Page 7 of The Earl’s Inconvenient Nemesis

“Ready, Little Squirrel?” Anthony called, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

Alice’s forced smile turned into a grimace. Why did he delight in tormenting her with that ridiculous name? She would not give him the pleasure of a reaction and so she settled her face as best as she could. Alice mounted with the groom’s help and replied with careful politeness, “Quite ready, thank you.”

She fussed around with the reins and stirrups, all the while listening as Anthony thanked the boy who handed him the reins to his horse, a beautiful chestnut stallion he had been bought the summer before. Another example of how spoilt, only child Anthony always got whatever he wanted.

“Where would you like to go?” he asked, turning his attention back to her.

Her determination to be nice gone, a large part of Alice wanted to say that she did not care where they went but, with a sigh, she said, “Peddlar’s Wood, please.”

To her surprise, the afternoon’s ride passed far more pleasantly than she had anticipated. Anthony followed her lead along the narrow bridle paths and refrained from his usual relentless teasing once he realised she would just ignore him every time he called her Little Squirrel. The woodland was beautiful and, for the first time, she found his company almost… tolerable. While Anthony would never be her chosen riding companion for about a thousand different reasons, he had not actually been anywhere near as awful as she had feared he would be. Most of the time she could imagine she was by herself and her annoying neighbour was miles away irritating someone else.

In the days that followed, they rode together most afternoons by some unspoken agreement, even once when rain fell in heavy sheets and Alice had had to sneak out for fear of being told she must remain indoors.

A lot of the time they rode in silence but after about a week, Alice felt the somewhat surprising urge to chat and got up the courage to ask Anthony if he was enjoying his summer.

“I am,” he said. “A great deal as it happens. Even if it has not turned out quite as I anticipated.”

Alice felt her heart flutter as their eyes locked. Was Anthony actually saying that he enjoyed spending time with her? And not just so he could make fun of her?

Conversation became easier between the two after that and Alice discovered that when he was not teasing her, Anthony could be surprisingly knowledgeable and agreeable. Their rides became the brightest part of her day.

Then one afternoon, without warning, he failed to appear.

The weather was fine so it could not be that keeping him away and he had not sent a note to cancel their arrangement. Alice waited, hanging around the stables for an hour before she gave up and took Lucy out for a ride around the property, doing her best to ignore the disappointment she felt. She knew she should not expect him to ride together every day but he could have let her know he was unavailable. That was basic manners, surely?

Alice was still feeling despondent the following afternoon, and was trying to take her mind off of Anthony by keeping her brother company. Unfortunately, she was in such a bad mood that she was not sure she was doing a very good job, though her thoughts being preoccupied made it even easier than usual for Henry to beat her at cards. She was sure they were both grateful when they heard a knock at the door, though Alice’s stomach plummeted when it was Anthony who entered the bedchamber.

“Just the lady I wished to see,” he said, his gaze going straight to Alice. “I must apologise most sincerely for missing our ride yesterday. It was unpardonably rude of me. Something unexpected arose and I could not send word in time. I hope you can forgive me.”

Alice kept her eyes fixed on her cards. “Of course. It is of no consequence.”

She would not give him the satisfaction of knowing she had been upset by his actions.

“Shall we resume our rides this afternoon, Alice?” Anthony asked.

Alice paused before answering. She had no desire to spend any time with Anthony, but she did not want to upset her brother who had been so pleased that she had been able to go out riding despite him being confined to bed.

“Wonderful,” she finally said, still not meeting Anthony’s eyes. “Does after luncheon suit?”

“It does,” replied Anthony.

“I shall be ready,” Alice said. She placed her cards down on the bed and stood up. “I shall leave you two to entertain one another.”

She left the room feeling very proud of herself for her composure.

The daily rides resumed but Anthony seemed to have changed overnight. He was polite but stopped initiating conversation as they rode, as though he was there out of obligation rather than that he was enjoying the experience which she felt he had at least been beginning to before. He also did not tease her anymore, he had even ceased calling her by that infernal nickname. Not that she missed that.

She had no idea what had changed when he had not shown up to ride with her that day, but something definitely had. Had she done something? Said something she ought not? Or was he simply bored of being stuck spending time with his best friend’s little sister and regretting his offer to accompany her on rides? Whatever it was, she got to go for the longer rides she craved and could largely imagine she was by herself, which should have been the ideal situation. And it would have been, if she had not been given the chance to see what a good companion Anthony could be, when he was not ignoring her.

Eventually, Alice gave in to her curiosity. It was a beautiful day, but the silence between them was spoiling it for her. As much as she hated to admit it, she missed their relaxed chats.

She slowed her horse and waited for Anthony to come alongside her then cleared her throat self-consciously and said, “So, are you looking forward to returning to Oxford next month?”

“I am,” Anthony replied, a look of resolution on his face.

“I imagine it has not been quite the summer you were hoping for, with my brother being confined to his room for a large part of it.”

“No, but I have enjoyed riding with you,” he said.