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Kitty couldn’t help but stare. He sat his horse so well, and there was no doubt whatsoever to any onlooker, and certainly not to her, that though the young gelding was spirited, the earl was having no trouble keeping him under control. He had the seat, the legs, the hands …
Oh, she thought as their eyes met, oh, but he was ever so handsome. She felt a blush flow into her cheeks and said to cover her momentary confusion, “Your Prancer is certainly a fine animal.”
As though in response to her compliment, Prancer arched his neck, snorted, and stood calmly in place. The earl and Kitty exchanged glances and laughed.
The young men careening towards them had already slowed to a stop, and Kitty quickly made the introductions. Kitty and Harry’s horses sniffed one another in amiable greeting, and the two fell into a comfortable pace with the earl and Clayton bringing up the rear.
Harry arched a brow at Kitty and said in a low voice, “Well, m’girl, how did your meeting go? All settled, right and tight? You two appear as though all went well … getting on better with the earl, aye?”
“Well, I wouldn’t quite say we are getting along, but we have decided to call a truce. The will is too ambiguous regarding the question of guardianship. Mr. Harkins called it a dilemma. It seems the earl, you know, is as trapped by the terms of my Uncle Edwin’s will as I am. So, I suppose we must find a way to go on … politely at the very least.”
“Ah,” Harry said.
“Ah? What does ah mean?”
He laughed. “Don’t trot it out too hard with me, Kit. I know you. So, ah, it is … for now.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and then sighed. “Well, apparently, the dowager Minerva will be hostess and take me about and such, and she is his grandmother, you see … so, as I will be a guest in their London town house, I suppose I must remember my manners and put up with it as best as I can.”
“Egad, Kit … it is a great deal thrust on you out of nowhere, and I must say, you are taking it quite well. Better than I would have thought,” Harry said. “However, I do think you will do. I am told the earl is a nice enough chap, though m’father says this whole affair is bizarre.”
Kitty laughed and agreed. “Bizarre is a very good word for it. But tell me, why does your father say that?”
“Well, apparently he knows a great deal about the earl, and says he is too young and too much a rogue to take on the care of a gently bred young woman, especially you.”
“A rogue? That was what I thought before I met him. I know about such things …”
Harry laughed. “You know too many things.”
“Well, women talk, but never mind that, I tell you what, Harry—I don’t think him a rogue at all now. In fact, his notion about how one should behave borders on prudish.” Then as another thought entered her brain she asked, “What did your father mean, especially me?”
Harry’s expression made Kitty laugh, and she wagged a finger. “Out with it.”
“Well, Kit … you ain’t quite the normal young maid, now are you?” Harry answered carefully.
As an answer to this, Kitty hauled off and rapped his shoulder, though she giggled all the while, secretly pleased with this dictum. She didn’t want to be a run-of-the-mill young woman. She wanted to walk her own road and make her own decisions.
The earl turned to Clayton and said, “Young Harry there, a suitor for Miss Kingsley’s hand?”
Clayton snorted, and Kitty looked back over her shoulder. She had heard him and decided not to respond.
~ Fifteen ~
THEY PARTED COMPANY, and Kitty was once again alone with the earl as they turned onto the country road that would lead them to the long, winding drive to Wharton Place.
The earl smiled and said, “You and young Harry seem very … close?”
“Harry and I have been friends forever. His father is the local squire, and they own the property adjacent to Wharton. You will like the squire.”
“Ah,” said the earl thoughtfully.
“Ah? Why does everyone answer me with ‘ah’?” Kitty grumbled.
The earl laughed, but as they had reached the stables, he dismounted, took the reins of his horse, and came round to help Kitty as she dismounted from her sidesaddle.
He had her waist in his large hands, and she felt a rush of sensation as he lifted her. Her horse moved and pushed her into him, and she let out a small sound as she held onto his arms for support and realized he had not yet set her down.
Their eyes met, and she became lost in his pools of blue for a moment. Then he was slowly lowering her to the ground and setting her on her feet. She had the oddest notion when she had been pressed up against him: she had wondered what it would be like to have his lips press against hers.
