Tales from the Finchbottom Vale – (21) Love at a Trot

 

28 year old Spinster Lynda Radcliffe lived in Dulcet St Mary in the house where she nursed her sick mother through the final years of her life.

She had always loved horses and as relief from nursing her mum she began giving riding lessons to some of the local children, which grew over time into a riding school which in May she moved from Dulcet St Mary to Copper Beech Farm.

But there was one thing she loved more that horses and that was Dr Elliott Browning but she was unable to do anything about that.

But when there was a fire at the stables she was using that necessitated moving to Copper Beach Farm the domino run of fate began. 

 

It was earlier in the month of May when Anthony Holmes drove into the cobbled yard of Copper Beech Farm, it wasn’t a big yard as farm yards go but it was a very neat and tidy one.

And its tidiness was in stark contrast to how it had looked when he was there on his previous visit after his estranged father’s funeral.

All the clutter that had littered the yard was gone, the mud that caked the cobbles had been washed away and the flaked and peeling paintwork had been completely replaced with gleaming white gloss, guttering had been repaired or replaced and it was as if he was on a different farm.

The reason for this remarkable transformation, was the tall 22 year old skinny waif with pixie cut straw coloured hair climbing down a ladder to greet him, Charlotte Clode.

Although there was no inkling of it on their first meeting they were married by the time his first year on the farm was up.

 

Charlotte liked Old Mr. Holmes in fact she loved John Holmes like she was her father and she didn’t take to her new employer at all.

She felt a deep resentment towards Anthony Holmes because she really loved the farm.

She started working at the farm straight from school when she was 16 years of age only a few months after the final argument between John and his son.

 

Bitter words were exchanged between Anthony and his father the last time that had seen each other when both gave their points of view with great vehemence.

He had inherited the farm against his father’s wishes because in the five years following their last meeting he had neglected to disinherit his son from his will.

Charlotte had no idea that John had intended settling his estate on her, if she had she might have had an even greater resentment.

There was another reason why she liked John so much and that was because he was a teetotaller because Charlotte had grown up with alcoholic parents.

It had taken some months for Anthony to make up his mind about what to do with his inheritance.

But in the meantime he kept Charlotte on to look after the farm house and care for the horses, which were his father’s passion, and the love of horses was just about the only thing Anthony had in common with his dad.

 

As Anthony wanted to take some time to weigh up his options he instructed his solicitor to rent out the majority of the surrounding land to neighbouring farms, which was quite substantial, though underworked.

The idea being it would give him an income which would at least cover any running costs for the farm as well as maintenance.

 

Charlotte raised additional revenue at the farm by renting out the empty stables, one to a man from Dulcets Green, Luke Barrowman, and a further six to Lynda Radcliffe, who had previously had a riding school in Dulcet St Mary, but the stables she was using burnt down, so she stabled them at Copper Beech in the short term.

 

Anthony’s first act as the incumbent was to offer Charlotte the job of Farm Manager and her first act after accepting was to do a deal with Lynda Radcliffe to run her riding school from the farm.

Anthony knew Lynda, she was a rotund redhead who he had known for years, they had even dated briefly when they were at school and he knew her working out of the farm would be a good fit.

 

Lynda was an exceptionally good riding instructor and her success brought her many pupils and she was able to employ a number of village girls to look after the horses.

 

Copper Beech Farm is in the Dulcets, the Dulcets consisting of a collection of villages and hamlets such as Dulcet Meadow, Dulcet St Mary, Dulcet Green and Dulcet-on-Brooke to name but a few, and it had been pretty much vacant for several months when 28 year old Anthony Holmes, a tall slight figure with sandy hair and hazel eyes, arrived as the reluctant incumbent.

He was not a farmer and never would be, he was a computer geek and a fairly successful one.

The farm had belonged to his estranged father who never got over the fact that his son had no desire to follow in his Dad’s footsteps. 

He tried to explain that his talents lay in a different direction but his father couldn’t see his fascination with computers and thought that he would be wasting his life on his hobby.

Despite his father’s reservations Anthony had made a successful career of it.

