Page 33 of Scars of a Passionate Revenge
“It seems that you have plenty to tell me!” Clara said excitedly. “Did you go riding together?”
Alice nodded. “Well, we did not ride today. You must promise not to tell anyone, because I know that he would be embarrassed, but the truth is that Mr. Fletcher is extremely afraid of horses, to the point that he did not even want to mount, the first time we went out together yesterday morning.”
Clara raised an eyebrow. “Indeed? That is rather unusual for a gentleman.” “Yes,” Alice agreed.
“And I am not sure why, but the fact is that he does not know how to ride. He had agreed that I can try to teach him, though, so we are working up to it slowly. We walked the horses in hand again today, and then when we were in the woods, he mounted from a tree stump. I could tell that he was very afraid, but he managed to stay on for a moment, before climbing off again.”
Clara smiled. “You must be a very good teacher, Alice.”
“I am not so sure about that,” Alice replied with a giggle. “But he is a very willing student.”
“And you will go out again tomorrow, in the early morning, before the rest of the party are up and about?”
Alice nodded, noticing the shrewd look on Clara’s face. “You will not tell anyone, will you?”
“No, indeed!” Clara exclaimed. “Of course not. In fact, you can rely on me to make an excuse if the two of you happen to be late back for breakfast. I will do my best to cover for you so that no one finds out that you are spending time together alone.” She paused for a moment and looked thoughtful.
“Is it not a shame that our freedoms are policed in such a way, even at a house party like this? How are we supposed to know for sure if the person we are with would be a good husband, or indeed how are the gentlemen to know if someone would make them a good wife, if we are not permitted to spend any time alone together? It seems a very strange way of going about things.”
Alice looked at Clara and realized that she, too, was perhaps feeling things that she had never felt before. “You are talking of Lord Grant?” Alice said tentatively.
Clara nodded, a shy smile on her face. “We have played cards together as much as we can, you know, and tried to be next to one another when we all go for walks. Or at least I think he is trying to place himself next to me, and he always sits by my side at dinner. But we are never alone. How can we get to know each other if there are always other people watching us?”
Alice sighed. “I know what you mean. It is not easy. But perhaps you just need to try and forget about the rules a little…” She allowed herself a shy smile of her own.
“Oh, you have forgotten the rules, have you?” Clara said with a grin. “I will not ask you any questions, my dear friend, but be assured that I will do my best to help you spend time alone with Mr. Fletcher. And perhaps you can do the same for me.”
Alice nodded. “I promise you, Clara, I will do all I can to help you.”
They continued their walk through the garden, and a little while later, as they were approaching the house, they saw Lord Grant leaving the house via the terrace, and walking towards them.
Alice heard her friend inhale sharply.
“Smile!” she whispered, and Clara let out a giggle, then followed her advice, and sent a beaming smile in Lord Grant’s direction.
He approached them with an equally beaming smile on his own face. “Lady Clara,” he said with a bow, “and Miss Dunberry. What a pleasant morning it is! I wondered if I might join you for your walk?”
Alice glanced at Clara, who was still smiling happily. “I am sure that Clara would be delighted to continue walking. I must confess, though, that I myself am rather tired. I slept poorly last night. So if you do not mind too much, I shall leave you to walk together and I shall go and rest in my room.”
Lord Grant frowned for a second, then glanced at Clara. “Lady Clara, are you happy to walk with me alone?”
Clara nodded. “I do not think there is anything improper, My Lord, if we stay in sight of the house. And Alice knows where we are.”
“I will leave you, then,” Alice said decidedly, before either of them had a chance to change their minds. She walked quickly away in the direction of the house, wondering if this Season was the one when Clara would finally find happiness.
And she allowed herself to think that perhaps she too might have found something similar, although there were still so many questions in her mind about Benedict and she had no idea how she was going to find out the answers.
Chapter 15
The next two days passed in much the same way. Benedict met Alice each morning at the stables, before the other guests were up and about, and gradually they increased the amount of time that he spent on the back of a horse.
He could not honestly say that he was enjoying the riding aspect of the excursions, but he had to admit that he was not feeling the same amount of terror as before. And the horse that he was riding each day, or walking alongside for some of the time, did indeed seem to be a rather gentle, intelligent creature, the way it looked at him with its dark eyes.
She, indeed, for the horse was a mare, called Molly. Alice had clearly spoken with the groom at some length about which would be the best horse for him to learn on, and he was rather flattered at the amount of attention and focus she was giving his lessons.
He had not yet managed to ride the horse alone, though; Alice always led him on a lead rein from his own horse. He felt rather embarrassed about this, as if her were a child learning to ride a pony, but he also could not help but be moved by her solicitous care for him.
And as the time passed, and he spent more time with Alice, Benedict found that some of his memories were beginning to return. He was sure, now, that he could remember her talking endlessly about the horses in the stables, and wanting to go and visit them as often as possible.
