Chapter Text
Candlelight cast a soft glow throughout the glamourous dining room at the Renniston, there was soft music, good food, it was the perfect setting for romance. Siegfried chivalrously pulled the chair out for his companion as he’d done many times over the years. The regal old stone hotel was one of his favorite haunts, Diana, Carol, Eliza, Susan and now the lovely Dorothy. For a man who fancied himself slightly posher than his circumstances dictated, it was a bit of an oasis in the rugged countryside.
The chef was skilled, the ambiance intimate and the staff discreet.
After making sure Dorothy was comfortable, he found his seat at their tiny corner table. The chairs were angled in such a way that their knees touched, and the tablecloth was just long enough to conceal a wayward hand. There was a reason the Renniston was for known for romance, for the sort of experience that encouraged its guests to retire early to one of the well-appointed rooms conveniently just upstairs.
He raised his glass, “to the new year and new friends”.
She sipped her wine and smiled at him over the rim of her glass, “we’re not exactly new friends, Siegfried.”
He chuckled nervously and corrected himself, “well, how about, to a fresh start with an old friend?”
She laughed, “less of the old, please. How about to a fresh start in the new year?”
“Perfect,” he said as he clinked his glass to hers.
He admired her beauty as she studied the menu, her raven hair curled prettily and pinned at one side, her dress a magnificent shade of blue that brought out her eyes. Her lips were painted a fetching shade of crimson; her cheeks held a natural glow. He felt heat creeping into his face, and his pupils dilate, indicating an undeniable attraction.
It was all going swimmingly well until the waiter appeared to take their orders, “I’ll have the beef wellington,” she said as she handed the menu back and smiled.
His stomach dropped, his face paled and he let out an awkward little croak, as his mind reeled…beef Wellington…BEEF WELLINGTON!
Dating the charming Dorothy had been going well thus far, he’d resigned himself to accept Mrs. Hall’s advice, she always knew what was best for him after all.
He’d abandoned Plato as well as Aristophanes and embraced living for the moment, letting his flesh call the shots, ignoring his head and for that matter his heart.
So why then did the mere mention of tenderloin wrapped in pastry have him completely undone?!
He knew why…
It was an undeniable fact that there was only one woman who Wellingtoned his beef and it was not the lovely Dorothy.
His reaction had not gone unnoticed, so she asked, “would you rather I have the fish? Or how about Coc Au Vin? I haven’t had that for an age…”
The waiter glared disapprovingly at him assuming he was balking about the price of his companion’s entrée, so he cleared his throat, forced a smile and said, “no, the beef sounds wonderful,” he nodded confidently at the waiter and said, “beef Wellington for two, please”
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As they waited for their Wellingtons he tried to clear his mind of other beautiful brunettes and concentrate on the one right in front of him. He focused on her ruby lips as she recounted a harrowing tale of her wartime experiences in Malta. He nodded sympathetically and met her eye as she became briefly emotional. He squeezed her hand in comfort and support, then encouraged her to talk about her family, hoping to lighten the mood.
Their conversation flowed easily as they chatted happily about the joy that family brought to their lives. Dorothy talked about her son and her grandchildren while Siegfried told her about how much he loved the Herriot children and was looking forward to Tristan and Charlottle starting a family.
He smiled and convinced himself that they did indeed have more in common than he would have thought. Maybe there was a real future with her.
He began to imagine her by his side, dates, intimate dinners, dancing, perhaps something more…
His pleasant thoughts were interrupted by the waiter announcing in his faux posh accent, “your Wellington madame.” He placed the beautiful slab of beef in front of her and then him, “and sir”.
He glanced down at the sumptuous plate and had another blinding flash of memory, of giving a toast to her ‘to Mrs. Hall for beef of which Welington would be proud’. Such a difficult undertaking, a gourmet dish well outside her more homestyle fare, but she did it brilliantly, all to make a birthday special for his little brother. A boy who she’d nurtured and loved into a very impressive man.
‘Dammit Farnon!’, he chided himself, you need to clear your mind of her, focus on your beautiful date.
But instead of heeding his own advice, he took his first bite and said, “you know, Mrs. Hall makes a Wellington that could rival this…”
Dorothy chuckled, “I’m not surprised, Aud always was a bit of a magician in the kitchen.”
