“Well,” he said, glinting a smile down at her. “What do you think of her?”
Honoria examined her mount from the safety of the steps. “She’s fat.”
“Nonsense. That’s pure muscle.”
The faintest quiver at the corners of the marquis’s mouth made her hide her own smile. “And her back is swayed.”
“Perhaps you aren’t familiar with this particular breed.”
Her brows lowered. “Old and sway-backed? I’ve seen farm carts pulled by horses with better form. Not that I’m complaining,” she added hastily. “Does it… does it bite?”
“Only mush. One of Lightning’s problems is that her teeth are… well, she has very few, and those are in the back. She only eats special feed.”
Honoria couldn’t believe her luck. “You must be joking.”
“No. This was Sara’s favorite horse, so…” He shrugged. “I haven’t got the heart to retire it. She thinks of the stable here as her home. I think she’d waste away if we moved her.” He lifted his brows. “Are we ready, then?”
She straightened her shoulders. “As ready as I can be.”
“Then off we go.” With a dashing smile, he followed her to the horse.
Honoria stood a moment, gathering her courage as Lightning cast a disinterested look her way. The horse’s complete disregard was oddly comforting. If she wasn’t interesting enough to merit more than a glance, surely she wasn’t interesting enough to bite. Holding this thought to her, Honoria made her way to the horse’s side and prepared to mount.
The marquis was beside her in an instant, his hands warm about her waist as he assisted her into the saddle. Honoria’s heart began to gallop with something far warmer than mere fear.
“There you are,” Treymount murmured, his blue eyes meeting hers for a moment. “Are you comfortable?”
It felt very strange, sitting in a saddle after so long. Honoria had to remind herself to adjust her skirts. It was reassuring that the horse didn’t move a bit as she tried to get comfortable on the sidesaddle. “So far, so good,” she said to the marquis, flashing a smile she did not feel.
“We won’t be long. I thought perhaps we’d just take a turn and then have the carriage meet us back at the gates. That should do it.”
That should do it indeed. “What exactly are the terms of this little ride?”
“Whatever I do, you must do. And the first person to fall, or lose control of their mount, loses.”
“Immediately?”
“Immediately.”
Honoria gathered her thoughts and her still rather shaky heart. “Very well, then. Let’s be off.” The quicker they did this, the better.
With a smile, he left and went to his own horse. The animal shied, but within moments the marquis was on its back, a commanding figure by any measure as he expertly stilled the horse and brought it under control.
Honoria gathered the reins and nudged Lightning to a walk, a command the horse reluctantly obeyed. Within moments they were on their way, the marquis and his prancing steed in the lead, Honoria on her faithful and almost toothless slug, followed by a groom on a placid gray mount.
“This isn’t so bad, is it?”
Honoria glanced at the marquis. They’d arrived at the park to find it filled with people. In fact, they’d had trouble staying together at one point because so many carriages pulled up at the sight of the marquis on his black gelding. “No, it’s not so bad.” She tentatively patted her horse’s neck. “Except Lightning keeps sighing.”
“She hates the park. In fact, she hates everything but her stall.”
“I can understand that. I’m not any more thrilled with this ride than she.”
Treymount smiled, his teeth glinting whitely. “I can tell. Relax, my dear. You’re holding the reins as if you think they’re snakes. Just keep them between your fingers like so.” He held up his own gloved hands as an example.
She changed her grip accordingly and decided it was much more comfortable.
As she was beginning to enjoy the ride once more, they rounded a sharp corner of the path and found themselves facing a small group of riders, three men and a strikingly beautiful blond woman whom Honoria didn’t instantly recognize.
Immediately the marquis’s horse took exception at the abrupt appearance of another black gelding, and it was some minutes before order was restored. To Honoria’s immense relief, Lightning didn’t even seem to notice the fray but stood contentedly to one side, chewing ruminatively on her bridle.
“I say!” said the man on the other black gelding. “Control your mount!”
