Chapter Text
Chapter 4 – The Race
Half an hour before the race.
Siegfried had conducted his own final pre-race examination of River, which he had done straight after the official Attending Vet’s examination of all the horses, because of course, he felt he could not simply take the Attending Vet’s word for it. Similarly, Pandhi had re-done the examination of Leila. Once a vet, always a vet. As Siegfried straightened up from his crouched position, he gave Pandhi a knowing nod, which Pandhi returned. Supposed rivals they may be, but deep down they respected each others’ abilities above the Attending Vet's.
Siegfried then took the opportunity to leave River with Monkham for a moment while he visited the gents’ lavatory. Upon returning, he was amused to see Pandhi fidgeting with Leila’s mane, finishing a decorative braid and generally fussing about her. Siegfried could see Tristan and James snickering from the paddock fence, pointing at their veterinary nemesis fussing about his new horse.
XX
The race
Siegfried was lined up adjacent to the other charity jockeys. He was sandwiched between Margo/Luci, and Hugh’s jockey and Crescendo. Hugh was standing near the finish line, in the distance, looking pale as though his life’s worth depended on a win. Pandhi and Leila were on the far left, and Colonel Merrick and Gypsy were on the far right. Three other participants and their horses were in the line up, too, making the total 8 horses and riders. Siegfried had never participated in such a race, but he had led charges in Ypres. It was a strange feeling being lined up ready to race in front of a sizeable crowd. He felt some anxiety rise in his stomach. He decided to talk to River to help steady his nerves.
‘River, let’s just have some fun, shall we? We know you like to gallop, it’s just for fun, for you and I’, he murmured. ‘Apparently you have some admirers, you’ve been spotted in Darrowby and have made quite the impression!’ Siegfried chuckled quietly, to River. ‘You’re a handsome boy, you see.’ Mrs Hall’s assertion that people had seen him ride River made him feel both mortified and flattered. It was a strange feeling to know he had admirers. But his soul stirred as he remembered the earnest smile on Audrey’s face as she insisted that he looked elegant, of all things. He knew she often found him exasperating to work beside, forgetful, messy, high-tempered. He had never considered if she could think him handsome or elegant, or gentlemanly. He took deep breaths as he sat waiting on River’s back. Forget the rest of the riders, he thought. He’d race to give the ladies (and one lady in particular) what they wanted. He even found himself now smiling and sitting up straight. He was wearing his best tweed suit, his best leather boots, and his favourite hat. He looked down at his riding gloves that were gripped around the reins. A momentary image of his hands grazing Audrey’s flashed in his mind.
The Call to the Post occurred. Siegfried felt it was strange to hear his name being called out, plus River’s. The participants assembled now at their starting positions. And before long the starting bell was rung and they raced for two miles around the track. In a blur of motion and colours and sounds the crowd noticed that Crescendo broke ahead of the group initially, with Colonel Merrick’s horse bringing up the rear, having decided she did not want to win, and Colonel Merrick felt rather silly. Luci (and Margo) tried to keep up with Crescendo but never gained ground. Siegfried urged River on to gallop but did not push too hard, however River loved to ride with Siegfried and Siegfried sensed a surge of power ripple through River’s body. In seconds, River began to gain on Crescendo’s pace. Majestically, River galloped to victory, with an exhilarated Siegfried on his back. They crossed the finish line just before Crescendo, but undeniably so, to the watching crowd.
Mrs Pumphrey punched the air with her fist. Mrs Hall beamed and clapped. Tristan and James yelped into the air, despite Tristan's betting against them, and James chanced a look at a furious Hugh Hulton, who was glowering at the finish line. Major Sebright-Saunders was standing next to him, visibly thrilled and completely ignorant of his future son-in-law's dismay.
XX
After ensuring a safe handover of River to Sebright-Saunders and Monkham, Siegfried walked towards Mrs Hall, who was waiting patiently outside the enclosure.
‘Mrs Hall, I hope you enjoyed the race, and that you are alright, you do look a little cold.’
