A week later, my mother sent me to town in search of more books for the both of us to read. I was exiting the bookstore when a familiar figure caught my attention. "Good afternoon, Colonel!" I called out gently to him in greeting, and began to walk towards him.
"Miss Jensen, good afternoon," he replied courteously, and bowed. Silently, he reached out and plucked a few tomes that were in quite a precarious position in my arms. "Shall I escort you to your carriage to ensure the safety of these works by the Bard?"
"Thank you, Colonel, but it will be to my horse, my mother had greater need for the carriage- not that I put up much quarrel over it, really," I replied with a smile.
"Which of these are to satisfy your thirst for literature?"
"The Shakespeare, unfortunately my mother fails to appreciate them," I mused as we walked down the street.
"Most unfortunate," he agreed, "What is your favourite, Miss Jensen?"
"Julius Caesar," I answered immediately. A few people along the street looked at us with conspicuous curiosity, which I found quite strange because surely I was not the first person the colonel had assisted. I saw Elinor walking in the opposite direction, but waved to her nonetheless.
"Such a violent playwright to have captured your interest, you surprise me, Miss Jensen."
"Although the battles and assassination are quite poetic and beautiful in their own right, that is not the reason for my adoration for it," I chided, "I appreciate the way the Bard depicts the opposite of his well-known Romanticisms with something that depicts man as a gullible, war-mongering creature full of weaknesses and shortcoming." I cleared my throat and inquired, "Do you possess a favourite of Shakespeare's work, Colonel?"
"I cannot decide between Hamlet and Julius Caesar." His reply caused my face to break out in a huge smile, and soon thereafter, we arrived at the boarding stables. "Fetch this young woman her horse," Colonel Brandon instructed a young stable boy. The dirty-cheeked boy scurried away to fetch my beloved Perseus. The boy brought Perseus about, and I saw Colonel Brandon's eyes widen in astonishment. "That," Colonel Brandon sputtered as he gesticulated wildly at Perseus, "That is your horse?!"
"Yes, that beauty is mine," I answered, and walked up to Perseus. I pulled a ten and twenty pound notes out of my purse and handed it to the stable boy, Joseph. "Get you and Susan something to eat, and a new pair of shoes," I murmured. My smile grew as Joseph gazed at the notes in awe and then smiled up at me. I turned my attention to Perseus and I stroked his muzzle affectionately.
"But that horse is a behemoth!" Colonel Brandon observed. His comment was spot on, my horse was indeed quite the Colossus; he was a purebred Clydesdale, given to me as a colt when I was eight years' old. Perseus' coat was a gleaming ebony, with the exception of his shaggy, white knee-socks and the white strip that ran down the length of his forehead. Perseus snorted at Colonel Brandon's statement, which cause me laugh softly. I carefully tucked the newly purchased tomes away in my saddlebags, and returned my attention to the colonel. "Shall I assist you into the saddle, Miss Jensen?"
I blushed visibly, but still managed to reply, "I am quite capable, but thank you, Colonel." I swung into the saddle with ease, and Colonel Brandon flashed me an admiring smile.
"I admit that your horse suits you, Miss Jensen. Will you grant me permission to ride beside you?" he asked with a small smile.
"I would be honoured to share your company, Colonel," I replied, and waited for his horse to be brought to him. When his back was to me, I took the opportunity to admire him. Despite being five and thirty years of age, he was as physically fit as a man eight years or more his junior. I was pulled out of my reverie by the sight of the colonel mounting his horse and returning his attention to me. Wordlessly, I urged Perseus into a trot and exited the stables with Colonel Brandon following behind. As we left town, I saw Mrs. Jennings flit from person to person in her usual exuberant manner, and I could not help but smile at the sight.
"Does something amuse you?" Colonel Brandon inquired.
"I have come to realise Mrs. Jennings reminds me of one of those birds that is always flittering and chattering about," I answered fondly. To my surprise, my reply caused the colonel to let out a soft chuckle and nod in agreement. I waved to Lady Middleton and Mrs. Jennings as we rode past, and I did not miss Mrs. Jennings' inquisitive, albeit delighted gaze following after us.
Colonel Brandon and I were soon out of town, and we rode side by side in an amiable silence. I could not resist sneaking glances at him out of the corner of my eye, and on occasion, he would glance at me at the same moment and our eyes would meet-which caused my cheeks to burn with a fierce blush. On said times, Colonel Brandon would look at me with an unnameable look within his eye. I broke the comfortable silence by asking in challenge, "Do you dare to race to my home, Colonel?"
Colonel Brandon's response was not one of words, but instead he urged his horse into a gallop and catapulted away from me. Perseus needed no encouragement and was quickly gaining on the colonel despite his horse's light feet. My hair was whipped by the wind, and the pins holding it in place came undone; my hair uncoiled from its loosely braided bun, and my tendrils flew in the wind behind me. Perseus and the colonel's horse were neck to neck; I looked to the colonel and called out, "Do you yield?"
"I am afraid I must disappoint you once again, Miss Jensen!" Colonel Brandon leaned forward in the saddle, and his horse increased its speed.
I let out a gleeful laugh, and hollered, "Yah, Perseus!" Although Colonel Brandon's horse had the element of surprise, it could not best the sheer brute strength of my Perseus, and we gained on them once more. My home could be seen at the top of the hill, and the colonel was only a hand's width ahead of me. I was leaning completely out of my saddle and flat against Perseus' neck- our bodies full of adrenaline. "Yes!" I exclaimed as I pulled ahead, and covered the last distance to my home. I turned Perseus about and saw Colonel Brandon reining his horse to a stop behind me. "Well done, Colonel, you nearly had the victory," I congratulated him.
"Congratulations, Miss Jensen," he complimented, and then dismounted. Without voicing an inquiry as he did in previous times, he came to my side and placed his hands about my waist; with ease, he lifted me out of the saddle and set me on my feet. My face felt like it would burst into flames due to the severity of my blush; I peeked up at him from beneath my eyelashes, and noticed that our faces were tantalisingly close. I sucked in a soft, nervous breath and tried to muffle the conspicuous drumming of my thundering heart. "Can I call upon you tomorrow, Miss Jensen?" Colonel Brandon asked softly.
Momentarily trapped in a daze, I could only stare up at him; I blinked rapidly, and finally managed to reply, "I would be delighted, sir, until tomorrow."
"Farewell, Miss Jensen," he murmured, and took my hand and brushed my knuckles with his lips. I blushed even more, and turned my face away in another attempt to hide yet another blush. I watched the colonel mount his horse and ride away before I led Perseus into his stall within my family's stables.
"I see Colonel Brandon escorted you home," my mother mused knowingly as I came into the library to place the briefly forgotten tomes on the shelves. My mother smirked when she took note of my scintillating blush; fortunately, she did not voice her thoughts on that. Silently, she watched me leave the library with my worn, much beloved copy of Julius Caesar in hand. I went into my chambers, and tried to read, but the image of Colonel Brandon kissing my hand kept repeating itself in my mind.