Page 3 of Ruthless with a Rogue
Livy
Livycarefullyappliedafresh poultice to Bonny’s hindquarters.Fibonacci, her beloved silver roan mare, stomped her hooves, tail swishing, the hair flicking against Livy’s arm.
“Hush, darling.This will ensure you heal up nicely.”She placed the bowl of poultice on the stool next to her and wiped her hands on a clean rag.“My poor beauty,” she crooned.“That thunderstorm scared you something dreadful, didn’t it?”Her eyes slid shut.“It wasn’t a pleasant night for me either,” she whispered.
A part of her still hoped she’d dreamed the entire ordeal.Another one of her recurring nightmares.Though those usually involved an ethereal blonde woman walking away without looking back.
Footsteps echoed through the stable, slowly growing louder.Hope rose before she could temper it.Warren and his family were set to depart this morning, probably already had.But it didn’t stop visions of him galloping back to Maplehurst Manor, out of breath and determined, declaring he’d convinced his parents they belonged together and then sweeping her up to ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after.
Not even in the realm of tail-end scenarios, Livy.Stop being fanciful.There was no such thing as fairy tales in real life.
Livy turned and craned her neck out of the stall to see a head-full of overlong russet curls heading her way.Some of the gloomy cloud surrounding her dissipated as Mr.Quinton Sheffield and his roguish grin approached her.
Warren, Quinton, and Livy had grown up together—Warren and Livy living on neighboring estates and Quinton and Warren’s friendship going back to when they had been small children.Ever since she’d stumbled upon Warren at the age of fifteen, there had been an instant connection.She, Warren, and Quint had been inseparable, and she’d hung around them and their set.Her heartbeat stuttered.What would happen to her and Quint’s friendship now?She couldn’t losebothof them.
“Hullo, Liv-O,” Quinton said, and the light dancing in his mahogany eyes helped ease a bit of her fears.
Bonny walked over next to Livy and stuck her head over the stall door.Quinton readily gave in to Bonny’s demand and stroked her white and pink whiskered nose.“And hullo to you there, my Bonny lass.Has Livy been treating you well?”
The mare nuzzled into Quint further, basking in the attention.Quinton was a charmer of all the ladies, equine and human alike.All but Livy.Quinton was like the big brother she’d always longed for.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Quint?”
His smile dimmed, and his gaze skirted away.“I actually come from Lansdowne Abbey.”
Her stomach flipped over.Lansdowne Abbey.The Thorton family’s estate.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his feet.“Warren told me what happened before he left.”
Left.There was the confirmation.Warren was gone.It was final now.
His russet brows knitted.“I’m sorry, Liv.I truly am.Want me to give him a nice right-hook in the nob next time I see him?Just like I taught you.”
She tried to smile, but by Quinton’s wince, she hadn’t succeeded.“I appreciate the offer, Quint, but no,” she said quietly.“Does this change anything between us?”She gnawed on her lip and glanced away.“Do I…” She paused and swallowed, the burn of tears building behind her eyes, but she fought them back.“Do I lose you too?”she whispered.
Would he be another person walking away?Something slick slid down her cheek.Mother had left long ago, making it clear her disappointment of a daughter wasn’t worth staying for.Papa loved her…when he remembered she was there.It wasn’t his fault, of course.But she’d thought—she’d really thought—someone had finally seen her.
“No,” Quint burst out, eyes stretching wide.“Of course not, Liv-O.”He stepped up to her and pulled her into an awkward hug over the stall door, her arms trapped at her sides.“You’re like another little sister to me.”
But she wasn’t.Perhaps she had some more time with Quinton as a friend.But one day, just like Warren, he’d marry too.There’d be room for his sisters by blood.
But there’d be no more room for her.
She carefully pulled away from him and wiped her tears away with the back of her wrist.“Apologies, Quint.I didn’t mean to burden you with a weeping woman.”
Quinton’s lips hooked up in a boyish half-smile, even though his whisky eyes still glimmered with concern.“Three sisters, Liv-O.Weeping women are my specialty.”He leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, “You know, I’m known to be a weeper myself.”
A smile broke through her heaviness.Quinton truly was a charmer.She blew out her cheeks.“What on earth do I do now?”
Quinton’s face fell, and his mouth opened and closed helplessly.She hadn’t meant to pose the impossible question to her friend.It wasn’t as though Quinton would have the solution—
But Livy always found solutions.
Ideas started turning over in her mind.She straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin.She was a strategist.Logical.It wasn’t as though she gave up every time an equation got the better of her.
Warren didn’t deem her suitable?Well, then she would become suitable.This would be no more difficult than the intricate mathematical equations she enjoyed teasing her brain with.She could do anything she set her mind to.
“What are you thinking, Liv-O?The look in your eye…” He took a step backward.“I might be a bit afraid.”
