A Wicked Pursuit by Isabella Bradford

Author:Isabella Bradford [Bradford, Isabella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical romance, Georgian
ISBN: 9781472215185
Publisher: Headline
Published: 2014-02-24T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

9

Without question this was the most perfect and most perfectly blissful summer of Gus’s life, and her only regret was knowing that it could not last. Later, when she thought back over those magical weeks with Harry at the abbey, she could see exactly when everything had changed, and the end had begun.

It was the day the chamber horse was delivered.

For the first time in a fortnight, the weather had kept her and Harry inside the house. After thunderstorms at dawn, the air had remained heavy and still, with dark clouds low in the sky and thunder continuing to rumble ominously close. Instead of walking in the garden as they usually did in the morning, they’d retreated to the back drawing room. Gus was sitting at her desk reviewing household accounts, while Harry read in an armchair near the window, his dogs sprawled sleeping at his feet. The dogs were the first to hear the wagon in the drive, rising drowsily to go to the window to investigate. Gus followed, equally curious.

“What are you expecting today, Harry?” she asked. By now she’d grown accustomed to Harry’s various orders arriving from London, whether books, wine, delicacies, clothes, or musicians, and because the wagon that was drawing up in the backyard wasn’t one of the usual Norwich purveyors, she guessed this must be another. “Whatever it is, it’s large and mysterious.”

“Mysterious?” he asked, putting aside his book. “What makes it mysterious? Wizard’s markings and flying monkeys?”

“Not mysterious like that, Harry,” she said. “But it is a sizable crate, much larger than your usual books and oranges. Ah, there’s Mr. Royce, ready to investigate. He’s suspicious, Harry. He’s scowling, and whatever it is, he’s not letting the men unload it. Perhaps it is your flying monkeys after all.”

When Royce appeared in the drawing room, his explanation was equally exotic.

“The men say it’s a chamber horse, miss,” he said with undisguised skepticism. “They wish to bring it into the house.”

“A chamber horse?” Gus repeated dubiously, again looking through the window down to the crate. “That sounds like something my father might have ordered, some new accoutrements for the stables. I should think it belongs there, rather than in the house.”

“No, it does belong in the house, Royce,” Harry said, coming to stand beside her at the window. “It’s for me. The last time Peterson was here, he mentioned he would be sending a chamber horse for my use, but I’d forgotten entirely. I suppose this must be it.”

“But what exactly is it, Harry?” Gus asked, bemused. She imagined an oversized hobbyhorse, with Harry sitting astride. “Some manner of nursery plaything?”

“Not at all,” he said. “It’s a kind of chair for exercise, that’s supposed to mimic the motion of riding a horse. I’ve heard of them, but never seen one myself.”

“Truly?” Gus asked, her eyes widening. “Have the men bring it inside, Royce. I suppose it should be taken to his lordship’s room, for his convenience.”

With considerable effort, the crate was wrestled up the stairs and the chamber horse installed in one corner of Harry’s increasingly crowded bedchamber.

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