“Let me finish this delightful cheese first,” Charles replied.
“That’s the same Stilton we have,” Daphne said. “Roxanne got a couple of wheels a couple of months ago.”
He nodded and finished the pungent cheese before drinking the last of the wine. He hadn’t seen Lady Cathryn since he saw her standing in the queue with her sisters. She’d once again caused his body to react in ways he wasn’t sure of. It wasn’t a bad feeling, just one he couldn’t control his body about. He turned and saw Arthur and Daphne watching him in a curious fashion. He pushed his chair back and rose to his full height.
“Shall we go find our horses and get ready?”
The pair of them nodded with smiles on their faces, never saying a word. The trio began to walk across the gardens to a space on the outside where everyone was headed. He kept his stride, trying not to think too much. He had to learn how to deal with situations like this.
Upon seeing Frazier holding the bay, accompanied by two stableboys, they walked up to them. Out of habit, Charles checked the girth to make sure it was tight and made sure the bridle was in top shape before nodding to Frazier that he was ready to mount. He didn’t do this to double check his valet’s work because that wasn’t it at all. Once on Wight, he was going for a ride and one of the grooms had cut the girth and reins just enough so when Charles tried to turn or stop, they would finish breaking and he most likely would have been hurt. A bad prank with a possible devastating ending. Since then, he always checked his equipment if he hadn’t done it himself.
Throwing his leg over the saddle, he put his feet in the iron stirrups to check they were the right length. He refused a whip since this was only one of the handful of times he’d ridden the horse and he didn’t like to use one unless the animal was lazy.
Across the way, he noted Lady Cathryn. She was mounted and attempting to talk with one of her sisters. At about theprecise time, brandy was served to the riders. Another tradition Graham had told him about earlier.
As the hunt got underway, Charles chose to stay back in the pack of riders. He’d never been on a hunt, and he wanted to be sure he understood and was comfortable with the crowd. Making sure his horse was comfortable with the hunt was important too. He didn’t need the bay going sideways and acting scared of the close proximity of the others.
He’d lost track of Lady Cathryn in the madness of the start. In fact, he’d lost track of everyone. He kept riding, which was the easiest thing to do since he wasn’t familiar. Charles was enjoying the pace even if he’d slowed down.
Cantering his horse around a sharp turn, he noted a small fence to jump. No one was around so he thought he would give the bay a chance at it. After clearing the jump, he slowed the bay down when he noticed a horse without a rider. He immediately rode over to the stray, looking around for its owner. It was then he saw Lady Cathryn. It was obvious by her appearance that she’d fallen. Her hair was askew, her hat lost, and her dress caked in mud and dry dirt. Quickly, he dismounted.
“Are you hurt?” he asked as he rushed up to her.
“Only my pride,” she replied.
“What happened?”
“I pulled back because the mare wasn’t liking some of the horses around us. We came upon this jump, and she refused to try to get over it. She stopped suddenly and I went sailing over her and the hedge.”
“You were lucky you didn’t get hurt worse.”
She nodded. “Yes, I know. To add to it, the mare has lost a shoe.” She held up the missing shoe.
He noted she’d ridden in a proper saddle and not a side saddle. He wondered if her sisters knew of her preference. It wasa brilliant move on her part. Side saddles could be dangerous and weren’t made for everything.
Lady Cathryn needed to be looked after. He could leave her here and go find help or he could put her on his horse, and he could lead her mount back. It might work, even though the bay was not as docile as her horse.
“This is what we’re going to do,” he said. “You’re going to ride in front of me on my horse. I’ll sit behind you, and we’ll lead yours back. I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
“Are you afraid I might be kidnapped or something?”
He was puzzled by her remark. It was an odd thing to say. “Certainly not. Now, are you going to let me help you up, or are we going to talk?”
Moments later, he assisted her onto the bay. He gave her the reins of the horse she’d been riding as he swung up behind her. He hadn’t even gotten comfortable when he felt his body betraying him. His cock was hard and throbbing as he tried not to think of the reasons why. He was attracted to Lady Cathryn, but wasn’t aware attraction led to something like this. It had happened far more than he’d remembered it happening before he came here.
Charles clucked the bay into a walk. He could tell by the animal’s ears the extra weight wasn’t boding well with him at all. They continued in silence, which suited Charles just fine. Women tended to want to engage in small talk, but she said nothing.
Finally, he felt he should at least ask her how she was doing. Make sure the ride wasn’t too much for her bruised body. “You okay?”
“Sore, but I’ll make it. We should almost be there.”
“You’ve ridden here before?”
“No, but I did get up and walked the course this morning.”
“Really? That was quite smart of you.”
“Thank you. Knowing approximately how many people would be coming today, I felt I needed to know the best route.”
