Solitude in the study

Once cleaned up and changed he strode down the hall to his study, the dark wooden desk once his father's, now his, sat waiting for him.  Ledgers just as he'd left them the day before, quill ready to be picked up by his hand.  He kept meticulous accounts of his spending, every sou for even the smallest bit of grain he fed his horses.  Sunlight streamed through the windows of the early afternoon sun, now would be a good time to work, not needing to waste any candles on light.  His Valet would have his tea ready soon and he could work in peace... away from the girls.  He valued his privacy, if they were to be outside, then he would be inside.  He stepped over to the window and looked out, the two figures still out in the yard where he'd left them, basking in the sun. "Foolish, they won't be as pale as they should and will waste powder." he offered a tisk at the end of his grumpy statement.  He turned away from the window and moved to sit down, reaching for one book and grabbing his quill as if it were a weapon and dipping it into the ink to write in a few line when he heard a scratching at the door. "Entrez!" He barks, not bothering to look up. "My tea best be hot and with a touch of sugar as I like it." Instead of any answer, he heard the rustling of skirts as someone moved forward.  He looks up at the girl, his eyes a cold gray searching her face. "Mlle Gramont I presume?" He says coldly, leaning back in his chair.
"Oui." she replied softly, pausing and not sure if she should continue or not.
He sets his quill down, watching her. "Is there something I might help you with?  Perhaps you are lost on the way to the library..."
"Non, I just wished to say how sorry I am.  You see, it was a twig that I'd stepped on, not anything else." She glances down at her feet, then back up. "I never meant to disturb you, I only wished to enjoy the sun with Marie."
He looks back down at his work, reaching for the quill. "If that is all, you may go."
She gives him a puzzled look as he dismisses her so coldly. "Oui... " She stops as if she might say more, but slips away before being told anything worse, her cheeks flushing a light red.  As the door shuts behind her a voice says softly. "I told you he would do this... such a grumpy comte."  Marie shakes her head. "Frederic won't change... it was a waste of time to try an apologize to him."
Martine looks at her friend and sighs. "I wanted to try, it was the right thing to do." She waves her hand a bit as she talks, but stops herself and remains poised. "My mother would expect me to do so."
Marie shrugs. "No matter, lets go have tea down in the library, its much more fun than anywhere near Frederic."  she moves away from the closed study door, expecting her friend to follow.  Martine pauses to look back at the door, but quietly follows along without much protest.

Back at the Stable

He jumped off his horse, the colt breathing hard and covered in a thick sweat from the ride.  The groom runs up to him, taking the reins of the horse, looking over at Frederic-Louis. "Comte, you should not ride him so hard, he's too young to do this too... you'll ruin him before he's old."  Frederic-Louis paces back and forth, wheeling at the man's words. "How dare you tell me how to ride my horse." He said in a low menacing tone. "Never speak to me like that again or I shall whip you myself."  The groom backed up a bit, rubbing the colt's nose. "I didn't mean it like that sir, you know I only care for the horses, its my duty to see they remain in good shape and healthy."  Frederic-Louis turned his head and then looked back at the man, working to calm himself down. "Fine, go cool him down... you are right, no need to spoil him at this age."  As the groom lead the horse away, Frederic-Louis went to door of the stable, looking out the way he'd come. "Silly girls, how dare they disturb my work."  The Gramont family was known to him, but he'd never seen the girl before.  Perhaps she was a sister or cousine to Gabrielle-Marie, a Gramont now married to his brother, Henri-Armand.  All of the Gramont girls seemed to possess a certain beauty, and this one was no exception to that.  Right now though, Frederic-Louis had better things to do than play host to any female, let alone a Gramont.  His last amusement seemed to leave in the middle of the night with her belongings and had not been seen since then.  Maids were becoming scarce around Normandy, more so because of his own reputation.  Perhaps seeking out a few new ones from Paris might help, or a village further off.

He shook his head and made his way back to the house, thinking it would be wise to clean up and take tea in his study for now... away from the girls.

