Chapter Six
Charles made his way down to the breakfast room the following morning. He was tired, having spent most of the night writing. He found his brother reading a newspaper from a pile to his left. He sat down and let the footman know he preferred coffee this morning.
“Good morning, Charles. I take it you had a productive evening?”
“Yes, I did, and I apologize for being absent for dinner.”
“Did you get a tray?”
Charles nodded. “Yes. It was nice to have a break. I usually don’t take any, but the food smelled too good.”
“I’m glad you liked it,” Arthur replied. “Have you plans for today? I thought we could ride the estate. I have a horse I think that will be perfect for you.”
“That would be nice. Can we look at that cottage you mentioned?”
Arthur nodded and smiled. “You don’t like your wing?”
“I do. I’m just not used to so much room with such magnificent furnishings. I’ve lived a fairly simple life.”
“Then we’ll ride to the cottage. There’s lots to see.”
A footman brought a plate filled with sausage, eggs, bacon, and buttered toast. A cup of coffee was set down as well. “This looks good,” Charles said. “And I’m sure there’s plenty to see.”
“More than we’ll be able to see today,” Arthur replied.
“I’m sure,” Charles said between mouthfuls. “Didn’t you say Roxanne and her husband live nearby?”
“Yes, they do. Neighbors.”
“Hmmm, that’s nice for her to be close by.”
“Yes, it is.”
Charles put down his fork and picked up a piece of toast. He slathered strawberry jam on it and took a bite. “How much is made here on the estate? I know the Stilton and cheddar are. What else?”
“There is much. It depends on the time of year. Jam like this, cheese, smoked meats. Mother would always give tenants a basket at Christmas filled with goods. She made sure they got a wheel of their favorite cheese and a goose for the holiday.”
“Do you carry on the tradition?”
“Yes, Daphne is looking forward to continuing what our grandmother actually started.”
“The tenants are going to love her.”
Arthur smiled. “They already do. She had me take her to meet them all after we married.”
Just then, a huge red setter came bounding into the room. Obviously, Arthur’s dog, as the beast sat down right next to his brother’s chair, his tail thumping the floor.
“This is Roddy. He’ll be joining us on our ride,” Arthur said. He petted the top of the dog’s head.
“He’s beautiful. He hunts?”
“No, he couldn’t get the hang of it. He tries, but he’s too interested in everything else around him. Thus, he’s my dog,” Arthur replied with a smile.
“He thinks a lot of you.”
“Actually, he’s hoping for a morsel.”
“Spoiled,” Charles replied, adding, “I will go put boots on. I’ll meet you in the main entry hall?”
“Yes, say twenty minutes?”
“I will see you then.”
Fifteen minutes later, Charles was waiting on his brother in the grand hall.
He noted there were vases of fresh flowers on the tables that were different from yesterday when they arrived.
He assumed they came out of one of the gardens.
He walked around the room as he waited on Arthur, which wasn’t long because the Irish setter came bounding into the hall, his hind legs coming out from under him because of the speed at which he was running.
Recovering quickly, he ran circles around Charles and bounded over to Arthur when he saw him.
“Shall we?” Arthur commented as a footman opened the front door.
At the bottom of the stairs, Arthur began leading them to the path that went to the stables.
Charles realized where he would have ended up yesterday if he’d chosen this path.
Moments later, as they walked, fencing began to appear.
Pastures and paddocks for the horses, depending on their needs.
As they neared the building, Charles noticed a groom with two horses tethered.
The boy was checking the saddles and other equipment one last time before he turned the horses over to them.
“The chestnut is the horse I was telling you about. He is solid, dependable, and well mannered.”
“He’s well-muscled and tall. How old is he? He looks like a youngster,” Charles replied.
“He’s five, I believe.”
“Good age.”
“Yes. Now like I told you, don’t feel obligated to him. If you still want to go to Tattersalls the next time we’re in London, we’ll go. There’s also a bay mare you might like if the chestnut doesn’t work for you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Charles replied as he stroked the chestnut’s neck before putting his foot in the stirrup and swinging his leg over the animal’s back. The groom came around and helped him adjust the stirrups and made double sure the saddle was well placed.
Arthur had already mounted and was walking the black stallion around waiting for Charles to finish.
