Note: You get two chapters today. It was originally going to be one, but I decided the two halves of the chapter would be better as two seperate chapters
"I think I have a plan," Thomas called to Richard, who was busy clearing up breakfast which he had cooked this time, in the kitchen the next morning. He had the map of their local area spread out in front of him on the dining room table, Chris's compass sitting next to it, providing useful direction. Richard had left Thomas to the task of what they will be doing with their day today, and Thomas secretly reckoned that he was a lot better at reading maps than Richard is. Richard came in a moment later, his hair was still unstyled as he had washed it that morning to remove the sand that had found its way in there over the past two days and had decided to let it dry naturally, which Thomas preferred. He stood behind Thomas, who was sitting at the table, and put his hand on the back of Thomas's chair as he leant over to see the map also. "There are so many little paths and lanes around here," Thomas said, pointing to the general area surrounding their cottage, Loe Pool and the woodland belonging to the Penrose estate on the opposite side of the water. "I thought, why not keep today simple and explore around here a bit."
"We won't need the Aston then?" Richard asked. Thomas thought he sounded a little disappointed at not having a reason to drive.
"No actually, I think we will still need her," Thomas said, only just stopping himself from referring to the car as an 'it'. He could feel Richard smile behind him when he used the correct terminology. "It doesn't look too far on here," he said, referring to the map, "but from my calculations I think it would take about seven miles to walk all away around Loe Pool, which we could do but it would take all day."
"So what do you suggest?" Richard prompted.
"We drive down to this little lane here," Thomas said, pointing to a track on the map that seemed to only lead to a farm. "Then we park up around there somewhere, and walk along the lane a bit. There is a engine house building right next to the road and from what I can tell, there is a path that will take us on a handy shortcut through the trees to get to the other side of the lake and onto one of the driveways for the Penrose estate." As Thomas described the route he traced it with his finger along the map. "From there we just walk as far as we want, maybe see if there is a good spot down by the lakeside for a picnic?"
"That sounds like a good compromise," Richard said. "And it will give us time to leave a little later than we did yesterday."
"Are you regretting getting up too early in the morning?" Thomas asked.
"No course not, I had to get the salt from the sea spray off the wheel arches from yesterday as it's no good for the metal," Richard said, Thomas rolled his eyes. "I just have something I need to do before we leave."
"Does the car need washing again?" Thomas asked, turning around in his chair to look at Richard behind him.
"No, well it does but that's not what I was planning," Richard said. "No, I was planning on writing to Larry. Thought we owe enough to him to give him a little update as to what we are getting up to. Your plan for today is ideal in that regard, as we can drive into town on our way back to post the letter. Also we are running low on bread so could stop buy a bakery at the same time."
"I had a similar plan actually, I was going to write to Chris too. Thought he'd like to hear how we are getting on. Although-" Thomas hesitated.
"-You don't want to rub our happiness in his face?" Richard said , reading Thomas's concerns.
"Something like that," Thomas said.
"He did say to me he'd like to hear from us," Richard said. "Well actually he said he would like to hear from you and what we're getting up to."
Thomas nodded, reassured a little. "Right, good. I'll clear this away, and see what I can do about a letter then. We are only a few days into this week but we have enough to say don't we?"
Richard smiled, "Yeah we do, no doubt about that."
...
Later that morning, after each of them spent some time writing to Larry and Chris and then preparing lunch, they drove to the start of their walk for the day. It was a distance of around five miles, due to the topography of the land and the twists and turns of Cornish country lanes, meaning they couldn't just travel 'as the crow flies'. The last part of their short journey was down a narrow track that bordered a dense woodland that seemed to be combined with marshes, the river lost somewhere in the middle of it all. It was dry today, due to it almost being the summer, but Thomas reckoned the lane would have been likely to flood in the winter. Richard was driving more slowly than he usually did, due to the uneven road surface beneath them, and Thomas was really hoping that there would be somewhere suitable up ahead where they could leave the car safely. After a few minutes though, they came to a ford and a small stream, that was flowing under the road instead of over it. The farm Thomas had seen on the map was just ahead of them around a sharp corner, but there was ample space to park up by the edge of the track and away from any mud. "Right," Richard said as he switched off the engine, to reveal silence once more around them. The lane they had driven along was covered by trees all of the way and now they were sitting in the car in the dappled shade of several oak trees above them. The only sounds being the gentle ticking of the Aston's engine as she cooled down, the gentle summer breeze through the trees above them, and the sound of cows in a field nearby. "You lead the way Mr Barrow," he said as Thomas was looking at the map once again.
