Page 9 of Winning Her Duke

Miss Gia’s face lit up with a bright smile. He’d already thought her lovely, but when she smiled, she was breathtaking. For a moment he faltered, ready to take back his claim and instead visit with her, but then shook himself from such ridiculous notions. More talk of the weather and which parts of the day contained sunlight, left him with a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

She moved to the edge of her seat mirroring him as her legs bounced in excitement.

“I am Giovanni—or rather Gia—it’s a long story.” She waved her hand dismissively. “Which horse did you wish to speak about? I have four in London.”

It was as if he’d watched a butterfly emerge from its cocoon. Her face fairly lit up as she asked the question. Her body shifted from uncertain to proud.

“I saw a beautiful chestnut mare as I rode past Tattersall’s earlier this morning. They said she belonged to… you?”

“Yes. That was Arabella. Isn’t she beautiful?”

Beautiful? No. He’d thought so when he saw the horse in the paddock, but this lass? She was beautiful.

Arabella was merely a horse. Though instead of saying that he collected himself before answering.

“Quite lovely. I wanted to see if she was for sale. I would like to…” He couldn’t say the word breed in front of proper ladies. “That is…”

“Oh! You’re looking to breed her?” Gia blurted, making him smile and making Lady Tomison groan.

“Aye. She seemed to take a liking to my stallion, Godspell.”

Gia’s eyes went wide.

“Godspell? That would explain her interest then, but I would not recommend breeding the pair since they are brother and sister. Same sire and mare.”

“Why would you think that?” His stallion had a verified record of lineage.

“Because I was present when each horse was born in my stables. I can assure you they are indeed siblings.”

“I purchased my horse from a Lord Waverly through a Mr. Marley.”

“Yes. Lord Waverly is my father. I employ Mr. Marley to ensure my horses do not end up with people who would mistreat them.”

Mistreat a horse? There had to be a special place in Hell for such people.

She must have understood his concern for she frowned.

“Many people want horses of good breeding and training, though some do not deserve them.”

He agreed, but he was still confused.

“I was told Dante is Godspell’s sire.” The stallion had won consistently last year and was expected to make a good showing this season as well. Hale hoped to have Godspell ready, but his stallion was having some challenges he hadn’t yet worked out.

“Yes, Dante is the sire for both Godspell and Arabella.”

“The racehorse that won at Ascot, Epsom and Brighton last year?” He was certain she was mistaken.

She laughed.

“Yes. Just as I trained him to do.”

“Truly? You trained Dante?” He didn’t mean to doubt her word, but she was a vision in her blue gown. He couldn’t imagine her handling a large, cantankerous horse such as Godspell. Or a sleek racer like Dante.

“For obvious reasons, it is not information to be shared. My groom’s name goes on all the documents for The Jockey Club. We wouldn’t want them to get their breeches in a twist because a woman trained a racehorse.”

Lady Tomison cleared her throat and Gia glanced over as if she’d forgotten the woman was still there.

“I imagine you are making that sound because I’m not to speak to the duke about other people’s breeches?” Gia asked.