“I am,” Treymount snapped. “You’d do well to do the same, Buckram!”
Indeed, the other gelding was thrashing about, neighing and backing up, while the marquis’s horse was quieting.
The woman waited until both horses were under control and then turned her attention to Honoria. “Well, well, well,” she drawled. “What have we here?”
The marquis frowned at the sound of the woman’s voice, but he nodded nonetheless, his manner noticeably cool. “Lady Percival.”
Honoria looked from one to the other, aware of an unnamed tension.
The woman looked directly at Honoria and smiled, though it wasn’t a nice smile at all. It was, in fact, somewhat catty. “Miss Baker-Sneed, isn’t it?”
Honoria blinked. How had the woman known her name? As if reading her thoughts, Lady Percival smiled even wider, tossing her head a bit so that the tall ostrich feather that adorned her hat bobbed gently. “I saw you at the Oxbridge Ball. Everyone noticed you with Treymount and was dying to discover who you were.”
“Oh dear. I didn’t think anyone would notice me.” Lady Percival’s cold eyes flickered across her. “They probably wouldn’t, under normal circumstances.”
One of the men with Lady Percival gave an amused snort at that. “We were all agog to discover Treymount’s latest flirt.”
Flirt? Honoria’s back stiffened. People thought she was Treymount’s
flirt
? Of all the—
“Oh don’t look like that, my dear,” Lady Percival drawled. “Everyone knows you are not that type of woman. What you are, in fact, is the marrying kind of woman. Marcus, you should really have a care.”
“Be careful what you say, Lady Percival,” Marcus snapped, his eyes blazing.
Lady Percival flushed the tiniest bit at his tone but kept her expression serene.
“If anyone was curious as to Miss Baker-Sneed’s identity at the Oxbridge Ball, it was because she was easily the most striking woman there.”
Buckram grinned at that. “Touché, Treymount.” Lady Percival’s eyes flashed irritation. “Really, Marc—” The woman placed a hand over her mouth in pretend consternation. “I mean, Lord Treymount. Forgive me, it’s so hard to remember to call you that after—well, you know.”
Honoria suddenly realized what was happening. It was painfully obvious what the woman was trying to do—somewhere along the way, she and Treymount had apparently had a connection of some sort that had turned sour. And now the woman was bent on revenge.
Honoria had not been born yesterday, and coming from a household full of women, she recognized rejection when she saw it. It wasn’t a pretty emotion, but certainly it was a human one. “Lady Percival, it is very nice meeting you, but Mar—I mean, Lord Treymount—and I have a wager to settle regarding our horses.” She then turned to Marcus and said coolly, “Shall we continue?”
A fleeting look of surprise crossed his face, followed by a genuine smile that crinkled his eyes in a most attractive manner. “Indeed we shall, my dear. Indeed we shall.”
Honoria didn’t bother to do more than nod politely before urging Lightning on down the path-. Marcus was beside her in an instant.
“That,” he said, “was masterful.”
“That,” she replied, “was nonsense. Who does that woman think she is?”
He sent her a sidelong glance, his expression intent. “She is the past. And nothing more.”
For some reason, the answer sent a flood of color to her cheeks. They walked on a ways more, Lightning shuffling along while the marquis held his horse in check. It shied a bit here and there, causing Honoria some uneasiness, but the basic disregard of her own horse made her relax more and more. Eventually, she began to notice things—that the sun was shining warmly though the trees, brightening the morning into a gentle day, that the flowers were blooming all along the paths, and that the sound of birds singing in the trees was quite a pleasant change from the constant clop clop of carts that were usually found outside her own home.
Better yet, she couldn’t help but enjoy her companion. He didn’t try to monopolize the conversation, or even keep it going, but seemed content to ride beside her, soaking in the morning much as she herself was. Every once in a while his gaze would meet hers and something would flare between them, a flash of warmth and… something more.
