“We’ll be at Hickstead by ten o’clock tomorrow. We’ll see to the horses, then go into London and do a little sightseeing. Have you seen the Tower?”
“I’ve never been to London,” she said, still slightly breathless.
“Then you’re in for a treat. We’ll go to lunch and prowl around a little afterward.” He ran a finger down her cheek. “I’ve got a meeting with some of my father’s business associates tonight. Believe it or not, I work for a living, just like everyone else. The family business usually takes up a lot of my time, but this year, I made an exception.” He smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
Ellie just nodded.
“Get some rest, love. This is all going to work out.” With a last quick kiss and a sweeping glance that sent the blood singing in her veins, Clay was gone.
When morning arrived, Ellie felt nervous and jittery yet filled with anticipation. Tonight, she would sleep with Clayton Whitfield, let him make love to her as she’d wanted him to do almost from the start.
The brief flight to Gatwick Airport left at nine o’clock sharp. The horses, traveling by ferry, had left hours earlier and would arrive in Hickstead ahead of them. Clay sat in the seat beside her, smiling, touching her a little more than necessary, his eyes warm, yet she couldn’t miss the hunger. He laughed and smiled easily, and Ellie felt herself smiling in return, approaching the inevitability of their lovemaking with an unexpected sense of relief.
She wanted to take the final steps to womanhood, and she wanted to make that journey with Clay. What happened tomorrow didn’t matter, she told herself. She’d deal with whatever problems arose when the time came.
“Tell me about your first pony,” he teased as he tried to get his wide shoulders comfortable in the far too narrow seat. “How old did you say you were? Three?”
“I was three when I sat my first pony, but I didn’t get one of my own until I was five. I’ll never forget her. Cuddles. She was a ten-hand Welsh Mountain pony, blaze-faced, the most beautiful dapple gray.”
Ellie flashed on a blurry image of her pony, then the photo she had seen after her surgery. The pony was gone by then, but she remembered the feel of the pony’s sleek coat beneath her hands. She wished she could see Cuddles as she really was instead of just a picture.
“My father gave her to me on my birthday. I really loved that pony. I rode her every day until I was ten years old. It always makes me sad to think of her.” Ellie swallowed and glanced away.
“What happened to her?” Clay asked.
She turned back. “Just before my birthday, one of the stable boys left her stall open. She wandered out and got into the feed bin, gorged herself on hay and oats, then got colic. I sat up with the vet all night, holding her head in my lap. She’d just nuzzle me and whimper as if she were asking for my help. Around midnight, my mother and father brought me a tray of food, but I couldn’t eat. By then the vet knew she wasn’t going to make it.”
Ellie ignored the catch in her throat. “My parents knew I’d want to be with her at the end.”
Clay brushed a tear from her cheek. He reached over and caught her hand, brought it to his lips. “You are so damned sweet.”
Ellie shook her head. “I didn’t mean to do that. Now I feel foolish.”
“You shouldn’t. I lost a horse I felt that way about, a big chestnut gelding. His name was Nickels and Dimes. I called him Nicky. I was fourteen when it happened, and it was my fault. I put him in a class he wasn’t ready for, then put him wrong over a fence too high for him to handle. Nicky went down, me along with him. I got a broken leg out of it, so did Nicky. They put him down right there at the show grounds. I didn’t cry. I was afraid if I started, I wouldn’t be able to stop, and someone would see me.”
Ellie glanced up at him and realized he still felt the pain.
Clay cleared his throat. “It was probably a good lesson. After Nicky died, I never let my ego come between me and my horses.”
Ellie smiled up at him. “You never cease to amaze me. You write poetry, you like art and ancient history, now I discover, deep down inside, you even have a heart.”
Clay laughed. “Another of my deep dark secrets.”
The plane began its descent. Somehow with Clay beside her, the plane ride wasn’t so unnerving. They landed at Gatwick and were shepherded quickly through customs. On the bus ride to the hotel, she and Clay sat across from Jake. She didn’t miss the scowl of disapproval on his face. Sweet God, she couldn’t imagine what he’d say if he knew about their plans for tonight!
It was none of Jake’s business. He wasn’t her father, for heaven’s sake. Besides, he had his own problems with Maggie to worry about.
Across the aisle, Flex noticed Clay sitting beside her and winked. Prissy looked uncertain.
Ellie glanced at Clay and found him watching her, as he had been off and on all day. His eyes looked dark and hungry. Ellie felt a knot of tension curl in the pit of her stomach but willed herself to relax, certain she was making the right decision.
Who was she kidding? There was no decision to make.
Ellie turned her attention to the lush green English landscape outside her window. All the cars drove on the wrong side of the road, and she loved the narrow, very British black taxis with the tiny white lights on top.
People walked the roads in trench coats and carried umbrellas, though it wasn’t raining. It was like watching a color version of an old Basil Rathbone movie.
At the Hickstead stables, Ellie checked on Jubilee and Rose. Clay checked on Max and Zodiak. When he didn’t return, Ellie went to find him and bumped into Jake on the way.