 

He had pretty much everything he needed at Copper Beech and he was happier than he had been for several years and as the weeks past Anthony was very pleased with his decision to put Charlotte in charge, she had the farm running as smooth as silk which allowed him to concentrate on his work which revolved around his computer which was on his desk in front of his study window so when he looked up he could look out at the real world and when he did he liked what he saw.

In his quieter moments he liked to watch Charlotte busying around the yard with her gangly gait or he sat and talked a lot with his old friend Lynda Radcliffe.

They talked a lot about their childhood, relationships, computers and horses, just about everything really.

 

Having moved the riding school up to Copper Beach Farm another of fates dominoes toppled.

One day when she was sitting on the bench in the yard talking to Anthony that it happened.

The moment at which everything changed for the three of them without them even knowing.

Charlotte Clode appeared from the stable block looking more lethargic and leggy than was the norm.

She was walking towards them or at least towards the farmhouse with some paperwork for the office but when she got closer Anthony noticed a pallor to her countenance.

“Are you alright?” he asked with concern

“I’m fine” she replied unconvincingly

“You don’t look it?” Lynda added

“I’m fi…” she began and fainted into Anthony’s arms

 

Anthony guided Charlotte’s limp skinny frame onto the bench and tried to revive her.

“My God she’s burning up” He said as he touched her cheek

“I have something in my bag that will bring her round” Lynda said

“What is it smelling salts?”

“No Horse liniment” she replied

He removed the cap and held it under Charlotte’s nose and she came around in a few seconds but she wasn’t with it at all and she began shivering…

“She has a proper fever” Lynda said

“I’m not surprised she got soaked to the skin yesterday” Anthony said

“Let’s get her to bed”

“Ok” Lynda said and took two steps towards the stables until Anthony said

“Let’s get her into my bed, there’s an en suite in my room”

 

 

Anthony helped Charlotte up to his bedroom and laid her on the bed then he took her boots and socks off, next they sat her up again and slipped her overalls straps off her shoulders and as she got her to her feet the dungarees fell to the floor, then as Lynda pulled back the duvet and they had her ready to lay down she suddenly got a burst of energy and started to resist.

“Don’t make a fuss” she insisted “I told you I’m fine”

So he let go of her but after a few moments she went a bit wobbly so he sat her on the bed again.

“Fine are you?” he said crossly

“There’s a thermometer in the bathroom cabinet” he said to Lynda who duly obliged and when she returned he switched it on, zeroed the reading and put it in her mouth, a moment later he removed it.

“You’re fine are you?” he said “just below 104, now get into bed”  

Charlotte reluctantly complied.

While Lynda finished settling her into bed Anthony went downstairs and phoned the doctor.

 

He phoned the Doctors surgery in Purplemere, and after a lengthy interrogation by the SS trained receptionist he was finally put through to a Doctor Browning.

“Have you taken her temperature?” he asked

“Yes its 104”

“Ok give her paracetamol for the fever, keep her warm and give her plenty of fluids and I will call in this evening” the doctor said

 

Anthony went back upstairs with a jug of water and some tablets just as Lynda was leaving the room.

“What did they say?” she asked

“Paracetamol, fluids and sleep” he replied “and a house call later” 

“Really which one?”

“This one obviously” he replied and laughed

“Very funny” she said “Which doctor?”

“Dr Browning” he replied

“Really, Elliott?”

“Yes, is he a good one?” he asked

“I don’t know about professionally” she replied “but he could give me a bed bath any day of the week”

“Oh it’s like that is it?” he said “You’d better make sure you’re here when he calls then, come for dinner”

“Ok I’ll bring Pizza” she replied

 

Lynda Radcliffe had been in love with Elliott Browning from the first moment they met during her mother’s illness and although she wasn’t sure she believed that her feelings were reciprocated.

Lynda made no secret of her feelings to everyone other than him, when she was in his presence she turned into a gibbering idiot.

 

It occurred to Anthony as he sat at the bedside of the sleeping Charlotte that she would probably be properly dressed when she saw the doctor.

She lived across the yard in a converted part of the stable block which had a bedroom, a sitting room with a small kitchen area and a toilet and shower so he let himself in and got her some suitable items.

