Hopefully.
When Rose returned home, she caught her parents just before she retired for bed.
“I spoke to Lydia today, and she told me the most wonderful news. Apparently. Edmund is planning a special surprise for our next outing. I am so thrilled to see what his mind can conjure. I shall go to bed dreaming of it. Thank you so much for arranging this; it has certainly provided my life with a great deal of excitement, if nothing else,” she said, then flashed a grateful smile and skipped up the stairs.
Her parents probably thought that the stars were aligning, but they had no idea that Edmund’s heart lacked any desire for marriage.
In this, and only this, they were united.
When the note informing her about their third promenade arrived, Rose decided to keep it from her parents. She was not done with testing Edmund yet. She intended to arrive alone, unchaperoned, to see how he reacted. If he was a reckless rake as society believed, then she would see it plainly for herself, butmore than this, she wanted to prove to herself that she would not be unsettled by him again.
She knew she should worry about her reputation. Being seen like this could ruin her, but she chose to ignore it. After all, this could be another way to escape marriage.
With nobody else knowing that the promenade was taking place on this particular day, there was nobody to scold her. She ventured outside and ordered the footman to take her to the arranged meeting place, a set of fields on the outskirts of London. She imagined he had planned another picnic, which did not feel like much of a surprise.
However, a thrill filled her heart, and a dizzying feeling swept over her, because the sense of independence and freedom she experienced was intoxicating. She thought this might be how things would be for the rest of her life. She would never have to rely on anyone again.
The carriage eventually stopped outside a low stone wall. Fields and meadows stretched out before her in beautiful shades of yellow and green. Edmund was standing there, flanked by two horses. One was chestnut brown, and the other was obsidian. They were beautiful creatures, and Rose’s heart was captured by them immediately.
“Who are these?” she gasped.
“Strum and Pluck,” Edmund said, regarding her with a cool look, then he looked past her. “Is Jenny not joining us today?”
Rose fixed her gaze upon him and stuck her chin out. “No. I am alone,” she said this as though it were a challenge, and she waited patiently to see how he would react.
Edmund pursed his lips and looked at her, then at the carriage, and back to her again.
“Then the horses shall have to suffice as your chaperone,” he said with an air of confidence. He seemed completely unshaken by her lack of a chaperone, which irritated her, though the presence of the horses distracted her.
“Hello there,” she said to each horse in turn, placing her hand on their heads and speaking in a low volume so they would get used to her. They bowed their heads, accepting her, and she stroked their mane. “They are beautiful.”
“They’re good horses, and both are obedient. Which one would you like to ride today?”
“Is that the surprise, riding?”
“Indeed, as long as you are not too delicate. I would hate for your clothes to be ruined,” he said with a pointed look. He must have asked Lydia about this, and now he realized that what she told him had been a lie. She wasn’t about to admit it outright, so she breezed past him and decided to ride Strum, the chestnut horse.
“I am sure I can handle it.”
“Really? Because I recall you telling me that you were afraid of your shoes getting muddy.”
“Not these shoes,” she replied, and quickly pulled herself up on the horse, which left Edmund impressed.
“You’ve done this before.”
“Mother is fond of the outdoors. I spent much of my childhood in the countryside with her. I think she was pleased with the company. Where are we riding to?”
Edmund mounted his horse as well and struck a powerful figure as he sat astride the animal’s back, like a knight. He gestured with his hands all around him.
“Pick a direction. The world is yours,” he said.
Rose grinned, unable to hide the spark of excitement that crackled within her heart. She geed the horse, and it broke into a gallop. Edmund rode beside her. The world became a blur, and the wind rushed through Rose’s hair as the horse’s speed increased. Powerful hooves crashed into the ground, sending up clods of dirt.
A wide smile adorned Rose’s face, and she leaned forward. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Edmund, and she felt the urge to turn this ride into a race. Every time she got a little bit quicker, he matched her pace, and she wanted to see how much she could push the horse.
“Come on, Strum, we’ll show them what we’re made of,” she said, then yelled at the top of her voice and broke ahead of Edmund. Laughter erupted from her throat, and she tingled with glee as she ran across the open fields. The horse seemed to enjoy it as well, snorting and whinnying.
“It must be good for them to be out of London and have a lot of space in which to run,” she called out. There was no reply from Edmund, who was focused on catching up to her.
