The Eternal Shadow

Chapter 8

VIII

The longer Prince John kept them waiting, the more volatile Vaisey became.

Needless to say, this was not a good thing for Guy. He could understand Vaisey's anger, if there was one thing he knew, it was how it felt to be unable to vent one's anger at a superior but it was Vaisey's unpredictability that got to him above all - the not knowing which version of his master he was going to be confronted with at any given moment. Guy had learnt that there was not much one could do to deal with this other than take each mood swing as it comes, preferably with mouth shut.

Another tactic that Guy liked to employ was keeping himself busy; it kept Vaisey happy to a certain degree and had the added bonus of keeping him out of the other man's way. The problem was that court was not a place with many opportunities to keep a man such as Guy busy; his normal duties were mostly suspended here and he often found himself feeling lost. Were he more of a social butterfly perhaps he would find more to divert him but no, he was a fish out of water here, caught between the difficulties that accompanied attending his impatient master and the boredom that came with mingling in the grand halls of court.

Funnily enough, he soon caught on that the best place to escape to was the stables. Well, he'd known it all along actually but had not wanted to admit it because a certain lady had had the same idea.

He'd been retreating to the stables as long as he could remember. As a child, he had been shy and introverted, (still was, but was better at hiding it now), often seeking places to be alone with his thoughts and the stables had always been one of his favourites. Much later, when he could finally afford his own steed, unlike many he had not purchased a fine animal for show but because he loved horses. He also knew that most nobles liked to leave the work involved in caring for their animals to servants but he preferred to take care of it himself. When anybody asked him about this, he told them that it was only sensible to deal with something so important himself - he relied upon his horse completely and should something be amiss, it could result in a fall or worse. What he did not mention is that he actually enjoyed it; looking after (and of course riding) horses was one of the very few things that brought him peace, something that wasn't tainted by Vaisey. The fact that it also gave him a place to retreat to was a pleasant bonus.

Except that lately it hadn't been. He'd taken to skulking about, tending to his horse only at times when he was sure that Francesca wasn't there and when he'd finally summoned up the courage to talk to her, (so that he could once more go about his day normally), he'd found that he couldn't do it, that there were others better equipped to do the job whilst he skulked in the shadows.

Look at you tiptoeing around, scared off by a little mouse...

At some point, he decided that he needed to grow a pair and get on with his life. He was spending far too much time in his head and it was turning him soft, just as Vaisey always said it would. He would stop deliberating his every move and do what he wanted to, when he wanted to...

and if I want to avoid my employer by tending to my horse then I will, whether the stables are host to a certain visitor or not...

He was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of Vaisey yelling his name from nearby. As per usual, when he had the intention to do something for himself, his master stalked into the room and his plans went out the window.

"Ah! There you are Gisborne! Come along now! We are invited to a... what did Cavendish say it was again...? Ah, yes! A musical soiree! That was it!"

Guy sighed; he supposed he should at least be grateful that Vaisey was in a good mood although he couldn't for the life of him think why he was suddenly so cheerful, he had never thus far shown anything approximating enthusiasm at the prospect of an evening of musical entertainment.