Chapter Seven
Graham and Roxanne’s hunt party came quickly. He’d ridden the bay several times and felt quite comfortable with the beast. Arthur had sent their mounts over to his brother-in-law the day before so they could acclimate to their new surroundings.
The trio of Arthur, Daphne, and himself rode over to the nearby estate in one of the duke’s carriages. Arthur had insisted the horses be fresh and ready to go for the hunt. It was a perfect day for outdoor activities.
He watched as the countryside changed ever so slightly. The ride wasn’t that far and upon turning down the long driveway, Charles noted a couple extra carriages, their occupants having long left and were most likely inside.
As the carriage stopped, Arthur jumped down and offered his hand to his wife. Charles followed. The heavy oak door opened and there was the butler and his sister, Roxanne. Seeing him, she rushed over.
“I’m so glad you came. I think you’re going to enjoy the hunt.”
“It sounds like a lot of fun.”
She turned and looked back. Her brother and sister-in-law were walking behind them. “Lunch is a buffet on the terrace.”
“We should share a table,” Daphne said.
“I already have set one aside,” Roxanne replied.
“We’ll see you outside,” Arthur added.
Charles was aware his brother had already seen some associates amongst the small crowd. Charles continued to the drawing room with his sister. Immediately he could see where his sister had recently had new wall silk hung. A few pieces of furniture had also been reupholstered to match.
“Lunch is a buffet. If you’d like, I can get you a plate, or if you prefer to wait in line, I believe you’ll need to go right to the bottom of the stairs.”
Roxanne led him on to the terrace and walked down the stairs with him. As they descended, Charles noted Lady Cathryn standing in line talking with two other women. Sisters? Aunts?
He nodded to her and her companions. “Lady Cathryn, lovely to see you.”
Glancing at her, he noted the dark-blue riding ensemble she was wearing. It was striking with the black piping.
“Milord. May I introduce my sisters, Lady Agnes and Lady Violet. They are serving as my chaperones since our parents are on the Continent along with my brother.”
“Nice to meet you. Are you riding the hunt?” he inquired.
“I am,” Lady Cathryn replied.
“I look forward to it.”
He turned and saw Roxanne had moved to the bottom of the stairs. She was watching him, a small smile on her lips. He continued until he was at the bottom and said nothing.
“Lady Cathryn is an accomplished rider, so expect her to be in the mix today.”
“I’m surprised her parents would allow it.”
“They’re trying to see her married.”
“I gathered as much last time I met her,” he replied.
He heard her sigh softly. “If you’d rather not wait, I can have one of the footmen bring us each a plate.”
“I don’t mind waiting. The queue is moving much quicker than I thought it would.”
“I need to see to my guests. The table is over there.” She pointed to an area with tables set up.
“Go visit with your guests. I’ll be fine.”
“Thank you. I’ll see you shortly,” she replied.
Charles grunted and moved ahead. Watching his sister walk away, he was suddenly curious about her. She was older so she might remember things he hadn’t, and she had the patience to sit and explain to him.
Finally, he made it to the food. Picking up a plate, he began making his selections. There was quite a bit to choose from. Nothing too fancy but some hearty selections. He chose sliced beef with roasted potatoes, a fruit mixture and cheese selection, and hearty bread.
When he arrived at the table, Arthur and Daphne were already enjoying their lunch and had obviously had their food brought to them. Another man he recognized as his brother-in-law, Graham, was leaning back in his chair with a piece of cheese in one hand.
“You didn’t go through the queue, did you?” Graham asked.
“Yes, I did. Roxanne stayed with me for a while. I saw no point in having someone else choose my meal. The queue moved fairly quickly.”
Graham waved at someone. “Speaking of Roxanne, I see my lovely wife is beckoning me.”
“Yes, go,” Arthur teased him.
Charles continued eating while that was going on. It was one of those situations he didn’t understand how to react or should he react. He picked up a piece of Stilton and bit into the creamy blue-veined cheese and listened to Daphne and Arthur banter among themselves.
“Whenever you’re finished, we can go find our horses and prepare for the hunt,” Arthur said.
“Let me finish this delightful cheese first,” Charles replied.
“That’s the same Stilton we have,” Daphne said. “Roxanne got a couple of wheels a couple of months ago.”
He nodded and finished the pungent cheese before drinking the last of the wine.
