Chapter 6
Rupert watched Ellie go with something like regret blooming in his heart.
Why was it that he felt this way? He had known Ellie, or Mademoiselle Delacroix, for only a few hours. And yet, he already felt as if he had known her better than any woman of his acquaintance.
Maybe it was the fact she was a governess, and the rules of propriety did not dictate their interaction in the same way that it did all those ladies of the ton that his mother had introduced him to over the years.
And then of course, the ladies of Europe had been different entirely, although there were still rules of etiquette that he had to follow, and which were even more difficult to parse in another language.
But Ellie was different. She was not a young lady, bred from an early age not to look down demurely when spoken to by a man, or to redirect every conversation toward her accomplishments or desire for marriage.
She was a woman of the world who had made her own way.
She did not even seem to desire very much.
This was particularly surprising to him. In his experience, all young ladies dreamed exclusively of marriage. But Ellie did not seem quite as eager.
What had she said? That she would be even less free once she was married?
That had struck him. Never before had he considered what it was like for a woman to lose her freedom after marriage.
Young ladies usually had so little freedom that it was generally accepted that marriage gave more autonomy, not less.
They were not scrutinized in the same way once married, their movements not so suspect.
But in other ways, of course, they were less free. They became the property of their husband, and he could decide what to do with them.
His own mother had been very lucky in her marriage.
The late Duke of St. James was kind and fair, and he had loved his wife very much.
But Rupert knew not all women were so lucky.
Many wives were ignored or cast aside for mistresses.
Some were treated abominably, and the law left little recourse for them.
He shuddered, still watching with a hand shaded over his eyes as Ellie’s horse retreated from him. She would be at the village soon, which meant he ought to get walking. It would take him longer to reach the village, and then he had to buy a new horse.
As he began to walk, her face flashed before his mind’s eye once more, and her expression as he had told her to keep the horse. Gratitude, surprise, and even awe had flickered across her features, as though she were truly touched by the gesture, and saw him as chivalrous and good. As her savior.
I was her savior.
The thought rumbled through him, igniting a warm feeling in his chest. He liked the feeling of having saved her. Of protecting her. That was why he had given her the horse. He could not bear to think of misfortune befalling her on the road again.
But would he ever find out what happened to her? He had not even thought to ask for the name of her employer. Now he desperately wished that he had, to at least call upon her and see how she was faring.
By the time he reached the town, a good half an hour later, he was filled so deeply with regret that he was determined, despite everything, to go after her.
When he inquired at the stables, he was told that a young woman had, indeed, come through, and that she had fed and watered her horse before carrying along on her way.
“Did you know the young lady?” the stable hand asked.
“A little,” Rupert admitted. “Did she say where she was going?”
The stable hand scrunched up his face. “She did, actually,” he said after a moment. “She mentioned something about wanting the horse to be able to take her as far as Pendleton Manor.”
“Pendleton Manor?” Rupert stared at the boy in surprise. “Are you sure?”
The stable hand nodded. “Yes, sir. I’d remember, because my cousin works in the gardens there.”
Rupert frowned. He, also, knew Pendleton Manor; well, he knew Mr. Nathaniel Carlton, at least, the master of the house.
Although Nathaniel was a few years younger than himself, they had known each other at Eton and then at Cambridge.
Nathaniel had been friendly with Lord Theodore Ashford, the new Viscount Ashford, whom Rupert did not like very much at all.
Their families knew one another, Rupert thought.
Still, he did not dislike Nathaniel.
What bothered him was not that Pendleton Manor was Ellie’s destination, but that the Carlton did not seem like the kind of people who would hire a governess.
For one thing, there were no young children in the house.
Both Nathaniel and his sister Miss Vivienne Carlton were adults, and neither were married.
Perhaps they had taken some younger cousins to ward? It was very possible. Rupert had not kept up with the gossip of the ton over the last year, first with traveling abroad and then his father’s death.
Still, something about it did not feel right to Nathaniel, and it stirred the memory in him of her beautiful, expensive clothes, and the suspicion, when he had first dragged her out of the river, that she was an aristocratic lady.
But she did not act like an aristocratic lady.
I can pretend that I am still concerned for her safety, he told himself, as he directed the stable hand to saddle a horse for him. That I fear she will catch a chill after the river.
But of course, he would be watching out for her, making sure that everything was well at Pendleton Manor.
Underneath this, however, he knew something else lurked. Something that had nothing to do with finding it odd that the Carltons had hired a governess or wanting to make sure another ill did not befall her.
This was about wanting to spend as much time with Ellie as possible.
At last, the stable hand had finished saddling the horse, and Rupert mounted. He directed the horse out of the stables, tossing a coin to the stable hand for all his help, and then broke into a trot, heading north, toward the road that would lead to Pendleton Manor.
She could not have gotten far. She’d only had about twenty minutes of a head start.
Soon, he was out of the village, and he brought the horse up to a canter. The road was smooth and dry, and he was determined to reach her as soon as possible.
At last, he saw a figure come into view, and his heart leapt in his chest. As the horse grew closer, he made out Ellie’s distinct form. Already, in just a few hours of knowing her, it felt as familiar to him as his own.
“Mademoiselle Delacroix!” he cried out, and she turned in the saddle. Her mouth fell open, and her astonishment was evident as he brought his horse up next to hers, grinning. “I thought that was you,” he said.