‘I’ll warm up soon. I am glad to watch you race, Mr Farnon, but I’d like to go home soon, and if we can, go to midnight mass, later?’
‘Your wish is my command, Mrs Hall, I am sick of this lot’, he said gesturing to the bickering Hugh and Margo, Pandhi and Mrs Pandhi, Colonel Merrick and his groom.
Audrey asked Siegfried, as they walked to the Rover, parked in the parking area: ‘do you wish when you were younger you could have done more horse racing?’
‘Ah, perhaps, but there's too much politics in it that I can do without, I’m better employed stitching cow udders and making the best of that than constantly trying to win over other racehorse breeders. It’s a charity event but those people’, he said, jerking his head in their direction, out of earshot, ‘are constantly furious with each other. At least my only professional competition is Pandhi, and there's enough work to share amongst us, generally, that we can stay out of each other’s way for the most part.’
‘Well, I heard Mrs Pandhi say to her friend that he murmurs the horse’s name in his sleep and spends more time braiding her mane than spending time admiring his wife... and that the other day she was so pleased to see him up at dawn preparing carrots in the kitchen, only to then be told they were for Leila, and not their Sunday dinner.’ Audrey grinned.
‘I suspect, then, that Pandhi will be sleeping in the cold stable soon’, Siegfried chuckled. ‘I had better give Pandhi a wide berth, he won't be happy that I won.’ Siegfried blushed.
They reached the Rover, with the canopy already set up. ‘Shall we?’ He opened the door to the Rover for Audrey, before moving around to his side. He put his saddle in the back seat, and said thoughtfully: ‘If we leave now, Mrs Hall, we should make it in time to get back to Skeldale for a warm drink and some toast before we can attend midnight mass. And then, may we have a tot of sherry before we turn in? I just hope James makes it home at a reasonable hour, so he can open presents with Jimmy in the morning, after some sleep.’
Audrey let out a ‘hmmm’: ‘Something tells me I will be deploying the Alka Seltzer tomorrow morning...’
Siegfried laughed heartily.
‘Are they going to be alright getting home?’ Audrey asked.
‘I believe so, they told me they are staying for a bit, and Richard Alderson is going to take them to Skeldale on his cart.’
XX
After a brief time at home, getting warm by the fire with a cup of tea and some toast, they were now in church, singing heartily to O Come All Ye Faithful, and then trying to stay awake during the vicar's sermon. Siegfried 's brief euphoria at winning the race paled in comparison to the joy he felt standing by his stalwart's side. And as they sat during the prayers offered to God to protect the men and women serving the country, Siegfried gently placed his hand around Audrey's and gave it a squeeze. 'Keep Edward, safe, Lord', he whispered in her ear, wanting to comfort Audrey whilst she still waited for news of Edward's whereabouts after the sinking of his ship. They had heard he was ok, but the particulars of his whereabouts were still to be confirmed, and she had been putting on a brave face despite all the turmoil she had endured in recent weeks.
After the service, they walked back home. The night was fairly mild and the stars were visible. Siegfried offered his arm like a Regency gentleman and Audrey looped her arm through, to allow him to guide her home.
‘Thank you, Mr Farnon’, Audrey said, her face tired but thankful for the show of friendship and support he had given her that evening.
‘Thank you, Mrs Hall, for coming to the race, even though your mind is thousands of miles elsewhere. I hope it wasn't a complete dud of an evening!’
‘It wasn't.’ She smiled. They walked the rest of the way home.
‘One sherry?’ Siegfried asked, hopefully, once they had divested themselves of their coats and hats in the hallway.
‘One sherry would be lovely. I’ve turned too many down of late, what with my shifts. But I want you to know that the half hour we spend talking about our days has come to be my favourite part of the day’, she admitted.
‘I’m glad to hear it, Mrs Hall’, Siegfried smiled.
They stared at each other for a few beats longer than would usually be comfortable for friends. They were still currently in the hallway, and they awkwardly gestured to each other to enter the living room.
