Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
O ctavia breathed in the fresh air as her horse neared the line of trees at the end of the estate. It had been a few days since the incident in the tree, and neither she nor Simon seemed to know how to behave around one another.
Breakfasts were spent with polite conversations while bickering was kept to an absolute minimum.
Her horse came to a stop when she sucked in a sharp breath and pulled on the reins.
In the distance, just beyond the path that she had chosen, was Simon. His white cotton shirt was drenched in sweat, creating a sheerness to the fabric that displayed the chiseled muscles of his shirt.
His horse stood a few feet behind him, tethered to a tree.
Octavia swallowed hard when he stopped jogging and lifted his arms in the air, stretching his muscles. She couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of attraction that culminated in the pit of her stomach. She wondered what it would have felt like if he hadn’t stopped their kisses in the study as well as the orchard.
A jolt of panic shot through her body when Simon suddenly looked in her direction.
Acting on a whim, she turned her horse in the direction of the forest and started galloping.
Running towards her with his arms flailing in the air, Simon seemed as if he were attempting to stop her, yet Octavia carried on, unswayed by his efforts.
I can’t face him now.
The horse continued to gallop through the trees, whipping branches against her face when she attempted to look back.
It didn’t seem as if Simon was following her. How could he when he had been on foot? She briefly wondered why he had been so adamantly trying to flag her down when the trees suddenly gave way to what seemed to be a cliff in the distance.
Cold dread filled her body when the horse continued to gallop in full panic now and unmoved by Octavia’s efforts to pull on the reins. The charcoal mare that she’d chosen seemed to have a mind of her own when it came to galloping.
With startling clarity, she suddenly realized that Simon’s shouting must have spooked the horse far more than she realized.
I am going to die.
Her life suddenly began to flash before her eyes when the edge of the cliff seemed to draw closer in the blink of an eye.
“Are you out of your mind?” Simon called to her as he suddenly appeared at her side on the back of a white stallion.
Her throat felt dry when she tried to yell that the horse was out of control.
Taking control of the situation, Simon maintained his speed and reached for the reins, missing by inches when the mare gained a burst of speed.
In a last-ditch effort to stop the horse, Octavia yanked the left rein as hard as she could. The horse’s neck turned forcing the mare to finally slow. Octavia’s heart raced with fear as the beast came to a screeching halt in front of the cliff. The horse’s nostrils flared, and the mare snorted with fear.
The sound of rocks falling to the bottom of the ravine made Octavia shudder.
Simon was swearing under his breath when he came to her side. “Are you trying to get killed, or are just hell-bent on making my life as difficult as possible?”
Regaining her breath, she swallowed hard and looked at him. “I don’t see why you are complaining. It’s not as if you needed to save me again. I did get the situation under control, did I not?”
She raised an eyebrow in question and held the reins steady when the mare became restless.
Shutting his eyes, Simon shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I swear you will be the death of me, one of these days; mark my words. What were you doing gawking at me in the first place?” He opened his eyes again and gave her an accusing glare.
“I wasn’t gawking at you; I was simply riding when you decided to cross my path. It’s not my fault that you decided to suddenly appear in a state of undress.” She felt her cheeks filling with heat when he smirked at her.
“So, you were looking then?” He almost seemed pleased at having caught her.
“I think I saw a stream beyond the trees, and my mare is restless.” She held her head high as she steered her horse in the direction she had come.
“How on earth did you even see a stream at the speed you were going?” Simon pulled his horse up beside her with ease.
Her irritation suddenly flared when it seemed as if he would follow her all the way to the stream instead of letting her be.
“By the way, I don’t think you should be ashamed of looking at me. I saw quite a bit of you during your little stunt back there.” Simon’s eyes moved down her body, settling on her exposed thigh.
Gasping in surprise, Octavia quickly fixed her dress, pulling the fabric back over her thigh. She had been so panicked during the whole ordeal that she hadn’t even realized that her dress had come up.
Simon chuckled deeply for the very first time since she had met him. The sound sent a strange shiver of pleasure down her spine.
She suddenly felt as if she wanted to know him more, to understand why he acted the way that he did. There was another part of him lurking beneath the cool exterior that he showed to the rest of the world.
Biting her lower lip, she decided to take a chance. “Your Grace, you haven’t spoken much about your parents. What were they like?” She went off of the only bit of information that Mrs. Farley had given her.
The Duke was exposed to things that he never should have been when he was a child.
She regretted her decision when Simon’s body suddenly stiffened.
“The stream is just up ahead.” Simon cleared his throat and urged his horse forward, leaving Octavia to follow him down a narrow path that led to the sound of rushing water.
Octavia’s eyes were fixed on the muscles of his back as he rode on ahead.
The thicket of trees suddenly gave way to a spectacular view that caught Octavia off guard.
The sounds of rushing water were coming from a spectacular waterfall that gushed from an outcropping of rocks. The water at the base of it was crystal clear, giving them both a clear view of the bottom. The pool continued to flow past the trees, narrowing into a stream that disappeared somewhere in the forest.
It was Simon who dismounted first and led his horse to the edge of the water.
Following suit, Octavia did the same and patted the horse’s strong neck before stealing a glance at the Duke. His face was stiff and serious when he turned his back on the horse and walked to an outcropping of rocks where he took a seat. Following his lead, she looped the reigns over the front of the saddle and allowed her horse to graze near the water.
