Nano Novel

The sweaty warmth of the horse’s neck calmed Eliza, until its protesting breath made her slow.  Immediately, her father’s lamented announcement tumbled into her head. 

“It is time you were married,” he’d said as soon as she answered his summons.

He’d already arranged everything.  Tomorrow they would leave the estate behind so that she could pledge herself to some aging Baron, chosen by her father, who would eventually control the estate and her horses.  She sighed along with the horse this time.

As the last bitterness escaped her lungs, a dark shape flew past her mount and east toward her home.  She heard a cry from behind and twisting in the saddle saw a man on horseback obviously pursuing said shape.  Happy to be distracted from her thoughts, she pushed her horse to pursue. 

The race was on. 

She saw that they chased a dog, a very fast dog, carrying something in its mouth.  It raced under a gate ahead of her, and she collected herself for the jump.  The cool spring wind pressed against her eyes and cheeks and filled her with exhilaration. 

Perhaps impressed, the dog stopped with gangly legs and large paws sinking in the soft earth. She brought the mare closer to the dog and chuckled when she realized that he’d absconded with the plumed hat of some unfortunate female.

“No wonder you want to keep it,” she said to the dog conspiratorially, “it looks like a lovely pheasant dinner to me too!”  The greyhound wagged his tail in response.
 
From behind her came the sound of another horse taking the jump.

“That was an extremely foolish choice to jump the gate in pursuit of my hound. I cannot imagine what you were thinking!”

Eliza turned her mount in surprise to face the angry gentleman rider.  At least Eliza was fairly sure he must be a gentleman by the cut of his clothes.  He frowned at her and wiped the damp brown curls off his forehead.

Before he could continue, Eliza slipped off the horse to the ground.  His “hound” rose from his position, wagging his tail excitedly, and pranced to Eliza offering up his catch of the day for her perusal.  She scratched the dog between his ears and took the hat from his mouth.

“He looks a little young to be called a hound to me,” she said laughingly, “and I think you need to train him to retrieve the pheasant rather than escape with it.  Or perhaps you’ve trained him to run away with hideous fashion mistakes, in which case, I applaud your taste”

She turned and watched the gentleman’s face transform from average to handsome as his look of disapproval was replaced with one of amused chagrin.  She smiled and offered up the maligned headpiece. 

“If only every woman could recognize frippery as well as yourself,” He replied as he dismounted and took the hat.

“His name is Devil, which I’m sure you can understand,” he said pointing to the dog, who was now laying on his side and seeking scratches for his belly, “and I am Robert Laughlin.”

Eliza found herself looking up to meet the humorous expression in Robert’s eyes.  His broad shoulders blocked out the horizon behind him and made Eliza nervous.  She smiled and retreated to grab her horse’s reigns. 

"Well Robert, I wish you and Devil a more mundane afternoon.  Hopefully you won't need another rescue before the afternoon is out." Eliza climbed into the saddle, aware of Robert's gaze on her legs as she straddled the horse.  It was still unusual for a woman to ride other than in a side saddle, especially a young, unmarried woman, but Eliza brazened out his regard before pulling her horse back toward home. 

Robert quickly dropped the reigns of his own mount and jogged to the gate.  He pushed it open, standing on the far side as he watched Eliza canter toward her home.  Their eyes met when she glanced backward after clearing the gate and nodded an acknowledgement of her assistance.

It wasn't until he was headed back to the adjoining property that he realized she had failed to make an introduction in response to his own.  It wouldn't be difficult he thought, to find out who she was.  This was Wiltshire after all, and there weren't that many estates that could support the kind of horseflesh she was riding.

He shook his head, wondering what father would let his daughter roam about on a horse with so much freedom.

*************

If Robert had seen Eliza the following day, he would have been even more amazed by her country manners.  She spent most of the morning and afternoon using and making up the nastiest swear words she could imagine while a seamstress and Madame Lelonge the designer measured her for a come out treusseu.  Standing still in mounds of silk and muslin with pins sticking out in every direction was certainly as close to torture as she could imagine.

"Non, Non, Mon Petite Rabbit, you must not put your arm down against your side while in this dress." Madame Lelonge exclaimed, lifting Eliza's arm away from her lithe frame like the arm of a china doll. 

Eliza rolled her eyes back and snorted - "as if anyone could stand in such an unnatural position for longer than 10 minutes." 

"Oui, all of the brightest diamonds will have these cap sleeves this season, and I trust that they will all be able to find it impossible to stand in any other way - the sleeve will be ruined."

Eliza hmpphed again and tried to stand still with her arms away from her frame.  She was starting to feel nauseous from standing so awkwardly and still underneath so many petticoats. 

As her forehead grew clammy, Eliza heard the footsteps that indicated her father's approach in the hallway.  His strong gait, in boots with wooden heels, was unmistakeable. Eliza's heartrate increased as she waited for his intrusion, which increased the persperation gathering on her brow and lip. 

