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He was now up alongside of her as she continued amiably, “I must walk her, as I don’t like to keep her standing after a run.” She sighed as their horses fell into step beside one another and smiled as she said, “Oh, but I love to take advantage of such weather, as before you know it, the fall will be gone and winter will close in on us.” She eyed him questioningly and added, “I was just taking the edge off Brandy here.”
“Yes, and took your fence perfectly. I on the other hand took it like a clumsy bull and landed on my horse’s neck. He dipped and recovered, leaving me chagrined but thankful he took no injury.”
“Oh, I know the feeling. It happens to all of us, and it probably wasn’t your fault. The field on this side of the wall is very uneven. I only take that wall at a familiar, tried and true spot.” She gave him a rueful eye and then a soft chuckle, and his lordship, much against his will, felt thoroughly enchanted.
“Oh, please, I do beg you will excuse my clothing, but I did not expect to find anyone up and about and here at Moorely … so early.”
He stared at her in her weathered buckskin riding jacket, which was clipped tightly at her tiny waist, before his gaze traveled further up, to her full breasts, and back down over her lovely legs, which were sensually displayed in the tight britches she wore.
“I think you, though unconventional, look … exceptional,” he told her on a low note. He cautioned himself not to admire her. She was an oddity who flouted convention, and it was this as well as her beauty that had entrapped his nephew. He would have to tread carefully to break the bond the two must have formed. “Besides,” he said with a slight shrug, “I know I am trespassing, but I was on my way up to your house to pay you a morning call when I saw you riding and thought you might not object if I joined you.”
Serena eyed him, and he could see the calculating look in her dark eyes. She was no fool. She knew he had an ulterior motive. “Ah,” she said softly. “You wish to speak of Freddy?”
“Do I?”
“No? Am I wrong? Very well then, shall I give you a riding tour of some of our beautiful New Forest?” She pointed to the left. “Look there … the wild ponies. They graze freely and are a delight to watch in their natural state.” She eyed him, probably because he was frowning, and asked, “Don’t you think?”
“They are small and ragged, but, as you say, free, and I suppose that makes them a grand sight. Yes, I do agree.” He saw a rebuke spring to her eyes and laughed. “You don’t like that I called them ragged?”
“No, I do not. After all, they have no one to groom them, do they? They are wild horses, and they are smart because they know how to fend for themselves.” She sighed. “Forgive me. I love the
New Forest with its wild ponies, its expanse of open lands splattered wildly, uniquely complementing the land.” She gave him a look and added, “And you know, my lord, perhaps the New Forest ponies are small, but they are sturdy and make wondrous hunters in this part of the country. I would trust one of them to take me safely through the bogs before I would one of your flash prime.”
He acknowledged the hit, and a small smile crept across his face. She had spirit and independence, and he was certainly getting off to a poor start. “I don’t doubt it, and speaking of hunters, I was hoping to visit with Sir Newton and ask him to allow me to join them on his next go with his hounds. Perhaps you could put in a good word for me?”
She eyed him incredulously. “I thought you were here at his invitation to do just that?”
“Indeed, I am, but it was the veriest and most general invitation made some time ago. As it happens, I am very interested in joining him and the hounds when I know … you will be there.”
He saw a warning in her eyes. She would not flirt with him. Well, well, just what manner of woman was this? Was she being faithful to his nephew? Or did she suspect he was here to get his nephew away from her?
“Oh, you may want to go for one of his training exercises, when he takes them out tomorrow, for I do not mean to join him until next week,” she answered coldly.
“Freddy has talked at length about Sir Newton’s hounds. He has written his mother often about the terrain they travel, and I am curious, but I was hoping to enjoy your company during the expedition.”
“Perhaps Freddy will go with you. Sir Newton thinks very highly of his skills with the hounds.”
“Perhaps he might, for I cannot imagine that Freddy will be still here next week, as it is time for him to return to school.” He saw it at once, the look that came over her face. She appeared furious.
“Yes, it is precisely what I have been telling Freddy, but I think you will find that Freddy has a mind and a will all his own.”
She was magnificent. It was only a wonder that Freddy had not already taken the chit to the altar. It was obvious that she meant to have Freddy’s title and fortune. Well, well, perhaps he might just have to institute his plan after all. He had hoped otherwise, but apparently, the chit had just challenged him.
“Indeed,” he answered. “He does seem to, doesn’t he? You know, however, that a boy as young as Freddy can be easily swayed.”
* * *
“Swayed? To what end, my lord?” Serena eyed him, her ire up, his meaning not quite lost on her. She took immediate insult.
He said after a long pause, “To whatever strikes his fancy, and one’s fancy can change, you know, from moment to moment, from day to day when a man is but nineteen.”
“Indeed,” returned the lady. Ooh, but he was an arrogant blade. How dare he assume that she was out to seduce Freddy into marriage! She might not be up to snuff, but she was certainly no fool. He was warning her off Freddy, which was really too bad of him for many reasons. For one, he didn’t even know her, didn’t know the circumstances. He should have looked into the matter before hinting at such accusations.
Well, of all the outrageous nerve! She decided to have a little fun at his expense. “As you say, Freddy is only nineteen, and yet he has a strength of character that is quite remarkable. He is decent and good, and I have seen him resolute in many things, as you must know, Freddy and I have become quite good friends … really, quite good friends.”
His eyes lazily gazed at her before he said, “So then, as his friend, you do not think he should return to school?”
She wasn’t about to lie outright, but neither did she have to tell him anything she did not wish to tell him, besides, did she not already mention that Freddy should return to school? Did he not believe her? Well, let him think whatever he chose. She said, arching a look at him, “I think Freddy is capable of looking at the facts and making a decision for himself.”
