Page 21 of Courting Scandal With The Duke
The stable master she had met earlier was waiting at the rail with an older, grey-haired woman in the severe attire of a servant.
‘You own a racecourse?’ she asked.
The Duke looked down his nose. ‘Certainly not. I own racehorses. This is where they train.’ An expression of satisfaction crossed his face. ‘Nothing like a track for providing a safe good gallop. That is what you wanted, is it not?’
A small smile curved his lips.
It was the first time she had seen even the hint of a smile, and the effect was devastating. It brought warmth to those icy blue eyes and a sparkle that made them dance like sunlight across water.
Her heart skipped a beat.
What could she say? ‘It is of all things, the most marvellous.’
Chapter Four
More pleased that he should have been with her delighted response, Xavier turned to the groom and dismissed him. He’d brought him along in case she preferred not to use the track and wanted to ride across country instead.
They joined the group at the rail. ‘Allow me to introduce Mrs Barker. My housekeeper.’
The woman dipped a curtsey. ‘My lady.’
He nodded at Kemp to show his approval. Mrs Barker was the best person he could have asked to serve in place of a chaperone.
‘Do you ride in races?’ the Countess asked as they made their way through the gate his stable master was holding open.
‘No.’ It was too dangerous. He was the last of his line. Should an accident happen to him, the title would go into abeyance.
She nodded in a way that said she wasn’t surprised, and it annoyed him.
‘I rode them when I was younger but now I am tooheavy.’ Damn it. Why did he feel the need to explain? Should he also tell her, like some schoolboy eager to please, that she was the only woman he had ever invited to ride on the track? Not likely.
‘Oh, indeed. I see what you mean,’ she said with a hint of laughter in her voice. ‘I have heard other ladies refer to you as enormous.’
The comment, said with such sly innuendo, caused his body to tighten, and it was only with effort he forced it back under control. He could not recall when a few well-chosen words by a woman had had such an effect on him. And he could not help but wonder at her purpose.
Well, if she thought to catch herself a duke, she was out of luck.
They entered the track. ‘The ground is soft because of the rain. It will be slow going,’ he said. ‘We will start at a trot, move to a canter, then gallop the last furlong. You will see the marker.’
She moved easily into the trot, and he was pleased to see that the mare she rode was responding beautifully and moved into a nice easy canter when asked. His own horse followed suit.
They rode side by side, and when she glanced over at him, her eyes were alight with pleasure and her cheeks reddened by the wind. Small wayward curls escaped from beneath her hat.
His heart picked up speed at the sight of such beauty.
Nonsense. She was not at all thetype of woman he preferred. He liked small blonde females with perfect manners, the sort who would never be caught dead hurtling around a race track.
At the last marker, she urged the mare into a gallop. His larger gelding kept up easily, but he remained a fraction behind. He did not want her to think he was trying to beat her to the finish line. Therein lay the path to accidents.
At the finish line they slowed and walked the horses a few yards down the track.
She half turned in her saddle to look back at him. ‘That was splendid. I think I should like to be a jockey.’
His jaw dropped. ‘A jockey?’ He came alongside her. ‘Ladies do not become jockeys.’
She laughed. ‘In whose opinion?’
About to sayEveryone’s, he bit his tongue. She was goading him.
