“Get out of my sight.” Finn jerked his gaze to Lord Wrexley and Lord Edgemont, who were gaping at Lord Claire’s prone body with open-mouthed horror. “All of you.”
Lord Edgemont scrambled down from his horse, yanked Lord Claire to his feet and half-lifted, half-threw him onto his horse, and the three men disappeared in a flurry of pounding hooves.
When they were gone, Finn turned to Iris, his chest still heaving.
She stared at him for long moments, her face frozen, then she deliberately looked away from him. “Chaos is hurt. It’s his right front leg, Captain.”
“Iris.” Finn stepped toward her, his voice pleading. “I—”
“I want to go home.” Iris’s hands were shaking as she reached for Violet’s arm to steady herself.
Charlotte took Iris’s other arm and led her toward the carriage. “Come, Annabel, Lady Honora. We’ll ride back to Hadley House in the carriage, and the gentlemen can follow once they’ve—”
“No.” Iris clutched at Violet and Charlotte as she stumbled on the carriage steps. “Not Hadley House. I want to go home to London.”
* * * *
Finn was standing in front of the cold fireplace in the drawing room, staring at the empty grate, when Derrick found him several hours later.
“You’ll escort them back to London?” Finn asked, without turning around.
Lord Derrick held his hat in his hands, his fingers worrying the brim. “Yes. Lady Honora goes, as well.”
Finn nodded. “There’s an end to the house party, I guess.”
Derrick hesitated, then said, “When will you return to London?”
“Soon. Tomorrow, perhaps. I have a few things to discuss with Captain West first.” Finn braced his hand against the mantel and let his forehead rest on his forearm. “She won’t see me, Derrick.”
“She’s upset, Huntington. Chaos…Captain West isn’t certain he can save him. Even if the bone can be set, there’s the question of infection.” Lord Derrick stepped toward Finn and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Miss Somerset blames herself for it. She’s saying she never should have raced at all. You simply need to give her some time. All may yet still come to rights.”
“Yesterday afternoon, when she told me she intended to race, she begged for my understanding, and I…” Finn straightened and ran a weary hand down his face. “I denied her. I wasn’t there for her when she needed me, Derrick.”
“Youwerethere—when it mattered, you were there. As for the rest, get down on your knees and beg her pardon. The lady is in love with you. I feel certain she’ll forgive you.”
“Perhaps I don’t deserve her forgiveness.”
“There’s nothing unforgivable about being afraid for the woman you love, Huntington, but if you want her forgiveness, the best thing you can do is find a way to deserve it.” Lord Derrick shoved his hat onto his head and turned for the door. “I’ll see you back in London.”
Finn stood still for a long time after Derrick left, thinking about what his friend had said, and about what Iris had tried to tell him yesterday, when he was too overwhelmed with his own fears to hear her.
This is who I am. This is what you love about me.
What he loved about her…
Her eyes. Her laugh. That she knew herself, and understood how rare and precious that was. The way she challenged him. Her passion.
Her courage.
The answer came to him so easily then, almost as if Iris had whispered it in his ear.
He found Captain West in the stables, his hands folded on the edge of Chaos’s stall, his chin resting on his hands and his face grim as he watched the horse move awkwardly inside. “Miss Somerset managed to calm him when we first brought him back to his stall, but he grew agitated again at once. I’m damn grateful Lord Derrick has taken the young ladies away.”
Finn stiffened. “What can be done for him?”
Captain West didn’t answer but reached for the rifle propped against the wall next to him and lifted the latch on Chaos’s stall door.
Finn grabbed the stall door, pushed it closed again, and looked Captain West in the eye. “No, West. What can be done for him?”
