Part 33 (1/2)
Chapter Three.
Trying to concentrate on the ride and forget her escort, Anne took a familiar path through the fields along the north side of the manor house. The smell of rich dirt and clean air always made her feel better. Anne was a country girl at heart, if she could get on well enough in the city.
”What are my uncle's plans for the filly?” she called over her shoulder, expecting Merrick to be following at a discreet distance as he'd been told to do.
”I recall hearing your uncle say it wasn't your business.”
She turned to find Merrick beside her. It didn't surprise her that he hadn't followed her uncle's instructions. Anne suspected
Merrick seldom followed anyone's rules but his own.
”As my uncle said, I have a fondness for horses and the stable. The gray filly has excellent lines. He isn't going to sell her, is he?”
Merrick's lips suddenly curled slightly at the corners. ”No,” he answered. ”She's in season. He wants to breed her.”
Anne realized why her uncle had refused to discuss the issue with her. Such things were not discussed in the presence of ladies.
She was always told to stay away from the stable when the breeding took place. The new stable master seemed to take delight
in saying something so shocking in her company. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of making her blush again.
”To which stallion?” she asked. ”I hope not Ascot, the large sorrel. He's too big boned. A colt produced by him would likely be too large for the filly to deliver. I'd personally choose Shadow, the charcoal stallion. He's smaller, and the coloring would suit, I'd think.”
When Merrick didn't respond, she glanced toward him. His lips were still curled in that disturbing way that drew her gaze to
them, but in his eyes shone a glimmer of respect.
”My thoughts exactly,” he said. ”Your uncle doesn't strike me as the type of man to appreciate my advice, however, so I'll not be giving it.”
”It is your right, isn't it?” Anne asked. ”To advise him on such matters? I thought that was the reason he hired you to run his
stable.”
He laughed and she saw the flash of his white teeth again. ”He hired me to say he got the best. He likes the best, your uncle.
Your aunt, too, I'm thinking.”
Now he had overstepped his boundaries. Anne bristled. Her aunt and uncle did always require the best of everything, but that
was beside the point.
”That is not a subject you are familiar with and you should refrain from pretending that you are,” she scolded. ”And aren't you supposed to be riding a proper distance behind me?”
The smile faded from his lips. ”When I become familiar with the path, then I will ride discreetly behind you, my lady. If that is your wish,” he added, as if the matter might be in question.
”Why wouldn't it be?” Anne asked defensively.
”I never said it was,” he countered.
”You hinted at as much,” she huffed. ”You mustn't a.s.sume to know me or what I would or would not prefer simply because you made a mistake last night.”
He lifted a dark brow. ”Are you saying you didn't make one? Maybe you didn't mind giving me the wrong idea so much.”
His easy ability to fl.u.s.ter her had Anne feeling a temper that was usually nonexistent in her. Instead of arguing with him, she turned her attention to the path, kicked her heels into Storm's sides, and took off. Anne let Storm have her head, both of them
familiar with the path. Merrick pulled up next to her a moment later.
Storm was fast, but Anne doubted that she could outrun the black. The stallion was bigger and stronger. Anne, however, sat lighter in the saddle. She was feeling a rebellious streak again and urged Storm into a faster gait. Ahead the path narrowed, leaving the open fields and winding through wooded ground.
Anne supposed it wasn't a considerate thing to do, forcing the man to follow her in a dead run across a path he was not familiar with, but she suspected she could leave him behind easily enough. He should be put in his place... although she was never one to really think of ”places” and ”putting people in them” before.
Maybe she only wanted to show off. Anne seldom had an opportunity to display her riding skills. The paths in London, Rotten Row and the like, were tame for her talents. A log had fallen across the path ahead and she and the mare took the jump easily. Deeper Anne wound her way along the path into the woods, always aware that the stable master and the stallion were nearly on Storm's rump.
When the path widened, Merrick was suddenly beside her. Ahead, the path narrowed again and she couldn't let him get out in front of her. Then it would be a case of him leading and her following. Anne urged Storm on.
Merrick swore, then loosened the reins to give the stallion more freedom. The animal lunged ahead so swiftly that Anne felt a sinking sensation. Her mare couldn't match the stallion's speed. Just as Anne had wanted to avoid, Merrick pulled ahead when the path narrowed and she was forced to follow instead of lead.
The path widened again and they were in a meadow. He slowed his horse, and when she pulled up beside him Merrick reached across and s.n.a.t.c.hed Anne from the saddle. She was so startled by the move she immediately struggled and almost toppled to the ground. A strong arm settled around her waist and he easily brought the headstrong stallion to a halt. Merrick let Anne slide to the ground and quickly dismounted.