Page 57 of Her Duke By Accident
If there was one bit of advice Alicia would take into action that day, it was Ms. Crawford’s suggestion to go horseback riding. Lucy led the pair down to the stables, beyond the garden where Renfield silently watched.
“I have no idea why Miss Ayles would say Ichoseto read in solitude,” Lucy was drawling over her shoulder to Alicia. “When have I ever?”
Alicia lifted her skirts as they waded through the grass. “What do you know about her,” she said, “before she became your governess?”
“Nothing of importance,” she replied with a shrug.
“Like?”
“Misfortune led her to petty work, like a governess position.”
Alicia bunched her eyebrows together in thought. “Misfortune,” she repeated under her breath. “What kind of?—”
Lucy stopped walking abruptly before turning to face Alicia. “I hope you’re not trying to pry knowledge from me again.”
“You make it sound so cruel,” Alicia said.
“I find gossip to be cruel.”
“That wasn’t what I was trying to do, Lucy,” she apologized with a sigh. “I was only curious as to who she is, and?—”
Lucy suddenly grabbed her hand. “I understand,” she whispered, “but maybe it is okay to not know things.”
“I don’t… ”
“Try it, Alicia,” the girl pleaded, her eyes wide and asking, “for me.”
Whether it was Lucy’s beckoning doe eyes or the need to be accepted in Garvey, Alicia nodded her head. “Of course,” she replied.
Lucy, satisfied and gleaming with pride, released her tight grip on Alicia and went back toward the shed, which was just about a meter away now. The musky smell of horses and hay got closer and closer.
“Do you ride often, Alicia?” Lucy called out as she skipped ahead.
“Not recently,” she replied. “When I was young, my father would take me to meet his horses, and we would ride together. The days leading up to his passing stopped me from finding joy in it again.”
Lucy slowed down till she walked beside her. “We will honor your father today, with a glorious ride into the sunset!”
“Perhaps not into the sunset, Lucy,” Alicia said with a laugh. “I believe you are enjoying your adventure books too much.”
“Never too much,” she said. “Not enough, is what I would say.”
Pulling the stable doors open, Lucy jumped inside with glee, running her hands along the wooden gates that secured the family’s horses. A young man worked inside, sweeping excess hay back into the horses’ little rooms. He lifted his head when they entered, and dove into an exaggerated bow.
“Your Grace,” he said, “and Lady Lucy, how are you this afternoon?”
Lucy hopped around him, dirt already staining her dress. “Yearning for a ride, Mr. Monroe.”
He tipped his cap at her. “Of course, my lady.”
As Alicia waded into the stable, looking around at the horses ranging from shades of chestnut brown to a pale white, she felt as though her father’s hand rested upon her shoulder. Almost instinctively, she reached and thought she could grasp his wrist and pull him back into the world of the living.
“Your Grace,” the stable hand said, “I am Julius Monroe, at your service.”
“Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Monroe,” she replied with a nod. “Is it just you working in the stables?”
“Yes, Your Grace. Renfield might try to lend a hand or two, but the horses are skittish creatures. They feel the safest around someone they see every day.”
Lucy whined. “They are fit for a ride, are they not?”
