“Good,” Mary replied. “I can use all the goodwill I can get.”
The horse finished with the apple and Mary dusted her gloves together before expelling her breath. “Must I climb up now?” she asked, pure dread apparent on her features.
Rhys chuckled. “No. No. We’re not quite ready for that yet. First, it’s important that you learn how to look after a horse before you attempt to ride one.”
“Look after?” A frown wrinkled Mary’s brow.
“That’s right,” Rhys replied. He took the reins from Henry and nodded at the groom to return to the stables.
Henry tipped his hat to Mary before he left. She blushed beautifully once again.
“He’s a terrific one ta be teaching ‘er, milady,” Henry said to Julianna as he passed her on his way back into the stables.
Julianna shook her head. Yet another sycophant at the altar of the Duke of Worthington? Honestly, the manhadto be paying these people to pretend they liked him as much as they did.
But when Julianna glanced back at Rhys, she had to admit that the way he continued to treat her sister was about to make her a proponent of a man she’d been calling Detestable for over a year.
“Before you can properly learn to ride,” Rhys was saying to Mary in a steady, certain voice, “you must learn how horses behave. You must build a relationship with the animal.”
“Is that why you had me pet her and feed her an apple, Mr. Worthy?” Mary asked, blinking up at him.
“Precisely,” Rhys replied with a nod.
Julianna moved closer and watched as Rhys gestured to a small wooden table near the barn door. It had been laid with a variety of items that he obviously meant to use to teach Mary. “Taking care of a horse is every bit as important as riding,” Rhys said. “It begins with grooming.”
“I agree,” Julianna added from behind them. “Somepeople even tend to take better care of horse’s feelings than people’s feelings. Isn’t that right, Mr. Worthy?”
“Perhaps that’s because horses never give one a reason to be mistrustful, my lady,” he replied without missing a beat.
Mary glanced back and forth between the two of them, frowning.
Next, Rhys picked up the comb. After showing Mary how to gently stroke through Whisper’s mane, he let her try.
Mary’s first attempt was a bit awkward but after a few moments, she dared a step closer to the horse and was able to comb her mane quite capably. “I’m terribly sorry, Whisper,” Mary said to the horse. “I fear my maid is much better at arranging hair than I’ve ever been.”
Both Rhys and Julianna laughed.
Next, Rhys moved on to leading. “I want you to help me walk Whisper out into the paddock,” he said to Mary. “It will help to further build an affinity between the two of you.”
“Affinity,” Julianna called from her spot in the shade near the barn door. “That’s often important between people, too, isn’t it, Mr. Worthy? That is until one of them disappears for no reason.”
“Affinityisimportant between peopleandhorses, Lady Julianna,” Rhys replied, the smile never leaving his face. “Especially affinity that lasts longer than it takes to say, find a new mount.”
The look on Mary’s face this time was downright dubious. Julianna ignored it and narrowed her eyes on Rhys. Bless it. The man had an answer for absolutely everything.
She watched with pride, however, as Mary led Whisper around the paddock, gently holding the lead and glancing back at Rhys every so often to ensure he was still close by. He nodded his assurance and gave her an encouraging smile.
“Now, we’ll try tying,” Rhys finally announced after they’d spent a considerable length of time leading Whisper around the paddock.
“What’ll we tie her to?” Mary asked, glancing about.
“The fence on the far side of the paddock,” Rhys replied.
Mary dutifully trotted after him toward the fence.
“Are you coming, Lady Julianna?” Rhys called without looking back for her.
“No,” Julianna called back. “I think I’ll just remain here in the shade, if that’s all right with you, Mary.”
