The Honorable Nobody (Heroines on Horseback Book 2) by Reinert Natalie Keller

Author:Reinert, Natalie Keller [Reinert, Natalie Keller]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Tags: Regency, Romance, Horse Racing, England
Published: 2013-11-25T05:00:00+00:00

***

“Lord Sutton, what a surprise!” Lady Archwood beckoned to him from across the morning room, where she was pouring tea. “We are just waking ourselves up, you see. Both of us woke uncommonly tired.”

Sutton smiled at the ladies, making sure to give Miss Dean a particularly rapacious look as he settled down in a cushioned wing-chair across from the divan. Lady Archwood had had the chairs reupholstered in a midnight blue, which was a strange choice for a morning room, but, she said, it hid the horse-hair when she came into warm up after a chilly ride. The sun pouring in brightened the yellow walls and gave the contrasting colors a pleasant glow. Clever woman, Lady Archwood. Sutton liked her, though he thought she was foolish to the point of insanity over her horses.

“Miss Dean, you look lovely this morning,” he murmured, watching the maid through hooded eyes, and smiling when she colored and looked at her lap. He admired the way her hands were neatly folded, the way her back was ramrod-straight, the way her ankles were crossed beneath her. Here was a well-trained young lady, a perfectly biddable wife. He thought about ripping the modest chemisette from her bodice and throwing her down upon the dark divan, spilling her white breasts from the light blue constraints of her gown — she always dressed in such pale colors, as if forever playing at being a spring goddess — and he barely restrained a satisfied sigh. Soon enough, soon enough, he would have his little innocent.

Miss Dean seemed to tremble a little, as if she was not entirely innocent of the thoughts running through his mind. He smiled and accepted a cup of tea from Lady Archwood with admirably steady hands. “My thanks, my lady,” he said graciously.

“And have you been riding this morning?” Lady Archwood asked, leaning back in her chair and stretching her legs before her. “I am abominably sore after coming off of Toulouse yesterday. The devil! He saw a rabbit and went straight up in the air — I thought he was going to go straight over. I came out of the saddle but didn’t land as cleanly as I would have liked. I am sadly out of practice.”

“Out of practice at falling, my lady?” Miss Dean asked, seeming alarmed at such a possibility. Well, she hadn’t even been on a horse and she’d already been toppled and dragged, so this probably wasn’t going to encourage her riding. Sutton didn’t give a damn if she rode or not, so long as she bred. But he would be kind and encourage her; it was the gentlemanly thing to do.

“Knowing how to fall off is not often mentioned by riding masters,” he explained smoothly. “But when riding young or excitable horses it is a necessity. I do not think Lady Archwood would mount you on such a horse.”

“Oh, of course not!” Lady Archwood laughed. “Lydia, dearest, I can assure you if you fall off of Tilly this afternoon it will not be a very terrible thing.

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.