26 March 1773

He'd risen early that day with much work to be done.  A light breakfast and dressing to get ready to work with his horses.  He loved each one, perhaps more so when the women he'd often sleep with... the horses wished nothing more from him, where as the women would.  Frederic-Louis didn't like to be tied down with the thought of a nagging woman, one that only wished for fashion and favor.  He liked adventure, excitement and the sex didn't hurt one bit.  Why just the day before he'd lost another maid to his exploits, the girl not wanting to submit to his whims and left in tears at his bold actions.  She'd packed her bag in the middle of the night and left, heading into the village to get away from him.  No matter, maids were easy enough to come by.  Horses took a fine eye and much work... that is what he thrived upon. 

Frederic stepped to the door and went outside, looking up into the sky.  It was a deep blue, still shaded from the night with bright pinks and reds in the distance.  The old castle was huge and the courtyard large enough that he could work his horses with a break from the wind.  The day was cool and crisp, the wind still bit at his face, making his cheeks pink from exposure.  This didn't seem to bother him one bit as he adjusted the collar to his coat and pulled on his gloves, striding out to meet his groom.  Together they walked to the stables, discussing the horses to be worked today.  He paused next to a stall that held a strange horse. "Who's is this?" he said, turning to his groom . "A mlle came in last night to be with your cousin, that one and the next three are hers."  The man replied. 

Frederic moved to peek in at the horse, then at each stall in turn.  All four, a matched set of bold chestnuts, seemed to not mind his inspections. "Do you know the mlle?" he inquired, glancing up.

The man shook his head. "Non, but she is a Gramont.  That is all I know."

He nods to his groom and resumes his walk. "Very well, treat her horses as if they were our own.  Now I want to work the bay, the young mare.  She seems to have a good mind to her."  He pauses a moment.  "Have your boy ready the black colt as well, he is young and needs work today, I don't want to waste a good horse by letting him get lazy and fat."

The groom nods and whistles for the boy, who pokes his head out of a stall. "Get the comte's black colt ready soon, have him in the courtyard in an hour."

The boy waves his hand and goes back to work with the horse he was with, disappearing from sight once more.

The two men continued along the isle, horses in stalls lined the walls on either side and a pretty little brown mare with a bold face marking stood waiting in cross ties for them.  Her ears swiveled forward to catch the sounds of their approach.   Frederic-Louis stepped around her, inspecting her legs each in turn, running his hand along to inspect for any issues.  "She's turning out very well." He comments to his groom. "She will make a good horse for some mlle."

The man nods in agreement. "Yes comte, she will.  The mare is calm enough that my boy handles her easily, she's even well loved by Charlotte-Marie." 

Frederic-Louis stiffens at the name, the last time his cousin had been at the estate, it didn't go so well.  The girl and him got into an argument over  Frederic-Louis' pony, but that was years ago and he'd really gotten too tall to ride the aging pony.  The little Merens however, seemed devoted to all the children that came his way.  In a fit of rage he'd run up to the pony, grabbing its reins and startling it, causing his ten year old cousin Charlotte-Marie to fall off and land hard on the ground.  The squabble lasted a half hour before the groom and his father managed to separate the two.  Frederic-Louis was later chastised for the argument and fight with his much younger cousin.  To this day the words hung in his ears. "Frederic-Louis, I'm disappointed in you, Charlotte-Marie is six years younger than you!  You have to look out for the girl, not fight with her like some commoner."  His father and uncle always seemed to get into overly heated discussions and there was always tension in the household.

"When was the last time Charlotte-Marie was here." Frederic-Louis looked at his groom.

"She was here a few months back, while you were in Paris." The man replied.  "She rode the mare then, fell in love with her."

Frederic-Louis nods and unclips the mare from her cross ties. "I see.  Now lead the mare away from me, go past my father's old horse.  He's as mean as the day is long and should cause the mare to startle if he lunges at her." 

The groom nods and does as bidden, leading the mare past the large old dappled male, the male true to Frederic-Louis' words, swung his head around to lunge at the mare, who in turn planted her feet and pulled her head up to look at the sour male.  The groom clicked his tongue to her and pulled on the reins, getting her to walk again as the old male continued to make a fuss, snorting and tossing his head.  Frederic-Louis smirked and nodded, knowing the mare would make a good mount for whatever young woman would ride her while at his home... not that he had many young women visit, but there were a few.  He strode up to the groom and took the reins from him, mounting the mare deftly, settling in the seat of the saddle.  "Bring me the colt when I am done with her, an hour should be more than enough time." He restated to the groom, giving the mare a kick to her ribs, setting her off in a light trot.

