Isabel allowed a smile to catch at the corners of her mouth.
‘You tolerate a great deal of insubordination from your batman, Captain Alder.’
He looked up at her and she saw no humour in his eyes.
‘I owe Bennet my life. He can be as insubordinate as he likes. Thank you for your concern about my health. Now you have satisfied yourself that I am not at death’s door, I will see you tomorrow, Lady Somerton.’
Dismissed, Isabel left the room, closing the door softly behind her, just as the gong rang to announce dinner.
Chapter Seventeen
Bennet disliked horses. A Londoner born and bred, he had no understanding of them, considering them four-legged dangers to health and happiness. Unfortunately, it fell to Bennet to brave the stables and retrieve his lordship’s brand new hat, which he had mislaid during his latest harebrained escapade.
Picking his way across a stable yard scattered with horse manure, he met a boy coming out of the main door of the stable, carrying a saddle. He stopped the youngster and enquired after the missing hat.
‘I’ve got it safe in the chaff room.’ The boy’s face brightened. ‘Are you Corporal Bennet?’
Bennet stiffened. ‘Mister Bennet now, lad.’
The boy smiled. ‘I’m Peter Thompson. No one’s ridden Pharaoh like his lordship did today. Even his late lordship never quite...’ Realising he may have spoken out of turn, the boy turned pink. ‘What’s it like in the army? I’d give anything to join the cavalry.’
‘Would you, lad? Couldn’t imagine anything worse meself. I prefer to have me own two feet firmly on the ground.’
The boy’s eyes darted to the door of the stable. ‘I can’t leave Pa by himself. Not now Ma’s sick and Amy’s gone.’
‘Amy?’
‘My sister,’ the boy said with a downward turn to his mouth. ‘She... she died last autumn. Pa’s got no one but me now. It was a bad winter. First Amy and Ma... then we could scarce believe when his lordship had his accident.’
Bennet’s interest piqued. ‘I ’eard he had an accident. Do you know how it happened?’
Peter hesitated. ‘It isn’t my place to say.’
‘It’s all right. You can tell me,’ Bennet invited.
‘His lordship went a-visiting up at Lady Kendall’s,’ Peter said. ‘Near as we know, he took the hedge over by Lovett’s Bridge and the girth broke.’ The boy’s face took on a sullen, defensive cast. ‘It weren’t our fault. It were a brand new saddle. Her leddyship had given it to his lordship for his birthday only months afore and he used it all the time. We checked it regular.’
Something in the boy’s voice caused Bennet to pause. ‘Did you look at it after the accident?’
Peter’s eyes darted around the stable yard, and he jerked his head at the door.
‘Come wiv me and I’ll get his lordship’s hat.’
As Bennet followed the boy into the long building, his nose wrinkled at the smell of horse—many horses. Apparently impervious, the boy led him down the line of horse stalls. He stopped at a door at the end of the row and looked back at Bennet.
‘Her leddyship told us to destroy the saddle.’ The boy shifted his weight and looked around. ‘It seemed a shame to destroy such a beautiful thing when all it needed was a new girth strap.’
Bennet looked at the boy, who shuffled his feet as his eyes slid sideways.
‘It’s all right, lad. It’s only me, you won’t get into trouble,’ he said.
‘I put it away somewhere safe.’
‘So you still have it?’ A small spark of curiosity flared in Bennet.
The boy opened the door. ‘Aye, ’tis in here.’
‘’Ow about you show me?’ Bennet suggested.
