‘Okay, you’re going to have to jump,’ he said when he reached her.
Clemmie gave him a dubious look. ‘Jump? What if you drop me?’
‘I won’t drop you.’
‘You hesitated.’
‘I did not! Come on, swing those legs around. I’m not standing here all day.’
Muttering to herself, she pulled her feet from the stirrups, feeling completely ridiculous. Swinging one leg over the saddle, she attempted some level of grace but, naturally, ended up lurching sideways. With an undignified yelp, she fell towards Oliver…
…who caught her effortlessly, strong arms securing her against his chest. Their faces were suddenly inches apart, her hands on his shoulders, his amused gaze locked with hers.
‘You know,’ he murmured, ‘if you wanted to be in my arms again, there were other ways to do it.’
‘Don’t be cheeky! Just get me to dry land!’
He was still smirking as he turned.
The embarrassing ordeal was finally nearing its end when the sound of approaching hoofbeats sent a new ripple of dreadthrough her. Clemmie turned her head just in time to see a rider coming towards them. As the figure drew closer, her stomach plummeted.
The neatly tied headscarf was a tell-tale sign of a very specific equestrian enthusiast. The very equestrian enthusiast she’d hoped to avoid.
Clemmie blinked rapidly, convinced her eyes were deceiving her.
‘Oliver,’ she whispered, her voice barely above a breath.
‘Hmm?’
‘Oliver!’ she hissed again, more urgently this time. ‘Look!’ She nodded furiously towards the approaching figure.
‘It’s her!’ Clemmie squeaked.
‘Her who?’ Oliver asked, still completely unfazed.
‘The Queen, Oliver! The actual Queen!’
Oliver finally turned his full attention to the approaching rider. Much to Clemmie’s utter horror, he still didn’t seem perturbed.
Clemmie closed her eyes in pure mortification.
‘Oh, yes, it’s her,’ he said with a casual shrug, as if spotting royalty during a chaotic horse-riding debacle was the most normal thing in the world.
Clemmie, however, was anything but calm. ‘What do we do? She’s coming this way!’
‘Relax,’ Oliver said, clearly enjoying her flustered state. ‘She is human, you know. Just smile and wave.’
‘Smile and wave?’ she echoed, her voice climbing higher. ‘I’m stuck in the middle of a lake in your arms.’ Before Oliver could respond, the Queen’s voice rang out, clear and unmistakable. ‘Lovely day for a ride, isn’t it?’
Clemmie froze at the familiar cadence. Her Majesty’s presence was magnetic, even from a distance.
Clemmie gawked as the Queen guided her horse closer, a serene smile on her face. The headscarf, a practical yet elegant accessory, complemented her riding jacket perfectly, unlike Clemmie’s mismatched loungewear and waterlogged boots.
The Queen stopped her horse a few feet from the lake’s edge, her gaze landing on Oliver first. ‘Good afternoon, Oliver. I trust everything is under control?’
Oliver bowed his head. ‘All under control, Your Majesty,’ he replied with a grin.
‘You must be Clemmie, Oliver’s visitor, staying at the cottage?’ the Queen said, her sharp eyes twinkling with amusement as she turned to Clemmie.
