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“Wake up, baby girl,” Trey said softly, “we’re home.”
“Trey, we’re at your home,” I replied.
“You're staying here with me tonight. No argument.” He got out of the car and opened my door for me to get out. As always, Thatcher was coming out the front door, gathering my luggage and taking it into the manor. Trey put his arm around me, leading me up the winding staircase to his suite. I was exhausted.
“Do you want something to eat, Tylar?” he asked.
I shook my head. “I really want go to bed, if that’s all right.”
“Of course,” he answered.
I looked in Trey’s closet for one of his shirts to wear. I put it on, buttoning only a couple of the buttons. I pulled the covers down from his bed, and crawled beneath them. Trey came back into the room just as I got settled in. He came over to my side of the bed, bending down and smoothing my hair back.
“I’ve got some work to do in my study, okay? I’ll be up in an hour or so.”
I nodded, feeling his lips brush my forehead again before he went to the door, turning out the light before he left. It was some time later that I felt Trey climb into bed next to me. He smelled freshly showered. He curled up next to me, pulling me in close to him, and wrapping his arm around me. I slept the whole night cradled in the comfort of his strong body.
CHAPTER 25
Trey and I ate breakfast together the next morning. He wore khakis and a polo and I was dressed for my day of dressage training. Trey had hired Mark Montgomery, an expert trainer in classical dressage who'd competed both in Europe and the U.S. He'd worked the first couple of weeks alone with Derringer and today was my day to start with him and the horse.
Mark felt that Derringer would be ready to test at Intermediare I by in a few weeks. I wasn’t sure that I'd be ready. Mark made it look so easy. I was struggling with timing, particularly in the half halt.
“How’s the dressage training coming along?” Trey asked, as if on cue.
“Mark says that Derringer is nearly ready to test to Level One; he wondered how much training he had previously.”
“I bought the horse in England as a yearling,” Trey answered. “Then, my former fiancée trained him for a little more than a year.”
“I didn’t realize you'd been engaged, Trey,” I lied, hoping for more information.
“Maybe I'll stop by the arena later and watch you ride. I want to make sure this trainer's worth his fee.”
Trey had successfully changed the subject. “How late will you be working with Derringer?” he asked.
“We usually train for two hours in the morning and two hours in the afternoon.”
“You didn’t answer my question, Tylar. What time are you finished for the day? I want to go to dinner tonight.” He sure sounded like it was serious.
“I’m usually back at my cottage by 4 p.m.”
He rolled his eyes when I mentioned my cottage. He seemed to be in a mood today. “Good, we’ll leave here around 6 p.m. Can you meet me up here then?”
“Of course,” I said, and then went down to the stables, thankful to be about my business today. Something was going on with Trey. He seemed agitated.
One of the downsides with the dressage training was that the arena was located over at the Belle, making it hard to avoid Jenna. She did her share of running into Mark it seemed. It was fairly obvious she had her hooks out for him. Mark didn’t seem to notice.
Mark had a slender but muscular build, average height, not nearly as tall as Trey. He had sandy-brown hair and green eyes. I estimated that Mark was close to the same age as Trey, though he had a more casual demeanor. Yet when he trained horses, he was extremely intense and accurate. I knew that Derringer was more advanced than I from the way he responded to Mark’s cues versus mine. I certainly didn’t want Derringer to regress in his training when I rode him. Mark said my job was to bring the horse around, not the horse’s job to bring me around.
When Derringer and I arrived at the arena, Jenna was perched on the gate talking to Mark. She was laughing and flipping her hair. Shouldn’t she have had her hair in a bun by now? The daily tours of the mansion started at 10 a.m. and the workers were supposed to be in full period costume by 9:30 a.m.
As I approached, Jenna’s smile faded. “Well, I see your star pupil's back, Mark. Good luck with that.” She gave me a smirk as she walked away.
“Hi Mark,” I said, grinning. “I’m so glad that I give Jenna something to be catty about. What would she do without me?”
Mark grinned, shaking his head. “Women are brutal.”
I wasn’t sure if Jenna was continuing with her “Twinkie” campaign. Nothing had been mentioned to me lately, but most everyone else here had far too much class to repeat the venomous things she spread around.
