FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The petite doe nibbled on her lower lip as she studied her reflection in the looking glass in front of her and, after much deliberation, announced, "One more should do it, nanny."

Behind her the aging badger groaned and retorted, "One more of them big curls and your head's gonna tip right on over to your shoulders, missy."

Freda threaded her charge's fine blond hair over the heating rod once more, twisting the silken smooth strands close to the heat. When she released the rod the new curl bounced pertly just behind Therese's delicate left ear. The saucy ringlets were the last touch in a toilette that had taken hours. She wore a mauve silk day gown with bows along the hem and white lace at the throat and shoulders. Underneath, a pink taffeta petticoat crinkled and swished as Therese paced the room. Her small hands were encased in white kid gloves and on her slender hooves she sported pale leather lace-up boots with feminine bows at the base of the laces. On her cheeks blushed a hint of forbidden rouge pilfered from her mother's dressing room.

The reason for all the fuss was soon realized when, with a squeal, Therese rushed to the window, exclaimed, "He's here!" , and immediately rushed out the door and down the stairs.

Therese's beau, Florien, stepped down from the driver's seat of his buggy and stroked the nose of the dark bay gelding hitched to it. His father had recently purchased the animal from Twin Oaks and he thought it a fitting choice for an outing with Twin Oaks' beautiful debutante. He looked up when Therese bust through the door and only just managed to prepare himself before she threw herself into his arms.

"Oh darling, I was worried you wouldn't come." she pouted, "Charlotte said she saw you at the train station on Friday and I would just be so upset if you went on a trip without saying goodbye. You know how I do love our Sunday drives."

Before she could speak another word the trim buck gripped her waist and twirled her around, making her skirts twirl around their legs. He looked into her bright blue eyes and whispered, "How could I leave you when you look this beautiful?" Florien placed a gentle kiss on her reddening cheek before releasing her and beckoning toward the passenger seat of the buggy.

Therese stepped up into the front and sat, arranging her skirts around her. Florien jumped up on the opposite side and gripped the reins. Before they could depart, however, Freda rushed out of the house with a pink parasol. "Therese," she scolded, "do you want to get freckles, what would your mother say!"

Finally prepared, the couple wheeled around and sped off though the gate and onto the road.

The badger sighed, "Young love..."

Therese smiled contentedly and, the threat of freckles forgotten, tipped her sweet face up to the sun. She looked out from under her lashes at the handsome young buck who was her driver and date on this beautiful Sunday afternoon. Florien was also thinking about his luck; after all, how many other fellows in the county had such a bonny lass so willing to ride in their buggies?

When they reached the bank of the river Florien pulled the carriage off the main road and turned down a faint path to their favourite picnic spot. The small clearing was ringed by five huge weeping willows and dipped in a gentle slope to the sandy bank of an oxbow perfect for wading. The wind whispered its way through the canopy and the short grass was soft and fragrant as it crushed under their blanket.

The couple knelt on the blanket and began unpacking the basket packed by Florien's family cook. Inside were several cucumber and cress sandwiches, ripe pears, and slices of roast chicken. Therese gasped appreciatively as Florien pulled the final item from the hamper: a whole dish full of peach cobbler, the first of the season!

"You spoil me!" she teased, and he agreed, "But you're worth it."

Florien reached for her hand and grasped it between his own. "Therese, there is something very important I want to tell you, and I thought you should be the first to know."

"Yes?" she breathed, daring to hope that today was the day she had secretly been hoping for ever since the attractive and youthful son of the local judge had begun to call on her. Especially since he couldn't be bothered to spare a glance for any of the other young ladies in the county.

"I have been thinking about the future... specifically our future, and I have come to an important decision. "

"I'm leaving Tenderton"

Therese's mind whirled and she struggled to breathe as her throat constricted with the shock of the unexpected announcement. She barely heard as Florien explained that, although his father was a judge, the law held no allure for him. Since the election of the new president, national politics had intrigued him and, in order to pursue a position in government, he had to leave the small town of Tenderton and go to one of the large cities closer to the capital.

"I will miss you dearly, love, but I need to do this..." he trailed off as the blank expression on her face began to worry him. "Therese, are you all right?"

His concern finally broke the spell, and she rallied with surprising force. "How dare you lead me on like this? Thinking that we had a future together! I thought you loved me, how can you leave me?" she shrilled, "What will I do now?"

"I thought you were going to propose." the small doe whispered, worn out by the fiery burst of anger and pain.

Florien reached towards her, intending to pull her into a comforting embrace. "Oh sweetheart, I'm too young to think about marriage just yet. I'm only 23, how could I support a pretty little thing like yourself?"

"I'm not your 'pretty little' anything!" Therese screamed and turned on her heel, rushing into the forest in the direction of home.

Due to the winding nature of the road, Therese made it back to the estate before Florien and the buggy but, instead of entering the house, she skirted the outbuildings and slipped into the stable. Ever since she was a child she had found comfort with the horses her family bred. Her personal favourite was a dappled grey three-year-old filly she had christened Tullia. As Therese stroked the gentle horse's mane the tears finally broke through the fog of emotions swirling through her head. She pressed her face against the warm side of Tullia's neck and sobbed.

