No marriage is happy ever after - On VERY temporary hold!

10 - Equine promises

The tour revealed to Louisa that Oakdale was indeed a magnificent house. It was not much larger than Midgrove contrary to what she had expected, but it was certainly much grander in the way it was decorated. The furniture was more luxurious and the paintings more exquisite.

Mr. Bentley was as fine a guide as Louisa had ever met to show around in a house. His comments on whatever they passed were short and precise instead of those long speeches many guides would give. They were informative and yet allowed a person to ask further if so desired. Neither did Mr. Bentley recite as if from a manuscript but he often noted on certain items or rooms with amusing anecdotes collected throughout the more than forty years he had worked in the house.

Louisa could not help smiling when she noticed the pride he felt, when he introduced the library She felt miserable as well seeing the disappointment cloud his face when she admitted that she was not a great reader and never had been.

She could, however, still appreciate the grandeur of the library. It was indeed huge and large bookcases covered the walls from ceiling to floor, broken in even intervals by grand leaded windows with heavy curtains.

The room that took her breath away was the music room. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of beautiful instruments, from small flutes to a grand piano proudly placed in the middle of the floor. In the back of the room, on a raised platform, were a seating arrangement for an audience when music was played.

Louisa wandered around the instruments, careful not to touch any. She gazed around her and noticed to her great dismay that there was no harp among all these artefacts. While she did play the piano and some one the flute, her passion was without a doubt the harp. She sighed and felt a tug of longing back home. How she looked forward to see her old instrument stand in this room.

They wandered through the house for the rest of the morning. This did indeed include a visit to the kitchens where the tall Negress curtseyed deeply in greeting of the new lady in the house. Louisa had to work hard not to giggle.

The countess did not say much during the tour and only supplied Mr. Bentley with a few, chosen anecdotes of her own. Louisa was pleased that she was kind enough to mention very few concerning her eldest son.

After a light luncheon from which Lord Hiddleston fortunately refrained, they were now to be shown around in the gardens. Louisa drew in a deep breath as they came outside. She did not mind sitting inside for a few hours, but she felt best at ease when out in the open.

The surrounding gardens were magnificent. May was one of the most beautiful months of the year and the flowers showed themselves in their greatest finery. Louisa breathed in the many scents and let her eyes feast on all the colours surrounding her.

Especially one small garden caught her eye. It was not because of its beautiful flowers or because of rich scents permeating from it. It was the seclusion and the privacy granted by a small waist high stonewall with pillars reaching up to a frame with no roof.

To her great surprise, Louisa learned that this particular garden was tended by the countess herself. The elder woman walked proudly around the herbs, pointing out their names and their uses. Louisa smiled to herself. For some reason this little, chubby woman did not fit in the scenery, yet she obviously was in command of everything in it.

After admiring the gardens, Mr. Bentley led them further around to the back of the house by one of the broader paths towards from the great forest from where Oakdale had acquired its name.

As the path went around the eastern side of the house, Louisa began to anticipate the structures behind the house. So far she had not seen any sign of green, fenced meadows and it had to be here.