Chapter Nine
As the duke’scarriage trotted down the road to meet with them again at the Serpentine, Lady Verity said, “Let’s be off,” and spurred her horse across the green.
Henry did not know what he had been expecting when the duke mentioned a gallop. He’d thought it might be more of a trot, as there were ladies involved. That was not the case.
Lady Verity and Lady Winsome spurred their horses into an ever-faster gallop. Good God, it was like they were at a race at Newmarket. He had a bit of trouble keeping up.
Skirting round trees and bushes, everything went by in a blur. At one moment, Lady Verity galloped underneath some low hanging branches, ducking and just barely clearing them. Mercifully, they began to slow as they approached the Serpentine.
“That was lovely,” Lady Winsome said, breathing hard as she reined in her horse.
Lovely? It was downright hair-raising.
“It is not the Dales, of course, we could go so much further if we were there,” Lady Verity said, working to catch her breath, “but it is nice to allow our horses to stretch their legs.”
Henry could only wonder what their rides looked like in the Dales. His horse was heaving in air after that little adventure. For that matter, he was too. They had stopped by the side of the carriage road waiting for the duke, who was just taking the turnsouth. It was not too overcrowded, it being just a little of the early side. In an hour, it would be positively mobbed.
Both ladies had jumped off their horses without waiting for a block. He supposed ladies from the Dales were sturdier than he’d been expecting. It was rather attractive. He dismounted too. The duke’s carriage rumbled to a stop, and the duke and his passengers clambered out of it.
“I thought we might have a picnic of sorts,” the duke said.
One of the grooms was already untying a folding coaching table from the back of the carriage. Another brought out a basket and began to unpack it of jars of lemonade, a ham, a jar of mustard, rolls, and biscuits.
“Nowhere to sit, but that’s the park for you,” the duke said. The grooms poured lemonade into glasses and handed it round.
“You are quite the horsewoman, Lady Verity,” Henry said.
He was pleased to see a faint blush. The second blush of the day. Certainly if a lady blushed over a compliment, it must mean something well.
“We all are,” Lady Winsome said.
“I’m not,” Lady Valor said. “But that is only because my pony likes to walk. She gets nervous to go fast.”
Henry assumed the real case of it was that Lady Valor got nervous to go fast. He could hardly blame her. He’d fox hunted all his life, which was always a rather mad dash, but he’d been on very few rides like the one he’d just been on.
“Lord Wembly?”
A carriage had slowed to a stop and he heard his name called. He turned and found Lady Lilith leaning out her carriage window.
“Lady Lilith,” he said with a bow. He did not know what had brought her here but was hoping she would not stop long.
“Goodness, what have we here?” she asked, looking over at the table with the picnic items.
She’d backed him into a corner. There was really nothing else to do but introduce her. “Lady Lilith, the Duke of Pelham, the Ladies Verity, Winsome, and Valor, and Mrs. Right.”
He still was not certain how to introduce Mrs. Right, as he did not understand the connection.
“Your Grace, ladies, Mrs. Right,” Lady Lilith answered. “You’ve made yourself very comfortable in the park, what a charming idea.”
“You are welcome to stop, if it suits you, Lady Lilith,” the duke said.
It seemed it did suit, as Lady Lilith was out of the carriage in a flash. She approached the party and said, “This day is one coincidence after the next. I just encountered Lord Munson on the road and he told me he was coming from the duke’s house.”
“I do not know where all those young bucks came from,” the duke said. “Dashed inconvenient to have my drawing room littered with them.”
“Well, they are all very keen to hear from our lady scientist,” Lady Lilith said. “It was all Lord Munson could talk about. Lady Verity, you are becoming quite the celebrity.”
“I’m sure not,” Lady Verity said.
