Page 60 of Enslaved to the Seduction of a Lady
“You know, My Lady,” the Earl began, his voice booming out across the stables as he addressed them all, and not just Alison. “I have stables twice the size of this, and wealth that thesemencan only dream of.”
He spat the word ‘men’ with a sneer of disgust on his face, and Alison closed her eyes against his tirade. She wanted him to stop, more than anything. She wanted to reassure the men in the stables just how valuable they were—especially Luke. But she could do nothing, except remain quiet.
“I own manymensuch as these, and women, too,” he said. He marched back and forth on a small patch of grass, glaring at the men at work who pretended not to listen. “That’s one of the benefits of being so rich, you see. You canbuythese lower class slaves to use as you wish.”
“They are not—” Alison tried, but he merely spoke over her, and louder, too.
“Men such as these will never amount to anything, Lady Alison,” he said, finally turning to grin at her. “Which is why it is your good fortune to have found yourself a refined, handsome, wealthy fellow such as myself.”
“As you wish,My Lord.” She emphasized the titled with a hint of mockery, unable to stop herself from sneering at his disgusting words.
“Now, shall we ride? It seems the boy has finished.”
He helped Alison onto her horse, despite her repeated insistence that she didn’t need him. She clung onto the reins so tightly that her hands turned white.
He leapt onto his own horse, swinging his leg over with ease, and he winked at her again. She suspected him of showing off, demonstrating his physical prowess, but she was disgusted more than she was impressed.
He can’t seriously think I am taken by his behavior.
As they set off through the grounds of the estate, Alison purposely stayed a few steps behind him. He stood up in the stirrups, even when they were walking, and he looked back at her often with a grin on his face.
This was not horse riding as Alison knew it. It did not give her the feeling of freedom she normally felt. It didn’t give her any happiness at all, and part of her feared that the Earl had ruined riding for her for life. She prayed that was not the case.
They wound their way across the wide, open lawns and through the trees at the far end of the estate, and all the while Alison’s whole body was tense and taut. She had not loosened her grip on the reins, and she could feel the horse’s body also tense beneath hers.
At least Bess understands.
“Why are you going so slowly? I thought you liked to ride!”
The Earl shouted his words across the distance between them, half-turned on his horse, riding crop in hand as though to hit the poor horse at any moment. His voice floated on the wind towards her. She opened her mouth to reply, but she didn’t know what to say and so, she closed it again, remaining silent. He laughed, turned back, and sped ahead of her.
She plodded on behind him, not daring to speed up because she was too anxious, too apprehensive, and Bess felt it, too.
When they finally made it back to the stables, Alison was white, and as she slid from the horse’s back, she could feel every muscle in her body ache from the tension.
“Are you all right?” the Earl asked. “I thought you liked riding, but you look as though you’ve had the most terrible time.”
“Idolike riding,” she insisted, forcing herself to smile at him, “and I love the horses.”
“Are you quite sure there is not another reason you like to spend time in the stables?”
“Such as?” she asked, feigning innocence.
He narrowed his eyes at her and made a non-committal noise through his nose before turning to the servants.
“Quickly, then,” he demanded. “Aren’t any of you going to take these beasts in to be brushed down?”
“Actually,” Alison said. “I would like to stay with the horses for a while, if that’s all right.”
He swung back around to face her, eyes wide with shock, and he scoffed.
“But why?” he asked, clearly baffled.
“Well, I…” Alison stammered before finding her ground, “I feel that caring for the horses as well as riding them helps to develop a closer bond between horse and rider. It’s important, don’t you think? I will walk Bess around a little.”
The Earl looked at her for a long moment, his mouth twisted as he considered her words.
“All right,” he snarled, taking a step closer to her. He was so close that she could smell his breath. “But remember, you’ll be mine as soon as we are married.”
He strode away without another word, and Alison watched him go, her jaw clenched in fury and disgust. As soon as he was out of sight, she whipped around and ran to Luke.
“We need to talk,” she whispered.
“Yes. Meet me here at midnight.”
