Page 45 of Snapdragons
“Employing the same volume, she said, “The head groom told me this morning that the filly won’t approach anyone.”
“Not yet.” He kept her hand in his as he watched the little horse out of the corner of his eye. Though he probably didn’t mean for the gesture to be significant in any way, she was affected by it just the same. It was trusting and kind. There was a softness to it that she very much needed after such sharp conversations with her brother and herself.
“The stable staff said she skitters off anytime they approach her,” he said, “which gave me an idea.”
She pieced together that idea in an instant. “Allow her to approach you.”
“Precisely.”
The filly took a single step toward the fence. Niles didn’t move, and he didn’t look directly at the filly. It was precisely the approach she would have taken.
“If the little girl can find the courage to come make my acquaintance,” Niles said, “she might be willing to approach the staff as well.”
“You are very patient with her.”
“She’s in an unfamiliar place, and she’s alone. I think that warrants some patience.”
He was a very genuine person, open and sincere. She’d not realized that at first, but it was undeniable now.
Niles met her eye. He didn’t seem upset to have found her watching him. He simply smiled a little, the asymmetry of his mouth adorably apparent. “Did you have a good ride this morning?”
“A short one,” she admitted. “I suspect Midnight wishes I’d let her gallop.”
“Do you also wish you’d let her gallop?”
Did she? “I was unusually distracted this morning. It is for the best that I didn’t give a fiery horse her head while I wasn’t paying enough heed.” Niles released her hand as he turned enough to lean a little against the fence.
She missed the warm reassurance of his touch. She, who had always prided herself on being so fiercely independent, missed that connection.
“Is your horse in Ireland as feisty as Midnight?” he asked.
“Which one?” She moved a little closer.
“How many do you have?” He seemed genuinely curious.
“Three that are mine in particular. Though they are no longer in Ireland. They have been moved to Fairfield.”
“Your estate in Surrey.”
Her heart thudded for the briefest of moments as she contemplated telling him the entirety of her situation there. Hadn’t she just been chastising herself for being dishonest?
“My hope is to make Fairfield a horse-breeding establishment. One of my horses is a stallion: strong, intelligent, and ratherbeautiful. And I’ve two very good brood mares.”
“One of them is a true-white horse.” He looked back toward the pen, though still not directly at the filly.
“You remembered.” They’d discussed it so briefly that she’d not expected him to recall that detail.
“I have only seen an actual white horse twice in my entire life,” he said. “The fact that you have one is not something I would easily forget.”
If she explained her ambitions for her estate, would he find that equally intriguing? “With the addition of another stallion and a couple more brood mares, I could have what I think would be a very successful venture at Fairfield.”
He nodded as he listened. “The reason, no doubt, you wished to retain your ownership of the estate even after you marry.”
“And the reason I more or less have to marry.” She sighed. “A lady living alone is frowned on. A lady living aloneandoverseeing a business venture would be scandalous to a destructive degree. Not to mention, essentially no one is willing to do business with an unmarried lady.”
“Hmm.”
She didn’t know if that was a sound of contemplation or an unspoken wish for her to leave him alone. “I’m talking too much, aren’t I?”
