Tristan shot the viscount a desperate glance, but he was already following his sister, leaving Tristan to pick up the rear and – worst of all – to watch the lady rise and fall against her saddle in ways that threatened to make this the most uncomfortable ride of his life.
There was nothing better than a good ride to rid oneself of agitation, which was why Lilli had chosen to take Nora out for a large part of the day. But when Henry had learned of her excursion, he’d insisted on coming along. Worse yet, he’d decided to ask Mr. Henley to join them – a clear reminder of how very different her brother was from most of his peers. Instead of leaving his valet at home where he belonged, he’d decided to bring him along as he would a friend.
“It isn’t healthy for any man to be closeted away all day,” Henry had told her when she’d questioned Mr. Henley’s joining them. “Besides, I genuinely like him and would rather have his company than one of Mama and Papa’s stuffy footmen.”
Fearful her brother would grow suspicious if she continued arguing the issue, she’d let the subject slide.
Digging her heels into Nora’s flanks, Lilli urged her into a canter and then to a gallop. Knowing Mr. Henley was either in Henry’s bedchamber or in the study most days – that she’d find him there if she opened one of those doors – had wreaked havoc on both her body and mind. The fact that he seemed intent on avoiding her had been both gratifying and unnerving in the worst way imaginable.
On one hand, she wanted to explore the pull she’d experienced when they’d first met but on the other, she knew damn well that doing so could prove detrimental, not only to her heart but to her reputation. Now, as she rode, she could feel his gaze searing her until heat shot through her veins.
Excitement thrummed in every fiber of her being – a madness destined to make her act without thinking. Beneath the tight fit of her jacket and the soft linen shirt she’d elected to wear the cool press of quartz tingled against her skin. During the past week she’d pondered the path it had laid out before her. The picnic she’d suggested would happen tomorrow, which would hopefully help her meet a more suitable prospect than her brother’s employee.
Honestly, the stone couldn’t possibly want her to end up with him. Right?
It had to be a test of some sort. Or a cruel cosmic joke if he was indeed the man she was destined to marry. For she could see no way of that happening with her family’s blessing.
Unhappy with this awareness, she tried not to think of the dreams invading her mind every night. They consisted of moonlit walks, the gentle touch of his hand, a warm embrace, and the most remarkable kisses, so real Lilli felt as though they’d actually happened. Which had only increased her desire to seek out Mr. Henley and prove to herself she was making more of their brief encounter than what was reasonable.
But then he’d arrived at the stables, handsomely attired in dove grey breeches, black boots, and a perfectly tailored navy blue jacket. A few stray locks had caressed his brow with a carefree abandon that instantly sent her pulse racing. And just like that, she’d realized the pull she’d initially felt toward him had not been imagined. Nor had it lessened. If anything, it had transformed into a ravenous hunger she’d no clue how to appease.
So she’d averted her gaze for the sake of self–preservation and had left both him and her brother behind as soon as she got the chance. But she couldn’t ignore Mr. Henley forever. Eventually she’d have to face him, or risk the uncomfortable questioning she knew she’d receive from her brother.
With this in mind, she drew Nora to a sharp halt when she reached the ruin of an old mill. The structure had been abandoned before she was born, when a damn built on a larger river several miles north had affected the water supply. Now, with the roof long gone and the mill wheel rotted away, the remaining structure was largely overgrown by vines.
Lilli swung from her saddle and collected a carrot from the bag of supplies she always carried during her rides. She snapped it in half and was feeding it to Nora when Henry and Mr. Henley arrived. Her stomach tightened and her skin grew hot on account of his presence.
“Not fair,” Henry chided with humor, his voice a little throaty from exertion. “You know I can outride you if I’m given fair warning.”
“Really?” Lilli focused her full attention on Henry in an attempt to ignore the havoc Mr. Henley played on her nerves. It was of little use. Her stomach was still in knots while her heart bounced about like an unhinged rabbit. Even so, she lifted her chin and casually asked, “Where is the evidence?”
Henry shook his head with a grin. “One day you and I will have to engage in a fair race with witnesses present.”
“I’ll still beat you,” she answered with a smile wrought from pleasure. She did enjoy sparring with him.
“We’ll see,” Henry said with the confidence of a man who knew he was right.
Lilli did too. If her brother put in the effort and they began at the same time, she was fairly certain he’d outrun her with ease if for no other reason than having a horse superior to her own. Not that she would give Nora up for anything in the world.
“I’m not so certain,” said Mr. Henley, the thoughtful gentility of his voice sliding down Lilli’s spine with a silky smoothness that scattered tiny shivers across her shoulders. “Your sister’s horsemanship is impressive, her seat so confident she looked at one with her beast. Forgive me for saying this, my lord, but if you were to compete against her with the same horse, I have an inkling she might win.”
“First of all,” Henry said, his attention on Mr. Henley, “we’ve recently established that you and I are friends. As such, I must insist you call me Henry. And second, aren’t you supposed to be on my side?”
A smile pulled at Mr. Henley’s lips, easing his features and turning him even more handsome than he’d been before. Lilli’s pulse quickened even as she tried to deny the warmth she found in his twinkling eyes, to explain away her reaction with some sort of logical reasoning. Like the fact he’d helped her when they’d initially met even though he’d been the cause of her mishap in the first place, or how she’d been looking for a match because of the stone and had thus created the attraction in her own mind.
“That depends on whether or not you value honesty,” Mr. Henley said in response to Henry’s question.
“Which you know full well is a quality I insist upon.” Henry huffed an exaggerated breath. Eyes dancing with humor he glanced at Lilli. “Perhaps it would be best if we refrained from racing. For the sake of preserving my pride.”
He tossed Mr. Henley a blanket he’d snatched from behind his saddle. “Spread that out over there, would you? I’ll bring some wine and a snack for us to enjoy while we relax.”
Having come to terms with the fact that there was no avoiding Lady Lilliana today, Tristan permitted himself to indulge in the chance he’d been given to share her company. As unwise as this might be, he dreaded the notion of Henry discovering the interest he harbored for his sister. So he had to act naturally, which meant engaging in conversation as if all were as it should be, as if he weren’t dying to haul Lady Lilliana into his lap and explore every inch of exposed skin with kisses. Consequences be damned.
A sigh raked his lungs while he idly lounged on one side of the blanket and listened to Henry’s story regarding a hay cart his sister once stole. It was unheard of for a valet to be permitted such freedom. But since Henry had declared Tristan his friend, the barrier one would expect to find between a master and servant had, to some degree, been set aside.
“I borrowed it,” she declared with an indignation that made Tristan’s fingers burn with a fierce desire to touch her. He took a bite of the still–warm bread–roll Henry had given him. “There is a difference, you know.”
“True. And I’m sure Mr. Oats would have agreed had you returned the cart in one piece,” Henry remarked. “But it looked more like a pile of kindling than a cart by the time you were through with it.”