Having the appropriate items in hand however presented him with another problem, how was he going to get her into them?

 

The answer to the problem was Lynda Radcliffe, he simply phoned Lynda and explained his dilemma and she agreed she would come to the farm early, but that she wouldn’t have time to get the pizza.

“Don’t worry I’ll cook” he said

So Anthony divided his time that afternoon between checking on Charlotte and cooking dinner.

 

While Anthony divided his time that afternoon between checking on Charlotte and cooking dinner Lynda spent it making the most of herself for Elliott’s benefit.

She waxed, powered and painted, buffed, curled and plucked and spent an hour carefully selecting her wardrobe.

And by four thirty she looked in the mirror and deemed herself good to go.

 

Lynda arrived at the farm just after 5 o’clock, looking a little over dressed for the occasion and went straight upstairs to redress the patient and she was still up there when Anthony heard someone at the front door.

It was Doctor Browning, a tall, broad, jovial looking man in his early thirties.

“Mr Holmes?” he said

“How’s the patient?”

“Still burning up” he replied

“Ok show me the way” he said somewhat concerned so Anthony led him up the stairs and when they reached the landing Lynda was just leaving the bedroom. 

“Oh Lynda Radcliffe, what a lovely surprise” the Doctor said

“Oh hello Doctor”

“Call me Elliott”

Lynda then showed him in and Anthony went back to the kitchen.

 

Dr Browning came downstairs a little happier than when he went up even though Charlottes temperature hadn’t yet broken.

He was satisfied she wasn’t getting any worse for the time being anyway, but if it got onto her chest he would prescribe antibiotics.

But he hoped the fever would break over the following 48 hours. 

“She’s awake now” Elliott said as he walked into the kitchen

“And would love a cup of tea”

“Ok I’ll take one up” Anthony responded

“I say something smells delicious” he said

“It’s only Pasticcio” Anthony said “You are welcome to join us”

“Nothing would give me greater pleasure, Good food and even better company” he said looking at Lynda as he said company “but alas I have a full list”

“Another time perhaps” Anthony suggested

“That would be lovely, don’t you think Lynda” he asked 

“Oh yes indeed yes” she blurted out a little flustered

 

After the Doctor had left Anthony went upstairs to check on Charlotte and took her up a cup of tea but she had drifted off to sleep again so he left the tea on the bedside table.

 “My God has he got it bad” Anthony said when he returned down stairs,

“What do you mean?” she asked innocently

“I mean I felt like a gooseberry” he said “As soon as he saw you that was all he could see”

“Oh you do exaggerate” Lynda said

“And he was flirting outrageously and he wasn’t flirting with me”

Anthony pointed out

“So what’s holding you back?”

“Well…” she began

“Look you obviously like him, a lot” he said “And Elliott clearly wants to practise his bedside manner on you, so what’s holding you back?”

“Well you’ve seen him” she said “He’s gorgeous”

“And?”

“Well look at me” she said “I’m just me”

“Are you for real?” he said “I thought Elliott was going to trip over his tongue when he saw you in that dress"

“It’s not just that though” she explained “he’s clever and cultured and so self-assured”

“So are you” he said

“I feel so inadequate in his world” she admitted

“So you need to get him in your world, where he’s the inadequate one” Anthony said

“What do you mean?” she asked

“Get him on horseback” he said

 

Anthony spent half an hour listening to Lynda explaining why a relationship between her and the Doctor was a non-starter.

After he watched Lynda drive off he drew all the curtains, turned on the lights then he went into the kitchen and boiled the kettle.

He decided there and then that he would do everything in his power to get Lynda and Elliott together.

He made two cups of tea and took them upstairs, Charlotte was still sleeping so he put her cup on the night stand and settled himself into the armchair in the corner, which was probably the most uncomfortable chair he had ever sat in.

And while he sat beside Charlotte’s bed and ruminated on Lynda’s problem it never occurred to him that he was falling in love with the girl in his bed.

 

Lynda rang his mobile later that evening and promised to call again the next day but in the end he phoned her instead.