Wondering if he would open up to her in time, she left the horses beside the stream and chose a position beside the Duke. Silence seemed to fill the serene atmosphere before Simon spoke.
“My parents were never faithful to each other.” His voice was almost as cool and distant as the day she had met him.
“Oh. I was not aware. I’m sorry.” Octavia frowned, wondering where he was going with the conversation.
“I stumbled upon their dirty little secrets one night when I was a child. My eyes were opened to a world of infidelity and scandal that I never knew existed. After that night, I began paying closer attention to both of my parents and realized that neither of them had ever been faithful.” He continued staring ahead as the horses wandered off to the side and began to nibble on some greenery.
Octavia felt a wave of pity for the man she had married. His view of love had certainly been strange to her, but it suddenly made sense why he never wanted any of the servants to see them bickering. His parents had never been discreet.
“I watched them flirt with other people at balls and take men and women alike to their chambers late at night. I never knew if they had ever loved each other, but the rest of society certainly knew what they were doing behind closed doors.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, mesmerizing Octavia.
Simon certainly was an incredibly handsome man, yet there was so much more to him now that she knew a little of his past.
“Things went on for years until I overheard some of the guests at a ball talking about my parents and how their marriage was a joke. I had assumed up until that point that all marriages were based on affairs. You said I do in the church and found yourself a mistress as soon the day was over.” The bitterness in his voice was almost palpable as he spoke. “It wasn’t until that night that I realized that my parents were the laughingstock of the ton.”
Feeling a great amount of sympathy toward him, Octavia reached out and touched his arm. It made sense to her now why he had suggested she take a lover, and she briefly wondered if he had lain with any woman since their marriage. She wasn’t certain how she would feel if he had been unfaithful, but she was fairly certain that she wouldn’t like the feeling at all.
“Simon, I can’t say that I have much experience with marriage, but I did grow up with a mother and father who loved one another dearly. I can safely say that the way your parents conducted themselves wasn’t how things were supposed to be between a husband and wife. I know a lot of people take lovers, but those marriages are seldom happy from what I have seen. My parents never strayed from each other’s beds as far as I am aware, and they were blissfully happy with each other.”
Simon looked at her out of the corner of his eye and smirked, causing Octavia to wonder what he was thinking. “I have not been with another woman since we’ve been married if that was what you were wondering.”
Her cheeks quickly filled with heat again as she withdrew her hand from his arm and cleared her throat. “I wasn’t wondering that at all; you made it perfectly clear that our business is our own as long as we are both discreet.”
She tore her eyes away from him and watched the ripples of water at the base of the waterfall.
Why did he have to go and say that?
She tried to cover the relief and embarrassment that she felt by pushing herself up and walking to the edge of the water. To her great surprise, Simon followed suit and removed his shirt, wading into the water before diving straight into the depths of the pool.
Octavia held her breath when he resurfaced on the other end of the pool, water dripping from his face.
“What are you waiting for? Aren’t you hot after your ride? You can swim, can you not?”
She looked around herself in confusion for a moment before rubbing the back of her neck.
“Of course I know how to swim. I just don’t think it would be appropriate to swim in my dress.” She looked at the heavy fabric that would surely weigh her down if she entered the pool.
“Then take it off.” Simon’s lips spread into a cheeky smile as he raised his eyebrows at her suggestively.
“I… I most certainly cannot do that!” she began to stutter before refusing most emphatically.
Simon threw back his head and laughed, causing heat to rise to her cheeks once again as she blushed. “There isn’t anyone here to see you. I promise I won’t look until you are in the water.” He turned his back on her and allowed the water to keep him up as he floated in place.
Octavia hesitated at first, wondering if she should risk it and have a little fun. Biting on her lip, she decided to join in the fun and began to remove her dress.
“You promise that you won’t look?” she called over her shoulder and slipped the fabric down her body.
“I swear; now get in the water before I come to fetch you…”
The way he teased her made the pit of her stomach coil with desire as she slipped her chemise up over her head. Tiptoeing to the water, she braced herself and dove into the icy depths, feeling the water bringing her body to life as she resurfaced on the other side of the pond.
Simon smirked at her when she ran her hands through her hair and allowed the water to cascade down her back.
“What?” She suddenly felt self-conscious and covered her chest when he continued to stare at her.
His eyes hungrily moved over her shoulders before moving back up to her eyes. “I’ve never seen you like this before. Swimming becomes you.”
Heat crept up the back of her neck when his smile softened into a genuine compliment that reached his eyes. Wanting to break the tension that suddenly formed between them, Octavia splashed some water on his face.
“Are you sure that you want to do that?” His smile broadened into a cheeky grin that tugged at the pit of her stomach.
Her eyes widened in shock when she realized that she’d given him an open invitation to start a war. Watching him disappear under the water, she suddenly panicked and tried to swim in the opposite direction. Screaming in surprise, she felt her body being lifted from the water, Simon’s hands holding her above his head as he laughed.
“Did you really think that you could get away from me that easily?” His eyes mocked her as he held her in place before lowering her back into the water.
Octavia giggled freely as she splashed and tried to swim away from him thoroughly enjoying herself for the first time since she had gotten married.
Simon gave chase and quickly caught up with her again before pulling her into his arms.
“I think I had better teach you a lesson in proper swimming etiquette.” His eyes suddenly softened when he gripped her waist and pulled her closer.