He grabbed her hand and led her down the elegant hallway towards the main foyer. She was giggling behind him and Adam grinned at the sound. He tightened his hold on her hand and cut around the corner as the hallway came to its end. When she shrieked, Adam picked up speed and dashed into an open door into the out-of-bounds kitchen.
Startled maids jumped when the two ran through Richmond Hall's grand cooking room and Adam heard the clatter of a pan crashing to the floor.
"Sorry, pardon us, excuse me." He said as he cut through the room.
They exited the kitchen and Mari's face flushed with laughter. Adam stared at her as they paused to catch their breath underneath the stair case.
"Come on, let's go."
They ran up the stairs to the second floor and when a door opened down the hall, Adam grabbed Mari urgently and pushed her towards a little janitorial closet. He squeezed in, closing the door behind him.
"Shh, we can't be seen." He whispered in her ear.
Adam could hear footsteps in the hallway walking past the little closet but he dismissed it. He was in a tight confinement with Marianne and he could smell the lavender on her skin and feel her breath on his neck.
"Do you think they're gone?" She said in a hushed tone.
"Not yet." He swallowed. He wanted to kiss her so badly. "OK, they're gone."
He opened the door and peeked into the empty hallway. "Let's go."
"Adam, where are we going?" She asked.
"To our room, hurry!"
When Mari slipped out of his grip he stopped and turned around. She had her hands on her waist and was staring him down. "What are you up to?"
"Come on Mari, don't lose faith on me now." He said with a smile.
She raised an eyebrow. "Our room? I thought we were going to do something fun."
"There are a lot of fun things to be done in a bedroom, princess." He said innocently. "But we aren't staying in our room. Trust me."
She watched him for a moment and nodded. "Alright."
They walked into their bedroom and Adam grabbed a pair of comfortable jeans and a Rated R Superstar shirt from his luggage. He walked towards the bathroom but not before he motioned to her bag. "Put something comfortable on."
"Slip something more comfortable on?" She repeated, still suspicious.
"Jeans, woman. Not nakedness. And hurry." He shut the door to the bathroom and quickly changed from his business casual clothes to his adventure casual clothes. He grinned and he buckled his belt. He planned on having some fun in New Zealand with Marianne, and not even she would stop him from achieving that.
"You ready?" He asked through the closed door.
He heard her mumbled reply. "Almost."
Adam returned to the sink mirror and grabbed one of Mari's hair ties, binding his hair back. He splashed come cold water on his face and patted it dry with a soft towel. "Now?"
"Yes I'm ready!" He opened the door to find Mari in cute denim jeans and a dark green cardigan.
"Perfect." He said, meaning her. "Let's go."
They walked out into the beaming New Zealand sun and Adam led her towards a small forest behind the manor grounds. Marianne was glad she wore her cardigan as a strong breeze wisped over her. She picked up her pace to follow Adam deeper into the grounds and smiled when a bird flew over her head.
"Where are you leading me, O Adventurer?" She asked her guide.
"When I was running earlier I came across a stable." He said.
"A stale?"
"You know – a building for domestic farm animals?"
She rolled her eyes. "I know what a stable is. Smartass."
"Well, this stable houses horses."
Her eyes widened as Mari didn't particularly like horses. "Horses?"
"You know – Mammal, long mane…" Adam laughed when she slapped his shoulder. "Alright, alright. I talked to the groundskeeper and he said we could go for a ride today if we wanted."
"No way." She said, stopping in her tracks. "I'm not riding any beast."
"Come on, Marianne, are you afraid it's going to bite you?"
"No, I'm afraid it's going to throw me off or land on me and break my leg!" She said.
"You're not going to get a wild horse, Mr. Tarvey will probably give you a sweet little mare. I want a stallion!" He continued to walk and she followed suit.
"Do you even know what you're talking about?" Mari asked incredulously.
"No, I don't. But that doesn't change the fact that Mr. Tarvey does." Adam said with a straight face.
They paused at the clearing and Marianne could see a beautiful barn alongside two elegant stables. "Who is Mr. Tarvey?"
"A man, human species I think." When she raised her eyebrow, he shrugged. "The groundskeeper. I've told you this already. Keep up."
Adam continued walking and when they reached the stables she saw a short balding man who she presumed to be the infamous Mr. Tarvey. Adam approached him and the two shook hands. He looked over at her and Mari smiled.
"Marianne Tobey, sir."
He beamed. "Hello little lady. Are you here to ride one of my horses?"
"I'd like to see them, I don't think I'm brave enough to ride them."
Adam stage whispered to the older man, "She thinks they are beasts."
He nodded. "Just like my wife. Well I'll show you my collection and maybe I can persuade you to change your mind. Took me a couple of months to convince Mrs. Tarvey so I can't promise you anything."
Adam laughed. "Well, we'll take it one step at a time."
He introduced them to each of the thirteen horses and although Mari was hesitant at first, she marveled at the beautiful animals. She noticed they all shared one trait and that was kind eyes. She could gaze forever into the eyes of one gray beast in particular.