Good heavens, she wasn’t beginning to care for Trey-mount… was she? That would never do. She knew him far too well. He was about the chase, the excitement. She’d seen it in his eyes at the auctions, and knew it to be true from the way he lived his life, never settling with one woman long enough to be caught.
And that was what he would think of marriage—a trap to be avoided. Thank goodness she was not a marriage-minded miss. In fact, Honoria rather thought the state of marriage was grossly overrated. It was for other people, like gentle Cassandra, who enjoyed focusing her efforts on others. Honoria preferred to maintain her freedom, thank you very much. Which was a good thing, considering she seemed drawn to men of the same way of thinking.
They were just rounding the bend on the south side of the park where the traffic was lighter when Treymount finally pulled his impatient horse to a halt. “Here we are. I believe we can now conclude our wager.”
A flicker of disappointment almost mussed her smile, but she managed to maintain it. That was why they were here, of course. Still, she could not help but regret that their ride would soon be at an end. For the first time since she could recall, she’d enjoyed riding a horse—and spending time with the marquis—and she was in no hurry to see either end. “Of course. What shall we do?”
He glanced around, nodding at a small hedgerow that was slightly off the path. “First Demon and I shall jump it… and then you and Lightning.”
She nodded. “That looks promising.” Which was an absolute lie. There was no way her tubby horse would take a hedgerow. Why, she suspected it wouldn’t even leave the smooth pathway without some very strong encouragement. Still, it wouldn’t do to look ill-natured to the marquis. So instead she turned her horse’s head in the direction of the hedgerow and urged it forward.
The two horses started off the path; the marquis’s almost bolting. The horse had been held back since they’d first gotten to the park and it had become increasingly energetic as time passed. Honoria watched as the marquis easily brought the horse under control. Meanwhile, her own mount had paused at the edge of the path and then, with great reluctance, left it behind, walking slower and slower toward the hedgerow, reluctance evident in every line of its rather rounded body.
The marquis and his horse arrived first and had to wait quite awhile for them to catch up. As she drew abreast, he flashed her a smile and said, “Ready?”
“Oh yes,” she said, trying to match his smile, and failing miserably, a sudden thought catching her and making her stomach squeeze horribly. What if Lightning actually
did
take the hedgerow? Ye gods, what would she do then?
“What’s the matter?”
She realized that her fear must have shown on her face, for the marquis was looking at her intently, his brows lowered. She swallowed the emotion and forced herself to say in a light voice, “Oh nothing! I was just—” Her gaze found the hedgerow and she had an instant picture of herself being tossed off Lightning’s back and landing on her rump on the muddy ground below, the horse’s hooves terrifyingly close—
“Honoria.”
She blinked. Somehow the marquis had pulled his horse directly beside Lightning. He was leaning over, his face within inches of hers. “Don’t worry. You don’t even have to attempt it if you don’t wish.” Then, to Honoria’s further astonishment, he bent forward and kissed her.
Marcus would never be sure what it was that set him on that path. But for an instant there was such a look of pure panic in her face… it had amazed and distressed him. She was not the sort of woman to face mindless fear. In fact, she possessed far more common sense than most men he knew.. So to see her eyes clouded in such a way, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, her pulse beating wildly in her throat… he’d had no choice. He’d had to kiss her.
Unfortunately, Demon took advantage of his master’s distraction. And just as Marcus’s lips touched Honoria’s, the horse bolted. Marcus, leaning far out of his saddle, fell forward heavily and knocked Honoria off her horse.
One moment they were upright, lips touching, hearts thudding wildly. And the next they were laying in the dirt, Marcus atop Honoria, his face pressed against her shoulder, his knees between hers. There was a flurry of dust as the groom went flying posthaste to capture the wild horse.
Marcus could not believe what had happened. He could feel the wild beating of Honoria’s heart; smell the sweet scent of her hair. If he lay very, very still, he could feel her body growing softer beneath his, and feel his own reacting— He almost groaned. God, but she was lush. But this was not the time or place. So he raised up on one elbow—just as a sharp, feminine laugh rang out behind him.