******************

Dirk was pitching the last forkful of hay from the loft when he heard a strange noise in one of the horse's stalls. As head groom he was responsible for the wellbeing of all the precious stock at Twin Oaks, and he hoped there wasn't a disease in the barn. As he approached the last stall on the right the hoarse, rasping sounds increased in pitch until, as the buck peeked his head over the bottom door he realized that the sound came not from one of the horses, but from the young mistress of the house. Dirk quietly backed away from the door but hung around in case the young woman needed any assistance.

Dirk had worked for the Jacobson family for fourteen of his twenty-seven years, ever since his father had been killed in a logging accident. He lived in a small room off the stable and spent all his time with the horses. In time his strength, riding ability and intuition gained him the position of head groom, where he supervised the breeding and health of the fine mounts Twin Oaks was famous for producing.

When, as a grief-stricken young boy, he had first come to stay at the farm his nights were spent crying in the hayloft. One evening, as the loneliness began creeping its way into his heart, he had heard a small voice down below. His sorrow overcome with curiosity, Dirk had peeked over the edge of the loft. Bathed in the glow of the lanterns was a tiny, four-year-old child toddling toward the stalls. "Hossie!" she had cried.

Dirk had quickly climbed down the ladder and picked up the truant child, intending to return her to the big house where the clamour of the search for her had just become audible, but as he turned toward the door her petite face had screwed up into a scowl and she had begun to whine. The young buck had initially been frightened that she was hurt but had soon realized what the youngster wanted. He had carried her over to one of the stalls and allowed her to peek in at the object of her desires.

After returning little Therese to her worried parents, Dirk had taken a protective attitude toward the girl. As she grew he had watched her play and taught her to ride the fat old pony, Chester. When she had lost her first tooth she had brought it to him. He had even given her the good-luck kiss at her sweet sixteen. In the year since then he had watched her bloom into an elegant young woman and, most recently, seen her start to attract the attentions of the wealthy young men of Tenderton county.

After a while Dirk looked up from cleaning one of the riding bridles as Therese's crying died down. She began talking to the horse and he strained his ears to make out what she was saying.

"How could he want to leave?" she questioned the uncomprehending Tullia, "Love like this can't be broken up just for a job, can it? He didn't say he doesn't love me.... but then, he didn't say that he did either..."

Suddenly her voice took on an excited tone, "I know, I'll follow him to the city, that way we can still be together!"

As soon as Dirk, the head groom at Twin Oaks, heard those words he knew that it was his responsibility to convince Therese of the folly of her plan. He knew that if he took this to her father to forbid it would only make the headstrong young doe more determined to follow her ex-beau out of Tenderton county.

The large buck waited until Therese began to exit her horse's stall and "accidentally" bumped into her. "Whoa there missy, where are you off to in such a hurry? The barn's not on fire is it?" he chuckled.

Therese stammered, "Oh... Dirk, I... I didn't see you there." She stood in front of him, her eyes shifting towards the door, clearly wanting to leave but not wanting to seem rude.

"I've been meaning to tell you something, Therese," he started, realising he wouldn't have much time.

Unfortunately for him, those were the wrong words for Therese's unstable mood and she immediately broke back into the heaving sobs that had alerted him to her presence in the first place. Wait, he thought to himself, this might play out in my favour. Dirk put on a concerned face and asked quietly "What's wrong sweetheart, are you hurt? What can I do?"

Before she knew it the details of earlier that afternoon spilled out of her mouth in one long gush; the delightful ride out to the picnic and the dreadful walk home. The broad-shoulders of her confidante became the recipient of a new wave of tears as Therese sought comfort from one of her oldest friends.

The feel of the delicate and emotionally unstable young woman in his arms stirred Dirk's imagination and provided him with a way to get that spoiled brat Florien off her mind. He reached up and gripped her chin, forcing her to gaze up at him with those large blue eyes rimmed with sparkling tears. Before Therese could speak he lowered his mouth to hers in a kiss that contained all the passion he had restrained over the years.

Having never been kissed on the mouth beyond the chaste kisses offered to her by Florien after their carriage rides, the rough and ardent kiss shocked Therese. As she gasped Dirk moved his tongue into her mouth and teased at the tip of her own and, though she raised her hands to his chest to push him away, they lacked resolve and were thus ignored. Dirk moved his hand to the back of her head and ran his fingers through her hair, stroking the large curls that had taken so long to prepare that morning.

Even though Therese knew that she should not be sharing something so intimate as a kiss with anyone, let alone the head groom of her father's ranch, she was captured by his desire and by the shivers that were running through her body. A strange heat was uncurling within her and every movement by the strong, virile buck urged it on. As if controlled by a will other than her own Therese's hips leaned into her conqueror and her arms went around his neck, fingers tangling in the dark hair at the base of his neck. A moan echoed through the stable and she realized that it had come from her own throat.

After what seemed to Therese like a life-time, Dirk pulled away from her and asked "Shall I stop?"