Alexander continued to skim through the documents in his hands, having thus far noted two key things in particular:
The paperwork surrounding the purchase, history, veterinary records, importation and shipping of a horse from the US to Europe required the death of a forest, and
This particular set of documents was making for uncharacteristically interesting reading
He paused at the page headed PURCHASE AGREEMENT.
BUYER NAME: Maria Jones / Highgrove, AUSTRIA
SELLER NAME: Caleb C. Quain / Lowmax Stud, USA
The next page: veterinary assessment.
GENERAL ATTITUDE AND DEMEANOUR: Bright, alert, responsive. APPETITE: Normal. BODY SCORE: 5. SKIN AND COAT: E. MANE AND TAIL: E.
Another page -
VACCINATED: rabies, EEE/WEE, tetanus, West Nile Virus, strangles, equine influenza, EHV, potomac horse fever.
NIL COGGINS VERIFIED: Y
Palomino mare; 5 y.o; foaled in the USA. SIRE: ESPIONAGE (Dark Dealings) DAM: MAROUSSIA (Koldovstvo II). MARKINGS: Head: small star; snip. Pastern LF; Half-stocking RF; Stocking LH; scarring (cosmetic) RH cannon to RH gaskin.
BREED: Anglo Arabian.
“Interesting choice,” he murmured.
His gaze shifted to the window overlooking the paddocks where the mare approached the fence in a trot so light-footed she seemed part of the wind, her tail swaying in the breeze as if she were proudly and purposely flaunting her Arabian blood in accordance with some greater cosmic cue.
She was a beautiful puzzle.
Alex was relatively in the dark about the new mare. Maria had met her during her trip to New York; she had made the decision to purchase her some time after the CTJL Monaco; the mare was now at Highgrove, prancing around the property like a little palomino princess. These and only these were the indisputable facts he had at hand. Under other circumstances, he might not have given the matter a second thought - the presence of a flighty desert horse amidst a herd of blue-ribbon European warmbloods was strange, sure, but had not stranger things happened at Highgrove in the past? History said they had; logic said it need not be considered further; he could leave it alone.
But as he watched Maria at her desk, absorbed in her phone, face bright, eyes alive, smiling a bit too smile-y at the screen -
Instinct was whispering otherwise.
He thumbed a few pages through the stack until he found what he was looking for: the pre-purchase exam, with that one particular field wildly piquing his interest.
INTENDED USE OF HORSE: Three Day Eventing
Maria had gone to New York - where Caleb was based - and gone to Monaco - where they’d bumped into Caleb - and had now purchased a horse - from Caleb - who was bizarrely out of place at Highgrove… unless Maria was thinking of venturing into eventing, which - curiously, conveniently, interestingly - was the basis of… Caleb’s whole career.
As far as Alex could recall, Maria had not once expressed interest in the discipline, neither personally nor financially, in the entire time he’d known her. This could well have changed, of course; changing her mind was her prerogative. But the change would be relatively new, relatively sudden, and that -
- That was the interesting part.
He slid his eyes sidelong to Maria.
He leant against the wall next to the large window, continuing his show of perusing the hefty sheaf of documents sent over by the Lowmax administration.
“Who knew you had a hidden interest in eventing?”
Maria's response was a nonchalant hum of agreement.
Alex waited. A few seconds of silence passed between them before she finally met his eyes.
“Eventing?” he prodded, raising an eyebrow.
“Oh, yeah. I want to try something new,” she replied, flashing a slight smile before returning her focus to her phone.
Alex said nothing, but continued to watch her. She must have sensed his lingering gaze, for she tore her eyes from the screen a second time.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“What?”
“You have that -” she gestured about her mouth ‘- look on your face.’
That look consisted of glittering sea-green eyes and the corners of his lips curved into his familiar boyish smile; it hinted at trouble, with a capital T. He knew it, too, and his mouth curved even further.
“I’m not the only one with a funny look on their face.”
She lowered her phone slowly into her lap.
“You’re going to have to talk me through this, because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, nothin’. Just looks to me like you went from average phone owner to forgetting there’s a world outside.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re using that thing all the time -” his eyes were laughing “and lookin’ mighty happy about it.”
“I’m using my phone because I have work stuff to wrap up. I’m looking happy about it because it’s work stuff that’s going really well.”
“Yeah, maybe a bit too well? A bit more well than most sales go?”
There was a long pause. Alex shifted his weight, still smiling. Maria’s jaw tightened.
“What are you insinuating?”
“Nothin’. Just connecting a few dots,” he said, tapping his temple and dropping the sheaf on the desk.
“Imaginary dots.”
“Dots seem pretty real to me, and lots of ‘em.”
“No dots to connect.”
“Dots everywhere.” He ambled across the space between them, dotting at the air with his fingers. “And you know what they say?”
“Alex is delusional?” Her voice was thick with sarcasm.
“That there’s more than just “work stuff” buzzin’ on that phone of yours, love.”
He leaned down to tap the tip of his index finger on the screen, but Maria whisked it away. As she opened her mouth in retort, their attention was snatched - by her lock screen illuminating.
Alex shifted his attention back to Maria.
“Interesting,” he said softly.
“It’s not what it looks like.” She rolled her eyes, but spoke a bit too quickly.
“No,” he drawled. “It never is, is it?”
“I told you, it’s work.”
“Very interesting,” he repeated, and turned for the door.
“We’re talking about Honey,” she said, raising her voice. “About the horse he sold me. Work”
“Dots, love,” he said, walking backwards and grinning as he dotted the air with his fingers.
“No dots!” And then, for good measure, after he disappeared through the door, “And mind your business!”
His response was a sound rather than a word - a snort of laughter, if she were to guess. If she were to connect the dots.
--------------------------
A huge thank you to @ariadnew for co-writing the story with me and for collabing in general. It's always such a pleasure to work with you ♥️ And ofc thank you for Honey, i adore her.
The poses i used for Maria are made by @sciophobis. Thank you again for allowing me to convert them!
And last but not least. Thanks to @nectar-cellar Alex can wear that incredible shirt. I love it so much! Thank you for sharing it with me - i'll shamelessly use it in every picture now 😌
