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.
