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She composed herself and said as severely as she could muster, “Faith, that is quite enough. I shan’t have this in my sitting room.” She pulled a face at both of them and got to her feet. “As far as I am concerned, you can take it outdoors, gentlemen. I am going up to have a visit with my uncle. I hope you enjoy the remainder of your day.” She turned and left them to one another, but she listened as she walked away.
“Tomorrow then … promptly at eight?” Freddy called after her and was rewarded with a smile, to which he said. “She is magnificent.”
“Aye, so she is, and she will never be yours, gapeseed!”
~ Four ~
DANIEL PENDLETON RAPPED at the ceiling of
his coach and called his driver to a halt. He had been traveling in the carriage for nearly three hours during a light rain and was heartily sick of the confinement.
As the rain had at last withered into nothing more than a bit of damp, he meant to saddle Dragon, the dark roan gelding tethered at the back of his equipage, and ride for a bit.
The coach slowed to a halt, and he jumped out and stretched his limbs. He undid the saddle from the boot and with its blanket laid it on his horse’s back before slipping the bit into Dragon’s mouth and soothing him. “It won’t be much longer now, Dragon … soon you’ll have a nice straw bed, hay and grain, and a quiet night, but for now … shall we?”
Dragon nodded his head vigorously as his lordship donned his dark beaver hat jauntily over his black silken locks and pulled his two-tiered riding cloak around his shoulders. A moment later he put his foot in the stirrup, swung himself into the saddle, and gathered his reins into his gloved hands.
“There, that is better. I fancy you would like to stretch out your limbs as well, eh, Dragon?”
His horse pranced, and his lordship smiled to himself. He knew that following the coach at a sedate pace was, for his spirited animal, a tedious exercise. Lord Pendleton had noted Dragon’s skittishness when he’d had his driver stop to rest and water the horses earlier.
Damn, he was heartily sick of traveling. This was his second day on the road, and although he knew they were drawing very close to the New Forest, he was anxious to reach the inn and get his hands on Freddy.
He had passed some lovely country, and he knew from his friend Jasper that the New Forest was famous for some exciting fox hunting. He had heard it was a challenge because of the many bogs one had to avoid.
However, that was neither here nor there, he reminded himself. His job was to get Freddy back to school. He couldn’t imagine what had come over the boy. Freddy loved Oxford, the friendships he had made at school … even the education he had been receiving.
In fact, his lordship was a bit worried. The lad must truly be infatuated if he meant to give it all up for a woman.
He sighed, for before this, Freddy had never been in the petticoat line. In fact, his nephew’s escapades had consisted of pranks and kick-ups. It had only been last Christmas that Freddy had managed to attach himself to the wrong set. They had taken the boy to the worst gaming hells, but that had been easily squashed.
Freddy was not much of a gamester and had very willingly been extricated from this set by his uncle Danny. His lordship smiled to himself. His sister had hailed him a hero, but in truth he had been lucky Freddy had so readily acquiesced and returned to school. He wasn’t so sure he would enjoy the same luck this time around.
He had to hope that Freddy was merely infatuated. His lordship frowned over this concern. He had a bad feeling that Freddy had been struck hard because in the past Cupid had always missed his mark when he aimed for Freddy. Yet here he was writing to his mother that he had met the woman of his dreams and meant to marry her. He was only nineteen, and it would not do!
This Moorely woman must have it in mind to be the next Lady Radburn. Why else would she allow Freddy to continue to dangle after her? Could she have her heart in it? He hoped not, for he did not wish to see any woman hurt because of Freddy’s foolishness.
His nephew was too young to know his own mind and certainly too young for marriage, but if Freddy had engaged the heart of the lady in question, it would be a damnable fix.
* * *
True to his word, Freddy had called on Serena promptly at eight o’clock. “Egad, Serena … you take a man’s breath away,” he exclaimed with a hand to his heart. “That shade of dark green so suits you and your gold hair.”
“Thank you, Freddy,” she said with a light laugh, “but it is just an old riding ensemble.” She pulled at the ivory lace around her neck, adjusted her black top hat firmly on her curls, and pulled on her gloves.
A few moments later saw them heading down the road at an easy pace, both laughing as Freddy told her an anecdote involving a performing bear, his friends, and himself. He eyed her as she laughed and sighed happily. “A man could want for no more than to be in your company … so beautiful, with your skirts laid out all around your chestnut mare … you make quite a picture.”
She gave him a rueful smile. “I would much rather be in britches and riding astride. A lady’s saddle is so hampering. You should try sitting in one, Freddy, so that you would know what I mean.”
He scoffed, “I think not!” He laughed but then frowned. “You know, I never really thought about it. M’mother is always complaining about the ladies’ saddle and prefers to drive because of it. She says she never feels safe in the saddle. Why don’t ladies just ride astride if so many of you dislike the side saddle?”
“Because men, like yourself, think we present a ‘charming’ picture with our skirts spread out around our horse, sedately walking said horses along …” She laughed. “Also, to be fair, I suppose tradition puts us in sidesaddles, which is fine for riding in a park or some other quiet sort of thing. When I ride to hounds, I don’t bother with a ladies’ saddle, for I ride ‘neck or nothing’, and that requires a firm grip with both legs around one’s horse.”
“I should say so. Well, I would never expect you to use a sidesaddle if you preferred not. I can tell you that,” he said with conviction. “I should always want you to be exactly who you are.”
“Oh, Freddy, you are sweet, but you know … you should be at school.”
“How about a bit of a race to the Old Well?” he said, completely ignoring her remark. “I shall give you a head start since you are hampered by your sidesaddle.”
