Resisting Her Enemy Lord by Helen Dickson

Author:Helen Dickson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2020-11-10T16:24:10+00:00

* * *

The following day was cold with a light covering of snow, but the bright sunshine was an encouragement to leave the house. John, who had spent the night at Windsor, arrived mid-morning. Catherine was dressed in her serviceable breeches beneath her cloak and her hair was fastened back beneath her hat. She pulled on her kid gloves and, with her crop tucked beneath her arm, gave the hamper of food to John to carry. Together they went to the stables, which were relatively quiet apart from a couple of grooms going about their chores.

‘I would have asked for one of the horses to be saddled in readiness,’ she said, ‘but I didn’t know what time you would arrive.’

‘We’ll soon have you saddled up and be on our way.’

‘As you see,’ Catherine said, walking down the length of stalls, ‘there are few horses left to choose from. Before the war, horses, after politics, were my father’s abiding passion. Possessing some prime horseflesh, he was immensely proud of his large stable, which was envied and praised by many hereabouts. He loved to hunt and he adored his gun dogs and falcons almost as much as his horses.’ Stopping in front of one of the stalls, she opened the door where a brown mare was munching hay from a trough. ‘This is Lady. I would have selected the horse I rode into London, but she became lame when one of the boys was exercising her yesterday. Lady should do nicely. She’s not been ridden lately so she’s in need of some exercise.’

John entered, patting her. The mare responded by arching her neck and whickering softly. ‘I’ll take a look at her before we set off,’ he said, heading off to the tack room.

Catherine stood and calmly watched him prepare to saddle Lady. Before doing so he stood back and looked at her from every angle, picking up a hoof and going on to examine her teeth with a thoroughness that did not surprise her. She sensed that everything he did would be controlled, certain and sure. Distracted, she noted that he had a supple body, vigorous and arresting. With his wicked smile and dark hair—a rogue wave spilling over his brow and shining like glass in the sunlight slanting through the windows—she thought he would have made the most handsome pirate.

Satisfied that the horse was in good health, he quickly saddled it up and slapped its flank before giving Catherine his full attention. Observing the soft flush on her cheeks, he raised a questioning eyebrow and studied her for a long, drawn-out moment. Catherine watched as a slow smile curved his lips. The sparkle in his eyes gradually evolved into a rakish gleam and she felt her flush deepen. She had no way of discerning the working of his mind or where his imagination wandered.

‘There,’ he said, ‘you can take her out.’

In the yard John locked his hands together to accept Catherine’s small, booted foot, and was not surprised at the agility she displayed when he raised her up to the saddle.

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.