She inhaled sharply with a cautious smile. She paused to curtsey. “Good morning, Your Grace. Well, are you?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Then she very carefully edged her way around him so they wouldn’t touch. He glanced at her over his shoulder, wondering if she did that because of his size or because of his title. Did every servant try to avoid their master?
He didn’t track much of that with those he hired in the townhouse. It was there he often ate in the kitchens with his staff, frequently prepared his own baths, and didn’t mind how or where they worked so long as the place was tidy. When Tristan had caught two of his footmen pausing one day to play pool, he’d talked about it for weeks like a marvel.
Which is why I brought Isabel here. She’ll be more comfortable here in a house full of proper servants. Even if the servants are clearly uncomfortable around me.
Maybe he would leave sooner, Sebastian decided on his way to his study. He passed another two servants, both who flinched and ducked their heads like they thought he might attack them.
It was an unnerving experience for everyone.
He didn’t know most of the household here, at least not very well. His visits here were infrequent. It had been his father’s favorite house during his time, and the man had never cared to have Sebastian around. Not before his mother’s passing and not after his return after years spent in the gutter.
No, that was his father’s preferred language. The gutter. For Sebastian, he had preferred to call it his years of freedom.
Dangerous and perhaps a little feral, compared to polite society, yes, but at least I had been free.
And now he was back in this cold prison for reasons he was beginning to doubt. Shaking his head, Sebastian hid himself away in his study––a smaller room compared to the proper study his father once used––until he needed an escape.
Making his way outside, he avoided the common paths to make his way over to the stables. The smell of fresh hay and horses was immediately comforting. His footsteps picked up until he entered, immediately pausing.
“Aye, and so I was telling ‘er that she didn’t need to worry about such a thing,” one of his stableboys was saying to another. “But what d’you know, she still made me that pigeon pie. What about that?”
The two of them chortled until one looked up at Sebastian and froze. He poked the other, who glanced back and froze. Immediately, the two of them shrank away.
“Begging your pardon, Your Grace,” they said meekly.
“No need. Carry on. I’ll be going for a ride,” he responded, moving slowly as though not to frighten them more.
It didn’t seem to work as they shied away. Irritated, he let out a snort before giving up. The change of speed only scared them more. The young lads didn’t look familiar to him, he noted, but they must have been brought on with his arrival and the addition of six horses.
What does the village say about me, I wonder? That I’m a beast? A monster? That I beat people? Good lord, people have too much imagination.
London was easier with a swathe of people from all over the world, so he was less likely to have people staring or to suffer from needless gossip. He thought about going back and simply hiding out for a while. It would be easy. He knew the shadows and he knew where polite society never appeared.
“This is ridiculous,” he told his horse once he reached the stall.
The large horse huffed back in his face before pawing at his clothes. Grim, the only name for such large black horse, always knew what to expect. Sebastian had crept into the kitchen for two crabapples, which he now offered to his horse.
It didn’t take long to saddle Grim. He always stood at attention, eager to stretch his long legs. Soon, Sebastian was in the saddle and racing across the wild grounds.
Gardens and a maze surrounded the large estate house. Beyond that, however, were the wild grounds of England. He passed through the glen, the wild greenery a soft sea waiting for him and Grim. Beyond them would be the cliffs leading to the ocean and then France.
It was the air that Sebastian wanted. He charged his horse forward at a gallop as though they were ready to take on the world. Fresh air filled their lungs, freeing them from the filth and restraints of everything else.
Once they were both slathered in sweat, Sebastian brought them around the house. He slid from the saddle to walk the rest of the way. The stables were insight when out of the hedges emerged Isabel.
Everyone stopped.
“Oh.” She looked between him and the horse. “I didn’t expect to see you out here.”
Because I said I was busy, didn’t I?
“I needed a break between the paperwork. Grim here was kind of enough give me the race that I needed. We weren’t fit for company, so we went together.”
Her eyebrow raised. “You named your horse Grim?”
