Page 24 of Lord of the Lost

~~~~~

Devlin wished, as the carriage conveyed them down to the village, that the journey was longer. Truly, he wished that he had not agreed to the expedition at all, because it meant that he would need to deal with quite a few people.

More than just the shopkeepers, for, every time he had come into the village, people came out to see him, to speak to him, and crowded around him. He understood that they were all glad that he had returned, glad to have a Duke in residence again, but the crowding triggered his battle reflexes, and it was a continuous struggle to prevent himself from shoving them away, or worse. Beside him, Mona was quiet, just watching out of the window, taking in the familiar scenery. Then, as they neared the bottom of the hill, she turned to him.

“Where shall we go first? The general goods store? Or the seamstress?”

Devlin thought for a moment, considering this from a purely logistical perspective, then replied.

“The general goods store, I think. The seamstress most likely has fabric of a higher quality, and what we need to decorate the ballroom doesn’t need to be all that extravagant, especially as some of it will be draped up high, out of reach. And we can ask Mr Simmons if he has any contacts who know the wholesale flower sellers in the larger towns.”

Mona smiled, nodding her agreement.

Moments later, the carriage drew to a halt in the village square, and they stepped down. Devlin offered Mona his arm, and they began to walk towards the store. All around them, people had stopped, initially to stare, and then, as he had expected, many began to move towards them. A shiver ran through him.

He was afraid – afraid that he might shame himself, by lashing out and hurting someone – these were his people, his tenants, in the main, and he was supposed to look after them, not hurt them! He swallowed, desperately wanting to turn back to the carriage, but he could not allow himself that.

Fortunately, they reached the door of the shop before most of the people reached them, and he stepped inside with all speed. He was relieved when no one followed them in. He released the breath he had not realised he was holding, in a sigh so loud that Mona looked up at him in surprise. He turned his attention to Mr Simmons, who was greeting them.

“Your Graces, what may I do for you today?”

He was relieved when Mona chose to speak.

“Mr Simmons, we are planning an event at the Castle – and I must ask you to keep that fact a secret, for now – but we have realised that we will need a substantial amount of fabric to create decorative draperies, and we hoped that you might be able to supply us with something suitable. We will also need rather a lot of flowers – might you have some contacts who could supply those?”

Devlin was amused to see Mr Simmons’ eyes light up with a decidedly avaricious glint.

“Why Your Grace, I do believe that I can help you, at least with the fabric – although it will depend on just how much you need. I’ve a large supply that I’ve had for some time, after an order which fell through. There are various colours – I can show you, in a moment. As far as the flowers, I will send off some messages, and see what can be achieved – for that, of course, you’ll need to give me some indication of a date…”

“About a month from now, I think.”

Mr Simmons nodded, and made a note in a journal which lay on his counter.

“That should be possible, I think. But if you will come with me, I will show you the fabric – it’s in the large storeroom, at the back of the building. This way, if you please.”

He led them through a curtained doorway, and down a corridor to a large room which was filled with floor to ceiling shelves. An hour later, they emerged, having arranged what Devlin thought to be an impossibly large amount of fabric. In the process of looking at it, and making decisions, he had forgotten, just for a little, his concerns about dealing with people – but when they stepped out into the village square again, there was still a crowd.

His heart began to pound. They had waited – and now they were closing in…

“Your Grace… “

“Good day, Your Grace…”

“Your Grace, the church needs repairs…”

It went on and on, all done in good faith, but overwhelming. His urge to push them aside, violently, grew stronger and stronger, until, at last, he spoke – far more loudly than was polite.

“Everyone, please… stop! I cannot address every concern, right here and now. Please put your concerns in writing, and send those notes to the Castle. I will address them all, as soon as I can. But for now, I must urgently return home. Good day.”

And with that, he took Mona’s arm, and near dragged her through the crowd to their carriage. He was running away – he knew it, even as he did it, yet he could not stop himself. Once they were in the carriage, and it was moving, his breathing steadied. Mona touched his arm.

“Husband, that was not well done…”

He turned to her, almost snarling.

“Perhaps not, but they crowded me, demanding, just like the ghosts of the lost do. It felt like being in battle, being attacked….”

He turned away from her then, and looked out of the window. She sighed, but said nothing more.