"Ah that's Bellona, my favorite mare." Mr. Tarvey said.
"She's incredibly beautiful. Is she gentle?" Mari asked shyly as she wanted to pet her.
"Pfft. That old bird is nothing but gentle. When I first got her thirteen years ago she was a rebellious coot that nearly bit my hand off, so I named her after the Roman goddess of war. We butted heads for weeks until I found out her weakness."
Mari gasped. "What was it?"
Mr. Tarvey cleared his throat. "Carrots."
"Carrots?"
He paused. "Well, you know… long orange vegetable, grows in the ground… "
"Yes, Mr. Tarvey, I know what a carrot is. "
She shook her head at Adam's peal of laughter as he bent over with it. Quickly the two joined in the joke, laughing gleefully in the middle of the stable. Adam leaned on a wooden pillar and wiped fake tears from his eyes.
"Well, would you like to feed dear Bellona a carrot? She'll love you forever."
Mari clapped her hands. "May I?"
He walked towards the front of the stable and grabbed a container from the ledge. He offered each a carrot and Bellona's attention diverted to the three people. Her ears flickered and she moved her head above the wooden gate curiously towards them.
"My girl knows what she likes. Here Marianne, approach her carefully and slowly raise your arm."
Mari looked at Adam unsure and he encouraged her with a nod. "Don't lose courage now, princess."
She offered Bellona the juicy vegetable and she took it, munching on it happily. Mari raised her hand and put it on her soft nose. She gently stroked the gray horse and Bellona's eyelashes batted at her causing Mari to giggle.
"Well, let's ride!" Adam said.
"Deary?" Mr. Tarvey asked.
"Let's do it." She said confidently.
The groundskeeper led Bellona out as well as a black horse named Jack and a horse with a golden coat named after the God of wine and pleasure, Dionysus.
He saddled up the three quickly and explained to Mari and Adam how to guide their horses. "They're pretty easy to lead and will most likely just follow my lead but if you wish to stop, pull slightly at the cord here," he said pointing to the ropes connecting to the saddle. "If you want to speed up just tap his side or say 'run.' They know what to do so you can easily just not do anything, they will lead you right."
He led his own horse out first, Dionysus, and quickly saddled up, demonstrating how to do it. Adam followed suit on Jack and she glanced up at his smiling figure. She smiled back bravely and approached Bellona. Putting her left foot on the stirrup, she pushed herself up and mounted her grey mare easily. When she started to move Mari gripped her saddle for dear life but it was just moments to realize nothing bad was going to happen. She relaxed in her seat and followed Adam and Mr. Tarvey happily, looking around in the beautiful scenery. Tomorrow was their last day and the gala ball, but until then she was going to have fun with her new friend.
"Over there beyond those trees is where they filmed a lot of the second Lord of the Rings movie." Mr. Tarvey said.
"Wow, that's beautiful." She said in awe. Ahead was a beautiful green field stretching out to tall mountains in the horizon. She looked over at Adam and he was staring at her with a funny look in his eyes that she couldn't describe.
They rode to the water stream where they dismounted and explored. They listened to the older man share tales of the land and ooh'd when it got interesting. They also enjoyed the beautiful Saturday morning without bickering, to which Mari would say was the most significant. As lunch approached, they headed back towards the manor and Marianne was delighted with Adam's idea of going horseback riding. They thanked the groundskeeper and Marianne waved goodbye to Bellona.
"Bye Mr. Tarvey, thank you so much!" She said.
He waved back happily. "You two call me by my first name, now, it's Harvey! Come back soon guys!"
"Bye Harvey!" Adam said and they watched the man disappear into the stable.
They walked a few paces towards the manor when Mari let out a soft snicker. Adam shushed her and they picked up their pace. Laughter was nearly exploding out of her by the time they made a good distance from the stables. Adam threw his head back and laughed loudly as Mari joined in. By the end of their fit, Mari was clutching her side from laughing so hard.
"Harvey Tarvey!" She said in mid-laugh and Adam guffawed again.
"Oh man, I'm glad he didn't tell me that earlier, I wouldn't have been able to talk to him with a straight face."
"Me neither!" She said still giggling. "Oh man. It's almost lunch time, we better change."
"You're right. Who would have guessed… Harvey Tarvey. It's almost cruel." Adam said and Mari started to laugh again. "You have something in your hair."
She paused in front of him and he put his fingers on her hair, carefully removing a little leaf. He kept his hand there beside her face and wrapped a finger around a strand of her hair.
"So soft." He murmured.
Mari stopped laughing. "I had a lot of fun with you."
"Me too."
Adam put his hand down and walked away from Mari. He opened the front door of the manor and Marianne walked through, thanking him. She had hoped he would have kissed her as they shared that moment and was disappointed when he broke contact. She had made him agree to no moves on her, so she should be happy he is respecting her wishes, but still…
She followed him up the stairs and smiled when he whispered Mr. Tarvey's name with a chuckle.