"Non non, Madame - you are becoming overheated!, exclaimed the designer.  This will never do for trying on the silk for the dress." 

Her father entered the room as the designer said this.  He quickly purused Eliza's frame, his face indicating his confusion, "That doesn't look like any of the dresses I have seen in town."  He faced the designer with a piercing gaze.  "Why doen't she look presentable yet?"

Madame drew herself up and sucked in a deep, offended breath.  "Well, Monsieur, I didn't realize that I would be supplying all of the garments for your daughter.  She has absolutely no acceptable clothing for the season.  I have been required to fit her with each feminine item of clothing.  I don't know who your last designer was, but she left your daughter in a sad state."

Eliza's anger with her father deflated as she watched his face during this speech.  From impatience to embaressment and then perhaps to something akin to regret.  Though both Eliza and her father were aware of her "unconventional" upbringing and had generally accepted it, Eliza's father still felt the guilt of being the only support for a daughter. 

Eliza's mother had died when Eliza was just beginning to enter puberty of some sort of influenza, and Eliza's education in all things female had ended at the same time.  As a result, she made do with a hodgepodge of learning from books and from the staff on the estate.  Her governess had informed her about her monthlies but other than the essential information, her primary education came from the natural world. 

Her father shook his head at the french dress maker and left as quickly as he'd appeared - leaving Eliza to ponder whether he was regretting his decision to marry her off as much as she was.  Luckily, the dessing session ended abruptly when madame got into an argument with her assistant about the color of the silk for her coming out gown and decided that she would have to return to her shop to find the particular creamy white that she wanted herself.

Released from her cage of muslin and lace, Eliza crept to her favorite sitting room and rang for tea.  Cook brought the tea herself, with crumpets for toasting and fresh sweat cream butter.  Eliza bade her to stay and share the tea, as cook had anticipated.  When Eliza had lost her mother, cook became the only female confidant of a lonely and greaving child. 

"Well my little Elli, you're father has really made a mess of things hasn't he love?" Cook said, shaking her head and tsking. 
Eliza sighed and nodded in agreement.  "I'll find a way to change his mind."
"Deary, don't think that I agree with you not finding yourself a good lord to love, I just meant that your father couldn't have picked a better way to get your back up about the whole thing."
Eliza rolled her eyes, "Who needs a good lord to love cook! I'm perfectly happy as I am, living here on the estate and improving our stables."
"Yes dear, I know dear, I just know that you might not always want to be alone watching over horses."
Eliza knew that cook was partly right, she'd have to figure out something anyway, since her father would not be able to leave the stables directly to her because of the inheritence laws.  It was not the first time that Eliza wished that she'd been born a boy.  But this didn't encourage her to want to marry, for Eliza was well aware that any lord that would want the estate woudl be horrified by her activity in breeding horses.  Riding horses was adventure enough for a woman, breeding them was absolutely unheard of - delicate ladies had no idea what stallions were asked to do in the stables... Eliza giggled to herself and cook narrowed her eyes at her, causing the laughter to escape with increased energy. 

"I know that laugh Eliza, you're up to no good."

Eliza smiled and turned to look out the window - her thoughts turned to breeding again, only this time she considered whether perhaps the answer to her prayers would be if she could breed herself a male heir, that could inherit from her father.  Eliza knew that her father would never fail to recognize the offspring of his daughter.  He'd be angry, but certainly he wouldn't disown her or a child.  If she was to give birth to a son, her father could name the son as his heir, and Eliza could be guardian until the son was old enough to inherit.

It wasn't much of a plan, and Eliza didn't feel too serious about it, but it was one idea to prevent the unhappy addition in her life of a man who would try to control her and prevent her from enjoying the only things that brought her happiness - her home and her horses.

***
In a week of whirlwind preparations, which Eliza made her way through with solemn disdain, she acquired a new wardrobe, received dancing instruction appropriate for display at Almacks and was criticised by a variety of very exclusive, proper tutors in "feminine" skills.

"A young lady never acknowledges her baser desires, such as hunger and thirst.  It is for the gentleman to recognize her needs, and if he does not, then she must persevere in her aloof femininity showing that she is ultimately in control of all of her baser nature." 

Eliza rolled her eyes as the plump, plumed, and ever-so-proper Miss Pinkerton lectured on the behavioral rules that accompanied a young lady of her "statute" during the season.  If it really was anything like what Miss Pinkerton (who, though held to be an expert locally, hadn't been closer to London than Bath) described, then Eliza felt certain that she would be off the hook in the marriage mart in no time.  She silently enjoyed the idea that just announcing that she was famished might set-off a lurid round of speculation and gossip, as well as persuade any young man that she was "unmarriageable" material.