"Do you mind a slight detour?" Thomas asked. "Only, we could eat lunch now, and I think I've found a perfect spot. It would save us having to carry it all with us. We could just take a little of it with us later?"
"You don't have to persuade me Thomas," Richard said as Thomas explained his suggestion. He looked around them, and being satisfied no one was in sight, brushed several loose strands of Thomas's raven black hair away from his forehead as he looked down over the map. "I'll follow you anywhere."
The softness in Richard's tone, and his hand on his forehead, made Thomas look up from the map and for a few seconds he lost track of time as his gaze was caught in Richard's eyes. "I know you will," Thomas wisphered back not looking away. By the way Richard's eye lashes flickered as he looked too and from Thomas's mouth, Thomas thought that Richard was going to kiss him right there in the car, but then all too soon, Richard broke the silence.
"What's the detour?" he asked. He wanted to kiss Thomas here, in the car, but it would be foolish in the middle of the day and with farm buildings in sight.
"Over there," Thomas pointed to a wooden gate and a path just ahead of them on the other side of the ford they had just driven through. "Leads up to this field, as long as there are no cows in it, we could eat there. Probably will only take us five minutes to get there."
"Should be a good view from up there," Richard said. "And quiet."
"Exactly what I was thinking," Thomas said as they both got out of the car.
...
"It's so green," Richard exclaimed as they sat at the top of the field up against a hedge, conveniently empty of livestock, eating lunch.
"Well yes, it's a field Richard," Thomas mocked. "We have plenty of those in Yorkshire."
"I know, but it's a different type of green though. Darker maybe," Richard argued. Thomas knew what he meant really, it was just fun to tease him. The field hadn't been grazed by cattle in a while it seemed. The grass had grown long and each blade was thick, meaning as the cool breeze blew up the sloping field towards them, it created waves of different shades of green. The wind would sometimes change direction and the waves would flow horizontally across the field, as if the grass was a liquid. It reminded him of those days in the summer last year they had spent in the fields on the Downton estate, completely surrounded by a curtain of green as they lay on the ground together. Despite the breeze though, it was getting rather warm. The sky was completely void of clouds and the sun was high. Thomas was a little concerned that he would end up burning and turning an unattractive red. He didn't think Richard would be so likely to have that problem though. That man had a perfect tan all year round and if he didn't happen to be in love with 'that man' then he would find that fact extremely annoying. Thomas finished eating, making sure they left something for later on, and took off his jacket and laid down on the grass next to Richard, who was still eating away merrily at some cake that they had found in the pantry at the cottage. He hoped the grass would be long enough to obscure the sun a little. It was to some extent but not effective enough. Thomas sighed in frustration. "What's the matter?" Richard asked.
"I'm wishing right now I didn't have such a pale complexion that's all," Thomas said.
"Don't wish that, I like it very much," Richard said, wiping some crumbs away from his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Yeah well, it's not suited to the sun. Not like you, doubt you ever get sunburnt much," Thomas said.
"True I don't. We can leave here if you want. The rest of the walk, from what you described should be in the shade," Richard asked.
"Not yet. I'm in two minds Richard that's all. Very happy here but not wanting to regret it later," Thomas said. "The view is great from here and I wanted to enjoy it a bit longer."
Richard looked away from Thomas and out into the distance. The view was lovely, he agreed. They were up high, the oak trees that overhung the track they had driven along earlier were now below them, and the woodland and marshes that followed were further out still. Over to the left was Loe Pool, its bright blue waters glistening in the midday sun. He breathed in deeply. The air was so clean. After years of living in London, he had grown used to the smell of smoke and smog that frequented the city. Even on the days when the air was good in the city, it was not a patch on this. It almost tasted good. He smiled though as a thought occurred to him suddenly, "You can't even see the view lying down there Mr Barrow," he said. "You are only looking up at the sky and me."
