Page 35 of Watch For Me By Candlelight

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Theo walked alongside Kate, and suddenly she slowed her pace a little and looked up at him. ‘If the museum suffers this afternoon, because of Jenna being in charge, can I blame you and Cassie?’

Theo smiled down at her. ‘You love that place, don’t you?’

‘I do. I know I’m rather over-protective of it at times, but it’s a huge part of my life. I suspect you feel the same about your anvil or whatever you use.’

‘My van. Yes. That’s the biggest part of my livelihood. If I don’t have the van, I don’t have the equipment and I can’t do my job.’

‘So have you brought that down with you?’ she asked. ‘Because you had a car, didn’t you, last time?’

Theo was quietly pleased that she’d remembered. ‘I did. But luckily I managed to squeeze my camping gear into the van. Call it a dry run for August. And anyway, it’s an adventure.’

Kate faltered in her step a little and something flashed across her face. ‘An adventure. Yes, I suppose.’ She cleared her throat. ‘So would you describe yourself as adventurous then?’

Theo shrugged, looking out at the estate whilst he thought about it. ‘Perhaps. I like to explore new places. I like to meet new people. I take risks sometimes.’ He glanced down at her.

‘I don’t really do risky,’ she said. ‘Cassie doesn’t think I do adventure either. To me, it was a big thing changing jobs from the British Museum and moving up here from London; and even then I had to have everything sorted out and ordered nicely before I did it.’

Theo laughed. ‘Anything can be an adventure if you look at it with the right eyes. Your ice-cream bicycle, for example. Launching yourself into doing it up to help your friend out, and tolerating an impractical outfit as an added extra. Being in charge of all that history at the museum; and definitely moving up here, on your own, to do it. I’d call that adventurous.’

Kate laughed. ‘If you put it that way, then I suppose you might be right!’

‘You see, then. You are adventurous,’ he said with a grin. ‘Is this the stable block?’ He stopped and indicated a building made of the same stone as the house. In fact, it looked like a smaller version of the house, even down to the carved details beneath the gutters.

‘Yes, that’s it. The Aldrichs have always been big on their horses. This was the entrance to the estate, years ago, and visitors used to think this was the house. I imagine it was all very cleverly planned out for maximum impact. But the horses and the grooms had nice enough accommodation, so I bet nobody complained.’

‘I bet. I’ve broken in a few horses, you know. It’s a service I offer in addition to the usual things. I would have loved to work with some of the animals from these big houses.’ Theo shook his head, still in awe at the stable block.

‘We’re quite close to Newmarket here,’ said Kate, ‘so there’s been a lot of racing going on for many years. Someone with your skills could have done very well down here.’ There was the briefest of pauses before she added, ‘One of the Earl’s horses won a race at Newmarket in the 1880’s. I found a letter in the museum where he was boasting about it and wondering whether to get a portrait commissioned for his horse. His blacksmith — the one who lived in the cottage at my museum — was mentioned in it. They were worried the horse was injured, but he was fine.’

‘That’s good. Someone with my skills probably still could do well. Which makes it all the better that I’m working at Newmarket currently. Hartsford isn’t too far away, so I factored in a bit of a diversion.’

‘That’s great.’ Kate nodded. ‘It’s nice to see you again.’ She cast a quick glance up at him, then looked away as their eyes met. ‘Anyway,’ she said, walking ahead of him. ‘This is Hughie. Hughie, this is Theo.’ She introduced Theo to the big, black horse that was eyeing him just as curiously as Theo was looking at the horse. Hughie pulled a mouthful of hay out of the feeder and chewed it, his eyes never leaving the newcomer.

‘Hello, Hughie.’ Theo held out his hand. ‘That’s right, boy. It’s a carrot. You can have it. I’ve got plenty more.’

‘Where did that come from?’ asked Kate in surprise.

‘My pocket. I tend to carry them around with me. It’s useful when you’re dealing with horses.’

Kate smiled. She reached out and patted Hughie’s nose. He whinnied softly and rubbed against her. ‘He’s a lovely horse, but Elodie’s still wary of him. He bit her when she was little and I don’t think she’ll ever forgive him.’

‘Elodie?’

‘Oh, she’s Alex’s wife. You’ll see her on the advertising leaflets.’ Kate laughed. ‘She hates that photo. It was taken ages ago.’

‘What, the blonde with the scones? That’s the Countess?’ He remembered seeing a picture of a very attractive, curvy blonde on the leaflets Kate had mentioned. She was holding a plate of scones out in front of her, in a very come-hither manner. ‘I’m not surprised the place is so busy! They probably all hope that they’ll see her!’

Kate grinned. ‘Yes. Alex loves that picture, funnily enough. Elodie wasn’t Countess then though, but it’s such a great photo that I don’t think they’ll ever change it.’

‘They probably shouldn’t if it’s bringing the trade in.’ Theo patted Hughie and opened the stall door. ‘I’ll just give him a quick check while I’m here. That should be okay, shouldn’t it?’

Kate nodded and stood back. ‘You know what you’re doing. Do you want me to wait for you, or can you find your own way back?’

Theo shut the door, trapping himself in the stall with Hughie, who obligingly shuffled over to the side and lifted his front leg up elegantly.

‘Look!’ said Kate. ‘It’s like he knows what you’re going to do!’