Chapter Text
An awfully cold and muddy winter was followed by an equally cold and muddy spring. It had been raining for weeks and water was running down the hills forming small rivers, flooding roads here and there, making farm visits a difficult and challenging task, even for the most experienced of drivers.
Audrey watched the dreadful weather with growing concern as she was preparing dinner, waiting for her employer’s return.
Mr. Farnon had left in a hurry in the afternoon to the Saunders Estate. Apparently something was wrong with River again and he had promised to take a look at him as soon as possible, much to Audrey’s disapproval. He had assured her that it wouldn’t take long, just a brief checkup and he’d be back home again.
That was three hours ago and Audrey’s worry was growing with every minute.
Well, there could possibly be something urgent with the horse of course but she suspected he would have called if he was to be delayed.
What if he had an accident on his way back home? Dear Lord she hoped that wasn’t the case! Her hands started to tremble by the mere thought.
If he wouldn’t show up in the next ten minutes she would need to make some calls. Audrey stopped her preparations for a moment, took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a silent prayer, begging for his safe return.
She hadn’t finished her thought when a gust of wind blew into the kitchen and a familiar voice called out for her at the back door.
“Mrs. Hall?!”
“Thank God!” She said silently to herself, letting out a sigh of relief.
There hadn’t been a car, she realised then. Had he walked all the way back home? In this dreadful weather?
Her worries increased again as she put down her knife and rushed to the back door.
Did he actually had an accident?! Was he hurt?! She felt her heart racing as her eyes fell on her employer, drenched from head to toe, looking like a drowned rat.
“Siegfried Donald Farnon! What on earth happened!?” Audrey scolded him, scanning him for any visible injury.
An apologetic smile formed on his face.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hall! I had to leave the Rover at the Sebright-Saunder Estate. I should’ve called you, I realise that now.”
Audrey looked up at him confused. Why would he leave his beloved car behind? Especially when it was raining cats and dogs.
Then her eye caught a nervous movement behind him and Siegfried watched her expression turn from confusion to sheer disbelief.
“Is that…?” She asked and pointed at the black stallion in her garden dancing nervously on the spot clearly bothered by the heavy rain.
“River, yes.” Siegfried nodded and looked back at the horse.
“I’ll explain everything, I promise! But first, I need your help to settle him in the stalls.” He gave her an apologetic look as his housekeeper looked back at him, face unreadable.
She then gave a gentle nod and followed him to the old building on the other side of the garden, suspiciously eyeing the ebony coloured creature.
They tried to rub River dry with straw as best as they could. Steam was rising up from the horse visible in the dim lights and Audrey felt pity when she saw how that poor soul was shivering to get his body temperature back to a normal degree after the time spent in the cold and heavy rain.
Siegfried left the stall and came back with a bucket of lukewarm water, soap and an old towel.
Audrey gave him a questioning look.
“This poor chap has a nasty form of mud fever on both hind legs…” he explained as he knelt down beside the horse.
“I need to clean that up and treat it. Then he needs feeding and…”
“No.” Audrey interrupted him and Siegfried looked up at her in confusion stopping mid motion.
“First of all, you need to go inside and change into something dry or else you’ll be sick by tomorrow morning by the way you’re drenched to the bone.” She reasoned and the moment Siegfried heard her words he began to shiver, realising how cold he actually was.
“I’ll clean him up and feed him. Then you can go on with your work, alright?” Audrey offered.
Siegfried blinked several times, considering if he should disagree but then nodded in agreement, standing up with a quiet groan.
She went right to work then, fetching the hay and placing it in the crib in front of River who started to eat immediately. Audrey could see Siegfried out of the corner of her eye, still standing in the door, hesitating for a moment only to shake his head and leaving for the house.
She turned her attention back to the stallion, taking a moment to listen to the calm and steady sound of the horse’s chewing. A sound that reminded Audrey of her childhood, the summers she had spent at her grandparents.
She gave River a gentle pet on the shoulder but he didn’t seem to care much.
“Well handsome, let me take a look then…” she said softly kneeling down next to the horse.
She made the water extra soapy just as her grandfather had taught her when she was a little girl and started to clean the hind legs with the wet cloth. As the mud got washed away two white socks came to view and Audrey could already see the black crusts that had built up on River’s fetlocks. She gently soaked them in soap water again and again so she could try and gently peel them off as good as possible.
As she started to peel off those nasty crusts, River sometimes lifted his leg and stomped it back on the ground. But Audrey wouldn’t let that disturb her.
“It’s alright, poppet. I’m almost done.” She told him gently and when she was finally satisfied with her work she took the towel Siegfried had brought with the bucket and the soap and dried the legs as much as possible.
Afterwards she cleared everything away and then leaned against the wall silently watching the horse eat.
The steady sound of the rain outside mixed with the soft snorting of River once in a while lured her back into almost forgotten memories.
Several minutes later the squeaky sound of the old barn door hinges took her out of her thoughts. She watched Siegfried approach her with two cups in his hands and she offered him a gentle smile as he handed her one.
“Thank you.” She said and curled her hands around the hot cup, sighing in relief. Siegfried leaned next to her on the wall, changed into dry clothes, but hair still damp and untamed, curling wildly on his forehead.
Audrey had to admit, as she so shamelessly eyed her employer, that she liked it that way.
He was truly a handsome man.
“Horses have such a calming effect, don’t they?”
His sudden question caught her off guard and she startled slightly, feeling caught. She could feel the blush creeping up on her cheeks as she turned her attention back to the ebony coloured creature with the two white socks.
“Yes. Yes, they do.” She confirmed and smiled softly.
Stealing another glance at the man next to her she saw him smiling softly at her with a tender look in his eyes she didn’t dare to question the meaning of, for she feared it could rise her hopes for something that could not be.
Both embarrassed for being caught by the other one looked in another direction, stammering excuses.
“I take a look at that then…” Siegfried coughed and gestured at River’s hind legs as Audrey mumbled “I should get on with dinner now…”
Siegfried handed her his cup, looking at his feet for he didn’t find the courage to look her in the eye right now.
“Dinner should be ready in 45 minutes.” Audrey informed him as she turned around and left for the kitchen.
“Splendid…” Siegfried mumbled to himself as he stole one last glance at the woman that secretly held his heart.
“Hm, old boy. How do I find the courage and tell her how I feel about her?” He petted the horse’s hindquarter absentmindedly, then shook his head and knelt down once again.
“Let’s get that treated, shall we…”