Page 3 of The Burning Passion of a Fiery Lady
Jasper grinned. “I have seen many like it, but you are right, David. Itismagnificent.”
“It is compensation,” said David, grinning as well. “For having to stay so long here, I suppose.” He rolled his eyes a little, but he was still smiling good-naturedly.
Jasper contemplated the house. They were getting closer; he could see the high battlements, grey against the pale blue sky. He had heard that the house had once been a castle, centuries ago; that it had been an outpost in the wilderness, where the English tried to control Welsh marauders. Legends surrounded it of battles fought on its grounds, of the daring feats of knights and the like. He mused that all ancient houses had such legends.
David was right. The magnificent house might be compensation, surrounded by wild mountainous forest, for having to stay so long in the area. They had been employed not only to break in a new colt the good widow had bought but to retrain all the other horses she had in her stables. It would be an extended assignment.
He briefly wondered why the widow didn’t have a horse master, or a groom if she had horses already, but it wasn’t his place to question, was it? He was merely employed to do a job, as always. A job that he could lose himself in. When he was surrounded by horses, and he was working on training them, it was the closest thing to heaven that he had ever encountered.
“Whyarewe staying so long here?” continued David, staring at him intently. “It’s not like you need the money, after all …”
Jasper sighed, adjusting himself on the saddle again. “It’s not about the money, David. You know that. I work with horses because I love to work with them. It gives me a good occupation …”
“Yes, but you could just hang around the horses in your parents’ stables, couldn’t you?”
Jasper sighed again. How could he explain properly to the young man when he didn’t even really understand the reasons himself?
Yes, his parents were wealthy landowners, with good acreage just outside the old town of Shrewsbury. He didn’t have to work for his living, at all. He could be an idle gentleman, his days filled with calls to neighbouring properties, and hunting and fishing, just like all the young men who had grown up alongside him. But he had never been satisfied with the life of the country squire, finding it boring and pointless.
Horses had always been his passion, and he had watched the various horse masters on his parents’ property over the years keenly. It had fired his soul to see how a horse could be tamed, made malleable and obedient, when once it had been wild and spirited. He had watched, and he had learned. An old horse master, Griggs, had taken him under his wing, imparting all his secrets of the trade.
“You have the gift,” Griggs had told him, one day. “Not many have it, lad. It takes skill, but it also takes intuition to tame a horse properly.”
His parents hadn’t been pleased, of course. They had argued that it wasn’t appropriate, in the least, for their heir to be gallivanting around the countryside, as a paid hand, training horses. But by that stage, he was barely listening to them. The urge to be away from Sandgate Lodge, and his old life, was like a fire boiling through his veins.
It had been too hard being there. With the ghosts of his previous life – the life that he had dared to dream might be his– crowding around him, invading his mind, sending him crazy …
The Willows was almost upon them. But his previous admiration of the property had fled, now, buried beneath the weight of painful memory. The memory of the betrayal. It had spurred him on, unfurled his wings; he just couldn’t stay at Sandgate Lodge, not for a minute longer.
And now, here he was, months later. He and his apprentice had gone from job to job, on country properties, in Shropshire and surrounding counties. All of them eventually leading them here, to this backwater part of England, that might as well be called Wales.
“Have you heard anything about her?” asked David now. “The Widow Drake?”
Jasper shrugged. “Not much. Just that she is dripping in coin since her husband died.” He smiled slightly. “Probably fat, fifty, and bitter, my friend. Her life over, now that her husband is gone, and just filling in the gaps. I have seen many widows like it over the years.”
David laughed. “A virago? I have seen many like it, too …”
Jasper laughed as well. “Let us just hope that the virago leaves us to it. It is always irritating when the owners try to interfere too much. They just get in the way.”
The high, wrought iron gates to the property were upon them, now. They rode through them, past the main entrance to the estate, towards the back, where Jasper knew the stables would be located. As they passed by, he thought he saw a slight twitching of a curtain from an upstairs window.
***
The housekeeper was waiting for them as they rode into the servants’ quarters at the back of the house. At least Jasper assumed she was the housekeeper – she was dressed like one, in a plain, severe gown, with a crisp white apron. He spied the large bunch of keys hanging from a chain at her waist. Her golden hair was swept up in a tight bun at the top of her head.
But as they got closer to her, he noted that she was young; far younger than most housekeepers he had ever encountered. They were usually older women, who had worked their way up the ladder in their households. But the woman smiled slightly, drawing herself up into a straight line, with an air of authority.
“Mr Stone?” she called.
He nodded, drawing the horse alongside her. He dismounted quickly, as did David.
“I hope you have had a pleasant journey,” she said in a clipped tone. “Welcome to The Willows. I am Mrs Lambert, the housekeeper here.”
Jasper nodded again. “A pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Lambert,” he said, staring at the woman. “Jasper Stone. And this is my apprentice, David Bragg.”
She inclined her head slightly. Jasper saw that David looked a little gobsmacked. He hadn’t been anticipating such a young, pretty housekeeper either, apparently.
“If you would both follow me,” she continued. “I will take you straight to the stables. The colt arrived only an hour ago …”