“A magician that’s the perfect word for it, the way she whipped up the most creative combinations when the rationing first took hold…simply remarkable”
Dorothy smiled at the look of fondness, of wonder, on his face when he spoke of her oldest friend’s cooking and tried to silence the alarm bells ringing in her head.
They happily ate the rest of their meal in silence, broken up with a few quips of appreciation for the gourmet meal, the ambiance and the pleasant stretch of weather they were currently experiencing.
By the time they were finished with their shared dessert, the three glasses of wine she’d consumed with dinner had gone to her head. She felt a pleasurable little buzz and an enhanced wave of attraction to her handsome bearded date, so she dabbed her mouth daintily, placed her napkin on her plate and her hand on his thigh.
He straightened up, chucked his napkin on the table and said in a strangled tone, “shall we dance?”
She nodded, so he jumped up and presented his hand.
They joined a half dozen couples swaying slowly to the romantic music. Siegfried assumed his dancing posture, but Dorothy immediately took a far more intimate approach. She draped herself over his chest, pulled their joined hands in and nuzzled her nose into his neck.
Siegfried Farnon was an honorable man, a gentleman, but at the end of the day he was a flawed, flesh and blood man, just as God had created. His body was meant to seek affection and pleasure from a willing woman. He was literally designed to satisfy his baser needs. So, he found himself slowly relaxing into her embrace, allowing his hand to drift lower on her back, and leaning into her nuzzles.
As the song went on, their intimate proximity caused his blood to rush, and his heart to pound, so by the end of it when she whispered in his ear, “shall we retire upstairs?” the answer was an unequivocal “yes”.
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The Renniston had a modest selection of well-appointed rooms. They were discreet, beautifully decorated and perfect for a weekend getaway, a refuge after an overindulgence or a romantic liaison, whether planned or unplanned.
He removed the key from the door and ushered her into the room with a firm hand on her lower back. She, in turn, pinned him against the closed door and immediately pressed her lips to his. Her kiss quickly grew hungry, her tongue seeking his, her mouth all but devouring him.
His mind became blank, all the blood rushing from his brain downward and he let out an approving growl as her hands began to make their way down his chest to his belt.
His primitive brain took over for a moment, he returned her fevered kisses, palmed her breast over her dress and gripped her hips as she ground herself against him.
He broke the kiss and moved to nibble the tender skin of her neck as she fumbled at his belt, she brushed her hand against the hardening ridge in his trousers and out of nowhere the phrase, ‘cock-a-hoop’ popped into his mind.
He snapped his eyes open and fixated on her ear. Dorothy had finally found her way into his trousers and had taken his hard, throbbing member in her hand. It should have sent him into a lustful haze, but Mrs. Hall’s thick Yorkshire accent infiltrated that haze with, ‘I thought you’d be cock-a-hoop’.
All of a sudden, although his cock was seemingly cock-a-hoop, his spirit, his rational mind was decidedly… not.
Dorothy, seemingly oblivious to the change in his enthusiasm, stroked his hard length with increasing vigor and whispered, “let’s take this over to the bed.”
She took him by the hand and led him toward the majestic four-postered bed as his mind spun, suddenly replaying the conversation he’d had with Mrs. Hall in the kitchen a mere fortnight ago, Plato, no Aristophanes, soul mates…
He was basically telling her he was reluctant to pursue Dorothy because, while he was attracted to her, he did not just want a casual relationship, he wanted what he’d had with Evelyn, lives intertwined, hearts joined, souls mated.
He’d meant her, but she didn’t seem to understand, so she shrugged him off, ‘I thought you’d be cock-a hoop’…
Dorothy bounced on the bed shimmying off her dress; he stood next to her with his trousers around his ankles and his cock slowly softening within his shorts.
He found himself muttering “I’m sorry, I’m afraid I can’t …”
He bent over to retrieve his trousers as Dorothy paused, staring incredulously for a moment then sat up and began to fix her dress.
“It’s her isn’t it…?”
He blanched, “what?”
She smoothed her hair, and finished the buttons at her collar, “it’s her, Aud, your Mrs. Hall…”
He was silent, looked down in shame, he’d led her on knowing his heart belonged to another and apparently, he was glaringly transparent because she knew it too.
