Aspire - Kanthony's continuation story

Chapter 7 - Under the Autumn Moon

"Yes, what is it?" She wondered.

"Kate..." Anthony sighed and sat down on their bed, motioning that he wished for her to join him, so she did. "I am so sorry that our stay in London has been dragged out so tediously... I know you would rather be at Aubrey Hall, but I had no idea that there was this much paperwork waiting for me. I am also sorry that I have not had any spare time to spend with you. But you must know that I long for your company every waking hour..." He muttered and took her hands in his.

"Anthony, I knew what I was getting into when I married a viscount. Yes, surely this has been quite the contrast to our honeymoon and our time at Aubrey Hall around the ball, but believe it or not, I actually do manage quite well even without your delightful company." She smirked and brushed his hand against her lips.

"But I do not wish for you to simply manage, I wish for you to enjoy your time here. Perhaps you will meet some interesting new friends at Lady Danbury's tonight? I know you are close with Daphne and your sister, but it would do you good to make some new acquaintances as well. Maybe some new friends could help you appreciate London a bit more?" He smiled warily, trying not to offend his wife by claiming that she did not have any friends.

"Perhaps, but if the ladies at Danbury's are as dimwitted as Miss Go – Mrs Dorset, I am unlikely to make any great new friendships there." Kate blurted out.

"Yes, I am afraid the fine ladies of London are quite boring indeed..." Anthony laughed. "That is why I married you, and not one of them." He smirked and let himself fall on his back on the bed, pulling Kate with him.

"No, Anthony, my hair...!" Kate cried out. "Mrs Wilson worked with it for ages..." She sighed, propping herself up on one arm and fixing her hairdo with the other.

"I assure you darling, this shall not go on forever. I will beat that horrible mountain of unattended accounts." Anthony smiled and traced her lips with his thumb, unbothered by the almost ruined coiffure. "To make matters worse, this has been such a dry year, so the harvest was way worse than I had expected and that has caused me even more work..." He sighed deeply. "If it was not for your clever and quite lucrative rental deal with Stanton, I believe we would almost have had to cut down on your expenses at the modiste." He smirked at her. "That reminds me, how was your stay at Stanton Manor? We have not had the time to talk about that, either..."

"Oh, it was wonderful!" Kate gasped with a dreamy look in her eyes. "I have never seen anything like those stables, even the royal stables of India grow pale in comparison to Stanton's. And the horses! Oh, Anthony, you should have seen those horses... Our old friend High Flyer was there as well, in addition to our beloved Nectar, who seemed to be quite pleased with his new accommodations. Ah, if I had a horse like High Flyer, I could start a successful stud farm of my own..." She sighed, still thinking about the magnificent horse.

"Surely the racing business is no place for a lady." Anthony commented with a dry chuckle, realising too late how it came out when he saw how Kate's face turned suddenly resentful. "I only meant –"

"You meant exactly what you said." Kate hissed and jolted up from the bed. Here she had been sharing her innermost dream with him, and he had trampled it down like a weed.

"No, I simply meant that it is a brutal business, mastered by men who have been taught everything about it by their fathers, ever since the day they were born! And their father's fathers before them." Anthony quickly excused himself and stood up as well. But it was already too late, Kate was furious, turning into an alarming shade of red that did not match her lilac dress especially well.

"Oh, so you do not believe I know enough about horses to be able to stand up to those men?" She snarled. "Do I need to remind you that it was me who won that bet at Ascot!"