“Hello” A cheerful voice answered.

“Lynda! The fever has broken” he said

“Thank God” Lynda responded “is she still sleeping?”

“No” he replied “she’s eating a bacon sandwich”

They both laughed

“I’ve told my girls to look after the horses for a couple of days so she can concentrate on getting better”

“Thanks Lynda I appreciated it” he said “Any thoughts on the other matter?”

“No not yet” she replied

“I’m going to keep asking?” he said

“I know” Lynda said resignedly and then he hung up the phone.

 

Anthony told Charlotte she was confined to bed for the day and would then be on light duties, much to her annoyance.

“Lynda’s girls have taken care of the horses” he said “so do as you’re told”

 

She did pretty much as she was told and promised not to do anything strenuous but when she stated her intent to ride her bike to St Mary’s Church he had to step in.

“What’s that if it’s not strenuous” he said crossly “I will drive you to St Mary’s”

“You don’t have to do that” she said

“I insist” he said

“Oh ok” she said with resignation

 

“You go ahead” he said as they got out of the car, he knew she would want to talk to her friends and probably wouldn’t want to explain why she was attending Church with her employer.

 

It had been a few years since he last sat in a Church on a Sunday morning, he sat quietly at the back of the church and felt a comforting feeling spread over him, and he hadn’t felt that for a while.

He tried to remember what momentous event in his life made him stop going to church but he couldn’t think of one.

All of a sudden he was aware of someone sitting beside him and he turned to look hoping that it was Charlotte but instead he saw the smiling face of Lynda Radcliffe and he tried not to show his disappointment.

“Hello stranger” she said “I haven’t seen you here before”

“I drove Charlotte” he explained “she was going to cycle”

“Oh I see”

Lynda had guessed that there was more than just concern for a fellow human being where Charlotte was concerned and she was pleased.

 

After the service Lynda went off to talk to the mother of one of her pupils and Anthony went outside and waited by the lych-gate until Charlotte came out.

When she appeared looking a little pale.

“You were right” she said when she got in the passenger seat “I wouldn’t have been able to cycle home, I’m pooped”

Anthony just smiled and drove towards home she lasted about half a mile before she went to sleep.

When they got back to the farm he lifted her out of the car and carried her into the house and lay her on the sofa and covered her with a throw.

 

Over the following months Anthony became a regular congregant at St Mary’s after the first time he drove Charlotte there in September but although he offered every week to take her she only accepted when the weather was particularly bad.

The closeness between him and Charlotte continued to grow but it took until December before they finally got together and even then it took a fall from the Hay loft, a bubble bath, a thunderstorm and some nagging from Lynda to achieve.

 

It was Lynda who found Charlotte and after they had cleaned her up Lynda and Anthony were sitting in the kitchen, while Charlotte was in the bath, where they sat silently at the table and continued to drink their coffee until Lynda finally broke the silence

Lynda finally broke the silence

“How long?”

“How long what” he replied

“You and Charlotte” she said in a sisterly tone “and don’t deny it”

He remained silent

“Come on then out with it how long have you been in love with her” she insisted

“Since the first time I saw her” he said “But…”

“But what?” she pressed and he went on to explain how things had stalled between them.

“Well I know one thing for sure” she said “Charlotte is in love with you”

“Is she?” he asked

“Of course she is you idiot”

“Then why is she holding back?” he asked

“She’s waiting for you to tell her that you love her”

“But I do” he protested “I do love her”

“It’s no good telling me that though is it?” Lynda pointed out “You need to tell her”

Just as Lynda was going back out to the yard he said

“And what about you and Elliott?”

“I’m working on it” she retorted

 

That night he bit the bullet and told her exactly how he felt and that he wanted her with him always and he proposed, which was the one thing she was waiting to hear, not the proposal in particular but a sign that he was serious about her, but she accepted the proposal anyway.

Once he had declared his love for Charlotte and secured their future he turned his attention to sorting out Lynda’s love life.

 

Anthony had never been happier than he was that Christmas so on New Year’s Day he made a resolution.

