Comments | tezcatl_ipoca: It is the working man who is the happy man.

tezcatl_ipoca

It is the working man who is the happy man.

Feb 27, 2014 20:34

Between Christmas and New YearI know I haven't made that many friends among the staff here. Most of them're siding with Percival with his nose still out of joint about my getting what he'd already thought of as his job, and the rest're wary of my having known the Colonel - his Lordship - in the past. And between the Army and the places I've ( Read more... )

abbey offroad

Comments 29

gaueko_erebus February 28 2014, 05:56:24 UTC

Always work to be done in the stables, even after supper, when all the rest are starting to settle. There's last minute patrol, there's the last night's feeding, during breeding season there's the new foals and pups to check on, along with the broodmares and bitches. The tack has to be checked and made sure it's all put away and cleaned, that the feed room is locked, the kennel doors latched. There's nights I'm tempted to say bugger it, but I remember the old man who taught me, telling me about how when he was a boy, the coachman didn't bother to do the night checks, and didn't find that someone had left a lit pipe in the hay loft. The barn and stable burned down, killed almost all the horses. Man drank himself to death a year later ( ... )

tezcatl_ipoca February 28 2014, 21:32:42 UTC

"'S alright, he's out like a light." I should know. "Just getting some air from the atmosphere indoors." Say it mild enough, but I reckon he knows what it can get like in there. "Thought maybe you'd be a man who'd appreciate a bottle of air before you're down for the night yourself." Hold one out.

gaueko_erebus February 28 2014, 22:42:45 UTC

"Thought maybe you'd be a man who'd appreciate a bottle of air before you're down for the night yourself."

He's got a few bottles tucked under his free arm, and one in his hand. Study him, then grunt and accept the bottle. "Might've said something about this at dinner. Nearly got yourself cracked over the head." Set the whip aside and jerk my head towards the back room. It's where the stable boys and I will sit and play cards or smoke during the quiet hours. "Come on, then. Plenty of air in here, even if it smells like horseshit."

tezcatl_ipoca February 28 2014, 22:47:42 UTC

Grunt at that, amused. "Smelled worse than that, believe me." During the war, and after. Doesn't smell bad to me - just a rural sort of smell, I s'pose.

"You get a lot of people breaking in here to offer you beer, then?" I ask mildly, looking at the whip. This place runs so smoothly, seems so safe - 's hard to imagine anyone trying to rob the - Al- his Lordship.

Thread 19

tezcatl_ipoca March 10 2014, 03:20:08 UTC

"Wouldn't say a-flutter," I say, tone of mild offence, but good-humoured, too. "Hardly the first time I've seen a woman's legs. A lady's, though..." Shake my head a bit. "She doesn't look how I'd imagined, for all the Colonel's describing of her. Can't say she's not striking though, can you? Not the kind of woman I'd notice if she was for me to notice, but." Corner of my mouth tips up a bit.

gaueko_erebus March 10 2014, 03:49:01 UTC

"You blushed like a schoolboy caught looking up his teacher's skirts." I chortle at his protest, but it's all in fun.

"She doesn't look how I'd imagined, for all the Colonel's describing of her. Can't say she's not striking though, can you? Not the kind of woman I'd notice if she was for me to notice, but.""What did you imagine she looked like? Some crow-faced harridan?" I laugh. I can imagine how soldiers talk of their wives. "But striking, yes, I suppose so. Personally, I prefer a woman with some tits on her." I smirk, sipping my beer. "But from what I've heard from the housemaids, she's quite the wildcat in bed. And you have to respect a woman with some enthusiasm." My grin widens as I lean across the table. "And there have been plenty of times she and his lordship have come back from a ride looking rather more dishevelled than they should after a ride, if you see what I'm saying." Another deep pull, and my smile doesn't slip. "Also have to respect a lady who likes a good shag in the bushes." Far too few of them get ( ... )

tezcatl_ipoca March 10 2014, 19:45:29 UTC

'S a bit like being back in the army with the other enlisted men, him teasing me, and I laugh a bit, acknowledging the hit.

"What did you imagine she looked like? Some crow-faced harridan?"

He laughs, but I'm thoughtful. "No - less..." I try to find the word, give up. "More - vulnerable, I think. The Colonel always worried about her, and the family. But she's tough as nails, isn't she?" Always strange to think about her and A - his Lordship fucking, but I knew that from the start, didn't I? Just different to see her, and know it.... "Personally," I add, "I like a woman with a bit more arse on her, usually."

gaueko_erebus March 10 2014, 20:10:49 UTC

"No - less...More - vulnerable, I think. The Colonel always worried about her, and the family. But she's tough as nails, isn't she?"

"Oh yes, and he knows it." I start to say, but then he's going on.

"Personally, I like a woman with a bit more arse on her, usually."I spit beer onto the table and roar laughter, leaning across to clap him on the shoulder. "Now you're talking like a soldier. Something to grip when you push, eh?" Take another swig, and then stand up and take the lantern down. "Come on, let me show you something ( ... )

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