Page 43 of A Gifted Earl

It was a daring thing to say, yet she felt confident in saying it to this man, for he, of all people, was someone she could trust not to misinterpret her meaning.

“Then let us move on – we will go down to the home farm now, and after that, return to the house for some refreshments.”

Lord Templewick had raised his voice so that the others could hear, and she turned, ready to follow him again as he stepped away to speak to another guest, only to discover that Jasper stood only a few feet away. How much had he heard of their conversation? It worried her that he might have heard it all, and might have, in a manner typical of him, misinterpreted every word. His eyes were on her, and they were cold, uncaring for anything except his own pleasures – pleasures which she knew he would take from her, if he had the chance.

Then that considering expression disappeared, and Jasper presented her with a leering grin, sketched a mocking little bow, and bent towards her for a moment.

“I would certainly enjoy more intimate time in your company, if you are granting such favours – and perhaps even if there is no granting about it. We really must arrange something.”

With that, which had shocked her to breathlessness, he turned and walked away. Her heart was pounding, and she hurried to catch up to Lord Templewick, in whose company at least she felt safe.

The rest of the walk was uneventful, and she stayed close to Lord Templewick, and her mother, but those moments with Jasper stayed in her thoughts, and overlayed all her pleasure in the day with a chill of fear, and a premonition of bad things to come.

A premonition she very much hoped would not prove true.

*****

The following morning was clear, and the air crisp without being icy. Venetia breathed deeply as she walked across from the house to the stables, with Amelia by her side. The habit which Amelia had lent her was a beautiful dark green, and fitted her almost perfectly, which filled her with delight, for it meant that she could ride.

In the stables Lord Templewick awaited them, with his own horse, Chamberlain for Venetia, and a lovely grey mare for Amelia. A groom was waiting, already mounted, to follow them for propriety’s sake. They led the horses out onto the grass of the square, and mounted, Venetia simply stepping up by herself, with the ease of long practice, Amelia using the mounting block.

“Oh! I do wish I could do that! I just don’t have enough spring to mount by myself.”

Venetia laughed.

“I learnt of necessity, after falling off many times in our fields, and facing the choice of managing to mount or walking home on my own feet. It took a lot of practice for me to make it look anything like smooth and elegant.”

Lord Templewick mounted his own horse, and rode over to where they waited, a smile on his face.

“Well I, for one, think that you have managed to make it look effortless.”

Venetia felt the heat of a blush stain her cheeks, and looked away, unsure how to respond. Her eyes roamed around the stable area, and for a moment she thought that she saw movement in the shadowed doorway, then it was gone. She had probably imagined it. She brought her attention back to what she was doing when Amelia spoke.

“Are we going a specific way, Lord Templewick? Are there particularly scenic parts of the estate?”

He waved a hand towards the lane that led to the home farm.

“We’ll go down past the home farm, and then across the valley and up onto the ridge opposite, where there is an excellent view of the whole district. We can come back along the path of the stream, through the centre of the valley, and approach the house from the other side.”

And so they went, with the groom trailing some distance behind them – in sight, but out of hearing.

Once they reached the top of the ridge on the other side of the valley, they paused by the ruins of an old stone tower, and dismounted. Lord Templewick pointed out local landmarks, and explained the history of the ruins they stood amongst. After a short while, when he had finished his description, Amelia looked past the ruined wall beside them.

“Is that another wall over there?”

“It is – we think there was an outbuilding there, although its been ruins for many generations. There is a good view into the next valley from behind it, if you are willing to climb through some rocks.”

Amelia grinned.

“Of course I’m willing – I love exploring.”

And with that, she set off. Lord Templewick turned to Venetia with an enquiring look.

“No thank you – I’m happy right here, with the scenery in front of me.”

“Then I shall stay here with you, Lady Venetia. Might I be improper, and ask… has there been some past trouble with Lord Jasper? I did not understand exactly what he was trying to imply, yesterday, but it seemed to me that there was a sharpness to his manner, when he spoke of, or to, you.”

Venetia met his eyes, caught, as always, by the kindness and warmth in their deep brown depths, and sighed. What could she tell him? Anything she might say could be misinterpreted – yet… she trusted him, and she needed to say something.