The helmet, the sword and the hectic Clarens mission

The hardest part of the whole project was getting the outfit down there. In the end Shaun decided to just bring the helmet and the chest thing he got from the costume shop. Then he managed to find a jersey at Edgars in this kind of metallic-grey wool. And a red skirt for large ladies. That would have to do.
He just barely managed to squeeze the items into his suitcase, which meant that he couldn’t bring any actual spare clothes, or Lorna would have suspected something. As it was, she tried to get him to open the case so she could put her vanity bag in there. He had to get all stroppy with her to make sure she didn’t actually open it.
He was like, “Why don’t you just put the vanity case in the boot? Why does it have to go in my bag? My bag’s full!”
So then they drove the whole way to Clarens in silence because she was sulking and he was so nervous. He kept running through the details, over and over, terrified he might forget something.
Eventually they got to Clarens and the mood lifted a little. They went for dinner at a restaurant on the square and she said, “To four years of us!”
Shaun said, “To the future,” and then immediately wondered if that was giving away too much. He ordered a second bottle of wine, because he somehow needed to ensure she slept through his early-morning wake-up and the mission to find the stables.
Mr Van Rensburg had assured him the stables were just off the square and well within walking distance of their B&B, but on their romantic pre-dinner walk, Shaun hadn’t seen anything even resembling stables. Oh well. Maybe they were a block back or something.
Assuming he managed to find the stables, the hardest part was going to be riding the bloody horse. Shaun hadn’t ridden since he’d gone pony riding at the Sani Pass hotel when he was eight.
And of course Lorna was a provincial showjumper, so she was going to be laughing her head off at him.
After the meal, Shaun talked her into going through to the bar for a nightcap. “Are you gonna try and take advantage of me?” she asked with a twinkle in her eye, and he was reminded why he was going through the whole rigmarole in the first place.
As they were making a final toast for the road, Shaun noticed a sword above the fireplace and made a mental note…
When Lorna awoke on Saturday morning, the bed was colder than usual. She lay for a couple of minutes waiting for Shaun to get back from the bathroom. But when he never returned, she went to go look for him.
She was shocked to find the bathroom empty. So she put on her jeans and a jersey and went into the B&B’s poky little dining room. No sign of him there either.
Then she heard a bit of a commotion in the street outside, and some kind of neighing sound. Right then the B&B lady came in the front door and said, “There’s someone outside who wants to see you.”
She cautiously poked her head around the door and there, surrounded by a dozen local kids, and a couple of nonplussed weekend-getaway types like themselves, was a knight on horseback! With a shiny chrome helmet, a metal breastplate and a proper sword in his scabbard! He seemed to be having difficulty staying on his steed.
When he saw her, he raised his visor and bellowed, “Hail, fair maiden! Well met!” He startled the horse and it almost threw him off.
Good God! It was Shaun!
“What the hell are you doing!” she screamed.
“I’m asking you to marry me,” he shouted back, so everyone on the street could hear. “I love you, Fair Maid Lorna. Can I be your knight in shining armour?”
Her jaw dropped open and she just stood there, in her jeans and her woolly jumper, with half of Clarens staring at her. Of course it was yes!
A cheer went up when she said it, and the B&B lady hugged her, because Shaun couldn’t get down. Then they helped her up onto the horse and led them around the square, with all the people having breakfast at the pavement cafes applauding.
And whenever they clopped past a new table of diners he’d lean down and tell them, “She’s agreed to marry me, you know!”