Charles nodded he was ready, and the two began to walk next to each other down another path leading away from the stables.
Charles was amazed at how well maintained the stables were.
The ones on Wight he was familiar with needed repairs.
“Where to?” Charles asked.
“I thought we would ride through the meadow and then to the small lake nearby. After that, I’ll show you the orchards, and after we can ride to the cottage I was telling you about. It’s not too far from the orchards.”
“Lead the way.”
Charles followed his brother toward the meadow.
Roddy, the setter, would circle them before going off to some scent he’d picked up.
He watched as the dog took off from sight.
The horse he was riding didn’t seem to like the dog circling them.
Getting the animal to accept Roddy was a matter of the horse getting used to the dog being around. It would take time.
They made it to the edge of the meadow. His horse wanted to do something beyond walking or trotting. Arthur picked up on that.
“Would you care to canter across the meadow or at least part of it? I think the horses would like to stretch their legs.”
“Absolutely.”
Arthur urged his stallion into a canter with Charles and the chestnut following not too far behind. Roddy, in the meantime, was running at breakneck speeds.
When they slowed to a walk to give the horses a rest, Charles glanced up at the blue sky.
It was clear with only a couple of puffy white clouds floating by.
It was the perfect day to be riding. He wasn’t sure about what to expect from a ride with his brother.
It was obvious that Arthur spent a great amount of time in the saddle.
He sat a horse quite well. Almost like the two were one.
Charles hadn’t had a lot of opportunity to ride on Wight. Not that he hadn’t wanted to, it was simply the way things were, especially when he was younger. Perhaps now he would have time to learn a lot of new things.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Arthur asked.
“Learning new things. Improving my riding skills. I would also like to learn to drive a curricle or something similar. I was never given the opportunity.”
Shaking his head, Arthur spoke. “There’s no reason you can’t, if that’s what you wish. My stable master is the man who taught me. He has quite a way with horses. If you’re interested, we can talk to him later.”
“Yes, I would love that.”
“Come, the lake I was telling you about is just over that ridge, through the tree line.”
“Is there a path?”
“Oh, yes. Mother used to love coming here during the summer. Father would sometimes join her. Roxanne and I learned at an early age that that was their time together and we weren’t to bother them.”
“I understand,” Charles replied as he blew out a breath.
“What is it?”
“I missed out on so much being sent away. I never had a normal childhood because people didn’t understand me or didn’t want to.”
“I can’t say I understand what you had to accept as normal, but it seems unfortunate things couldn’t have been handled a bit differently.”
“My temper was a large part of the problem. If I got in a rage, there was no telling what I might do. Frazier’s the only one who was able to help me keep it under control.”
That was all true. Though Frazier had shown him ways to calm his temper, there were times when he had to go off by himself so he didn’t go off in a rage.
He never knew when it would happen or what would set him off.
Writing was just one of the things he learned to do during these times.
He could closet himself somewhere where he’d be alone, calm himself before returning to something he was in the middle of writing or making notes for an upcoming book.
He was never disturbed. Sometimes he would go to a particular tree in the woods, sit on the ground, and make notes in a notebook or just sit with his back against the tree trunk and close his eyes. Listen to nature.
His thoughts were interrupted by Arthur. “Are you all right?”
Charles brushed it off. “Yes, of course I am. Just trying to remember things.”
“Come, we’re almost there. After we’re done here, I’ll show you the cottage.”
Charles nodded. “Has the cottage ever been lived in?”
Arthur began walking his stallion toward the tree line. “The estate manager’s parents lived in it until they both died. It’s been sitting empty for about two years.”
“Two years?”
“The estate manager keeps it up. Sends men to clean up the outside and inside when necessary.”
Charles followed his brother, nodding in response to his questions.
The walk through the trees was short. On the other side, the sun was reflecting off a small body of water.
To one side, partially hidden by shrubs and trees, sat a small house made with a lot of glass, reminding him of a conservatory. Lots of windows meant lots of sunlight.
Dismounting the chestnut, Charles secured the horse to a small tree. He noted from the side Arthur doing the same exact thing while coming off his stallion quickly. He tethered the animal by himself. The only one who leapt around with not a problem was Roddy.