Up The Old Oak

Leaves fell steadily and beautifully from the old oak. Dappled greens, golden browns and burnt oranges added vibrant colour to an otherwise dreary autumn day. A sudden flurry of the multicoloured leaves fell earthbound with a dry rustle and two sturdy boots appeared downward between branches. Once again Alex cursed being a woman and the skirts she had to wear as they snagged on a bare branch. She settled down on her favourite top most branches and looked out over all of the land that was her home. Rarely did she leave it; having been deemed a disgrace by society for her short hair and forthright ways. But she was happy here, most of the time.
Jonathan Butler, her brother of four years her senior and man of the house had returned home with his wife and some of his friends and as much as she liked his wife HE had ruined her peace. The brother and sister did not get on anymore and she would be forced to be polite to him in front of his company. So for now she was hiding at the top of the hill in her tree. Leaning her head against the rough bark and letting her body be cradled by a perfect ‘v’ in the branches Alex drifted off into a fitful sleep.
She awoke with a start a short while later to the soft snort of a horse from the ground below. Curious as to why there was a horse there she looked down and was startled to see a strange man holding the reins to a magnificent bay and staring right back up at her. Loosing concentration from this startling discovery of a man at the base of her tree she let go to look down further and slipped slightly. She let out an involuntary yelp of surprise and grabbed hold of the tree again. At the base of the tree the stranger dropped his reins and started to climb confidently up to her.
“Hold on I’ll be there in a moment to help.” He called to her.
For once Alex did as she was told just to see what he did next and held on, hiding her face against the trunk. Below her Lord Joshua Michaels pulled himself up the tree, wincing slightly as a branch dug into his thigh. Never, when he had set out to explore the house he was visiting, did he expect to find a woman up a tree. And now he was attempting to rescue her. It took him almost five minutes to reach her and when he did she was shaking and making strange noises. She must be petrified he realised.
“Are you alright?” he asked reaching out to touch her shoulder. Alex couldn’t smother her laughter any longer and it burst out loudly. Joshua looked at her startled. “Why are you laughing?”
“I’m sorry,” Alex gasped sitting herself back down on her branch, “but your face! It’s hilarious you really thought I was stuck didn’t you.”
“But you cried out.”
“I slipped and so did my mouth.” She retaliated. Joshua scowled at her and she just started to laugh more.
“Well we’re getting down now, it’s not safe up here for you.” He ordered her, climbing down and away from her.
“It’s really dangerous…” she replied mockingly, climbing swiftly down past him.
“Wait!” he called after her, “Slow down or you’ll fall.” And with that he missed his foot on a branch and slipped down past her. Alex reflexively reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Like that?” she asked with a coy grin, “just follow me, if you hadn’t realised this yet I have climbed this tree before; more times than I can remember.”
Joshua didn’t bother to reply; he realised now that she would always find some way to answer him back. Looking down on her, he copied her foot placement and they made it to the floor in no time at all. Now he could look at her properly as she ignored him and turned away to face his horse. She reached up and stroked the stallion’s soft velvety nose and was whispering something to him. Her cropped hair was fluffed around her face by the wind and was glowing a soft red in the sun and her hazel eyes sparkled with life glinting all the fresh colours of the natural world around them. She had the possibility to be a beautiful woman like her elder sister, if she looked like a real woman that was. Jonnie amended his thoughts hastily and strode over to snatch the reins from her. She looked up at him startled a scowl settling on her brow.
“I’m leaving now.” He informed her, not asking how she was getting back or if she wanted to accompany him, simply mounted his horse agilely and rode away from her towards the manor house. Alex was so tempted to throw something at his retreating back but refrained and strode off down the hill.
~
Alex stared at her reflection appalled. What had they done to her? Behind her, her eldest sister and sister-in-law were smiling broadly extremely proud of what they had done. Alex’s short hair had been styled into loose curls and pinned back in various places so it created the illusion her hair was long and just a few short curly tendrils had escaped. Her fringe had been pulled out of her face with an emerald studded band drawing attention to her large hazel green eyes. They had forced her into a corset, something she hated to wear, pushing her small breasts up into almost full view over the low cut top of her emerald green dress. She looked… like a lady. She scowled. The others laughed.
“You look lovely Alex, like a…”
“Don’t you dare say it Penny!”
“… a lady.”
“I’m not going down there looking like this Jon will laugh at me and so will everyone else, I don’t look like me. I’m uncomfortable and ugly.”
