Elisabeth Kidd by The Rival Earls

Author:The Rival Earls
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Following his encounter with Sabina, Captain Ashton found himself missing his comrades in arms. He could have used Nicky’s carelessly given but always sage advice—particularly when the matter concerned the ladies. Richard was equally discreet, but his brother had counseled patience, and Robert did not think he could remain patient very much longer. And it was certainly no use to apply to Lavinia, on the grounds of her being female, for she would only cast aspersions on Sabina’s character and say there was nothing else to be expected from a Bromley.

He could only search his own soul for an answer. Taking Salamanca out for his early morning ride the day after Viscount Markham and his other friends had left for Derby, Robert pulled up on a rise overlooking the Laughton Hills, the direction in which he knew Carling lay, and stared at the dawn landscape contemplatively.

Should he have accepted Sabina’s proposal, hoping that love would win out in the end? No, he had his pride, too. And he had done enough damage already in the name of love; he could not be sure that Sabina would not come to hate him even more if she were forced to endure his presence, if in name only, every day of her life.

Gazing down into the nearer distance, he caught the glint of sunlight on the canal. He smiled. He had not seen Rose and Bill for nearly a week. He would go there and refresh his mind and spirit; perhaps then he might come up with an answer before it was too late to sway Sabina in any direction at all.

On his way down the hill, however, he had a sudden thought and turned back toward the Abbey. His nephews had been begging him to take them on a picnic; now was as good a time as any. Besides, he had been intending to introduce the boys to the Theaks.

As he rode up the drive, two small bundles of energy burst out of the woods to run beside Salamanca to the house. Geoffrey, the elder and already tall for his age, won the race as usual, with his younger brother, his blond curls in disarray, gamely catching up at the end.

“Halloo, Uncle Robert. Can we have a ride?”

“Gosh, sir, he’s a big fellow, isn’t he?”

Only Robert’s battle-trained horse kept him from being thrown or the boys from being trampled. When he had dismounted and handed the reins to a grinning groom, however, he scolded them just the same.

“No, you cannot ride Salamanca until you learn how to behave around horses. Do you remember nothing I have told you?”

Lord Ashton, aged seven, protested, “We were just glad to see you, sir. We forgot that we should not make sudden noises near horses. But Salamanca must have heard all sorts of loud noises in battle, didn’t he?”

“He did, but he is an exception. And flattery will avail you nothing, young sir.”

“Please, please, sir,” pleaded Davey Ashton, aged five, apparently believing that begging was

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.