Chapter 3
The Incident
Gideon quickly became a part of their little group and accompanied Samuel to the Davies fields every Wednesday. Ese had not expected him to return after he had been treated so shabbily by Afa on his first visit. That very day, he had joined in their usual horse race and was the last to arrive at the finishing point. Ese was certain that he would have taken the loss amiably, if Afa had not laughed in his face as she harshly announced that he was the ‘loser’ of the race.
For the first time that day, Gideon lost his polite smile and glared at the unwavering offender, whose laughter had been replaced with a mocking smirk.
“At the very least, I am not just sitting around, judging a race I could not join.” A chagrined Gideon responded to Afa. His words wiped the smile off the maiden’s face which was immediately replaced with a frown. Ese knew an altercation was inevitable.
“I shall have you know, sir, that whilst I may not be skilled with horses, or anything else in fact, my intellect by far surpasses that of even the royal advisors. I have no doubt that I surpass your knowledge in any area or field sir. If you desire it, we may hold an intellectual competition to prove this.” Afa responded, her voice rising with every word. Ese Knew her pride had been wounded and she wished to make Gideon regret his words.
“Afa, you need not challenge anyone to prove your superior intellect. I do not think it is a fair challenge.” Ese said, trying to reason with her sister, since Gideon was from the country, and his education was likely inferior to theirs.
“I do not see any reason I should not, sister. If he is learned enough to speak in such a condescending manner, I dare say, he would not be afraid to lose to a lady in a competition of wit and intellect.” she responded stubbornly.
“I accept your challenge, Miss Davies. You sound overly confident in your intellectual prowess. I shall happily bring such disagreeable pride to an abrupt end. I say we have an arithmetic competition!” He suggested in a tone that left no room for arguments.
Ese turned to Samuel seeking his aid in the matter, but he shook his head, implying that there was nothing he could do.
It was the start of an unending rivalry between the two. By the following Wednesday the two exchanged three arithmetic problems and it was obvious that they had both spent the week seeking the most difficult problems.
Ese had requested that her maids set out a picnic table with fruits and finger foods out in the fields of their lands. She also ensured there were two quills and ink ready for the competitors.
Sure enough, Afa solved the problems, although in more time and with much difficulty than she usually would. However, after two hours had passed, Gideon had only completed two of the three problems he was given and seemed to be having difficulty with the third one. Samuel expressed how he was bored out of his mind of speaking about arithmetic or watching the rivals scribble, and asked Ese to go riding by the river with him. Ese obliged immediately as she too had been seated in grave boredom, watching the two rattling about formulas and solutions. Since old Carrigan was close by, she was not bothered about leaving her sister with the man she had met only a week before.
She rode with Samuel along the riverbanks, and he asked about her childhood and her views on their country. He shared her views on equality and treating people as humans regardless of societal standing or what they look like. As he spoke passionately about how it was his dream to put a stop to slavery in the world, she admired how gallant he appeared. She realised it was the first time they were by themselves since their meeting at the Ecclesia Garden, as they were usually in the company of Afa or racing with their horses. Just like the first time they were alone, Ese enjoyed their conversation, and was disappointed when he suggested they should head back before the rivals began seeking them. She desired to ask him how he hopes to achieve his dreams, since he was only a stables man. She wondered if her father would be willing to invest in him.
When they arrived back at the table, it appeared they were not missed. The rivals were engaged in an argument and Old Carrigan seemed to be trying in futility to quell the disagreement.
Gideon was disputing the credibility of the last arithmetic formula and was of the opinion that it could not be solved. He demanded that she solve it, but Afa was adamant in her unwillingness to disclose the solution to a formula that even professors could not solve.
Gideon had then settled for calling her a fraud and that very much angered the younger lady. Fortunately, Samuel stepped in just at that moment and offered credence to the credibility of Afa’s formula. Surprisingly, Gideon trusted his judgement and returned to his attempt to solve it. He however gave up after several minutes and decided he was not the best at arithmetic problems. He suggested that they try a different field of study. Afa was still upset that he had doubted her credibility, but he simply waved it off, telling her that one could not tell which was a genuine arithmetic problem. He charged that they quizzed each other in physics and then history and religious studies.
Ese attempted to warn him of the futility of his efforts against her genius sister, but Samuel dissuaded her from doing so. He claimed that Gideon needed to be shown he was not as high and lofty as he usually thought he was. She argued that it was rather unfair that Afa was having an intellectual contest against a man from the country. However, when Samuel told her that, in the very least, Gideon was diverted, hence would cease quizzing her about her horse skills and hovering over them, like he did in the previous week, she conceded.
She had learnt that Gideon was the same age as she was, but she simply preferred Samuel’s company and had subconsciously wished Gideon would leave them alone. From that day the group developed a pattern for their meetings on Wednesday afternoons, with Samuel and Ese going on rides or races and Gideon and Afa consistently in intellectual competition.
