Chapter 26

Fury was behaving brilliantly. With Cal on his back he knew he could gallop away at speed, main flying in the wind, to his heart's content. Now with the lighter and more inexperienced Flora on his back, he was reining back, so to speak, and reducing his pace to a brisk trot. Flora was quite glad about this because a 16.2 hands stallion of pure muscle was a daunting sight. Even when you weren't trying to forget how high off the ground you were.

‘You're doing great.' came Cal's voice from halfway up the paddock.

‘I think he's being kind. He feels sorry for me' shouted Flora while concentrating hard.

‘Rubbish. He likes you and you know it. I think the feeling's mutual.'

‘Of course it is, he's magnificent' she said, patting Fury's neck as she brought him to a halt in front of Cal.

‘Do you feel confident enough now? Just in case you have to ride him when I'm not here?'

‘I do. Although I might need another lesson in saddling up before you hightail it to London.'

Cal had asked Flora to look after the animals on the occasions that Dylan, the vet's assistant, couldn't make it. That was one of the things Cal had wanted to ask her, but he needed to know that she was comfortable with the animals first. He knew Finn would love her to be there, but Fury was a little harder to handle. However, he was as gentle as a lamb with her today.

His latest book, Folk Tales of the Wild Moors was due out in a week's time and he was going to have to spend more time away than usual with launches, signings and interviews. Flora hadn't realised he was the second most prominent UK expert in his field, the first being the university professor who taught him - and he was quite famous with it.

She took Fury back to the stable, took his saddle and bridle off and rubbed him down. Then they took one of the blankets, laying it on the grass outside the gate and took in the view. There was a heat haze over the newly-blooming heather. Cal looked up at the sky.

‘Storm coming, do you think?'

Flora's shoulders collapsed.

‘Oh, don't say that! I want it to be sunny and perfect on Saturday.'

He laughed.

‘But you know what it's like around here from personal experience.'

‘ I remember it well and it's not something I'd like to repeat.'

‘You know, when I thought about it afterwards, you could have died. You had no idea where you were and you could have wandered the moors all night, disorientated, freezing cold and drenched to the skin. It would have been a toss-up then between hypothermia or pneumonia that finished you off - or both. You wouldn't have survived.'

‘Peggy told me that too and I thought the same.'

‘I also thought that perhaps the Faestone appeared to you because you were in desperate need and it appeared to you at that particular place' he nodded in the direction she had seen it, ‘because they knew the farmhouse was nearby.'

‘They being...'

‘The Fae. Which in turn leads me to believe that they have had a bad press. They wanted to save you and sent you down to me.'

‘Look I'm only just coming to terms with the possibility of the Fae's existence, mostly due to you and Ralph. So don't overwhelm me with things like fairy do-gooders. Whoever or whatever guided me toward you. I'm very grateful' she said, for more than one reason, she added to herself.

Cal had gone quiet and was staring into the distance.

‘ Cal. Are you okay?'

‘ What? Oh yes, I was just thinking.'

Flora waited.

‘Half the winters I've spent up here have been pretty bad. I've been cut off many times. It doesn't usually bother me but...'

‘It does now? Why?'

Cal looked uncomfortable.

‘Sometimes I think it would just be nice to be in the village '

He looked furtively up at Flora and saw she was staring at him. He felt the colour rise to his cheeks as he continued quickly.

‘Well, it would just be nice to be able to walk to the shops in bad weather. Have a drink at the inn.'

‘But I thought you loved the farmhouse? Your ancestral home?'

‘Mmm' he murmured

‘You don't?' she said incredulously.

‘I do - of course I do. But it's quite often inconvenient and I've come to realise why it was abandoned in the first place. The cost of keeping the propane generator going alone is astronomical. I mostly live with oil lanterns and log fires. And I have to write everything by hand as there's no Wi-Fi out here. I can use a satellite phone at least, which is what I told Frank.

‘Frank?'

‘Yes, he's the Moors Rescue team leader. When they're up on exercise around here, they sometimes call for a cup of tea. He's often said if I wanted to sell the place, he'd buy it and he would live here - he's a real outdoor sort of person - and the others could use it as a base. One person staying there with him on a rota throughout the week, so there were always at least two people to cover any emergency until the others got there.'

Flora shook her head.

‘I can't believe you're even thinking about selling it' she said.

‘I think selling it might be a step too far to be honest, although there is a possibility of renting it to them.'

Privately she thought it might be a good idea but for selfish reasons she didn't want to think too hard about, but he had spent time and effort on it. It was his family home, for heaven's sake.

‘That was the other thing I wanted to ask you about but the question is academic anyway.'

‘How so?' she asked.

He looked at Finn lolling on the ground in front of them.

‘Fury' he said simply. ‘I think Finn would be fine now. He seems to be more used to people and would fit in with village life better but Fury?'

He shook his head. ‘How many houses in the village have stables?'

‘Oh God! Yes.' Flora thought for a moment. ‘You wouldn't want to move further afield then? To somewhere more suited to Fury?'

Cal drew back like he'd been hit in the face. He recovered quickly.

‘No, I may have become more aware of the impracticalities of a remote farmhouse on Farstone Moor, but I still love the village. I still feel at home here and both Fury and Finn would miss their exercise on this moor, it's perfect for them.'

He got up and Flora followed suit, watching him closely. He pulled the blanket up and started folding it distractedly, hanging it over the gate. He turned to look at her, his features unsettled.

‘Do you think I should move away?' he asked hesitantly. She looked into his dark troubled eyes that echoed the same emotions that she was feeling. She would as soon see him move to another place as she would see herself moving away from the village. They both belonged here. Together. Whatever Cal saw in her eyes, it was enough for him to move a step closer.

‘I don't want you to move away from the village Cal.' she said quietly and sincerely.

He squeezed his eyes shut, then opening them, reached forward to gently pull her in towards his chest. She put her head against it, enjoying the sensation of his strong arms holding her. As she put her head back to look at him, his lips met hers and she gave herself up to the inevitable. Was this love? It certainly felt like it. Her eyes shone as he moved back, still holding her face between his hands.

‘I'm very glad you feel that way, Flora' he smiled, making her go weak at the knees. She recovered quickly.

‘Well.' she grinned, ‘if you moved, I'd miss seeing Finn and Fury wouldn't I?'

Finn jumped around them like a demented gazelle as Cal chased Flora round in circles, both of them laughing happily.