Chapter Eight #2
Elizabeth took a deep breath as she stared into the stall.
The horse was indeed beautiful, but she was stunned by her husband's gushing words.
He had not been out whoring, and she should have known better!
Jane would not have allowed Finn on such an expedition, regardless of Darcy's rank.
No, he had gone out and found her a horse because he wanted her to ride.
She did not have the heart to tell him that she had been thrown and severely injured as a child and had not been on a horse since.
Instead, she gazed at the animal, who appeared gentle and sweet, and became determined to attempt to overcome her fear.
“I am an ass,” she muttered.
“No! It was my fault. I got angry and let my temper get the best of me. You thought you had reason to doubt me.”
“No, I had been seeking a reason to doubt ye. Ye have not so much as glanced at another woman since I have been here, and I picked a fight with ye. I am naught but a child and I would not blame ye for treating me as such.”
He slid his arms around her waist, lifting her so they were eye to eye.
“You are my princess, my wife, and my lover. I shall not treat you as less than an equal.”
Her returning smile was sheepish. “Do we have to declare a formal truce this time, or should ye just kiss me and make it all better?”
“Are you actually asking for a kiss?”
“I believe I am.”
“It is a most pleasant way to seal a pact,” he whispered, bringing his lips close to hers. Their mouths met and most all was forgiven.
When their lips parted, Elizabeth looked at her gift and grinned, stating she appreciated the mare’s smaller size and form and agreed that she was indeed a fine piece of horseflesh. She even liked the animal's cinnamon colouring.
“Where is thy horse?” she asked.
“My favourite is Caddock, and he is over there.” He pointed down and over to a stall where a great grey gelding was housed.
“Caddock? Does that not mean 'eager for war'?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I hope he is not too eager and rides the opposite direction in battle.”
“You are very concerned about boots and becoming a widow. We are going to need to work on this.”
She huffed and stared back at her horse. “Mine needs an equally powerful name as well.” She paused, turning in a semi-circle, her eyes closed as she deliberated. “Thora!”
“That is a good name.”
“Then it is settled. Thora and Caddock.”
“Thora and Caddock.” He nodded his agreement, took her hand, and they went back to bed.
After her husband's kisses led to other more pleasurable activities, Elizabeth had fallen asleep.
When she next woke, she was alone in the bed.
What time was it? She grumbled to herself about sleeping and thus waking on the west side of the house and stared up at the ceiling.
A slight commotion drew her attention to Darcy's outer chamber where his wardrobe and bath were located, and she propped herself up on her elbows as he re-entered the room, dressed and readied for the day.
She frowned because he had allowed his valet to assist him and cleared her throat when he paid her no mind while he attached his knife to his boot. It was mostly ceremonial, but he was always armed. The sword came out for more formal occasions, but the dagger was for every day.
“Good morning,” he said, his voice gruff and irritated.
“Whatever is the matter? Ye were fine an hour ago.”
“I was just informed that a land skirmish is taking place a little farther north. Apparently, they need a royal arbiter to settle it. It is part of an ongoing feud between two families and, frankly, I am tired of dealing with it. I have half a mind to claim their territories for the Crown and toss them off their lands.”
“I should like to go.”
“My sweet, it is no place for a woman.”
“I am a princess now, or so ye keep saying. A princess tends to her people and her people live on her lands, do they not? I want to go. I want to learn what ye do and how ye do it.”
“We cannot take a caravan of carriages.”
“I take less time preparing myself in the morning than ye do, my lord. I think I might be able to travel lightly.”
“I am speaking of horseback, Elizabeth. Living out of a pack.”
“It sounds as though ye are trying to convince me not to go.”
“It is cold outside. I fear you becoming ill.”
“I am not a fragile, sickly thing, my lord.”
“You want to travel with me that badly?”
“I do, but on one condition.”
“What would that be?”
“I shall wear breeches.”
Darcy crossed his arms over his chest. “Wherever would we find breeches to fit you on such short notice?”
“The stable boy is no bigger than I am.”
“I doubt that child has trousers to spare.”
“There must be breeches somewhere about the place.” She stood and began to pace. Suddenly, she became aware she was nude and quickly pulled a blanket around her body.
Her husband laughed.
“What?”
“You are brazen enough to want to ride north wearing breeches yet you will not go about nude in your own bedchamber with the man who spent most of the last few hours inside your body.”
