AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Whatever machinations her father had in mind, Sarah wouldn’t allow it to dampen her spirit. She still felt light as air, and nothing was going to change that.
Lord John said, “Come. It’s time to ride.”
“I’ll meet you in a few moments.”
Sarah was entirely alone. It seemed like, at the estate, it was so difficult to find a moment to one’s self. The lady-in-waiting was often in Sarah’s room, or Lisbeth, or her father. She heard voices outside, and Sarah rushed to the window, spotting the riding party as they exited the estate, their horses being brought to them by the groomsmen.
Sarah spotted Reginald and smiled to herself. Every time she saw him now, she was imbued with happiness. All at once, Sarah became remarkably excited to go for the ride, and she exited the room, passing down the hall and stairs.
Stepping outside into the warm morning light, it was as though Reginald sensed her presence, for he turned. The sight of him nearly knocked the wind out of her. He approached, and Sarah froze, anticipating sharing some words with him.
“Good afternoon,” Reginald said, bowing his head.
“Goodmorning,” Sarah said with a smile, correcting him.
“You say it’s morning, and I say it’s afternoon.”
“I suppose that is one matter that we won’t agree upon.”
Reginald looked from side to side, his voice turning hushed. “Is it wrong that I wish to kiss you?”
Sarah’s cheek flushed a fiery red. She was the next to look from side to side.
“Yes, My Lord. It’s impossibly wrong.”
“Then why does what’s wrong feel so right?”
“A most interesting question and I hope that you can answer it one day.”
Their delightful tete-a-tete concluded when the Duke of Faversham approached.
“Lady Sarah, your saddle has been prepared, and the picnic shall be served at noon.” The duke shot a glance at Reginald. “We’ll be riding as a group this morning. Please don’t veer off.”
With that, the duke departed, and Sarah looked down towards the ground. She hated to see the competition between Reginald and the duke escalating.
“Sometimes I think that he merely likes to make a good show of things,” Sarah said.
“The duke? He lives for that.” Reginald watched the duke as he walked away, then turned back to Sarah. “I wish that you could ride as you please.”
She upturned her gaze into his blue eyes. “You’re kind to say such a thing.”
“You know that in all things, I wish that you could do as you please.”
“Once again, a reason why I find your presence pleasing.”
A boyish grin came to his lips. “Merely pleasing?”
She whispered, “More than pleasing.”
Although she wished to stay and flirt with Reginald for the rest of the day—perhaps the rest of her life—Sarah saw her horse brought out and proceeded down the stone steps to where the groomsman held the horse. The man helped her to mount, and once she was atop the horse, she watched as Reginald did the same.
Once the entire party had mounted, the duke gave the signal, and off they sped into the field. Sarah was grateful there had been no fox hunting on the duke’s estate because she found the sport ghastly.
As they sped, Sarah caught Reginald in the corner of his eye. The delighted smile had not left his lips.