Wednesday became a day Ese looked forward to the most, second only to Sunday, in which she usually sang in the choir of her small church. She discovered that she had much in common with Samuel in terms of their dreams, beliefs, and aspirations. Everything seemed to be going on fine for them, till one day an incident occurred that had left Ese, soaking wet, and flustered. The incident had put her at a disadvantage and for the first time, she lost a horse race against Samuel. It was the fifth Wednesday of Gideon joining the group and the sun shone bright and hot. The intellectual duo had to stay under the shade of a tree to debate the reality of the roman Gladiators.
Ese suggested that she and Samuel had their usual race to the river and back, but this time, Afa halted her discourse with Gideon to suggest what she called a “splendid” idea, to make their “boring” horse race interesting. The two competitors were to ride to the river, attempt to catch a fish and return.
When Ese protested, Afa argued that the regular horse racing was becoming a ‘painfully boring exercise to judge,’ since the end was always easily predicted, with Ese as the undefeated champion. Gideon, who was a sworn rival to Afa, chose that very moment to come to a temporary truce with her, agreeing that it was a ‘capital idea’ and praising her wits for coming up with such an exciting plan.
Samuel got caught in the excitement and agreed to it, leaving Ese as the only one against the idea. As the minority, she had to comply with the rest of the group and fishing rods were brought. As soon as the race began, she thought of several schemes with which she could maintain her records as the horse racing champion. Since fishing had never been one of her talents, she hoped to employ her next best talent, ‘mischief’.
She decided to foil her opponent’s chances, with an attempt to steal his fishing rod whilst he was distracted. Since she arrived first, she successfully stole his rod whilst he tended to his horse. She ran with it towards the river, hoping to throw it into the body of water, hence delaying him from his fishing. The man however caught on to her plan immediately and pursued after her.
Unfortunately for Ese, her skills in horse racing did not make her any faster on foot. Samuel easily caught up to her just as she was about to throw the rod into the river. He grabbed it before it was out of her hand, causing her to turn swiftly to him in surprise, since she had not expected him to have foiled her plans. Since her movements were too sudden, she stumbled over her dress, lost her footing, and fell into the river.
Feeling utterly embarrassed as she heard the man burst into a round of laughter, she decided to have another attempt at mischief. Instead of returning to the bank she pretended to faint and allowed herself to become immersed in the water, which was just deep enough to drown her. Just as she predicted, Samuel immediately jumped into the river in a bid to save her.
When she was certain he was deep in the waters, she emerged from it and burst into her own fit of triumphant laughter. She proudly informed her surprised companion that it was her first successful mischief against him, and her title as the Duchess of mischief had been restored. Instead of sharing in her mirth as he usually would, Samuel simply gazed at her with a look she could not comprehend.
His gaze was soft and almost entrancing, and it caused her heart to race uncontrollably. She immediately gave him a questioning look, but he smiled widely at her, and simply suggested that they got out of the water before they caught a cold. He asked if she needed help getting out of the water but Ese shook her head. She expressed that swimming was another sport she could easily win even with her heavy riding dress.
As soon as they were ashore and she had wrung her dress of excess water, she turned to Samuel to question what he meant earlier by gazing upon her with such a suspicious smile. She asked if he was up to some mischief to avenge himself. Unexpectedly a serious look graced his face and he took her hands in his.
“Do you truly not see it, Ese? I am amazed that you don’t. I shall tell you, nonetheless! I am utterly in love with you!” He proclaimed boldly. These unexpected words had left Ese stunned and unable to speak, so the man spoke again.
“Forgive me for saying it so carelessly, I should have chosen a better time to declare myself, but I could not help it today. I have never met anyone quite like you and I fear if I hide these feelings for another week, my heart shall surely explode. The memory of today, and the horrendous feeling when I thought you were in danger– I could not bear it. In that moment, I knew I would give my all to keep you safe. I shall not ask for your immediate response to my suit. Instead, I shall properly ask for your hand when next we meet and remain loving you regardless of your answer. For now, I shall shamelessly win this race, whilst you ponder upon my words.” With that, he kissed the back of her hand and took off on his horse.
Ese was so stunned that she remained several minutes in the same spot, before collecting herself and realising that the man had continued the race without her.
Even when she got on her horse, she rode slower than even the average horse rider, as she wondered if all he said was a part of his mischievous plan to win the race.
It would be too bad of him to play with my mind in such a cruel way, but from all I know of him, he does not seem to be such a person.
She decided to stop pondering on the matter and instead ask him of it as soon as she arrived. He did seem very sincere with his words, and it would indeed be out of character of him to joke about such matters.
Unfortunately, by the time she returned to the area they had been gathered earlier, it was only her sister awaiting her. She made an immediate enquiry and discovered that the men had left as soon as Samuel returned. Afa explained that he had told Gideon that they must leave at once and offered no explanation as to why he was drenched or had to leave so quickly.
