RITMO ANDALUZ
Epilogue
_Which takes place two months after the events just described_
It was one of those rare sunny days that the end of the English summer could provide on occasion. The countryside looked like something out of a fairy tale, bathed in sweet warm light, with the trees rustling gently in the soft breeze. The meadows, velvety green, were dappled with blue and yellow little flowers like droplets of sky and gold. In the thick bushes the birds tweeted gently...
"Shoo!"
... and flew away in a frenzy of wings and frightened chirps. They settled again like snowflakes on the branches of a young, slender willow that -
"Away from there, you beasts! Shoo! Shoo!"
... Oh, it's impossible, simply impossible... But it still was a nice afternoon. Sigh.
"Verne, will you kindly stop that? And come back to the path!"
"I'm having too much fun, Fogg!"
"Well, at least don't make the poor 'Nube' turn around so quickly, you're going to make her sick!"
"The truth is that she's frightened of your horse, Phileas."
"Nonsense. 'Pesadilla' has been behaving much better lately."
"If you call good behavior breaking her stall partitions twice, biting Old Muck's hand, and scaring every horse in the area out of their hides, then I have to agree. Why on earth did you want to keep that damned beast, anyway? She's a fiend from hell!"
"I have a weak spot for dangerous females."
Rebecca's mouth moved as if to repress a smile; she let a second pass and then changed the subject.
"Jules seems quite comfortable on a horse these days, though."
"If he doesn't drive the poor beast mad, look at him! And why is he doing that, anyway? Scaring all the birds from Shillingworth to Lincolnshire?"
"Ah... Well, I'm sure he has his reasons."
Fogg shook his head and then spent a busy couple of minutes regaining control of 'Pesadilla', who was trying to throw him over the nearest hill. His wife held back the nervous 'Festivo' and watched Phileas fight the beautiful animal, not without some pleasure. When focused, Phileas was as fascinating to behold as the aurora borealis.
Verne trotted back to them, pleasure radiating from his face.
"That took care of them," he said with wicked pleasure. "Shall we go back? I promised Passepartout I would help him with our new design of a water hose for putting out fires."
"Apparently your last mission had some unexpected beneficial side effects, Rebecca. Or at least I hope they will be beneficial." Phileas said mildly, watching Verne explore all nearby bushes in search of more feathered fiends.
"Chatsworth was positively glowing when he received Maberley's last reports. He almost laughed when he read them."
"A shocking image," Phileas replied. "But I suppose I'm glad."
"Christiansen eluded the Spanish police. But he's being watched. It's only a matter of time."
"And you will be there."
Rebecca gave him a quick glance. Amazing, how he could read her.
"Well, yes. We are working on the details now. Maybe by autumn."
"Ah." Phileas watched the clear blue sky and felt the sun warm his back and Pesadilla's glossy coat. He breathed in the sweet afternoon air and watched the charming landscape around him fondly, listening to the rustling of leaves and... well, not the singing of birds, really. And Rebecca, foreground to everything else in his life. And yes, even 'Pesadilla'. He could ride her. Not easily, not without some pain, but indeed he could ride her.
"Everything I need," he muttered to himself, and rode with his wife to their home, their friends and their life.
The (definitive) End
Adela / Daurmith
Epilogue
_Which takes place two months after the events just described_
It was one of those rare sunny days that the end of the English summer could provide on occasion. The countryside looked like something out of a fairy tale, bathed in sweet warm light, with the trees rustling gently in the soft breeze. The meadows, velvety green, were dappled with blue and yellow little flowers like droplets of sky and gold. In the thick bushes the birds tweeted gently...
"Shoo!"
... and flew away in a frenzy of wings and frightened chirps. They settled again like snowflakes on the branches of a young, slender willow that -
"Away from there, you beasts! Shoo! Shoo!"
... Oh, it's impossible, simply impossible... But it still was a nice afternoon. Sigh.
"Verne, will you kindly stop that? And come back to the path!"
"I'm having too much fun, Fogg!"
"Well, at least don't make the poor 'Nube' turn around so quickly, you're going to make her sick!"
"The truth is that she's frightened of your horse, Phileas."
"Nonsense. 'Pesadilla' has been behaving much better lately."
"If you call good behavior breaking her stall partitions twice, biting Old Muck's hand, and scaring every horse in the area out of their hides, then I have to agree. Why on earth did you want to keep that damned beast, anyway? She's a fiend from hell!"
"I have a weak spot for dangerous females."
Rebecca's mouth moved as if to repress a smile; she let a second pass and then changed the subject.
"Jules seems quite comfortable on a horse these days, though."
"If he doesn't drive the poor beast mad, look at him! And why is he doing that, anyway? Scaring all the birds from Shillingworth to Lincolnshire?"
"Ah... Well, I'm sure he has his reasons."
Fogg shook his head and then spent a busy couple of minutes regaining control of 'Pesadilla', who was trying to throw him over the nearest hill. His wife held back the nervous 'Festivo' and watched Phileas fight the beautiful animal, not without some pleasure. When focused, Phileas was as fascinating to behold as the aurora borealis.
Verne trotted back to them, pleasure radiating from his face.
"That took care of them," he said with wicked pleasure. "Shall we go back? I promised Passepartout I would help him with our new design of a water hose for putting out fires."
"Apparently your last mission had some unexpected beneficial side effects, Rebecca. Or at least I hope they will be beneficial." Phileas said mildly, watching Verne explore all nearby bushes in search of more feathered fiends.
"Chatsworth was positively glowing when he received Maberley's last reports. He almost laughed when he read them."
"A shocking image," Phileas replied. "But I suppose I'm glad."
"Christiansen eluded the Spanish police. But he's being watched. It's only a matter of time."
"And you will be there."
Rebecca gave him a quick glance. Amazing, how he could read her.
"Well, yes. We are working on the details now. Maybe by autumn."
"Ah." Phileas watched the clear blue sky and felt the sun warm his back and Pesadilla's glossy coat. He breathed in the sweet afternoon air and watched the charming landscape around him fondly, listening to the rustling of leaves and... well, not the singing of birds, really. And Rebecca, foreground to everything else in his life. And yes, even 'Pesadilla'. He could ride her. Not easily, not without some pain, but indeed he could ride her.
"Everything I need," he muttered to himself, and rode with his wife to their home, their friends and their life.
The (definitive) End
Adela / Daurmith