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Chapter Fifteen
Michael could not help but to stare hopeless up at his ceiling that night. He could see Lydia looking down at her plate through the entire dinner, hardly engaging with the rest of the table as she ate. Not knowing if she was embarrassed with what transpired between them, or if she was afraid of her uncle knowing her salacious thoughts, he tossed and turned.
Making love to her had been everything that he had hoped it would be. He kept reliving the moment where they kissed, or when he pressed himself inside of her. No woman had ever affected him so.
There was more to her, though, than anyone else that he had ever been with. He truly enjoyed being in her company. He had not expected that he would have liked her visiting as much as he did, but she had intrigued him and inspired his charitability.
He did not plan to take her virtue, and that was what kept him awake. He felt no regret, though, and looked forward to his next opportunity to couple with her. Yet, she had somehow struck him when she mentioned being married to another man in just a month’s time.
In his insomnia, he planned their adventure for the next day.
* * *
“Your Grace,” Lydia breathed, sitting on top of a horse by herself. “I really do not think this is a good idea.”
“It’s a wonderful idea,” he countered, looking to Joseph and Kitty. “Are you both ready?”
“I was ready forever ago,” Kitty pouted.
“I’m ready,” Joseph agreed, then addressed Lydia, saying, “This is exciting. Cousin, you have the best ideas. My lady, are you quite comfortable?”
Michael turned to Lydia, too.
“You will do fine, I promise,” he said, “We will not leave you behind. The whole point of this outing is to get you comfortable on your own horse. We’ll do what we can to help you, all right?”
She nodded timidly, holding onto the horse’s reins tightly. Michael had put her on top of the same steed that they had ridden out to the hillside a few days prior. The beast was the mildest mannered that he had. His stallion, on the other hand, was jerking his head, rearing to ride in the open countryside.
Seeing that she was as comfortable as she could be on top of the beast, he mounted his own horse. The four of them set off toward the hills, Lydia lagging them in her tentativeness. Though Michael was used to much faster speeds, galloping across the country, he had no desire to be anywhere except by her side.
“Do you remember learning to ride as boys?” Michael asked Joseph, trying to make Lydia feel better. “Uncle put us on top of that pony, showing us how to use the reins, how to gallop.”
“Father did quite enjoy teaching you to ride,” Joseph said, his expression bland. “I cannot say that he enjoyed teaching me, by comparison, always saying how much of a natural you were.”
“I think it was only his pity, as my father could not be bothered,” Michael countered. “Your father has always been far too kind to me.”
“I think it’s because he liked you better,” Joseph replied wryly. “Though, who can blame him?”
Michael laughed at that, turning back to Lydia. “What do you say, did your parents have favorites?”
She opened her mouth to speak, but Kitty interrupted. “Everyone knows that all parents have favorites. I wouldn’t pretend otherwise that I’m my parents’ favorite child. My poor brothers are such heathens, always asking for money for their habits.”
With a sideways glance, Michael said, “That’s nice,” and turned back to Lydia.
“I suppose my sisters all have such different attributes that our parents preferred in different ways,” Lydia explained. “As I was the oldest, my mother has often spoken to me in confidence, things she might not otherwise say to my younger sisters. Though, Johanna, the youngest, she dotes on quite a bit.”
“How political of you,” Joseph noticed, riding closer to her. “But say, if you were to pick, who would you say would be your parents’ favorite?”
She shook her head. “I would not make such an assumption. I do not feel as though there is a favorite among us.”
“I think that says only that you are not the favorite,” Kitty laughed.
Michael did not miss the annoyed look that Joseph flashed at Kitty and decided that they needed a change of subject, something more polite and uplifting. Remembering the topics they had shared with Mr. Weller the day before, he thought of their upcoming nuptials.
“Joseph, say, what date have you and Kitty chosen for your wedding? The two of you have been engaged for some time now. Are you planning the longest of engagements?”
He expected for Kitty to rush into the discussion excitedly, bragging about their plans for the wedding, but she was quiet. Though he didn’t want to read into the expression of her face, he could have sworn her mouth pressed into a thin line of frustration.
“We were thinking toward the end of the year,” Joseph said. “It will put us at nearly a year engaged, which may seem long to some.”
