Page 54 of Managing the Major

She rolled her eyes. “And here I thought I was being quite cordial. Wait until we work at full force. I promise it won’t be long before you’re begging me to walk.”

His eyes gleamed. “And I’ve warned you about making threats.”

Her face grew warm. “Well then, let’s trot,” and kicked her horse into the next gait.

It was easy to slip back into comfortable banter, but she needed to resist the impulse to forgive him blindly. Only a plausible explanation for what passed with Lady Crawford would set her mind at ease. The encounter with that woman last night raised questions about her sincerity; although she had looked earnest, Octavia felt a prickle of uneasiness in Lady Crawford’s presence that was difficult to ignore.

When she looked back, Alastair was posting, perhaps not smoothly, but capably. After a lap around the enclosure, she pulled the mare back to a walk.

“Alastair, that was excellent,” she exclaimed, forgetting her resolution a moment before. It was such a pleasure to see his progress that she could forgive almost anything.

He colored at her praise and flashed a self-conscious smile. “Well, I’ve already outridden Rafe at any rate.”

“Doesn’t Captain Prescott have any equestrian skills? I assumed you both had the same training.”

“We have, but my cousin remains a terrible horseman. Part of his reputation for valor comes from the fact that he’s more comfortable leaping from his horse and fighting the enemy hand-to-hand.”

She laughed. “Come, let’s take another turn or turn around. Is your leg becoming too painful to do more?”

“Only a fraction of what I expected. I’m using more knee and thigh rather than gripping with my calf and hardly put any weight in the stirrup.”

She glanced down at his muscled thighs enclosed in the close-fitting buckskin breeches and swallowed quickly. Perhaps she shouldn’t send Peter to the park after all.

It was useless to deny the attraction that lay between them, no matter what secrets his past held. She was both impatient and uneasy about their conversation.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Major Fairfax Discloses His Past

Alastair readily consented to giving Thor a thorough curry and returning him to the stall after the ride. She sensed he didn’t shy away from hard work. Octavia loved tending to the horses herself, and she hoped Alastair did as well. Besides, time together on the ground developed a deeper bond between horse and rider.

As they were brushing down the horses, she casually asked Peter to saddle Lucifer and take the stallion in the park for some exercise.

“Just give him a good gallop when you can, and be cautious on the road. Sometimes he’s nervous when the bigger carriages pass by.”

“Yes, miss.” After getting the horse ready, Peter tightened the girth and led Lucifer to the mounting block, tipping his cap to Alastair as he passed. “It’s a fine horse you have there, Major.”

“I realize that,” he replied, bestowing an affectionate pat on Thor’s neck. “Perhaps soon, my strict riding master will permit me to go into the park as well.” The wry smile sent in her direction took any sting out of the words.

Octavia gave a final rubdown to the mare’s coat. “I intended to surprise you and suggest it tomorrow, but I see you are too impatient to wait.”

“Oh, I can be very patient,” he murmured after Peter left.

A tingle of warmth blossomed between her thighs. “Really? I think you are very bold to presume I’ve forgiven you.”

His expression grew somber. “I presume nothing, but hope for everything. Will you allow me to explain from the beginning of the story?”

“Let’s put these two in their stalls, and we can sit outside and talk.”

Alastair had shrugged off his coat to groom Thor, and his shirtsleeves were rolled up, exposing corded forearms with a sprinkling of light hair. Scars puckered the left one and marked his large hand. She wondered about the rest of his body, not with apprehension, but with sadness that he had endured such hardship and pain.

“You seem to have more movement in your right arm, Alastair, and I noticed you rode with two reins. Has something changed?”

“As a matter of fact, I’ve been working with my fencing master and a medical professor whom he suggested I see. They prescribed exercises to strengthen my left side. There’s some improvement, and although I can do little more than hold the left rein right now, I hope it will be more soon.”

“Are you a fencer?” she asked curiously.

“You could say that,” he replied with a crooked smile. “I move far less now, but I can still thrust and parry vigorously. My reputation was quite famous among the regiments at one time.”