Lynda had helped him with Charlotte and as she was dragging her heels in regard to Elliott he was determined to help her, whether she wanted him to or not and so he decided to rope in Charlotte as well.

 

“Get him on horseback” was Anthony’s advice to Lynda in the previous September and she had agreed, but she had not acted on his advice.

And it wasn’t as if there hadn’t been opportunities he had seen them together at her house on bonfire night, New Year’s Eve and half a dozen times at church in the run up to Christmas and witnessed her abject failure to do anything about it.

 

It was a few days after Anthony made his resolution when he had risen early and decided to go to the stables and surprise Charlotte.

She was always up early to muck out and since they got together he had got used to the fact that she would slip out of his bed in the darkness and he would not see her again until mid-morning.

 

He walked across the yard and spotted a girl walking a horse out of the stable, the girl was Charlotte.

“Blimey is everything ok?” she asked when she saw him and then she felt his brow.

“Have you got a fever?”

“Very funny” he retorted “You’re not too big to get a spank you know”

“Promises, promises” she taunted

“So what got you out of that nice warm bed?” she asked

“I thought I would come and give you a hand and then when we’ve finished we can go for a ride” he said

“Really?” Charlotte asked

“Yes” he said “I thought it would be nice and we’ve never ridden together”

“I’d love that” she said “Grab a shovel”

 

It was nine o’clock when they finished cleaning the stables and feeding the horses and by the time they had changed and then saddled the horses, it was an hour later when they rode out of the yard in bright sunshine and under a clear blue sky.

 

In fact it had been such a beautiful morning that they rode considerably further and longer than they had originally intended so on the way back to the stables they decided to walk the horse’s part of the way to rest them a little.

So as they were walking down the Mornington road, both spattered in mud, Anthony said.

“I think it’s time for an intervention”

“For what?”

“We need to intercede on Lynda’s behalf”

“You mean her and the jolly doctor?” she said

“Exactly”

“I don’t know what’s holding them back” he said and then he went on to divulge the content of a conversation they had while Charlotte was in bed with a bad fever.

Where she explained her reasons for holding back, about her feeling inadequate in his world and his suggestion to interact with him in her world where he would feel inadequate.

Hence his advice of getting him on horseback.

“That’s a good idea” she agreed

“But how do we accomplish it?” he asked

“We could offer him a free riding lesson” she suggested “As a thank you”

“Brilliant idea” he said

“There’s no need to sound surprised” she said indignantly

“You are brilliant in so many ways” he said “I am just surprised when you show me another one”

“Good save” she said and smiled

“And now I’m going to be even more brilliant” she said smugly and suggest a course of lessons, say half a dozen just to be on the safe side”

 

After moving up to Copper Beech farm Lynda Radcliffe’s riding School went from strength to strength.

So much so that she increased her stable of horses from six to 9 and in addition to her short term girls she employed an old friend, Hazel Morris, to manage things at the yard for her.

Hazel had fallen on hard times and as luck would have it her arrival at the farm came only a few weeks after Charlotte had moved into the farmhouse with Anthony so she was able to live on site in the converted part of the stable block which had previously been Charlotte’s home.

It had a bedroom, a sitting room, a small kitchen area and a toilet and shower, which suited her needs very well.

It was a very significant moment for Charlotte as it drew a line under her old life and committed her to her future with Anthony.

But Hazel’s arrival also gave them an ally in their quest to unite Lynda and Elliott.

Hazel had known Lynda for many years and could think of no one else who deserved happiness more than her.

 

Hazel was in a bind financially and all her money was going straight to her debtors even though the debts were her ex-husbands.

As time went on Hazel became friends with Anthony and Charlotte and he was able to her out by giving her addition work on the farm and in exchange he didn’t charge her rent for her rooms, and as that was her largest expenditure she was able to pay off her debts even quicker.

 

Despite having Hazel on board there was still a problem however as when Hazel checked the diary the earliest slot was at the beginning of March.

They booked the 6 lessons anyway and looked on the bright side, it would at least give them more time to get their ducks in a row.

 

They had decided to give the Doctor the gift of six riding lessons as a thank you for the treatment she received when Charlotte was struck down with a very nasty fever.