He hadn’t seen Lady Cathryn since he saw her standing in the queue with her sisters.
She’d once again caused his body to react in ways he wasn’t sure of.
It wasn’t a bad feeling, just one he couldn’t control his body about.
He turned and saw Arthur and Daphne watching him in a curious fashion.
He pushed his chair back and rose to his full height.
“Shall we go find our horses and get ready?”
The pair of them nodded with smiles on their faces, never saying a word. The trio began to walk across the gardens to a space on the outside where everyone was headed. He kept his stride, trying not to think too much. He had to learn how to deal with situations like this.
Upon seeing Frazier holding the bay, accompanied by two stableboys, they walked up to them.
Out of habit, Charles checked the girth to make sure it was tight and made sure the bridle was in top shape before nodding to Frazier that he was ready to mount.
He didn’t do this to double check his valet’s work because that wasn’t it at all.
Once on Wight, he was going for a ride and one of the grooms had cut the girth and reins just enough so when Charles tried to turn or stop, they would finish breaking and he most likely would have been hurt.
A bad prank with a possible devastating ending.
Since then, he always checked his equipment if he hadn’t done it himself.
Throwing his leg over the saddle, he put his feet in the iron stirrups to check they were the right length. He refused a whip since this was only one of the handful of times he’d ridden the horse and he didn’t like to use one unless the animal was lazy.
Across the way, he noted Lady Cathryn. She was mounted and attempting to talk with one of her sisters. At about the precise time, brandy was served to the riders. Another tradition Graham had told him about earlier.
As the hunt got underway, Charles chose to stay back in the pack of riders.
He’d never been on a hunt, and he wanted to be sure he understood and was comfortable with the crowd.
Making sure his horse was comfortable with the hunt was important too.
He didn’t need the bay going sideways and acting scared of the close proximity of the others.
He’d lost track of Lady Cathryn in the madness of the start. In fact, he’d lost track of everyone. He kept riding, which was the easiest thing to do since he wasn’t familiar. Charles was enjoying the pace even if he’d slowed down.
Cantering his horse around a sharp turn, he noted a small fence to jump.
No one was around so he thought he would give the bay a chance at it.
After clearing the jump, he slowed the bay down when he noticed a horse without a rider.
He immediately rode over to the stray, looking around for its owner.
It was then he saw Lady Cathryn. It was obvious by her appearance that she’d fallen.
Her hair was askew, her hat lost, and her dress caked in mud and dry dirt. Quickly, he dismounted.
“Are you hurt?” he asked as he rushed up to her.
“Only my pride,” she replied.
“What happened?”
“I pulled back because the mare wasn’t liking some of the horses around us. We came upon this jump, and she refused to try to get over it. She stopped suddenly and I went sailing over her and the hedge.”
“You were lucky you didn’t get hurt worse.”
She nodded. “Yes, I know. To add to it, the mare has lost a shoe.” She held up the missing shoe.
He noted she’d ridden in a proper saddle and not a side saddle. He wondered if her sisters knew of her preference. It was a brilliant move on her part. Side saddles could be dangerous and weren’t made for everything.
Lady Cathryn needed to be looked after. He could leave her here and go find help or he could put her on his horse, and he could lead her mount back. It might work, even though the bay was not as docile as her horse.
“This is what we’re going to do,” he said. “You’re going to ride in front of me on my horse. I’ll sit behind you, and we’ll lead yours back. I don’t want to leave you here alone.”
“Are you afraid I might be kidnapped or something?”
He was puzzled by her remark. It was an odd thing to say. “Certainly not. Now, are you going to let me help you up, or are we going to talk?”
Moments later, he assisted her onto the bay.
He gave her the reins of the horse she’d been riding as he swung up behind her.
He hadn’t even gotten comfortable when he felt his body betraying him.
His cock was hard and throbbing as he tried not to think of the reasons why.
He was attracted to Lady Cathryn, but wasn’t aware attraction led to something like this.
It had happened far more than he’d remembered it happening before he came here.
Charles clucked the bay into a walk. He could tell by the animal’s ears the extra weight wasn’t boding well with him at all. They continued in silence, which suited Charles just fine. Women tended to want to engage in small talk, but she said nothing.
Finally, he felt he should at least ask her how she was doing. Make sure the ride wasn’t too much for her bruised body. “You okay?”