Frederic-Louis smirked as the mare's legs swung out in a free and easy movement, though normally a choppy gait, he posted at the mare's trot, matching his movements with hers.  He guided her along the gravel path, the crunch of hooves on stone echoed around the old stone walls.  At this hour, only the staff would glance to see him at his duties and hard work.  The path wound around past the old knight's chambers and parapets, up to where the new chateau now stood against the eastern wall where the family and guests slowly woke from their slumber.  From the path to the lawn, he moved the mare around the benches and seats where the family often entertained outside on pleasant days, picking up her pace to a light canter, the sound of the three beat gait, on the turf much different than a few moments past.  The mare was of smaller stature than most of his other horses, taking after her dam a sweet Auvergne mare.

As the hour neared, the groom was seen walking up with his stable boy and the black colt, one with Desert Norman blood, though he exhibited more of the English Thoroughbred blood traits, being more spirited and taller.  The price paid for his sire was well worth the money and he slowed the mare to a walk, stopping her to watch the colt perk up his ears.  Frederic-Louis wanted to see if the colt would react to the mare, or if he'd hold himself well as they approached.  The little mare tossed her head and chomped at the bit, but stood fast under his hand, she was still up for more excitement, not ready to stand still.  He spoke some soothing words to her and patted her neck, the mare calmed down, shifting her weight underneath him.  Behind him, a pair of young women left the confines of the house, choosing a place in the sun to sit and enjoy the spring time weather.  With his attention to the front of him, he never noticed the two.

When the groom, boy and horse arrived, Frederic-Louis dismounted the mare and handed over the reins to the boy. "Ride her back, then see she's cared for before you put her back in her stall."  The boy nods to the comte and moves to the mare's side where the groom help him into the saddle.  With the boy riding away, the men discuss the mare, then shifted the discussion to the black colt.

He'd been inspecting the young horse, picking up its feet in turn and checking its legs.  Speaking to his groom about how well bred the beast was.  He turned as he heard them, the soft giggles of young women... one was all too familiar to him, his cousin Marie, the other... he didn't know her.  The pair were sitting on a bench in the courtyard of the old castle grounds, where he was with his horse.  The day was cool, the sun was shining and a good day to ride.  Of course it wasn't unusual for cousins to show up here, while he didn't like being social, he'd never turn family away... that would be rude and disrespectful.  Yet here was a stranger... a girl of simple beauty and grace. 

The horse bumped his nose against his arm and he reached up to take the reins and hold him, his eyes never leaving the pair.

He looked away and mounted his horse, settling into the saddle.  A light squeeze was enough to put the horse into a walk, moving him into a circle.  He spoke with the groom, discussing his footing and movements, seeming to be pleased over all.  For now he'd deal with business and ignore the girls, letting them have their fun and fresh air.  He turned the colt around, giving him a nudge to start off at a walk, taking him away from the girls.  When he kicked the colt to a trot, the gait wasn't as smooth as the mare, but carried him along with a good bit of flow and energy, taking him down the path and then back up so the groom could watch the gait.  Today would be about putting the colt through his paces, getting exercise and fresh air, a lot of work would still need to be done, but he had hopes that the big black colt would make a hunting mount.

As he loped his way around the grounds, he brought the colt near to his cousin and the unknown girl, their chatter meant only for their ears alone.  A fan snapped open and started the young horse, causing him to shy and kick up some of the soft earth at the pair. "How dare you!"

 He pulled the young horse around, keeping him in a tight circle. "You startled him." He replied curtly to who he knew was his cousin.

"We did no such thing." Charlotte-Marie stood up, glaring at her cousin.

Frederic-Louis frowns at her. "It was your fan and the sudden movement." the horse seems to side step under him, trying to toss his head and move away from the girls.

"You shouldn't have ridden so close to us." She retorts sharply, while the other girl remains silent, looking tired of the discord already.

He growls. "Fine, if I'm not allowed to work my horses in my own yard, then I shall not..." He kicks the colt and gallops off away from the pair, sending clods of dirt in his wake.

"Who does he think he is!" Charlotte-Marie snaps, waving her fan in front of her face.