As they pushed open the living room doors, they both saw the mistletoe that Helen had put up on the ceiling, in the middle of the seating area, while the house was empty. Helen had stayed behind, preferring not to stand about in the cold for the race, as she put it, but rather stay with Jimmy in the warm, and put a few final decorations up. She had since gone to bed, and the house was quiet.
‘Parasites, apparently!' Siegfried recollected, nodding the the mistletoe, before inwardly cringing at his awkward behaviour with Dorothy four years prior.
‘It’ll be safer to skirt around it, then, Mr Farnon’, giggled Audrey. Siegfried comically edged around the mistletoe and darted towards the drinks cabinet. He looked over his shoulder as he poured the liquid into two glasses, catching Audrey’s wistful glance up at the mistletoe, and then watching her look down at the ground. She then walked to the fire to stoke it back to life.
Siegfried walked towards her and placed both glasses on the mantlepiece above the fire, and stood and watched her encourage the fire, with a look of reverence on his face.
She stood up, patting her hands together. ‘There, that should do it.’ She was blushing and had gone coy. ‘Bloomin' mistletoe!’, she admitted. ‘It brings back memories of a moment I’d rather forget’, she said, thinking of the sudden kiss two years prior, with Gerald.
‘Oh! I see. I was errr just feeling embarrassed again, at the ramblings I made to Dorothy a few Christmases ago. The ummm parasites nonsense! Let’s say I wasn’t the most eloquent of men. I deserve every bit of mockery from Tristan for that!’
Audrey giggled. ‘You are rather ridiculous!’
‘Silly stuff, mistletoe. It’s supposed to be romantic, from the great novels and pictures, but I wager it is more likely to put pressure on and make fools of us all, perhaps.’ A silent moment passed, and each felt as though they were on the cusp of an admission.
‘I agree. It’s one of those things we should do away with’, Audrey said softly, blushing still, but not flinching at all as Siegfried's stance seemed to feel gently closer and closer. ‘One might say “who needs the presence of mistletoe to remind them to kiss the one they love”’?
‘Indeed.’ Murmured Siegfried, standing almost a foot from Audrey. ‘It often causes jealousy for those unfortunate souls who have to look on...whilst others embrace underneath it…’
‘Indeed’, Audrey echoed, softly.
Their eyes locked, their bodies facing each other, one foot apart.
Emboldened by the loving glance Siegfried was fixing upon her, Audrey said: ‘I like to think people who care for one another don't need to be prompted to kiss, Mr Farnon, by the presence of a plant tied to a ceiling…’ She looked into his eyes more daringly then she could ever have dared believe possible of herself.
‘I do have a question, though…’, Siegfried whispered. ‘How is a gentleman to know for sure that a lady truly would like to kiss him, without his misreading or making a fool of himself?’ There was a note of rising anxiety in his voice.
‘He should close his eyes and wait…’ Audrey nodded encouragingly at Siegfried, so he closed his eyes. She inched closer and placed her arms around his waist. She moved her face towards his shoulder and whispered in his ear: ‘hold me, first, Siegfried.’ Siegfried nodded and wound his arms around her waist, eyes still closed, and pulled her gently to his body, embracing her with the hug he had been longing for months and years to give her. He sighed into her hair, and she murmured 'thank you', and clung tightly to him.
'Audrey', he whispered, lovingly, reverently, against her neck.
Audrey slowly pulled back, so they were nose to-nose. ‘You can open your eyes now.’ She read the emotions etched in his face and raised a hand to stroke his cheek. She admired the way his head tilted slightly in reaction to her touch, and the way he was watching her hopefully yet patiently. She smiled at him and titled her head towards his patient lips. 'Kiss me, please', she asked and Siegfried whispered: ‘yes, my dear…’ He kissed her longingly and tenderly.
Minutes later, they broke apart slowly, grinning and blushing.
'We ummm, we haven't drunk our sherry, yet!’ Siegfried nodded towards the glasses perched on the mantlepiece.
‘No, we haven’t!’
Siegfried carefully extracted himself from the hug, reached for both glasses, and passed one to Audrey.
