At the edge of the field she turned the horse back. The field was muddy, heavy with the rain that had fallen in the night. She kicked her heels to force the mare into a trot.
‘She’s a rare looking girl, Mr Burroughs,’ said a tall, bald man who stood at the field’s edge.
‘That she is.’ Simon Burroughs was the Castle’s head coachman, a rank denoted by the six capes of his greatcoat and by the curled whip he carried in his gloved right hand.
‘Mare goes well for her!’ The bald man was hopeful that her Ladyship would buy the mare from him.
‘Maybe.’ Burroughs would not commit himself.
Campion turned the horse again, and forced it into a canter. She leaned forward, trying to hear if the breath was whistling in the mare’s pipes. ‘Come on, girl! Come on!’ She slapped its neck.
The owner of the horse, Harry Trapp, was a farmer who had ridden this day from the Piddle Valley. He knew that Lazen Castle would always buy a decent horse.
Campion turned the horse again and this time she galloped the mare up the slope of the field, across the grain of the plough, and she kicked her heels back to see what speed the animal would show in this deep, wet ground. Mud flecked the skirts of her dress and cloak. She turned at the field’s head and cantered toward the two men. Her cheeks were glowing, her face alive with pleasure.
She swung herself from the saddle, slapped at some of the mud on her cloak, and went to the horse’s head. ‘She summered in a field, Mr Trapp?’
‘Yes, my Lady.’
That, she thought, explained the horse’s poor condition. She was newly shod, but the shoes had been put on over feet battered by a summer on dry land. ‘Has she had any oats?’
‘No, my Lady. But she filled up nicely last winter.’
Campion ran her hand down the horse’s neck, down the forelegs to the chipped knee. The farmer shrugged. ‘That don’t stop her, my Lady.’
‘Why are you selling?’
The farmer shrugged. ‘Ain’t got no call for her, my Lady. Too good to pull a bloody cart.’
‘Don’t you swear to her Ladyship,’ Simon Burroughs said.
‘Sorry, my Lady,’ the farmer said.
Campion hid her smile. All the men in the Castle, Simon Burroughs included, swore freely in front of her, but were outraged if any outsider took the same liberty.
The mare was broad and firm at the root of her neck, and was hardly blowing because of the exercise. She would, Campion thought, make a good hunter, but would never breed the foal that Campion wanted which would be as fast as any in England. She opened the horse’s mouth. ‘Six years old?’
‘Yes, my Lady.’
‘Seven,’ said Simon Burroughs. ‘You tried to sell her last year to Sir John. You said she was six then.’
‘Seven,’ said Mr Trapp.
‘What do you call her?’
‘Emma.’ He seemed ashamed of the name.
‘It’s a nice name.’ Campion was looking at the mare’s eyes. There was a tiny fleck in the left eye, but not in the line of vision. ‘What are you asking?’
The farmer hesitated. He was not used to bargaining with girls, let alone the beautiful daughters of the aristocracy, and in truth what he was asking was inflated outrageously simply because he had come to Lazen which was famous for its fortune. He decided to brazen it out. ‘Squire at Puddletown offered me seventy pounds for her.’
‘You should have taken it,’ Campion said. ‘Feed her two pounds of oats a day for a week and I’m sure he’ll offer it again.’ She smiled at the man and held him the reins. ‘Thank you for coming, Mr Trapp.’
‘My Lady!’ The farmer was blushing. ‘I thought she’d be happier here.’
Campion gave him her most beautiful smile, pleased by the compliment. She knew what the horse was worth, and so did the farmer, but it would be unthinkable to buy the mare without going through the necessary bargaining. She pushed a muddy hand at her hair. ‘You can’t expect me to pay top price for a horse that’s been out at grass this long. It’s going to take me a month just to put some muscle on her!’
‘You rode her!’ Mr Trapp pointed out reasonably. ‘Wasn’t pumping one bit when you brought her off the plough! She’ll be fit for anything in a month!’
She ran a hand over the mare’s chipped knee. ‘Did you splint this?’
But the farmer was not listening. He was staring instead at a vision that approached along the path which came from the Castle. The farmer’s jaw dropped. No one would believe him in the taproom tonight.
A middle-aged man stepped precariously between the puddles. He wore breeches of dark blue silk, above tasselled boots of white leather that had been polished to glass brightness. His tail coat was of grey velvet, and his shirt and stock of white silk. He wore no hat or wig, instead his silver hair had been drawn back and tied with a black velvet bow. His fingers were lavishly beringed. In his right hand was a tall ebony cane, topped with gold and decorated with blue ribbons. On his thin, mischievous face there was powder and, on his left cheek, a black beauty patch. He smiled beatifically at the farmer. ‘May blessings rain upon your head, dear man.’
The farmer shook his head. ‘Sir?’
‘May the light of his countenance shine upon you, and give you peace.’ He spoke with a distinct French accent. ‘Is that a horse?’
Campion laughed. ‘Hello, uncle.’
He grimaced. ‘Good God! Is that you, dear Campion? I thought it was a dairy maid. Mr Burroughs.’ He gave the slightest bow. ‘I bid you good day.’
‘Sir,’ the head coachman said.
Campion patted the mare’s neck.’ We’re buying a horse, uncle.’
‘I can’t think why. You have so many, and all they do is clutter up the stables. You should buy a unicorn, dear Campion, a white unicorn with pearls upon its horn. I might learn to ride such a beast.’ He smiled wondrously at the farmer. ‘Can you see me in a unicorn’s saddle, sir? I think reins of gold would suit me, don’t you?’ He put fingertips to his mouth. ‘You must forgive me, dear sir, for you have not the advantage of my name.’ He bowed to the farmer. ‘Achilles d’Auxigny, my most humble duty to you.’
‘Eh?’ said the farmer.
‘This is Harry Trapp, uncle, and you’re not to embarrass him.’ Campion looked at the coachman. ‘I want her, Simon, but I won’t pay more than we paid for Pimpernel.’
Burroughs grinned. ‘Yes, my Lady.’
‘You’ll forgive me, Mr Trapp?’ She smiled at him. ‘And thank you for bringing Emma here.’
‘You’re welcome, my Lady.’ The farmer was blushing again because the Lady Campion was offering him her hand. He wiped his right hand on his smock and took hers. ‘Thank you, my Lady.’
‘And make sure you get something to eat before you ride home.’
‘I will.’ Harry Trapp smiled at her. He knew a real aristocrat when he met one, not some frippery floppery like the weird Frenchman.
Campion took her uncle’s arm and led him back towards the Castle. ‘You shouldn’t be cruel to people.’ She spoke, as she always did in private with him, in her perfect French.
‘I do enjoy teasing your yokels. They are so very teasable.’ He smiled at her. ‘You do look dreadful. Do you have to dress like a peasant? And can’t you leave horses to grooms?’
‘I