“Mr. Grenville!” she stammered. Her bright blue eyes were very wide, and there was a pink flush in his cheeks that he liked very much indeed. “W-what are you doing here?”
“I did not want us to part so suddenly,” he said, surprising himself. “And I could not allow you to continue unaccompanied on the road. What if there are highwaymen?”
“Highwaymen?” She raised her eyebrows, and some of the pinkness in her cheeks dissipated. “I do not think I am in danger from bandits.”
“You never know,” he said, grinning, but it faltered slightly at the look in her eyes. He could not say exactly what it was, but he thought he read some of his own feelings in the strange, almost angry look that she gave him.
It was a look that said, What are you doing? You know this is impossible. You are only prolonging the inevitable.
Which, of course, was exactly what he was doing.
There was no hope for a future between himself and Ellie, the governess.
There was no way he could ever court her.
So, what was he doing here, following her down the road, trying to sneak a couple more moments with her?
He was only making it harder for them to inevitably part, and in the meantime, risking her reputation.
“Mr. Grenville…” she began, but before she could, her horse gave a terrified whinny and leapt up onto his back feet.
“Ellie!”
Rupert barely even heard himself shout her name over the terrified scream that was wrenched from her lips as the horse reared up.
He watched in horror as she scrambled to grab the reins, to keep herself from falling backward.
Her eyes were wide with terror, and her hands clutched the reins as she tried to keep herself upright.
At the same time, the horse whinnied again, and he saw the whites of its eyes as they rolled back.
The horse was afraid.
And it did not take him long to see why. Several feet in front of it lay a snake. At the sight of the horse, it had reared up, baring its fangs. The next second, Rupert’s own horse also began to cry out in fear, and it took all of his skills as a horseman to keep him from rearing up.
“Steady!” he shouted, as he shorted the reins and pulled back hard on the bit. “Steady!”
But Ellie did not have equal control of the horse.
She was probably not used to riding a stallion as temperamental as the one Rupert had given her, and he was filled with guilt and regret as he watched the horse rear up again.
She was also riding side saddle, and her seat was not as sure as his own.
She was going to fall, he knew, if he did not help her. But he could barely even keep his own horse in check.
“Try to stay calm!” He shouted to her. “And pull back on the reins. Back him up, away from the snake!”
But it was too late. The horse was too scared, and he had a mind of his own. Without warning, he bolted forward, veering sharply to the right around the snake. Then he took off, galloping faster than Rupert had ever seen him run before, down the road and soon out of sight.
Terror bloomed in Rupert’s chest. The horse was spooked and dangerous. This was exactly when a rider would most be in danger of being thrown. And if the horse threw Ellie when he was moving so quickly, there was no telling what might happen. She could break a bone. Hit her head. Even die.
And he could not let her die.
For the second time that day, her life was in danger, and for the second time, it was up to Rupert to save her.
“Go!” he shouted at his own steed, and kicked his heels hard. Using every skill that he had ever learned as a rider, he navigated the horse around the snake and then barrelled down the road after Ellie. He did not know if he would be able to catch her, but he had to try.
Leaning forward in the saddle, he came up on his toes in the stirrups, moving up and down with the movement of the horse to try and streamline them.
And then he saw them, still galloping as swift as lightning down the road, kicking up a cloud of dust behind them.
But Rupert was a better rider, and he was gaining on them. As he did, he could hear Ellie yelling, hear her terrified scream, and it filled his heart with fear.
“I am coming,” he murmured, as the nose of his horse grew level with the rear of hers.
Then at last, he was level with her. She looked at him, her face a mask of fear, and he tried to give her a reassuring nod. They were moving so quickly, right next to one another, the horse’s bodies and their legs banging into one another.
And there was a turn coming up in the road. He had to get her horse under control before the turn. At the pace they were going, the turn would throw them both from their horses.
Rupert knew what he had to do. It was risky, but he had no choice.
Reaching forward, he grabbed the reins of Ellie’s horse, and pulled hard.
It worked. The horse began to slow. Rupert yanked on them again. And then, finally the horse let out a final whinny, and came to a stop.
Ellie let out a sound somewhere between a sob and a cry, then slid down from the saddle and onto the road. Her legs seemed to give out underneath her, and she sat down hard on the dirt.
Rupert followed her, not even bothering to tie up the horses, and he went to her, taking her hands and helping her back onto her feet.
Ellie looked exhausted and terrified. Her dress and face were covered with dust and dirt, her hair had escaped from its pins, and her dark curls were falling all around her shoulders. Her dress had also been ripped along the sleeve. She looked completely wild.
“What is it with me and finding you in dire straits?” he asked, attempting a smile.
She stared back at him, her eyes wide and stunned. Then at last, a small smile crept across her lips.
“If I did not know better,” she murmured, “I might think that you caused them.”
A deep laugh rumbled in his chest, and he reached out a hand and pushed back several loose strands of hair that had fallen in front of her face.
“You are safe now,” he murmured. “Safe.”
Her lips parted, and her eyes seemed to quiver in their sockets. She was so close, the warmth of her skin under his fingertips, as his hand lingered on her cheek. It would be so easy to lean forward… to touch his lips to hers… to kiss her…
And then something dark moved in the road behind Ellie, and Rupert looked up. He had approximately half a second to understand what it was he was seeing, and even less time to act. The next second he heard a deafening bang. And then he threw himself forward, in front of Ellie.