Dorothy patted the bed next to her inviting him to sit.
He sat gingerly then stared down at his hands and nodded in the affirmative.
“Does she know?”
“I…I have tried…”
Dorothy smiled at the daft dear man. She should have listened to her gut, she knew from the first time she’s met this man that his heart was unavailable, but somehow, she’d convinced herself that it belonged to his dead wife. Now it made sense, it was not Evelyn Farnon that stood in the way of having a relationship with Siegfried Farnon, it was Audrey Hall.
She chuckled to herself thinking, and who could blame him? Aud was the best of women, beautiful, clever, kind…
What had she told Siegfried about Audrey all those years ago? ‘She has a big heart, opens it up to everybody…’
She should have known…
When she returned to Skeldale just before Christmas she was surprised to see that they were still keeping up the formal roles, ‘Mr. Farnon…Mrs. Hall…’ She convinced herself she must have been wrong, surely if they hadn’t acted on their feelings after more than a decade they were not meant to be. Siegfried Farnon had remained a lonely widower and Audrey Hall his loyal housekeeper.
Considering what had just happened, or rather hadn’t happened, she realized her first instinct had been right, Siegfried Farnon and Audrey Hall were truly souls destined to be joined. Lovers in love, who hadn’t acknowledged it yet.
Audrey Hall did indeed have a big heart, but it had been battered and bruised, then encased within thick walls to keep it from further harm.
Siegfried was an enigmatic, charming man, who had suffered a loss, endured a broken heart, a heart that she now saw had been healed by her friend, Audrey Hall.
Maybe they were both just that daft, and maybe, just maybe they needed a little help...
Dorothy took his hand and patted it gently, “tell me about it, Siegfried, please?”
He glanced down at her their joined hands and felt another pang of guilt, she squeezed encouragingly, so he whispered, “I have been quietly pining for a number of years, but when she went to live with Edward, I really fell apart. Then, when she came back, I felt such an overwhelming sense of joy and relief. But I am who I am, I’ve made mistakes, lots of them, I’m a shellfish…”
“Pardon?”
He smiled ruefully at her, “I feel terrible talking about this to you. I am a cad, pursuing you while in my heart… I knew…”
She squeezed his hand firmly again, “Siegfried, I’m not some innocent young maiden, I knew what I was doing. I too defied my conscience, decided to see if having a little fling with you would be the tonic I needed in my life right now.”
She shook their joined hands, and commanded, “tell me!”
He eased out a breath and let it all spill right out, the train station confessions, ‘the answer is always you’, ‘I’ll always need you’, Plato, Aristophanes, soulmates…
That last part made her laugh, leave it to Siegfried Farnon to complicate things by talking about Greek philosophers…
“Siegfried, the Audrey Hall I know is a wonderfully warm and generous person, she has a big, big heart, but it’s been knocked about quite a lot. She is practical and loyal, but I don’t think she necessarily believes in fairy tale romances, or if she does, she believes they are not for people the likes of her”.
Siegfried balked, “the likes of her!! She is the best, most virtuous woman…”
Dorothy hushed him, “I know, I know, but she comes from very humble means, she has had to claw and fight her way in life, the idealistic young girl who may have believed in soulmates when she was a girl has morphed into a woman who has had love disappoint, defeat, and downright damage her. Your tales of Plato probably sound like fairy tales to her, and she doesn’t believe in those anymore.”
He narrowed his eyes at her and shook his head, “it doesn’t matter anyways, I tried and she pushed me towards you, she obviously doesn’t reciprocate my feelings.”
“Siegfried, are you going to just give up on her? You tried to take her advice; we gave this a go. You tried to deny your heart and your head, just like I did and look where that got us…”
She looked around the room at her hastily discarded shoes, then to her mis-buttoned dress and over to him with his hair mussed and his tie askew and giggled.
He scoffed and joined her in a moment of relieved levity, “It was fun for a minute…”
Dorothy dropped his hand, got up and rooted through her purse until she found her lipstick.
She looked at him over the mirror of her compact and winked, “it were fun, but it’s nothing compared to finding your soulmate and professing your undying love to her…” she finished a perfect ruby lip, snapped her compact shut and winked, “so let’s go get her…”
TBC