“I’ve been thinking about you and breeding,” she said.
“Pardon?” Richard’s dark brows shot up.
Realizing how that sounded, she flushed. “Breedinghorses, I mean.”
“Ah.” Though his craggy features remained polite, a wicked bronze spark lightened his eyes. “Too bad. I was hoping you meant something else.”
“Stop trying to embarrass me. I’m being serious.”
“There’s a first. All right, then. What about breeding horses?”
“Why don’t you rebuild your stud farm and use the profits to support your estate?”
He looked briefly startled at her question. “Well, it’s not as simple as that. Building a breeding program takes time, not to mention a financial investment. And it can take years to achieve success—if one attains it at all. Plenty of gentlemen pursue this as a hobby, sink fortunes into the venture… and wind up with little more than an expensive stable and some pretty horses. Our last monarch being a prime example.”
“Butyouwouldn’t do that.” The idea of Richard being a spendthrift was laughable.
He canted his head. “You sound rather confident given that you know little about my skill at horse breeding.”
“But I knowyou. You’re a man who knows what’s what. You’re methodical, dependable, and clever. For crumpet’s sake,” she said with a grin, “you secured a skeleton key to break into Monique’s room.”
Instead of sharing in her humor, he stared at her as if she’d sprouted another head.
“What’s the matter?” She patted her riding hat with its smart little amber veil, wondering if it had slipped. “Am I askew?”
“Quite the opposite.” He was still staring at her, only now with a heated intensity that made her heart pound. “In fact, you’re rather… perfect.”
She was speechless. No one hadevercalled her that before.
Seeming to collect himself, he cleared his throat. “As much as I appreciate your vote of confidence, establishing a stud farm is a large risk. One I can’t bank the future of the estate on.”
“It’s only a risk if you don’t believe in yourself.”
“I do believe in my ability to create a successful breeding program,” he said, “and if it were only me depending on the outcome, then there would be no question of my pursuing it. But it’s not just me. My mama, Wick, the tenants—all of them depend upon the health of the estate. They depend upon me to do the right thing.”
“Which right thing?”
His brow furrowed. “What do you meanwhichone? As Carlisle, there’s one clear duty which I must fulfill.”
“Well, you’re more than just a viscount, aren’t you? You’reyou, too, with dreams of your own. So the way I see it, you have both a duty to others—and to yourself.”
As their horses clip-clopped along, Richard’s expression remained pensive. “I’ve never quite thought of it that way before.”
“I’m not saying your family isn’t important. Yet it seems to me that you spend a great deal of time looking after others and your estate,” she said frankly. “What about doing whatyouwant to do? Don’t you also deserve to pursue your desires?”
“I do, and I’m going to.”
“You mean you’re going to start up a breeding program again?” she said eagerly.
“I mean I’ll be marrying you. There is nothing,” he said, “that I desire more.”
His quiet ferocity made her breath catch. It was the most he’d spoken of his feelings for her, and pleasure gripped her heart, squeezing exquisitely. Her lips parted, but the only word that came out was a dazed, “Oh.”
His lips tipped up at the corners. “As for the horses, I’ll think on it.”
~~~
Despite the tense situation—her thoughts kept wandering to her siblings and how they were faring in their search of the estate—Violet couldn’t help but enjoy herself. She loved fairs, the color and excitement. The sunny weather bore hints of summer, drawing out eager hordes.
