LITMIR.BIZ

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Do you ride, Nell?’

      ‘Yes,’ she said, then realized that riding was hardly a common accomplishment for a milliner. ‘But not for more than ten years.’

      ‘Oh, one never forgets,’ Honoria said airily. ‘Do try this on and if it fits we can go riding later.’

      It seemed easiest to do as she was asked. At least no one could expect her to make conversation while struggling into voluminous skirts and complicated bodices. ‘You need a habit shirt underneath,’ Diana said, extracting one from the pile.

      What would Marcus say, seeing her masquerading as a lady on horseback? He would be less than happy, Nell decided sadly, if his cool demeanour that morning was anything to go by. She had woken to the lovely warm glow of being cared for, the tingle of excitement of his closeness, only to have that dashed by the wariness in his eyes, the chill in his voice. Indeed. Quite. The clipped syllables were like tiny slaps as she recalled them.

      No doubt, in the cold light of day, he regretted the kindly impulse to take her in his arms and help her through the night. He probably expected her to make demands, have expectations. Or perhaps his suspicions had come back in the night; her explanation of what she was doing at Lord Narborough’s door must seem highly circumspect.

      ‘…if they fit you.’ Honoria was holding up a pair of boots. ‘I’ve just remembered them. I’ve had them years and I am sure your feet are smaller than mine are now.’

      ‘I’m sorry. I was wool-gathering.’ Nell pulled on the boots and stood there trying to smile at the image in the mirror. Even in the days when they were living in a modest rented villa, Mama had encouraged her children to ride, although the hired mounts became more and more elderly and sluggish as the money diminished. Now, seeing a Nell who had vanished more than ten years ago, she half expected Mama to appear and tweak her skirts into order, tut-tut over a split in her glove, warn her against jumping fences. ‘Thank you.’

      She bent to pull the boots off again, when Miss Price remarked from the window, ‘It looks as though Lord Narborough and Lord Stanegate are riding. See, the groom is leading Corinth out.’

      ‘Wonderful, we can all go. I’ve finished my letters.’ Verity scrambled out of her chair and joined the companion to peer down at the drive below. She tugged the bell pull.

      ‘Lady Verity?’ The footman averted his gaze from the heap of feminine underthings on the bed.

      ‘Send to the stables and have Firefly and Sapphire and one of the hacks saddled up please, Trevor. We will be riding with Lord Narborough.’

      ‘His lordship is not riding, Lady Verity. I believe Lord Stanegate is going to the receiving office.’

      ‘Verity,’ Diana Price reminded her, ‘you and Honoria promised to help Lady Narborough with her sick-visiting in half an hour.’

      ‘Oh.’ Verity’s face fell. ‘So we did. Never mind, Nell, you can still go. You have Firefly, my mare. She’s very sweet. Tell the stables please, Trevor.’

      ‘I—’ Nell bit back her instinctive protest. A ride to the receiving office sounded mild enough. She could manage that, surely? And it would give her an opportunity to put Marcus right about any misconceptions he might be harbouring, even if it took a plain and embarrassing declaration that she might have been foolish enough to ask him to spend the night with her, but that did not mean she expected anything further as a consequence.

      There had been that lovely glow last night when he had looked at her, treated her with such tenderness. She dreaded his response destroying that memory if he was hurtful today.

      ‘Hat!’ Honoria pursued her to the door, a rakish low-crowned hat in one hand, hat pin in the other. ‘And gloves and a whip.’

      Nell made her way down to the stables, wondering if this was such a good idea. What if she could not remember how to ride after all? What if Marcus snubbed her completely?

      ‘Here we are, Miss Latham.’ It was Marcus’s groom, Havers, holding the head of a pretty bay mare. ‘His lordship left before Lady Verity’s message arrived, but he’s still in sight.’ And sure enough, walking sedately away down the long carriageway was Marcus on the raking grey hunter with a dark tail so long it brushed its fetlocks.

      The groom made a cup with his hands for her foot and tossed her up into the saddle. ‘She’s got nice manners, miss, never you fear.’ Somehow Nell’s limbs seemed to remember what to do, her balance came back instinctively. ‘Just you trot along and you’ll soon catch him up,’ the man said, giving the mare a slap on the rump. ‘She’s a bit fresh,’ he called after her as Firefly trotted out of the stable yard under the clock tower arch. ‘But you won’t mind that.’

      A bit fresh? She was certainly that. The mare had seen the gelding ahead of her and broke into a canter. Nell gripped the pommel firmly, resisted the temptation to hold onto the mane and told herself that a smooth canter was much more comfortable than a bouncy trot. I can do this, we’ve almost caught him…

      Then the horse ahead of her reached the gates and instead of turning and trotting off down the lane, Marcus put him straight at a low hurdle in a gap in the hedge on the other side. The big grey sailed over and she caught a glimpse of the crown of Marcus’s hat vanishing beyond the hedge line.

      The hurdle was perhaps three feet high. I can’t do this! Nell told herself, taking a firm grip on the reins and pulling. Nothing happened. Firefly, nice manners or no, had obviously decided that her rider did not know what she was about and was taking over. Her ears pricked up, she adjusted her stride. Nell had a sidelong glimpse of a startled gatekeeper and then they were in the air.

      ‘Ough!’ The landing was neat on the mare’s part, totally inelegant on Nell’s. She grabbed the pommel, lurched violently, her hat slid down to her nose and for several stomach-lurching seconds she was convinced she was going to fall off.

      It was a surprise to find she was still in place when she shoved her hat painfully back on her head and collected the reins together in some sort of order. Firefly was cantering steadily, and ahead the elegant figure of Marcus was still visible, although receding down the meadow towards what Nell had a horrid suspicion was a river. There was no sign of the decorous trot now, the hunter was galloping flat out.

      Firefly lengthened her pace while Nell considered her options. Hauling on the reins was not working, falling off was highly dangerous. That left staying in the saddle and enjoying herself. Ahead, the hunter rose in a long, low jump over what must be water, his rider apparently welded to his back, and took the slight rise on the other side in ground-eating strides.

      ‘You are not going to jump that!’ Nell ordered, reining in as hard as she could. The mare’s ears flicked back, she fought the bit and did not slow, but at least she could not jump either. They went through the wide, shallow stream at the gallop, muddy ice-slush, water and watercress flying everywhere.

      ‘Now, go and catch him up.’ Nell dropped her hands, tightened her grip and gave the mare her head. She would never match the big hunter, seventeen hands if he was an inch, to her fourteen, but the little mare threw her heart into it with Nell, thrilled and terrified in equal measure, staying put by a miracle of balance, luck and desperation.

      They swung out of a gap in the hedge and on to what Nell recognised as a well-made-up toll road. Far ahead, Marcus had the grey galloping along the wide grass verge, and the mare had no objection to following Nell’s tug on the rein—or maybe, she decided, risking one hand to pull back the hat from over her ear, Firefly preferred the grass anyway.

      And then she saw buildings and the hunter was slowing, turning under a swinging inn sign, and she realized this must be the receiving office and the nearest stop for the mail coach.

      Firefly seemed to know where she was, or perhaps without the horse ahead to chase she was prepared to slow down. Whichever it was, she dropped to a trot as they turned into the yard and allowed Nell to rein her in at last.

      Nell slumped in the saddle, breathless, and shoved the wretched

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