Henrietta’s eyes scanned the Serpentine River up ahead. “Have you ever dreamed of boarding a boat and sailing far, far away?”
“I have not, but it sounds as if you have.”
“That is true.”
“Where do you wish to go?”
“Anywhere,” she replied.
Lord Charles eyed her with concern. “Are you so unhappy with your life?”
Henrietta shook her head. “Of course not,” she replied, “I just want to have an adventure. I want to experience something new.” She paused. “I know that must sound silly to someone like you.”
“Actually, it doesn’t sound farfetched at all.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Although, I would highly recommend you don’t do anything as foolhardy as running off and stowing away on a ship,” he said. “Traveling on a ship isn’t as grand as you may believe it to be.”
“Have you been on a ship?”
“I have, many times,” Lord Charles confirmed. “I occasionally travel to India to secure antiquities.”
“How I envy you.”
Lord Charles smirked. “You shouldn’t,” he said. “It can be a rough few days while you are getting your sea legs.”
“But to be able to have the freedom to do as you please, when you please, must be exhilarating,” she said.
“I suppose I have never thought about that before.”
Henrietta gave him a weak smile. “You must excuse me for my ramblings,” she said. “I’m afraid it is one of my greatest faults.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. I do appreciate a woman who speaks her mind.”
She huffed. “I’m afraid you are in the minority, then.”
“Perhaps I am,” he said as he shifted in his saddle. “But it makes it no less true.”
Henrietta’s horse became agitated by a rustling in the bushes near them. As she attempted to calm her horse, a snake slithered across the path, and her mount reared up. She was unable to hold on and found herself tumbling off.
Charles watched in horror as Miss Henrietta was upended from her horse, landing with a thud on the dirt path. He quickly dismounted and raced to her side.
“Are you all right?” he asked, crouching down.
“I am,” she replied in a breathless voice. She moved to sit up. “Was there any chance that no one else witnessed me falling off my horse?”
Charles looked up and saw men and women watching them with bemused looks on their faces. “I am afraid not.”
“Drat,” she muttered under her breath.
Her sister ran over and asked, “Are you hurt?”
“Only my pride,” Miss Henrietta remarked.
Reaching for her sister’s arm, Miss Whiston said, “Let’s get you off the ground. It is terribly filthy down here.”
As Miss Henrietta rose, she swayed back, and Charles reached out to steady her. “It might be best if we have her rest for a moment,” he suggested.
