"Is this really necessary?" Esmeralda asked, one hand reaching up to touch the cloth that was tied over her eyes.
"Just trust me," he told her.
She was forced to. He guided her forward with his hands on her shoulders. They seemed to going an awfully long way, but one always thinks that when they don't know where they're going.
After about five minutes had passed, there was the warm scent of straw and dust. It was only drizzling outside now.
"Is it much further?" she asked.
"A few steps more," he said right next to her ear.
She continued until he stopped her.
"Stay right here and don't lift the cloth until I tell you to," he warned.
"All right," she sighed.
She could hear him whispering to Jehan. After a couple of minutes, he lifted the cloth.
"You may look now," he said smugly.
Esmeralda gasped.
"Luna!"
Sure enough, the filly stood at her mother's side. She was not yet old enough to wean, but they were both here!
"But…Captain Phoebus…" was all Esmeralda could sputter out.
"Ah…Claude talked me out of it," Jehan sighed, "never argue with a priest! You're sure to lose."
Esmeralda could only stare at Claude in surprise.
"We've had this planned since we came here," he said, "that's why I made myself scarce. I was afraid I would let it slip. Jehan made arrangements to have them brought up as soon as possible."
"But…surely that got expensive," Esmeralda commented, "with the loss of a sale and with keeping them sheltered and cared for and…"
She stopped, having just remembered that it was bad manners for women to talk about money.
"Never mind that," Claude said with gentleness and firmness at the same time, "it's taken care of."
Esmeralda opened her mouth to object.
"Well…I wonder if we should send Luna and Lily back to France," Jehan commented, "it appears that Esmeralda doesn't want them here."
She turned to face him.
"No! That's not at all what I meant!" she yelped, embarrassed.
Claude turned around, his hands just barely touching both shoulders. He could not have held her more firmly in place if he'd used an iron grip.
"Luna is a gift, Esmeralda. When she is fully-grown and trained, she will be completely yours."
His tone of voice sounded almost like he was addressing a child.
It was there in the barn that she hugged him for the second time. Elizabeth had made an appearance and she stood with her arm wrapped around Jehan's lanky waist.
"Well, well…and men accuse women of keeping secrets!" she playfully scolded Jehan.
In that moment, Claude's body felt too small to contain the sudden flood of joy he felt. The shine in Esmeralda's eyes and the brilliance in her smile was by far the greatest treasure she could have given him. It had dawned on her that he had paid for Luna himself. It had cost him all the money he had, but it was well worth it. He would find a way to pay Jehan back later on. Besides, Jehan had sold him the filly at a much lower price than he would have to Captain Phoebus.
"Thank you," she managed to choke out. Luna reached her small nose out curiously to investigate Esmeralda's stretched out hand. Claude was still dizzy and euphoric, the pressure from her arms still imprinted on him. He and Jehan exchanged warm glances; Jehan seemed to be enjoying the moment almost as much as he was.
In Esmeralda's opinion, Luna was even more beautiful now than she had been at first. Her legs were straighter now and she didn't seem clumsy at all. Her white hair had grown a little more thickly over her rosy skin and her eyes seemed brighter. She even managed to pet Luna for a moment. Eventually, Luna got bored and went back to her mother. Lily, as the white mare was called, was nosing around in the straw for dropped grain.
"I do not know how to ride," Esmeralda admitted guiltily.
"You have plenty of time to learn," Elizabeth reminded her.
Claude's imagination stole him from the "real world" for a moment. He imagined what Esmeralda would look like riding Luna when she was fully grown. The two of them would both put the sun, the flowers, and the rest of God's creation to shame as they galloped in the sunlight. He was certain he'd done the right thing, even if there was a tiny bit of self-indulgence on his part. He'd wanted to make her happy, wanted her to look at him in adoration.
He was actually surprised it had turned out this wonderful
Getting Luna and Lily here was no easy task whatsoever. There had been all sorts of things that could have gone wrong along the way: Jehan's friends might have kept the horses for themselves, they could have gotten lost, sick, or injured, they could have been stolen by thieves and highway men….there were so many possibilities. Upon finding out that Lily and Luna were safely in town, they discussed the best way to get them home. Deciding that Lily was fine to walk by herself, they'd wrestled Luna into the back of a wagon box. That was what had gotten them all splattered with mud: Luna disliked being hoisted up by five or six men and she'd thrashed and squealed bloody murder. Lily had gotten very agitated and was very unhappy. While Claude and Jehan had gone into the house to bathe, a couple of boys from town washed both horses until they shone like snow again for a few extra coins. Then, they hastily retreated as they were asked. All of those who had sheltered and cared for the horses along the way were handsomely compensated so that they wouldn't be tempted to be dishonest. It was a long shot for sure, but they'd somehow miraculously pulled it off.
As if realizing he had been thinking about all that, Esmeralda finally turned her attention back to Claude.
"How did you do it?" she asked curiously.
"That will remain my secret for now," Claude said, "but suffice it to say that it's a very long story and that God was on our side the entire time."
Knowing it would be useless to push him further, she could only nod graciously.
I daresay she hasn't had much practice in accepting gifts, Claude thought, but she will eventually get better at it.
He had wanted to do something special for her since realizing she was his. After his disastrous attempts to get her to want him in Paris, he knew he would have to go about it another way. After his quarrel with Elizabeth in the kitchen shortly afterward, he realized he had been quite selfish. But what did he have to offer her? She didn't seem to be the materialistic type at all. It wasn't until he saw how she'd looked at Luna that he knew: Luna would make an excellent gift. He would have to win Esmeralda's heart a little at a time by showing her that he cared about what she cared about.
"Well, then," Jehan said warmly, "I would imagine these two are exhausted from their journey. We really should let them rest. In the meantime, I don't mind telling you all that I'm as hungry as a wolf."
Everyone laughed when his stomach rumbled. Claude was feeling a bit empty as well. After Jehan filled the feedbox and brought Lily some water to drink, they were situated for the night. Her stall had been taken care of last night; clean, fresh straw had been spread out already. They had everything they needed.
As they walked back to the house, a second storm loomed ahead. The sky had not yet let loose the rain, but a low rumble of thunder echoed around them.
"Goodness…I wonder if it's going to rain all night," Elizabeth commented.
"Possibility," Jehan answered, "but it can rain all it wants now!"
Though the air was getting chilly, they were all glowing warm from the day's events. Very, very cautiously, Claude's fingers grazed Esmeralda's hand. He almost had a heart-attack when her fingers closed around his and gave them a squeeze.