Thomas rolled his eyes at Richard's obvious vanity. "I was talking about the view out over there I swear, but yes the view from my current position is very pleasing also."
"Glad to hear it Mr Barrow," Richard said as he moved over in front of Thomas, and climbed onto his outstretched legs so that he eclipsed the sun, casting shade over Thomas's face.
"What are you doing?" Thomas asked, though not exactly complaining.
"Keeping the sun off your handsome face," Richard said. He felt Thomas laugh beneath him.
"You could do that better if you came closer," Thomas suggested. With that remark he reached up to Richard and gave Richard's open shirt collar a gentle encouraging tug.
"That I could," Richard said as he lowered himself onto Thomas and into the long grass, the sun heating his back as Thomas warmed his lips with his kisses.
…
A little while later, Thomas and Richard had left the sunny fields behind them and were now surrounded by the cool shade of the valley floor. They were walking along a narrow, raised gravel path that served as the shortcut Thomas had found on the map, earlier that morning. Either side of them was an unusual landscape, unlike any woodland either of them had seen before. The trees were not tall and straight like the woods they had spent much of their time in back at Downton. These trees grew low and twisted in all directions, like the way a long thread of string would tangle itself if it was dropped to the floor. In fact they seemed to grow more horizontally rather than vertically, twisting and tangling all around each other. Each trunk of the tree was thick, and covered in layers of moss and lichen. The trees, which Richard identified as some type of willow, grew out of a marsh, hence the need for a raised footpath that would probably be submerged underwater in the winter. Even on a lovely summer's day like today, it was eerily quiet. To either side of them you could see nothing but tangles of leaves and wood, and there was only a thin band of blue sky above them, the rest obscured by the leaves in the canopy. Thomas didn't believe in creatures of folk tales and myth like fairies and goblins, although he'd never had the reason to give it much thought, but this landscape could easily inspire such creatures and stories, he thought. It was an interesting location, but he was glad that he had Richard with him, and that it wasn't dark.
It didn't take them long to leave the strange woods behind them; the path emerged onto a driveway, with the marshes below them and a more 'normal' looking woodland of evergreens and oaks, to the other side of them. Neither of them had spoken earlier, both were probably taken in by the creepy twisted marshes to be able to concentrate on any normal conversation. Now though they walked side by side in the direction of the manor house and its surrounding parkland, both of them feeling a lot more content at more familiar surroundings. The driveway was long, probably a few miles in order before they reached a grand looking lodge house that marked the beginning of the parkland. They had passed a few people on foot, some who looked like servants, probably coming and going from the manor house, and others, who like themselves, were taking a pleasant stroll in the afternoon sun. It was a more busy route than anywhere else they had been so far since arriving the Saturday before, so holding hands was too risky. Despite that though, Thomas was enjoying himself. They had been talking about many things whilst walking so far. For instance, when a couple of squirrels ran across the road in front of them, this prompted Richard to tell him about how he had once climbed up a tree as a child to reach try to reach a squirrel sitting in the highest branches and how he had almost got stuck up there and when he climbed down he twisted his ankle badly. Thomas could imagine how his mother had told him off for being foolish. Thomas was less happy to retell tales from his childhood, though the woodland reminded him of his time he spent with his friend David, when they were young playing in the woods, spending time together because David was the only one who understood Thomas back then. He didn't tell Richard any of this. He had only spoken to him about David once, but he didn't want to dredge up the past anymore.
The parkland was like most grand houses either men had seen before. Sweeping green lawns, dotted with several grazing sheep, more for effect rather than an agricultural purpose. The occasional large oak tree, the only objects breaking up the landscape that was designed with the purpose to draw the eye to the grand Penrose Manor up on the other side of a shallow valley where a small tributary river flowed down into Loe Pool. They stood for a while at the top of a steeper part of the driveway that swept down a small slope into the valley before rising to the other side and leading to a smaller set of buildings that looked like the stables. To the right of them, along another driveway that must lead from another entrance to the estate somewhere, was a small stone building that Thomas thought looked like a bath house. Some big houses had separate bath houses outside. They weren't used so much now, as it was easier for the upstairs residents to bathe inside with heated water piped straight into their bathrooms. But before that was a common occurrence, water would have been heated at the fireplace in these bath houses by the maids who would have been chained to the task for hours early in the morning. Wealthy visitors would probably think a bath in a purposely built building was a rather delightful idea, but both Thomas and Richard knew the work that would have gone into just one morning bathing session.