Ese pointedly ignored her sister’s questions about why she was just as drenched as her competitor, why neither of them had returned with any fish as agreed, or why Samuel had won the race by several minutes. She expressed that with the manner in which the man had hurried off, she feared that he had either killed her or done something dishonourable to her.
“Hush Afa, you should know by now what sort of man Samuel is. He is neither a murderer nor capable of anything dishonourable. If you must know, I fell into the river, and pretended to drown, so he jumped in to save me. He however tricked me when we got out and took the lead.” Afa stared at her disbelievingly.
“What trick was it that kept you for so long and why did he have to leave so suddenly.”
“Enough of your questioning, Afa, save it for Samuel, the next time you see him. I must return to the house at once, lest I catch a cold. Please, desire old Carriga to take care of my horse.” Ese said and handed the horse to her sister, before hurrying off into the house.
Thankfully, Afa did not press her any further after then. The younger maiden however, directed questioning looks at Ese anytime she did appear lost in thought, which she so often did. Samuel’s words rang fresh in her head and put her in a state of consistent pondering. She longed for the next Wednesday when she could see him and confront the situation to quell all her assumptions. For the days that followed, she remained distracted and had to be spoken to twice before she responded. Fortunately, only Afa appeared to notice this, as her parents seemed to be busier than usual. She would have sought to know what was bothering them if her head had not been too much in the clouds to notice the looks on their faces.
On the Monday of the following week, her parents summoned her to her father’s library where she was made to sit across from them. Her father was looking as young and handsome as ever, even at eight and forty, as he sat majestically on the cushion chair bespoke for his use. He was fit, agile and of superior knowledge. Ese held him in reverential admiration. She favoured him the most out of her parents, with her dark eyes, dark brown hair, and flat nose exactly like his. Although she was handsome enough to turn heads, she only ever dimmed in the brightness of her most oblivious sister. Afa looked more like their mama, with a darker skin tone, light brown eyes, and jet-black hair. She was an undeniable beauty, like their mama, even though she failed to see it.
Her eyes moved slowly from the anxious look on her mother’s face to the grim look on her father’s. For a moment, she wondered If some servant had told them of their clandestine meetings with the stables man and his cousin, but since her sister had not been summoned as well, she decided it was a different matter.
“Am I in trouble?” She asked, as their continued silence only made her all the more anxious.
“No, no child. On the contrary, It has been many weeks since you have been up to any mischief, and your mama and I were just saying how pleased we are that you are maturing into a lady. You may indeed be ready to abandon the title ‘Duchess of mischief.” Ese looked at her father with suspicion, as she ignored the guilt that threatened to overwhelm her.
She had not particularly been out of mischief. On the contrary, she had planned some mischief most Wednesdays, with Samuel as her victim. Although he always found a way to outsmart her, it was enough to keep her occupied from any other plans within her home.
“You wrong me papa, that is a title I never intend to abandon. Life is no fun without some healthy and safe mischief.” She responded laughing but ceased when none of her parents looked amused. It was her mother who spoke next.
“Perhaps, dear, it is time you took up a new title. A real one, you could use to have influence in society.” Ese frowned. She neither liked the excited tone nor passion in her mother’s voice. Whenever-her mother got excited or passionate about anything, it was usually the opposite of what her children desired.
It was the same tone she had when she had decided to bring her out to society at the royal palace. Since her father had a few dealings with the King, this was allowed. Ese had hated the event with every fibre of her being.
“What do you mean by this, mama?” She questioned and she gazed upon her Mama with foreboding.
“Now Ese dear, you know I am never one to beat about the bush, but I shall tell you the events that led to the exciting news we wish to announce to you. Do you recall when you accompanied me to the great Ecclesia estate so many weeks ago? Well, it was because I had heard of a rumour that Lady Ecclesia was desperate for her son to be wed, in order to continue the Ecclesia lineage.” Ese felt her heart rate begin to rise; she could guess where the story was going.
“Well, we were invited as one of the families for consideration. Whilst Duke Ecclesia was absent on that day, it was said that every family that was in attendance was being considered by the Duchess. The Lord knows I have been praying for fortune to shine upon us, so we can have a name in society…”
“Mama, we already have a name. Papa is a Baron and one of great wealth. He even has relations with the king. What else can we possibly ask for?”
“No one ever gives such lowly titles any thought. How many times have we been invited to high society parties? Almost never. Now, dear girl, cease interrupting me, before I go into a passion, for I have great news to share. As I said earlier, good fortune has shone upon us, for you have been chosen by the Duchess.” She said and waited as though expecting Ese to jump for joy.
The young maiden simply sat staring blankly at her mother as though the woman had just told the most grievous news.
“Did you hear me child? I said you have been chosen, you shall become the Duchess of Ecclesia, and I, the mother of a Duchess.”
THE WRITTEN FAITH 