She took a deep, ragged breath and said shakily, “Are you drunk? I expect you are, to jump a horse over a child! The fact that my son is all right is no thanks to you and that creature!”
“I’m not drunk. Had I been, I could not have reacted with such split-second—” Gabe took a deep breath and harnessed his temper. He said in a deliberately calming voice, “Look, the boy is perfectly safe and—”
“Safe! You almost killed him!”
“Madam, I risked my horse and myself in ordernotto hurt him,” he said with some asperity. “I don’t normally use small boys and women for jumping practice. He suddenly appeared from nowhere and stood stock-still, right in my path—”
“With that horrid great beast thundering toward him, he was probably too terrified to move!”
“The sensible thing to do—”
“Sensible?You expect a child to think clearly when a man is riding straight at him? He’s just a little boy!” She hugged the child again.
“I was not ridingathim! He was in the middle of the path—and at a time when small boys ought to be in bed. And there was not enough time to stop—”
“Becauseyouwere riding like the devil!”
“Quite so. On myownland.”
“I see.” She took a deep breath, making a visible effort to gather her composure. “I…I see. I gather we are trespassing. In that case I shan’t bother you any further. Good evening.”
Gabriel frowned. The moon was still behind the clouds, but he could see her well enough to notice she was rubbing her shoulder. “You’re hurt.”
“A little bruised,” she admitted.
“Are you sure it’s not worse than that?”
“No, it’s not serious. The shoulder was already sore from carrying the portmanteau.”
Gabriel looked around. “What portmanteau?”
“It’s…It must be here, somewhere. I lugged the wretched thing all the way up from the beach. It’s as heavy as lead.”
They all looked but there was no sign of a heavy-as-lead portmanteau.
“It must be here,” she said. “It couldn’t have rolled away like the bandbox.”
“Ahh,” said Gabriel. He had a sinking feeling where the portmanteau was. “I think it went over the edge when you, er, fell.”
“Oh no!” she exclaimed. “Perhaps it didn’t fall far.” She started forward, but Gabe stopped her.
“I will look,” he told her. “My nerves can’t stand any more of you perched on the edge of that drop.” He stepped forward and peered down into the gloom.
“Perhaps it was further along,” she prompted.
He moved along and his boot connected with something small. It fell, taking a light scatter of pebbles down with it. “Um, I think I found your slipper,” he told her.
“Thank you. Hand it to me, if you please.”
“I, er, just kicked it over the edge.”
She sighed. “Of course you did.”
“I shall retrieve the portmanteau for you in the morning,” Gabe said stiffly. “The slipper may be more difficult to find.”
“Pray do not bother about either,” she said wearily. “The slipper was probably ruined anyway and I shall send someone to fetch my portmanteau in the morning.”
“Fetched from where?” Gabriel asked. There was nothing for miles, only his house.