It was the others turn to scowl. They didn’t contradict her but literally pulled her from her room and down the stairs to dinner. It got worse, everyone else was already there, seated and waiting. Everyone turned in their seats to stare them. Penny and Kate dropped her arms trying to make it look like they had brought her with them willingly. Alex had no choice to walk into the room or lose all sense of her pride. She strode forward, her head up and her eyes focused on her brother. He looked shocked and it made her smile a sardonic smile. Maybe that look was worth the pain of having Penny and Kate attack her with comb, tweezers and hair pins. Alex started to look at the other guests as she was lead to her seat. Some where the usual people who visited them, Frank and Juliana, Cameron and Portia, Ellis and Maddie, but Dylan and Jon had invited some business associates as well. She didn’t recognise them, but then her gaze settled on him. The man from her tree. In the seat right opposite hers. She nearly turned and left right then. Something about him infuriated her and if she stayed to dinner then he might make her lose her temper and she really didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of all these people. This was embarrassing enough already and she wanted her pride intact. So she sat down and smiled at him.
Joshua stared at her. It was her; there was no doubt about it. She was Jon’s elusive sister Alex? She looked very, very different from when he had seen her last. She looked, well he didn’t know how he thought she looked but it was definitely an improvement. He realised he was staring then and she was staring back blatantly. Much to his frustration she looked away first, not because she was uncomfortable but because she was bored by the look of dismissal she gave him. She was so, so everything but mostly she was so full of her self. She let her pride take first place in her actions, like a barrier against everyone else, it keep them distant. So maybe she wasn’t full of herself after all. Oh he didn’t know she was just so confusing and irritating he wanted to slap her and she hadn’t even spoken to him yet.
“Dylan how is business going?” he asked the man on his left. Nearly all of the women stopped their conversations and glared at him. “What’s wrong? What did I do?”
“You chose the wrong question my friend,” Dylan told him with a laugh, clapping him on the shoulder.
“No business talk at the dinner table,” the married women chorused together.
“Right,” Joshua mumbled to himself, deciding it was safer to just eat rather than talk. He looked down at his plate and scooped up a spoonful of soup. He nearly spilt it down his white dress shirt when someone kicked him sharply in the ankle. He looked up quickly staring at Alex in surprise. She was smiling at him, just a small smile full of mischief that threw him.
“Don’t aggravate the wives or you’ll never stay here again.” She mouthed at him. He grinned back, he couldn’t help himself.
“Everyone loves me, you can’t get rid of me that easily.” He mouthed back, liking this playful side of her much better than her normal persona. She even went as far as to poke her tongue out at him before hiding it artfully behind her napkin. He couldn’t hold back his laugh of surprise and everyone stared at him in wonderment.
“Care to share what was so funny Joshua?”
“Umm no Lady Ormonde.” He told Jon’s mother blushing slightly, watching Alex smother her laughs by pretending to cough into her convenient napkin out of the corner of his eye. “It was nothing of interest.”
The elderly Duchess smiled at him knowing, which made Joshua nervous. “Of course my dear boy.” she share a knowing glance with her eldest daughter. Everyone turned back to their food and their own small conversations, but Joshua felt sure everyone was now talking about him and Alex. Perhaps they should start a proper conversation, it was about time he formally introduced himself.
“Good evening Miss Butler,” he started staring her in the eyes. “Joshua Michaels the 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, Scotland at your service.”
“Alexia Butler, but I think you have worked that out by now. A pleasure to meet you Lord Michaels, you are at me service? How intriguing,” she replied with an impish smile. “In what way, will you be my slave forever more?”
“Well properly not forever more but I will be your slave for the evening, perhaps every night until you are satisfied you don’t really want my service after all.” He gave her his most wickedly sinful smile. And to his surprise he managed to shock her into blushing. But he didn’t scare her away.
“But what if I become accustom to such luxury and refuse to release you from my employment?” she was intrigued by his bold suggestions, he seemed to be feeding her rebellious side rather than squashing it. It made a nice change.
“Well I would have to break free and live on the run in the highlands.”
“How convenient, I have always wanted to see the beautiful wilds of Scotland and recovering my lost property there would give me no choice to go and visit.”
“You would like to go to Scotland?” Joshua was unusually pleased she was showing an interest in his homeland.
“Of course, I have heard much about the wilds of the highlands, they rival the beauty of Ireland apparently. And of course I would love to meet my very own highland warrior.” Joshua raised an eyebrow at her.
“How do you know you haven’t met one already?”
“Because I see no kilt.” She smirked at him.
“Don’t be so quick to judge.”
“I’ll bare that in mind.” They continued to share small talk though all the various courses of dinner but the time went quickly and soon the butler announced dinner was over and could everyone please withdraw to the drawing room. Alex stood quickly, grateful to stretch her legs after the long meal and waited for whoever would be escorting her to the drawing room from the four single men who had been invited to stay by her family. Joshua strode around the table towards her, ignoring the other man who was just introducing himself as Alex’s escort, took her arm determined and led her away with out a word. Alex was too surprised to protest to this. Joshua was wearing a kilt.