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“What about the horse?” Elizabeth whispered, so softly that he nearly didn’t hear her.
“Someone will come by for it.”
“Oh.” She gripped her riding crop tightly. “I didn’t mean for that to happen. I mean—I didn’t think I would grow faint like that. I thought I had it under control.”
William rigidly maintained his silence through a mixture of both frustration and the urge to continue the conversation as if nothing had happened between them. As if he hadn’t left her side for seven years.
“I know I have a deathly fear of horses, but when I was standing before him, I thought I could handle it.”
Why would you think you could handle that all of a sudden?
“Are you upset with me?” she asked tentatively, turning her head to the side as if to look at him.
“Beth,” William couldn’t help but growl. “Words cannot begin to express what I am feeling right now.” It was as close to the truth as he could get.
“Forgive me. I didn’t know I was that weak.”
She sounded dejected with those words and William was hit with the insane urge to console her, to tell her that she was the furthest thing from weak. For her to bravely get atop a beast she was terrified of simply to get a reaction out of him was a feat William had to respect, even though it frustrated him beyond words.
The trip back to the stables was short and fraught with heat—which had nothing to do with the summer sun and everything do with Elizabeth’s gentle curves taunting him from so close. It was all he could do to keep his hands on the reins.
The moment they were back in the stables, the grooms returned. Even though William was certain they were watching, he ignored them, dismounting the horse as quickly as he could. He didn’t bother to give Elizabeth any warning when he caught her by her waist and deftly picked her up off the horse. Her hands instinctively landed on his shoulders and it sent a jolt through his body. The moment her feet touched the ground, William put two steps between them.
“Don’t cause any more trouble,” he said gruffly, not looking at her. He knew she was staring at him, with those large brown eyes that had always been able to bring him to his knees.
“All right,” she responded but he was already walking away.
He needed to get away from her. Work should be able to keep his mind off that encounter. If he buried himself in paperwork, perhaps he would be able to get her scent out of his head, and forget how perfectly she’d felt against his body.
Somehow, he doubted that was possible. But he forged on nonetheless, not stopping until he made his way to his study. There he called for Harold and sat down at this desk staring at nothing. Despite the paperwork and ledgers he had to get through, all he could think about was Elizabeth.
“Your Grace?” came Harold’s voice at the door.
“Come.”
Harold entered and stayed by the door, his hands clasped behind his back, waiting for his order.
“Have gowns ordered for Lady Elizabeth. Dinner gowns, morning gowns, walking gowns. Anything a lady needs. In the meantime, rummage through the late Duchess’ armoire for something suitable for Lady Elizabeth to wear. I believe their figures are similar.”
Harold bowed deeply. “As you wish, Your Grace.” He slipped out silently.
William leaned back in his chair, resting his neck on the back of the chair. He saw nothing as he stared up at the high ceiling. He could only see Elizabeth’s flushed cheeks, her fluttering eyes before she slipped from the horse, the fear that had seized him so strongly that he could still taste it on his tongue.
With that image stark in his mind, forcing himself to push her away grew almost impossible. Instead, he felt those past feelings rise in him, the protectiveness that flourished in her presence. He wanted to keep her as close to him as he possibly could, to make sure that nothing like that could ever happen again.
It was a terrible excuse, he knew, but William also found it difficult to care. The world he’d built was shifting around him and he didn’t know how to put it back together.
Chapter 7
Elizabeth didn’t get the chance to eat dinner with William that night. She’d hoped to, even though she still hadn’t recovered from their encounter at the stables, but had been told that the Duke preferred to have his dinner alone in his study. When she’d asked why he didn’t eat in the dining room, Minnie told her that she was not privy to the particulars, but believed the Duke was simply too busy with work to think of doing otherwise.
That hadn’t sat well with Elizabeth but she knew there was nothing she could do about it. The wall he was so determined to keep between them was as strong as ever, but she intended to keep bashing herself against it, if only to learn the truth of what had happened that day.
