“Perhaps the poor thing waddled so much because he was overfed,” Harry called out with a chuckle.
Persephone glanced back at him and smiled her amusement, the first true smile Adam had ever seen from his wife. It was perfect: lovely, straight, white teeth, mouth turned up symmetrically, no scars to cause grotesque pulls and puckering in her face. It was the sort of smile a man ought to be in raptures over. But Adam only felt an overwhelming frustration at seeing yet another reason why Persephone was not at all what he’d wanted in a bride.
She was laughing, and the sound pulled Adam from his thoughts.
“He didn’ nip you, did he?” John asked.
“Not at all.” Persephone still flashed that radiant smile. “Only surprised me.”
“If you don’t want him snapping food from your hands, don’t bring any with you.”
“I will remember that, thank you, Harry.” Persephone seemed to roll her eyes. Adam nodded his approval of her response: useless advice ought to be dismissed.
“’E’ll be calmer while he’s eating.” John motioned with his head toward the saddle and mounting block already in place.
Persephone hesitated. She eyed Atlas with obvious apprehension.
She was going to back down, Adam was certain of it. He shook his head. One didn’t shrink from challenges, one faced them head-on.
Adam pushed away from the paddock fence. “If she and Atlas part company, see to it that John has her brought up to the castle,” Adam mumbled to Harry and began walking away.
“Don’t you even want to see her try?” The chastisement in Harry’s words was too pointed for Adam’s taste.
“She is backing down already. I have seen enough people quit in my lifetime without witnessing the same thing again.” Adam heard the tinge of bitterness in his voice and hated it.
“I think she might surprise you.”
Adam continued to walk away. But, only a few steps later, he found himself slowing his pace. Then, almost against his will, Adam looked back.
Persephone was on the mounting block, listening intently to instructions from John, while two stable hands stood nearby, ensuring Atlas kept still.
Adam stood frozen, watching. She’d been nervous, that had been apparent. And if her rapt attention were any indication, she still was. But she had come this far.
After a moment’s hesitation, Persephone was in the awkward sidesaddle, attempting to arrange her inadequate skirts into some semblance of propriety. Her grip on the reins was a touch too tight, but otherwise she gave the impression of being nearly at ease.
“Hmm,” Adam grunted. She hadn’t run. That was unexpected.
He gave a nod of approval that stopped almost instantly at a flash of ankle from the would-be rider.
“Needs a bloody riding habit.” Adam turned to make his way back to the house.
Persephone had a little steel in her. That was good, Adam thought to himself. She was going to need it.
Chapter Eleven
“Though I know you will be pained by my departure, I am for Hawick in the morning,” Harry said at dinner the night after Persephone’s first attempt at riding in more than a decade.
“Are you certain you couldn’t leavetonight?” Adam raised an eyebrow, no hint of a joking smile.
Adam’s treatment of Harry confused Persephone, even after Harry’s explanation a few days earlier. Persephone was sorely tempted to sink lower on her chair, Adam’s tone intimidating her.Do not be intimidated,she reminded herself. “Do you go to Scotland often?” Persephone asked, holding her head high.
“My mother’s sister and her husband live in Hawick,” Harry said. “They are always asking me to come for a visit.”
“And I am always asking you to leave. How is it that their requests are adhered to and mine are ignored?” Adam asked, facing Harry, only part of his face even visible to Persephone.
Adam still hadn’t looked at her. He’d come close that morning at the paddock, in the moments before he’d left. He hadn’t stayed to watch her attempt at riding. She’d been working so hard at being brave and unintimidated. Persephone had hoped to show Adam that she wasn’t nearly as flawed as he thought, to hopefully gain a grain of his respect, and he hadn’t even stayed to see.
Harry shrugged. “Because I know you do not actually want me to go.”