She raised an eyebrow, sensing his challenge. He would not ruffle her feathers, though. “Do ye not have aught better to do? Should ye not be planning our departure and finding me breeches?”
“You will have the whole of Pemberley knowing that I allow my wife to run about in breeches?”
“One of us must be the man here, my lord, and if it falls to me then so be it.” Playfully, she winked at him and giggled when he scooped her into his arms and pressed a thousand kisses to her mouth. She squealed. “Go find my breeches!”
“Yes, my lady. I am your servant.”
Her eyes followed his form as he quit the room.
She was excited about their trip, so she rang for Heather to ready a quick bath.
By the time she was finished, and her long hair was tucked into a firm, neat plait, Elizabeth had worked herself into a state of intense excitement and agitation.
She returned to their bedchamber and found buttery kidskin breeches and a fine linen lawn shirt folded neatly on the bureau. A note accompanied them.
My liege:
I hope these are suitable. I have rolled the only other known set into your pack. We shall depart as soon as you are prepared to leave.
Darcy, Squire
Elizabeth laughed at the note and dressed as hastily as she could, having dismissed Heather already. She fumbled with the fastenings on the breeches and was disappointed to find her boots were hardly made for riding.
She went below stairs, her costume causing her to have a sense of appearing slightly ridiculous.
Why had she insisted on the breeches to begin with?
Mrs. Reynolds was by the door with her fur-lined cape and yet another gift from Darcy: black riding boots that travelled up her leg almost to her knee.
Quickly, she exchanged her footwear and quit the house, amid Mrs. Reynolds' protests.
Darcy was already in the courtyard with Finn and Jane and a few members of his guard. Jane was in conversation with her husband, and she wore a frown. When she saw Elizabeth, her frown became heavier.
“Pray tell me you are not going to do this.”
“I must. I shall be fine, Jane. Ye have taught me well.”
“Apparently not well enough to avoid trouble in the first place.”
“Lord Darcy will be there. He would let naught happen to me.”
Jane shook her head, and Finn drew her into his arms to comfort her.
Darcy pulled Thora over and assisted Elizabeth into the saddle.
It took her a few moments to become accustomed to the feel of sitting on a horse and how high up she was.
She swallowed her fear to the best of her ability, and, to Thora's credit, the horse did not act on Elizabeth's unease.
Darcy squeezed her knee to reassure her and hoisted himself onto Caddock.
Elizabeth waved to Jane and Finn, who as Darcy's second, was in charge while he was gone. She swallowed her fear, pulled Thora's reins, and followed her husband and his men.
With Darcy and the four other men surrounding her, Elizabeth entertained herself by watching the countryside pass to remain distracted from the fact that she was on a horse.
Thora's gait was as smooth as it could be, but almost three hours into the ride, Elizabeth was sore and cursing herself for her determined behaviour earlier.
Darcy, though, was ahead of her and rode with strength and confidence, and she envied him more than a little.
After a while, he fell back, allowing one of the men take the point position so he could ride alongside her. She tried to smile when Thora decided to trot a bit faster, but she bit her tongue.
“Ow!”
“Halt!” he called out, pulling Caddock alongside Elizabeth's mount. “What happened?”
“I bith my towng,” Elizabeth replied carefully, flinching again when her injured tongue tapped a tooth.
“Do you need a break?”
Grateful, she nodded and let him help her down once he dismounted. Legs stiff and unsteady, she nearly tumbled, but Darcy caught her. He lifted her up, carried her to a boulder, and sat her down, then rubbed her thighs and calves.
“Thy men are going to think me a weakling.”
“My men think you are the most insane, brave woman they have ever met. There have been no other women who have had the audacity to ride out with us.”
“The insane part I agree with. What woman in her right mind gets on an animal she is petrified of and rides for hours to make a point?”
“You are frightened of Thora?”
“Well, yes, but it is better now than when ye first pushed me up on her. I was thrown when I was younger and have not ridden since. I was hurt badly. Papa told me I was close to death at one point.”
* * *
He pushed a stray lock of hair from her face. How could he have been so stupid as to not ask why she was not a horsewoman?
“Do not look like that. It was time for me to put aside childish fears and learn to ride properly. I am married to a horseman, am I not? It would be silly of me to allow my fears to better me, do ye not think?”
“Still, I should have known that.”