His Darling Friend by Leenie Brown

Author:Leenie Brown [Brown, Leenie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Leenie B Books

Chapter 9

“I will require him again in a few hours time.” Roger handed the reins of his horse to a groom.

Then, as he pulled off his gloves, Roger walked behind the stable and down a small path to the pond. He tossed his gloves on the ground and removed his jacket before tossing himself under a tree. Picking up a small twig from the ground beside him, he threw it into the water. However, it did not create a very satisfying splash. With a sigh, he hauled himself up from his spot and went to gather some rocks – smooth ones which would skip across the water.

Once he had a small pile of ammunition in his hands, he returned to his place and began the task of seeing how many times he could skip each rock. Focusing on such a task and counting the hops across the pond, he hoped, would be just the sort of absorbing trivial activity which would rid his mind of the fear that had settled into it last night.

“I thought I saw you ducking behind the stables.”

Roger looked up to see Diana’s husband, Benjamin Berkley, approaching.

“I did not see you,” Roger admitted. To be honest, he had seen very little on his ride from the Abernathy’s to his home. His horse knew the way, so there was very little need to steer the animal, and so, Roger had found himself lost in his thoughts.

“I was under the impression that I was not going to see you for another week, at least,” Berkley said as he sat down next to Roger.

“You aren’t,” Roger replied.

“And yet, here you are.”

“I needed to get away from all those females.” It was mostly the truth. He needed to find a place away from a particular female so that he could try to sort out his thoughts.

“That is understandable. How is my wife faring?”

“She seems to be enjoying herself. She has taken a second young lady under her wing since Victoria is not challenging enough.”

Berkley laughed. “That does sound like Diana. She does like a challenge, which is likely why she was willing to take me on.”

Their mother had not liked Benjamin Berkley for good reason. The gentleman was not the most sedate fellow. He liked to have fun, and his fun had come in a great variety of forms before he had met Diana.

He was an excellent horseman and still found an occasional race to be something he could not resist. He had also been a great gambler at his club, though not in the usual fashion. He had not tossed away more than a few coins at a card table. Instead, he had found great delight in betting on challenges posed to him by his group of friends. One such challenge had included stealing a kiss from one of the patronesses at Almacks. He had managed to kiss the lady’s cheek and, then, had found himself promptly banned from the establishment, much to his satisfaction as he claimed his winnings.

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