Page 27 of The Bachelor
“That would take more energy than I possess,” he said. “I’m going to have enough trouble keeping up withyourantics.”
“What antics?” she asked caustically.
“Forcing me to teach you to shoot, for one.”
Well, she could hardly deny that. So she hurried down the steps to mount the gelding being held for her next to the horse block. As the groom brought her horse forward from the block, she looked up to see Joshua moving even more slowly than usual, scanning the street as he came down the steps.
Oh, dear, might he have trouble mounting? Perhaps he was dreading having to do it. But to her surprise, once he did reach the street, he climbed the horse block, seized the mare, and was in the saddle in a matter of moments.
She was impressed. How many other physical feats could he accomplish despite his bad right leg? She couldn’t wait to find out. After he taught her to shoot, that is.
He rode off at a good clip, and she trailed him, watching his riding with interest. The mare responded well to him, and before long, Gwyn was having to ride hard just to keep up. But as she turned down the road he’d taken, she realized she’d lost him. How could that be?
The groom, who’d been following them at a respectable distance, rode up to stay right by her side.
“Do you know where we’re going?” she asked him.
“Yes, milady. Went there this morning with the major.”
Sothatwas where Joshua had gone so early. “Where is he? Has he ridden on ahead?”
“No, milady. He’s checkin’ to make sure nobody’s followin’. Don’t look, but I saw him and his horse down that alley we just passed.”
She caught her breath. Joshua was lying in wait for Lionel. Depending on what Lionel did once Joshua caught him, that could be either bad or good. In any case, there was naught she could do about it now.
The two of them hadn’t ridden more than half a mile when she heard hoofbeats behind them and turned to see Joshua riding hard after them. As he came abreast of her, he nodded to the groom, who dropped back.
“Did you see anyone following?” she asked, her heart in her throat.
“No. I thought sure Malet would take this chance to come after you, but I guess he has other plans for the day. I only wish I knew what they were.”
She wished the same. Because she had no idea how to reach Lionel to tell him when or where she would meet him with the money. Why, she hadn’t even had a chance to ask Thorn for it. She would have to do that soon.
Before long, they reached a field near a stretch of woods in the countryside northwest of Hyde Park. When she spotted the target set up in front of the woods, her pulse leaped. She really was going to learn to shoot!
Joshua reined in his mount. She noticed that there was a horse block out here, too, of all places.
“Where are we?” she asked as she followed suit.
“Believe it or not, we’re on land belonging to Greycourt. I asked him where we could do a bit of shooting, and your half brother recommended this property. I already knew of it, anyway, from my youth.”
“Is that where you were this morning, at Grey’s town house?”
“Last night actually.” He dismounted, using the block. “This morning I was here making sure it would suit all our needs.”
Just then, the groom came alongside them, and she realized he’d been carrying a large, wrapped parcel tethered to the side of his horse. With her curiosity thoroughly roused, she dismounted. The parcel looked far too long and thick to contain a pistol. Was it a musket? Was that what she’d be shooting?
She couldn’t carry a musket about London, for pity’s sake. But just as she was about to ask Joshua what it was, he took the parcel from the groom and opened it to reveal a bow and a quiver full of arrows.
What the devil?
It took her a minute to realize why he had brought it, but when she did, her temper exploded. She pointed to it with a trembling finger. “Yousaidyou would teach me to shoot, curse you! Not that you would teach me to . . . to . . .”
“Shoot?” he said, annoyingly smug. “I never specifiedwhatI would teach you to shoot, just that I would do so. You were the one to assume it would be a gun.”
She gaped at him as his words sank in. Of all the sneaky things! Sothatwas why he’d been in such a fine mood. He’d been anticipating this . . . thistrickhe meant to play on her.
Her anger rose, fueled by the realization that she couldn’t even accuse him of lying to her because he hadn’t actually done so. “You knew what I meant. And you deliberately ignored it.”
