Wildgoose closed his eyes.“I’d better get some rest then.”
Maurice kissed his forehead again.“Sleep well, Wildgoose.”
“You’d best call me Sebastian if we are to fuck.”And with that, Wildgoose ...Sebastian rolled onto his side, facing away from Maurice.
“Sebastian.Please call me Maurice.”And then he fled because gifting his name to someone came with so many emotions.For most of his adult life, he’d been known to everyone by his title, and there was an incredible intimacy in using his first name which went beyond a few spectacular kisses.He was out the door, clutching his boots, before Sebastian could say his name.He wasn’t sure he was ready to hear that yet.
Chapter 6
Two days later—withno contact from the Duke—Sebastian had one of the zebras, Wibble, in the round yard.He’d concluded that he’d dreamed the other day in his cottage, and therefore he ought to get on with the task of winning this bet since it might help him forget the entire thing.Unlikely, but he had to do something productive rather than dwell on it.The stable lads had named the zebras Stripes, Wibble, Dungeon, and Bob.They were in the process of being harness broken, and today’s task was to lunge them in the round yard while they became used to wearing a girth, bridle, and side reins.None of the zebras really understood the point of what they were doing and it was a bit frustrating.Earlier today Bob had just laid down in the sand and refused to get up again.Horses had an intuition about working with a person making them much less frustrating than this.And watching a rotund stripey donkey-like creature trot languidly around the outside of the round yard wasn’t Seb’s favourite thing, although they did have a smoother stride than he’d expected.
“No, Wibble.Get up you insouciant beast.”Just as Bob had before, bloody Wibble just lay down in the sand.He cracked his whip in the air.Wibble jumped up and charged at him, teeth bared, and he dropped his whip so he could grab the reins and Wibble whirled around.He patted the beast to soothe it, dodging a few cow kicks and then Wibble tried to head butt him.
“No you don’t.”He softened his hold, still patting him, and slowly the zebra stopped fighting him.“There you go.”
“Having trouble, Sebastian?”
“They are a little more challenging than I’d expected.”He kept his attention on Wibble who suddenly decided to try and lie down again.“No, none of that.Come on, that’ll do for today.Let’s get you washed down and fed.”Luckily he had plenty of time to train them, as they’d take more sessions—shorter and less intense—than he did with the racehorses who understood the point quickly and enjoyed their work.His horses had longer attention spans too.He guided Wibbles to the gate at the edge of the round yard, and the animal almost sighed as they headed back towards the stables.One of the lads came over.
“All done, boss?”
“Enough for today, John.They don’t seem to have a long attention span.”
“I imagine that’s why we haven’t domesticated them yet.”The Duke must have followed them.
“Careful, your Grace.Wibble has one hell of a kick.”And he wasn’t afraid to unleash it.Zebras didn’t kick like horses, they were more unpredictable and had more range, like a combination of an angry bull and a donkey in a volatile little package.
“Wibble?”The Duke stood far enough away that he’d be safe, but not so far that Sebastian couldn’t see the way he stared smugly.
“The stable lads named them.This is Wibble.In the box over there is Bob.Stripes and Dungeon are over there.”He handed over the reins to a stable lad, and quickly undid the side reins and surcingle from the zebra.“Rub him down, will you?But not alone.Be careful.”Sebastian slid all the gear off the zebra; all 12.3hh of him and gave him a quick scratch on his wither.Like all animals, Wibble loved a good scratch and he made that funny noise that zebras made; somewhere between a high pitched bark and the throatiness of a donkey.Weirdest noise he’d ever heard an animal make.
“He seems to like that,” said John, the stable lad.
“Yes.Maybe he’ll see the benefits of being domesticated soon,” said the Duke.
Sebastian nodded.“He’s going to have to.I want Smolensk.”
