Page 10 of The Lady Who Said No to the Duke
‘The toast, please, Hal.’
Now she was seriously wondering just who he was, because he had not batted an eyelid and appeared equally at ease using her title or not.It would be perfectly possible to be the grandson of a duke or a marquess and to have no courtesy title, she thought.But then there were the faintly shabby clothes…
Forrest?Perhaps an examination of thePeeragemight solve the question.Or I could always ask him directly, of course.
But somehow Hal Forrest, friendly and smiling as he was, had the demeanour of a man with a high fence around those aspects of his life that he did not chose to share.Thea felt certain that a blunt enquiry would be met with a politely vague response, leaving her just as baffled as before.Either that, or a snub, and she had no desire to jeopardise this pleasant new acquaintanceship.
I can always ask Godmama.That is the logical thing to do.He is not wearing a wedding ring…
‘I am told that my habit will be ready at ten,’ she said, dismissing that completely irrelevant thought.‘Will half past the hour suit you for our ride?’
‘Certainly, I think it will take us about three quarters of an hour to reach the Brownlow estate.I will tell thegrooms when to bring the horses around and have a word with Anton about something to pack in my saddlebags to sustain us until we return.’
‘After this breakfast I doubt I will be able to eat until dinner time,’ Thea said ruefully, and liked it when he laughed with her and did not make a meaningless protest about her sylphlike figure or some other gallant nonsense.
* * *
She liked it even more when Hal did compliment her, with clearly genuine feeling, when the first thing Nero did as they rode out from under the stable yard arch was to shy violently at the stable cat.
‘You have an excellent seat,’ Hal said when she steadied the gelding from his sideways plunge across the gravel and turned him to face the cat.
Nero snorted and tossed his head and the cat sat and licked a paw with insolent unconcern.
‘There, you ridiculous creature.What a fuss about nothing.You see that cat every day of your life.Thank you,’ added to Hal as, horse steadied, she turned to ride alongside his big grey mare.‘I very much enjoy riding.I would like to learn to drive a pair as well, but Papa considers that all females must be positively cow-handed when it comes to carriage driving, so I am left with just a pony and trap.’
‘Perhaps you could persuade him to study some of the ladies driving in various parks at the fashionable hour.I have observed several real dashers driving high-bred teams with aplomb.’
Interesting.Mr Forrest is not just a countryman, then.
Thea stored that piece of information away, although quite why, she was not certain.
‘That is a very fine horse.And large,’ she said, looking across at the almost white mare.‘Sixteen hands?’
‘Yes.She is half Lipizzaner.The Lipizzaner stud was moved around Europe to evade Napoleon and it seems Juno’s dam was lost along the way, became rather too friendly with a handsome Hanoverian stallion and Juno is the result.’
‘You were fortunate to acquire her.’
‘She was raised from a foal by a friend of mine who later fell on hard times.He would not accept a gift from me, but he allowed me to buy her.’
Thea’s silent speculations about that were interrupted by Nero’s impatient head-tosses.
‘Too slow for you?’she asked the gelding, eying the wide verges that bordered the carriage drive.The horse flicked an ear back, attending to her voice.‘You do not think you can outrun Juno, do you?’
‘Shall we see?’Hal guided Juno to the left-hand verge.‘You take the right-hand side.It may be a fair match over this distance: Nero looks built for speed and Juno has great endurance, but she is no sprinter.First one to the lodge gates?’
‘Very well.’Thea positioned Nero on her allocated verge.‘One, two, three.Go!’
The gelding surged forward.There was a pounding of hooves to her left, but she could not see the big grey.The wind was in her face, the ground a green blur, and Thea realised with a surge of emotion that she was feeling happy for the first time in days.
This was freedom.This was pure, physical exhilaration and, somehow, the presence of this man she had met only the day before lifted the sensations to a new level.Thea laughed in pure joy.
Chapter Four
Thea could ride as though she were part of the horse.A female centaur.Hal blinked the wind-provoked tears from his eyes and watched the slim figure bent over the black horse’s withers as the smaller animal gathered speed, gaining on Juno’s slower, but longer, stride.
A gentleman would allow the lady to win, but he already knew that this lady would resent that as condescension.She wanted to race and he…
I want to catch, Hal realised.
