Page 11 of The Burning Passion of a Fiery Lady
He nodded too, gazing at her intently. “It does indeed, Mrs Drake. The name becomes him.”
For a moment, he simply couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. The beautiful widow, with the air of tragedy that surrounded her like a cloud. The Widow Drake. He knew now that her Christian name was Susannah; he had asked one of the servants, the night before. He had smiled with satisfaction when he had heard it.
Susannah. The beautiful and devout wife of Joachim, in the Old Testament. It became her.
“I think Thor has had enough for this morning,” he said, dragging his eyes away from her, back to the colt. “I might rest him and work again with him after luncheon …”
She nodded. “He does look a little tired, doesn’t he? It would not do to overwork him.” She paused. “Are you planning to work with one of the other horses, now?”
He nodded. “I thought that I might focus on the large black one. The one that was your late husband’s.”
She stiffened slightly. “Blitzen? Are you sure?”
He stared at her closely. “Surely you have discerned the nervousness of the animal? He is skittish, and that can be dangerous if you plan to ride him …”
“I do not plan to ride him,” she interjected quickly, her face pale.
“Nevertheless, it should be addressed,” he said calmly. “All of your horses need to be tame enough to ride, Mrs Drake, and not be afflicted with nerves. It is a matter of safety, not just for you, but for everyone at The Willows who may have occasion to ride your horses.”
She still looked unconvinced but nodded reluctantly. “As you wish. You are the Master of Horses, after all.”
Without another word, he led the colt back into his stable. The whole time, he was burning with curiosity. Why was she so ambivalent about that horse?
***
He watched her, out of the corner of his eye, as he led the large black horse around the corral. Her high colour was gone; she was pale, and her grey eyes glimmering with tears, as she gazed at the beast. For a moment, he half regretted his decision to focus on this horse. It was obviously causing her pain.
“Blitzen belonged to your late husband, you say?” he asked, in a quiet voice.
She jumped a little. “Yes.” She turned to him. “He is the reason that my husband is dead, Mr Stone. He threw Gilbert when he was out riding.” She hesitated. “No one knows why. No one knows what happened …”
Jasper nodded. “There was no storm that day? Any weather that might have spooked the animal?”
She shook her head. “No storm. And prior to that, there was no trouble with Blitzen, at all.” She paused. “He was always a steady horse. Gilbert used to call him the salt of the earth. He had been his favourite, since he had purchased him, five years prior.”
Jasper frowned slightly. Itwasstrange that a previously steady horse had suddenly thrown its master when the weather had been good. The late Mr Drake had obviously had a good relationship with the animal, developed over the years. But horses were still animals, after all, and could act impetuously.
“It happened at night,” Susannah continued, her face paling further. “My husband had been angry. We had just had an argument …” her voice trailed away for a moment.
Jasper’s heart ached for her. This was obviously something that was very hard for her to talk about, and yet she seemed determined to go on, to say what she needed to say.
She took a deep breath. “My husband was a large, strong, imposing man, Mr Stone. It seems so unlikely that he would suddenly be thrown and killed in such a manner.” She bit her lip. “I am still not satisfied with the explanation of his death …”
Jasper nodded, encouragingly, still not saying anything.
She gazed at the horse, almost longingly. “If only I could ask Blitzen. If only he could talk and tell me what happened.”
He felt inexplicably moved. No wonder she was ambivalent about the horse. The animal had caused her husband’s death, and she still didn’t know why. And yet, she loved horses, and he could tell that she still retained feeling for the animal that was standing before them. As if on cue, the large black horse neighed softly, stamping its hooves into the ground.
He gazed at her steadily. She turned back to him, and their eyes met, locking for a moment. Jasper could feel the heat building between them, like a furnace.
“Would you like to ride him?” he asked suddenly. “As an experiment of sorts. To see how he fares …”
She reeled back in shock, staring at him as if he had suddenly asked her to dance naked.
“Ride him?” Her voice faltered. “But … how can I, after what happened?”
“I think that you must,” he said, in a quiet voice. “I think that you must face your fear. Otherwise, you shall always avoid him, which isn’t fair. He is only an animal, after all, Mrs Drake. He did not intentionally mean to kill your husband.”
