Evan laughed along with him and then wandered over to the main stalls. “It’s this one, yes?” he asked, making a vague motionin the direction of a compact grey gelding, almost like he wasn’t quite sure what his horse looked like.
“Ollie!” Mother called.
His youngest groom in training came running from the other end of the stables and skidded to a stop in front of him. “Yes, Mister Jones?”
“Prepare His Grace’s horse, quick as you like,” Mother said.
Ollie set about his task while Felix saddled his own horse, and before long they were on their way, the clatter of hooves on cobbles giving way to soft thuds as they rode out through the gate and into the broad, sweeping meadows that surrounded the stables. They headed in the direction of the nearby woods. Leo and Felix rode alongside each other and Thomas stayed back far enough to give them some semblance of privacy. Evan pulled his horse up alongside Thomas, wobbling precariously in his saddle right until they were out of sight of the stables. Then he said in a low undertone, “I’ll be right back.”
“Where are you going?” Surely Evan wasn’t leaving them?
Something of what he was thinking must have shown on Thomas’s face. Evan grinned and said, “Watch and learn, Captain.”
Seconds later, his horse shot forward at a gallop, weaving wildly back and forth across the rough dirt path that had been carved through the meadow by thousands of hoofbeats.
If Thomas didn’t know better, he would have passed the display off as Evan’s inability to do anything properly, including controlling his horse. But since hedidknow better, he paid attention, and it didn’t take long to work out what Evan was doing. He rode between the various raised hillocks and high points that littered the meadow, travelling in a wide, sweeping pattern, veering between any raised areas that might provide some sort of vantage point. Then he lingered at the highestpoint, ostensibly to try to calm his horse, for exactly long enough to scout out the surrounding area.
Evan had taken ineptitude to an art form, and all Thomas could do was watch in admiration. But at the same time, he wondered if Evan ever got sick of being taken for a fool. If it grated, to be so easily dismissed.
That thought, and any others, were driven from his head when Evan stood in his saddle. Thomas’s mouth went dry. A wave of desire flooded through him as Evan turned from side to side and Thomas was treated to the sight of his thighs flexing, the curve of his arse outlined by the tight fabric of his trousers. He swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat, imagining what it might feel like to run his hands over the firm mounds of flesh.
Evan on any given day was attractive, but Evan on horseback was enough to knock the very air from his lungs.
When the duke rode back to his side, Thomas dragged his gaze away from Evan’s thick, toned thighs with difficulty.
“Well? What did you learn?” Evan asked, eyes bright.
“Amazing how that horse of yours insists on stopping at the top of every rise, isn’t it?” Thomas said. “See anything interesting?”
“No, but then, I didn’t expect to,” Evan said. “People who trade in hemlock and secrets don’t suddenly stage clumsy ambushes.”
That made sense but begged the question. “If you’re not expecting an attack, then why are you here?”
Evan’s mouth quirked up into a smile. “I wanted to talk to you, obviously.”
Thomas’s heart flip-flopped in his chest for a split second and a thrill ran through him before he remembered that Evan wasn’t attracted to him, and this didn’t mean what he wanted it to mean. Evan was obviously here to update him with newsabout who was behind hiring the dead viscount while there was nobody to overhear them.
He pushed aside the stab of disappointment. “What have you found out?”
“What?”
“About who’s behind the threat. You said you needed to talk to me, so I assume you have news.”
“Oh that,” Evan said, like a plot against the king wasn’t the most important thing happening in the kingdom right now. “No, nothing new on that front. And I don’tneedto talk to you. I want to. I thought it might be nice to spend time with an attractive man who doesn’t think I’m an idiot.”
Thomas blinked and a pang of sympathy ran through him, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but wonder—was the duke actually flirting with him right now, or was it just wishful thinking on his part? He cleared his throat. “You’re not an idiot.”
“No, but don’t tell anyone. I have an image to uphold.”
“You do act the part very well, though,” Thomas added, unable to resist.
Evan’s brow creased. “I’m not sure if that’s an insult or a compliment, Captain.”
Thomas grinned. “It’s whatever you choose it to be, Your Grace.”
“I thought I told you not to use my title.”
“And yet here you are using mine,” Thomas said. “And it’s difficult to change the habits of a lifetime. My job requires me to maintain a certain level of formality.”
