say.”
Alison glanced at Daniel and saw the immediate change in his posture. His face was sullen, his body was turned stiff, and a storm gathered over him the likes of which she had not seen in weeks.
She knew a little of his sisters, just as she knew little of what he had done. What she had not considered was how this gossip might affect Daniel, and it so clearly played havoc with his conscience.
Is that why he is so distant? Guilt felt over what he did to his sisters? Surely not…
“If I was them, I would stay far away,” the woman was saying rightly. “And I’d be glad to do it.”
Alison did not have time to consider the grander implications of what the two women were saying. As things stood, she saw the Earl’s mood plummeting, and Alison was desperate to reverse it. She wanted him to enjoy himself, just as she wanted these last few days to be perfect.
With that in mind, she looked about the village square and came up with a most wicked idea.
“Tommy!” she called to Tommy who was playing with Pickle just across the way. “Tommy!” she hissed, catching his eyes.
He ran to her, Pickle nipping at his heels. When he came close enough, she ducked around the stall and whispered in his ear her plan.
“You sure?” Tommy asked her, leaning back in surprise.
“Deadly sure,” she said with a wicked grin.
With the plan made, Alison went to Daniel who had since stopped stirring. He still had the bowl in his arm, but his stare was distant, and the storm raged over his head so that it threatened to drown him.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
He blinked in surprise when he heard her. “Oh, I was… just thinking, it might be time to leave soon.”
“I agree.” She rested her hand on his arm. “Before we do, do me a favor will you? Watch Tommy for a moment.” She grinned mischievously and Daniel frowned.
“Tommy? What are you…” He looked over her shoulder and his eyes widened. “Alison, what have you done?”
“Me?” she gasped in shock. “Nothing. Yet.”
She turned with Daniel, finding Tommy who was just now making his way to the neighboring stall. He had Pickle in his arms and the look on his face was pure menace.
“Hey there,” he said to the two women behind the counter. “This smells good! What ya makin’?”
“Tarts,” one of them said as Tommy gingerly leaned over to snatch at one. “But they won’t be ready for an hour yet. Go on…” She waved him away. “You’ll know when.”
“Fine,” he sighed as if he meant to leave. Only then, he caught Alison’s eyes, and she nodded once. He grinned, wagged his eyebrows, and that was when he unleashed Pickle. “Oh no!”
To Tommy’s credit, he made it look like an accident.
The way he tripped up and launched Pickle onto the counter, right into the tray of tarts that were cooked and cooling in the winter breeze looked entirely innocent.
Pickle, never one to say no to a free meal, did not hesitate to do as dogs did. That being, causing mayhem.
“Pickle!” Tommy cried out, pretending to try and grab the little terrier. “No!”
“Argh!” one of the women screamed. “Get that dog off!”
“Away!” the other cried. “Away!”
Pickle dodged the woman’s swinging hands as he attacked the tray of tarts.
Then, the little guy leapt down the counter as one of the women tried to grab at his leg.
This saw more tarts fly in the air, more ingredients sent sprawling, and soon the stall was a mass of limbs and food and screaming women as Pickle yelped, ate, and had the best time of its life.
The commotion was heard by all those in the square, which saw them rush toward the stall. Not that anyone tried to help the two women, happy to point and laugh at the chaos and mess that was made.
And it was a mess too. By the time that Pickle leapt down from the counter and trotted toward Alison, wearing a pleased smile on its face, the stall that had previously been baking tarts looked as if a hurricane had blown through it.
The women were covered in food. Their faces were red and their hair was messy.
And the laughter that sang from those watching was such that Alison could not remember a time she had laughed so hard in her life.
She turned then to find Daniel, wondering what his reaction would be.
He was not laughing like everyone else. Rather, he was watching her, a curious frown on his lips, a knowing glimmer in his eyes. He indicated the stall, she shrugged as if she did not know what he was asking, and he shook his head as his smile grew.
“Shall we go?” she asked once her laughter died down.
“Only if you want to,” Daniel said back.
“I think it’s time…” She reached out with his hand, and he did not hesitate to take it. “My work here is done.”