Envoys Of The Vow

Chapter 8

Sara sat in the hairdressers chair with knots in her stomach.   It was late September and the day of the Surrey Farmers Ball.  The ball was an annual charity event that was a major part of the local calendar.   It marked the start of the Old Surrey Country Show and was held in a marquee on the showground.  All the girls who were not old enough to go were sulking for weeks before, trying every trick in the book to get tickets.

 It was Chloe’s first time this year.  She had dragged Sara and Amy endlessly round the department stores in Croydon searching for the perfect dress.  Chloe was going with Mark, a local young farmer who had a shock of almost white blonde hair and was at least three inches shorter than her.  She had had a massive crush on him for a couple of years as he worked on the farm next to Kingsfield.  It had gotten to the stage where she was almost hacking out through the farm three times a day just to get his attention.  To make matters worse in usual Amy style, Amy had made a play for him about a year ago.  Not because she liked him but just because Chloe did,  it had gone nowhere and after a few days of Chloe threatening to whack her over the head with a shovel it had all resolved itself.

 Amy was going with someone else’s husband.  A particularly horrible man who had told his wife that as she was eight months pregnant it was probably best she didn’t go.  His wife being a subservient type had agreed to him taking Amy instead as they were only “friends.”  Sara’s eyebrows shot up when she heard this one, Amy was doing her very best “ok so I’m a bitch but that is just who I am so deal with it” impression over the whole thing.

 Jayne, who was doing Sara’s hair, was chattering away about her family and how her husband had just got a promotion.  Sara was doing her very best to listen and comment in the right places, but her mind kept wandering to Jonathan.   She had actually invited him.  She had her plus one ticket due to the fact her mother was on the shows committee.  She had just blurted it out on their third evening out together just after he had kissed her goodbye. 

 “Are you going to the Ball on the 30th?” she had asked, nervously biting her lower lip.

 “No, I wasn’t planning to, why?”   His eyes found hers even though she was doing her best to avoid all eye contact.

 “I have an extra ticket and I was wondering if you would like to go with me.”  Her voice was getting quieter and quieter much more of this and she would be mumbling.

 “I would love to go with you” he reached out and took her hand pulling her gently towards him.  His fingers reached up and traced a line from her temple down to the point of her chin.  He lowered his head towards hers and his lips brushed the tip of her nose, and then dropped to skim over her lips with the lightest of touches. Infinitely slowly he drew back, as if it were torture for him. 

 That had been a week ago, she had not seen him since then.  He was away working and would collect her tonight at eight.  The separation was killing her, she could not understand her reaction to him or why he always pulled away just when she thought he would open up.  Since the night in the hut, he had held back from kissing her that way again.  He had brushed her lips or kissed her forehead, but he did not kiss her with the depth and passion he had in the forest.  Sara wasn’t the type to jump into bed with a guy, but the limits he put on physical contact with her seemed almost formal.  As if there was a line he could not cross no matter how much he wanted to.

 Chloe bounced over to Sara’s chair all finished she looked incredible, well from the neck up.  Her hair was flowing down her back in ringlets, her eyes made up with very light pink shadow and a dusting of mascara on her already annoyingly long lashes.  She just had gloss on her lips and was glowing with excitement.  From the neck down she sported a funky pink velour track suit and teddy bear slippers on her feet.  Amy, on the other hand, had gone for the full whammy all false eyelashes, dark Smokey makeup and dark lipstick.  Looking from one to the other was like the difference of chalk and cheese.