'To you, Audrey, for being the light of my life. It's a mystery to me why you put up with living here, but I love you so very much...very much indeed!' His voice crumpled at the last three words. Happy tears rolled down his face. He clinked glasses with Audrey and tilted the sherry into his mouth. Both their throats burned satisfactorily, and Audrey walked towards the cabinet to fetch the bottle, to refill their glasses once more.
'…and to you, Siegfried, my dearest friend, who respects me for who I am and is always one step behind me, looking out for me, always. I have loved you, for some time...' her voice faltered on the last three words also.
'All this time... both of us?! Oh, aren’t we silly?! ' Siegfried exhaled, breathlessly.
'Yes, yes, we are', agreed Audrey, as they clinked glasses again and drank. They put the empty glasses back down on a side table, and fell towards each other again, into a hug.
Moments later, Tristan and James tiptoed through the front door and passed the open doors to the living room, to witness Jimmy's godparents locked in a passionate embrace.
'I see Helen put up the mistletoe like I asked,' said Tristan loudly, swaying on his unsteady feet, clutching onto James for support.
Siegfried paused mid-kiss, leaned his head back and barked playfully: 'I didn't need your bloody mistletoe, Tristan, to prompt me to kiss my dear lady! I kissed her all on my own...' Siegfried asserted, catching his breath and pushing his loose forelock back onto the top of his head.
'Actually, Tristan, it was I who asked Siegfried to kiss me...' Audrey corrected, playfully giving Siegfried her signature ‘look’, to dare him to disagree.
'Ah yes, that's true!' admitted Siegfried. 'But not because of your mistletoe though!' Siegfried nodded at Tristan by way of saying 'so there!'
'Weeeeelllll, it added to the ambience, still, surely?!' Tristan insisted, shrugging his shoulders.
'If you insist, Tristan. Merry Christmas!’ Siegfried grinned.
'Well, merry Christmas to you both', Tristan smirked, stumbling forward to hug them both. ‘Does this mean I get to call you my sister, Mrs H?’ Tristan asked her, hopefully.
‘I haven’t got to that, yet, Tristan, thank you!’ Siegfried huffed.
‘Well get on with it, brother!’ Tristan tutted.
‘Go to bed, Tristan!’ Siegfried chuckled.
‘Alright! Fiiiiiine! I’ll go put my pyjamas on!’
‘Don’t fall up the stairs!’ Audrey laughed.
Tristan tilted his head back. ‘I’m going, I’m going!’ He left the room with a wobbly gait.
James in his tipsy state stood rooted to the spot, grinning at Siegfried and Audrey. ‘Helen was right…she’s always right… as are you, Mrs H, you were right about the race. Tristan should have listened to you…’
‘Best go upstairs to Helen, James, Jimmy will be up in a few hours wondering if Father Christmas has been…’ Audrey coaxed him.
‘Oh yes. Thank you. I’ll…go to bed. Well done on winning the race, Siegfried. The look on Hugh’s face… and Pandhi’s! Brilliant!’ James beamed.
‘Good night, James!’ Audrey and Siegfried called after him as he turned slowly and walked towards the stairs.
Siegfried and Audrey were alone again.
‘Ah, Mrs…I mean, Audrey…’ he looked at her inquisitively. ‘Why do I get the feeling Tristan did not bet on River and myself to win?’
‘Because he isn’t gloating about a windfall?’
‘Hmmmm.’ Siegfried smirked.
‘He put bets on Crescendo and Luci to win. I might have had some choice words about lack of brotherliness. But it’s his money to place how he likes, I suppose…’
‘Well, I suppose I won’t hold it over him too much, Crescendo was a good bet, but River was poetry in motion today. I’d be more concerned if Tristan bet on Merrick’s Gypsy rather than River and I…Anyway, enough about bets, where were we, Audrey?’ He looked at Audrey whose eyes were glittering with love. ‘Oh yes, I remember… maybe the mistletoe did prompt us after all… but let’s not tell Tristan that.’
‘Kiss me again, please, Siegfried.’
The End.