The reason for the lapse between the act of professional kindness and the presentation of the gift was explained away by virtue of the fact that she needed to save up.

 

They decided not to present the gift to him at the surgery and chose instead a less formal location.

Namely in the village of Dulcet St Mary, he lived in the village and he was known to be a creature of habit.

So knowing that on a Sunday Morning he would walk to the corner shop at 7.00 am Charlotte laid in wait and as he left the shop she cycled up beside him.

“Hello Doctor” she said

“Oh hello, Charlotte isn’t it?”

“Yes that’s right” she said “I’m glad I bumped into you, I wanted to give you this”

She took an envelope from her pocket and handed it to him hoping that the most difficult part of the operation wasn’t going to be getting Dr Browning to accept the gift.

“What is it?” he asked

“Open it” she said

He opened the envelope and read the contents.

“That’s very kind but I can’t accept this” he said

“But you must” she insisted “I’m really grateful to you”

“No you don’t understand I can’t accept this because I don’t ride, well I can’t ride if truth be told”

“Well that’s kind of the point” she said, the riding lessons are so you can learn to ride”

“But I don’t like horses” he whispered “I find them a bit scary”

“Oh dear, Lynda will be disappointed” she said

“Lynda?” he asked with a raised eyebrow

“Yes the lessons are with Lynda Radcliffe” Charlotte explained

“Are they?” he mused

 

Hazel Morris kept the identity of Lynda’s final Wednesday afternoon pupil a secret.

They had booked Elliott in as the last one of the day in the hope that they would drift seamlessly into a date after the event.

After she and Hazel had the horse ready she walked the mare out into the yard and as she turned the corner she realized her pupil was Elliott Browning.

“Hello” he said

“Elliott!” Lynda exclaimed “is someone ill?”

“No I’m here for my lesson” Doctor Browning said and the tall, broad, and ordinarily jovial looking man in his early thirties suddenly looked small and childlike.

“I didn’t know it was you” she said

“Didn’t you?” he said and laughed nervously.

“Are you ok?” She asked

“Well to tell you the truth, I’m a bit nervous” he confessed

“Nervous? You?” she asked

“Terrified to be precise” he confessed

“Well I’ll try not to break you then” she said and for the first time since she had known him she felt like his equal.

 

She helped him to mount the grey mare and then Lynda took a deep breath and led horse and rider across the yard and out to the paddock while Anthony, Charlotte and Hazel watched from a safe distance and congratulated each other on their cleverness.

 

It wasn’t a long lesson, or at least it wasn’t supposed to be that long, but they had certainly been a lot longer than they expected but none of the three conspirator’s wanted to jinx it by going and checking on how thing were going.

 

When they eventually returned they were both laughing and Elliott was sweating profusely and when Lynda made eye contact with Anthony, she blushed.

“So far so good” Anthony said

But then Elliott got in his car and Lynda returned the horse to the stable and Hazel trotted after the two of them.

 

An hour later Anthony collared her as she walked towards her car.

“So how did it go?”

“How did what go?” she asked playing innocent

“Don’t go all coy on me” he said “you and Elliott, how did it go?”

“He wasn’t bad for a novice” she said and got in the car.

 

Elliott’s next lesson was three days later and this time Anthony and Charlotte didn’t hang around to watch they decided to take the horses out for a short ride.

It had been such a beautiful afternoon when they left but the weather got considerably bleaker as it wore on and so they made the ride much shorter than they originally intended.

 

On the way back to the stables they paused beside the paddock and were surprised to find it empty.

They looked at each other and dismounted, they hadn’t been that long so they should still have been there.

They walked the horses back to the yard from there and when they passed the barn they could see the big jovial doctor locked in a passionate embrace with Lynda.

“Hello you two” Anthony shouted “We were expecting you to still be in the paddock”.

The couple instantly separated and a blushing Lynda said

“It got a bit cold”

“It’s a bit hotter in the barn I’m guessing” he said and he and Charlotte laughed as they headed towards the stable.

It appeared that the love between them which had been barely a trot for so many years had suddenly run away at a gallop.