It was the mid afternoon, when they had left the house and its open parkland behind them and were walking in the direction of the sea and the beach once more, only on the opposite side of the lake this time. A brow of a hill meant that they couldn't quite see their cottage, but they could see the lane that led down to it on the other side of Loe Pool. They were once again surrounded by woodland, once more tall, arrow straight evergreen trees, the nests of crows and rooks visible in the canopy above them. This part of the walk seemed quieter now that they had left the main driveway behind them, since leaving the vicinity of the house behind them, they hadn't seen anyone else. "This way," Richard said suddenly, quickly taking Thomas by the hand and pulling him off the road and down into the woodland nearest the lake edge.
"What is it?" Thomas said, somewhat alarmed at Richard's actions.
"Oh nothing, just seemed a bit of a shame if we were going to walk all the way through the trees here and not hear the crunch of dead leaves under our feet."
"Seriously?" Thomas said. "Richard I thought we were in danger or something!"
"Sorry," Richard said. Thomas biting his lip as he tried to hide his smile.
Thomas looked down a steep slope that led to the water's edge. "Richard, look at this," he said, leading Richard by the hand to a set of small wooden steps that had been dug into the earthy slope. They were overgrown in places and one or two steps looked like they were going to give way at any moment, so Thomas reckoned no one came down this way anymore.
"What is it?" Richard asked.
"I think I've found our destination," Thomas said proudly. Below them, down about fifteen or twenty steps was a flat earthy area, probably only twenty feet wide, right next to the water. There was a tiny beach and a view across the water at almost eye level if they sat down. But what was best though was the whole area was shaded from view from the water and the drive way above them by a huge branch of an evergreen tree, that covered the area like an umbrella. It was perfect. They climbed down, pushing past the undergrowth that provided them with further privacy from the track.
"What do you think it is?" Richard pondered.
"Judging by the shape, maybe an old jetty belonging to the house," Thomas suggested. The area was clearly manmade, lined around the shoreline with stone and jutting out into the lake by about ten feet. The water would be deep enough to land a small boat on. Also, there was a similar feature further down the shore of the lake.
"Well, it's perfect. Like it was made for us," Richard said.
"Surprised Larry didn't tell you about this place in his letter," Thomas said.
"Maybe he didn't know about it," Richard said, though he thought that was unlikely considering in his experience Larry enjoyed a bit of exploring and was rather good at finding secluded locations.
"Either way, we're here now," Thomas said, sitting down at the base of the large tree.
Richard sat down next to Thomas, automatically leaving a bit of a gap, like they do when they are out together in public. That is what he should be doing, since they are technically out in public, but he couldn't see another soul except for Thomas so shuffled himself closer to him. He leant back against the tree also, so now their heads were only an inch apart. He closed his eyes and tilted his head upward. "God, Thomas I could stay like this forever," he breathed.
Thomas looked to his side at Richard. He looked so peaceful, and that reflected how Thomas felt. Peaceful and utterly in awe of the man next to him. Too many bad experiences in his life had meant that Thomas's confidence had taken a battering, but he felt like he could fool himself into thinking that the world was perfect, and that neither of them had nothing to fear, in this moment. He pushed himself up and moved himself even closer to Richard, who still had his eyes shut. Thomas looked at Richard's eye lashes flickering slightly as his body reacted to Thomas moving closer to him and his weight against his body. Richard's eyes only opened as Thomas placed his hand on the side of Richard's face, turning him to face him before Thomas planted a gentle kiss onto Richard's lips. They broke apart, only to meet halfway again. Thomas closed his eyes as he felt Richard's hand on his waist. Yes, he could be fooled into thinking they had no fears and that everything was perfect.
But reality wasn't like that.