Uncovering the Merchant's Secret by Elisabeth Hobbes

Author:Elisabeth Hobbes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2019-11-08T19:51:48+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Blanche met Jack in the courtyard the next morning. She held the reins of two horses and smiled when she saw him. Jack only had two changes of clothes, but he was dressed in his fresh tunic. The deep blue wool jerkin suited his complexion and brought out the blue in his eyes as they wrinkled at the corner when he saw the horses.

‘I hope you can ride,’ Blanche said anxiously. ‘I don’t think it is the sort of thing you might have forgotten.’

‘I would hope not,’ Jack agreed. ‘Riding seems the sort of thing a body should remember by instinct.’

He stretched his arms and rolled his shoulders back. Blanche forced her mind from speculating what other physical things his body would instinctively remember how to do. There were six men since Mael and Yann who Blanche had lain with when she had needed money or aid of some sort. Some had been pleasurable, others tolerable, one still had the ability to make her skin crawl. She’d gone into each arrangement willingly, but if asked she would say that she was done with lovemaking and rutting. The bedroom held no interest for her beyond helping her achieve her aims.

So how could contemplating one man’s ability reduce her to a quivering wreck of a girl?

She held out the reins of the piebald mare. The mare was twelve and docile, and even if Jack proved to be a complete novice the mare was unlikely to unseat him. She kept the black four-year-old gelding for herself.

‘I did hope it would be the other way around.’ Jack grinned as he took the reins. He raised one eyebrow suggestively. ‘You favour a young stallion when you ride?’

Blanche held his gaze, enjoying the double meaning. ‘Young, yes, but he’s gelded. Perhaps you can ride him once you have proven your ability. I wouldn’t want you to get another injury.’

Jack put his fingers to his head. He’d removed the bandage. The scab over the wound was large, but had begun to show signs of healing. He would always have a scar, but his features were so even it would not mar him. He would always be a remarkably handsome man. He laughed, a warm sound that made Blanche want to do likewise.

‘Very well, I shall be happy with my gentle mare,’ Jack said. ‘Shall we go?’

He held out his linked hands for her to mount. Surprised at the unexpected chivalry, she thanked him and put her foot in his hands. She allowed him to help her into the saddle even though she was more than capable of mounting independently. She settled in the saddle and rearranged her skirts, longing for the freedom of male clothing. She, too, had dressed well for the day in a plain, light wool skirt that she wouldn’t mind getting dirty in the market, but with a tightly buttoned sleeveless cote over the top that drew in her waist and gave her a slender silhouette. She smiled to herself. She had dressed for Jack, finding it enjoyable that there might be someone who it was worth dressing for.

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