FB - England, Somerset - The Marbury Estate (1990)

[Hollywood Heidi]

The Marbury Estate

Located in Somerset, England and taking place in 1990.

[Kristi Lynne]

With a quick intake of breath, her hazel eyes snapped open to see a brilliant blue sky above, billowy white clouds floating lazily by. And it would have been a perfect spring afternoon, if not for the incessant pain shooting up through her arm.

The tree limb where she’d just been a moment ago was looming several feet above her. Mocking her with its being so very far away from the very hard ground. She tried to push up from the grass that she’d suddenly found herself lying on, but her left arm quickly gave way beneath her. “Ow! Bugger it,” she groaned through clenched teeth as a fresh wave of pain overtook her.

“You’re such a wimp, Gwen,” her cousin Fred taunted her. He and his brother George had landed safely in their descent from the tree they’d used to cross over the high wall and into the Marbury Estate. Gwen had been less successful. She landed wrong and suspected she’d done a number on her arm. Trespassing on private property while severely injured probably wasn’t the wisest thing to do.

“Come on, get up!” George urged her. “We don’t want to get caught.”

“Then why did you decide to climb over the wall in the first place?” she hissed back, not thrilled with their lack of sympathy.

“’Cause our parents told us not to,” Fred sniggered.

“And you followed us, pickle,” George reminded her, crossing his arms.

“Shh…someone’s coming,” Fred cautioned, staring intently into the distance.

“Leg it!” George suggested.

“Wait, you can’t leave me here!” she protested, as they ran off into the trees. Gwen picked up a branch that had fallen along with her and chucked it after them with her good arm. But then the pain took over again and she fell back resignedly to the ground. She closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears. What would she do? Where would she go? Fred and George couldn’t be counted on to bring help and it hurt far too much to move.

“Can I help you?” someone asked her.

She winced at the unfamiliar voice and opened her eyes again. To see what seemed like an angel staring down at her, with ice blue eyes, freckles scattered over an ivory complexion, crowned by thick copper hair. “I…um…uh,” she sputtered.

“Very well-spoken for an intruder, I must say. Do you have a name, miss?”

She swallowed hard, now knowing she was caught. No use giving him a fake name. It was a small village, and even though their family was newly arrived, they’d all know her. “Gwen,” she answered. “I’m Gwen.”

He knelt down beside her. “And may I ask what you’re doing out here, Gwen?”

“There was a lady in the village,” she began in a wavering voice. “She said that I really needed to see the gardens on the estate, and since visiting hours were over—“

He smirked down at her. “That might be the worst excuse I’ve ever heard.”

“My cousins dared me to climb the tree and sneak onto your estate. I’m really sorry,” she confessed in a rushed voice.

“It’s okay,” he said with a shrug. “Next time, you might want to use the front door though. The guard’s actually quite nice, and he can be bribed with clotted cream. Fact.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Gwen tried again to rouse herself but the pain seemed to be getting worse. “Ow,” she squeaked, falling backward again.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, his perfect brow knitted in concern.

“No, I just felt like looking at the clouds for a while,” she sighed. “Yes, I’m hurt! I think I broke my arm.”

“Well, if I’d known there’d be pretty girls falling out of our trees, I’d take my mother’s advice and actually walk around the grounds more.”

“Yes, well, I wouldn’t be here if those sodding idiots hadn’t decided to ditch me.”

His eyebrows flicked upward in surprise. “Pretty girls with mouths like sailors. Right, on your feet, love.” He tried to help her to her feet by taking hold of her shoulders and her uninjured arm. And even though she was preoccupied with thoughts of wondering how badly her arm was hurt, and how much her parents were going to punish her when they found out, they rapidly became mere background noise to the thrill of the fact that a really cute guy was currently touching her.

“Any other injuries?” he asked, once she was uneasily standing. “Head, neck, leg? Anything else that hurts? How do you feel?”

“You look even better right-side up,” she declared dreamily.

He grinned. “Pretty sure you hit your head on the way down then. Look, the house isn’t too far and we can call a doctor from there. You think you can make it alright?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Yes, thank you.”

They began to walk in the direction of the house, and he stuck close by in case she stumbled or faltered along the way.

“Sorry, what was your name again?” she inquired.

“Oh, I’m Nicholas,” he replied. “Pleased to meet you, Gwen. I’d shake your hand, but…uh, that might have to wait till another time.”

“What about my cousins?”

“No worries. We’ll just set the dogs on them.”