‘Stella, stop!’ A woman with black hair, lacquered away from her face at the sides, smiles at me: a disingenuous smile if I ever saw one. She waves a hand in the air and a waiter comes immediately to our table. ‘This here’s Scarlett; she’ll need some breakfast too.’ Her accent is decorated with a hint of North American but she’s obviously lived in England for a long time.
‘Just tea is fine, thank you,’ I say.
‘English Breakfast, madam?’
‘That would be great, thank you.’
‘I’m Caroline. And never mind Stella; she’s just a little shocked, as we all are.’ She wags her head slightly and bringsone side of her hair over her shoulder. ‘Gregory’s the eternal bachelor.’
‘We see him with plenty of women but never with the same woman twice.’ Another woman with flushed cheeks, possibly from champagne, throws in her twopenn’orth.
I don’t need to look to know Stella is still burning holes into me. Well, this isjustlovely. Subtly checking my watch, I realise I’ve been here a full seven minutes. The hunt hasn’t even begun yet. Three hours is going to be torture.
‘Don’t you all look just wonderful?’ An elderly lady is making her way towards us gingerly, using a stick to take her weight. She shuffles, more than lifts, her brogued feet forward.
The lady to my right, dressed entirely in black, with pearls draped around her neck – a departure from the seemingly staple shirt and gilet – leans into my ear. ‘That’s the Duchess.’
‘Thank you, erm…’
‘Florence.’ She seems to be the only sincere one at the table. ‘Try not to let this lot get to you,’ she whispers. ‘They’re all after Gregory. They’re like wolves for money and the fact he’s a young, strapping body and a fine face to match sends them into a frenzy.’
‘No hope of me winning them over, then?’
‘Would you want to?’ She laughs so boldly that even though it’s a short-lived sound, it makes her whole body wobble.
‘Probably not. But it’d make my day and night a little easier.’
‘You’re not part of their circle, darling; I’m afraid they won’t be making it easy for you.’
‘They’re about to start,’ the Duchess announces in a voice that matches her frailty, when she finally reaches our table.
‘Come on, Scarlett,’ Charlotte chirps, dancing out of her seat.
‘Are you coming?’ I ask Florence, who’s sipping her tea.
‘Oh good Lord, no! After thirty-odd years of marriage, you’ll get bored of watching it. I’ll be happier here.’
We make our way up the hill to where a group of English foxhounds is being controlled by two men in red blazers and hard, black, velour-coated hats. The other hunters come cantering towards the pack, all dressed in black blazers, cream jodhpurs and black hats fastened beneath their chin. I scour the faces and eventually find my strapping knight, sitting with pride atop his stallion.Mr Darcy really has nothing on Gregory Ryans.
‘Gregory looks as good as ever.’ The whisper finds my ears but I turn left and right and can’t locate the owner.
‘It’s so exciting!’ Charlotte says, giving my shoulder a giddy nudge. It really isn’t but I smile at her before locating my knight again.
Those piercing, brown eyes are looking right at me.
‘You okay?’he mouths.
I nod and curl my lips as high as I can force them. He doesn’t need to know I’m having an utterly shit morning, being talked about both behind my back and to my face and thrown daggers by rich women in expensive clone clothes, one of whom just happens to be Stella, who I’ve already come to despise.
A third man in a red blazer holds a black stick in the air and everyone, including the pack of hounds, falls silent. ‘The scent has been laid. Let us commence the season. Good hunting, fellows.’ With that, the foxhounds head out with the red coats. Gregory knocks his heels into his stallion and sets off, flanked by Williams.
We stand, some women doing far too overzealous waves, until the hunt is out of sight.
‘Gosh, that was fun.’ Charlotte is back at my side, smiling in the way Williams does, charmingly, defying any person not to smile back. ‘Should we go back to breakfast?’
‘Actually, I was thinking about taking a walk around the grounds.’
‘Good idea. I’ll come with you.’
