Page 19 of A Duke to Undo her (The Husband Hunt #1)

Chapter Fourteen

“Oh, how lovely!” declared Lady Josephine, jumping up from her seat in the drawing room after dinner that night and rushing over to impulsively kiss Dowager Duchess Nerissa on the cheek.

The Duke of Ashbourne watched her over the top of his book, unable to recall a single thing he had read in the last half hour while his attention had been on Lady Josephine.

She wore a green silk evening gown tonight, with a high, tight sash that made her sweetly curving bosom an enticement she could not help displaying to him.

She had seemed rather quiet and pensive all evening, not even glancing in his direction, with more shyness in her attitude now than her usual defiance.

Even Benedict had commented on Lady Josephine’s uncharacteristically quiet mood after their treasure hunt that afternoon.

She had actually gone upstairs to rest before dinner and Cassius worried for her.

He hoped he was not entirely to blame for Lady Josephine’s disequilibrium.

Their encounter in the study had been something very new for her as well as completely forbidden, and she was such an odd mix of innocence, confidence and passion that he had no idea of its after effects.

Going to her room to reassure her would have been far too risky for both of them, however.

Thankfully, Lady Josephine’s spirits now appeared to have been revived by the dowager duchess’s announcement that she had sent express invitations for Lady Madeline Bennet and Lady Rose Williams to join the party, and that Lady Madeline had already accepted.

This was what had precipitated her present dash across the room.

“Josephine,” whispered Lady Elmridge loudly, blushing a little at her sister’s unrestrained display of emotion as she noticed the bemused or disapproving expressions on the faces of other guests.

Even Lady Penelope, tonight quietly strumming a harp on the far side of the room, looked across with a glance of perplexity, although she did not pause in her playing. The auburn-haired young woman appeared not to hear or see any of these reactions.

“How kind of you to invite both Lady Madeline and Lady Rose, Your Grace,” Lady Josephine continued, and then paused, finally seeming to notice the mood of her wider audience. “They are both quiet and well-mannered girls, likely far better house guests than me…”

“Come and sit down, Josephine,” coaxed Vera, shooting the dowager duchess an apologetic glance. “Let Duchess Nerissa finish reading her correspondence and listen to Lady Penelope’s playing. You are interrupting.”

“Not at all, my dear,” said Duchess Nerissa, patting Lady Josephine’s arm and smiling back at her.

“You forget that I have had only sons and no daughters. The affection of young ladies is therefore rarer and more appreciated by me, especially when it is so unstudied. Do sit down beside me, my dear.”

Cassius smiled approval to his mother. Even if kind and sensible Nerissa Emerton did not wish Lady Josephine to marry Benedict, she would treat her with fairness and compassion.

Unstudied? Yes, that was a good word to describe Lady Josephine.

All that she did seemed natural and lacking in ill-intent, although that did not necessarily make her behavior any more proper.

He could hardly hold himself up as a model of conventional propriety after what he had done in the study that afternoon, although he felt neither shame nor regret.

At least that had not been in public, and he had kept within the bounds of his own principles.

Nor was he a young lady, who needed to keep certain rules for her own good.

The duke still partly believed that Lady Josephine’s family should have brought her up more strictly, in order to avert the risks and reactions drawn by her eccentricities and improprieties.

This belief was, however, increasingly tempered by both lust and tenderness, as well as his growing understanding of her essential nature.

It wasn’t so much that she defiantly rejected social norms as that she couldn’t see them.

As their acquaintance deepened, Cassius wanted ever more to defend Lady Josephine rather than correct her.

His smile deepened now to see Josephine talking animatedly with the dowager duchess.

After a minute or two of watching, he made himself look firmly away.

It would be unfortunate indeed if anyone else perceived his interest, piqued even further by the young woman’s sensual responsiveness that afternoon.

The duke knew he had only had himself to blame if Lady Josephine was now harder to ignore than ever.

“Who is joining the steeplechase tomorrow morning?” Benedict asked the room after Lady Penelope had finished her set and taken her bow to polite applause.

“It’s a fantastic course across the estate and between four church steeples.

I need to let Jeavons, the head groom, know tonight so that we have the right horses saddled in good time. ”

“There will be a ladies’ ride too, of course,” Duchess Nerissa added. “Jeavons and I will lead that around the larger of the lakes. Then we will all meet for a picnic lunch with plenty of champagne.”

Nods and murmurs of approval and anticipation travelled around the room with almost everyone keen to partake in the next day’s horseback activities. Benedict began to do a quick headcount and to make notes on a slip of paper with a pencil.

“I do love riding steeplechase,” Lady Josephine declared, her emerald eyes shining brightly once again, as her voice rose above the general hum of conversation. “I can’t wait!”

“It’s a very challenging course, with fences, ditches, streams and rough ground,” Benedict laughed at this unexpected announcement. “Even I take a fall sometimes. I recommend that you join the other ladies, Lady Josephine.”

“But I always ride steeplechases,” Lady Josephine objected, looking to Vera for support. “I’ve ridden them since I was a child. My sisters’ husbands always take me out with them, don’t they Vera?”

“Josephine is a very strong rider,” Lady Elmbridge had to admit.

“She has always ridden steeplechases on our family estates without coming to any harm. However, we are not at home now, Josephine, dear. I am sure that Mr. Emerton knows the course around Ashbourne Castle very well and we should be guided by his recommendation.”

At this, Benedict looked thoughtful, weighing up both sides of the situation and perhaps ready to change his advice.

“It is too dangerous a course for a lady,” the Duke of Ashbourne interjected, before his brother could speak again, spurred on by an unwelcome mental image of this spirited young woman lying dead on the ground with a broken neck. “You would be a fool to let Lady Josephine ride it, Benedict.”

He knew immediately that he had said exactly the wrong thing if he wanted to get Benedict on his side.

“If Lady Elmridge agrees, I shall have a horse saddled for Lady Josephine to join us on the steeplechase,” Benedict said instantly, chafing at his older brother’s high-handed words.

Irritated beyond reason at the alliance between Benedict and Lady Josephine against him, and knowing that anything he could say at this point would only make matters worse, Cassius rose and left the room.

The following morning, the riding party gathered in the stable yards where the grooms marched to and fro from the stalls with horses and mounting blocks, matching each rider to their assigned steed.

The steeplechase group were loud and merry, several gentlemen trading bets on which horse and rider would make the first steeple, the last steeple, or take a fall along the way.

Among them, Lady Josephine sat pink-cheeked and excited atop one of Benedict’s glossy black geldings, a fine animal which she handled with all the skill her older sister had referenced last night.

Her black riding habit was so form-fitting that the Duke of Ashbourne had to swiftly tear his eyes from the beautifully curving lines of her body, lest he become extremely uncomfortable in his own saddle.

He nudged his own horse across the yard to speak with Benedict.

“I’m going to join Mother’s group,” the duke told his brother. “There are several nervous riders and I think Jeavons would be easier for another gentleman in the party.

“Please yourself, Cassius,” shrugged Benedict.

“He doesn’t like the sight of a lady in the steeplechase party, I believe,” said Lady Josephine, who must have followed him across the yard and was regarding him with a rather teasing look in her emerald eyes. “Your brother the duke disapproves and thinks I should ride with the other ladies.”

The Duke of Ashbourne felt a strong wave of annoyance at this unfair accusation.

Could Lady Josephine really believe that?

Did she really not understand, even now, either that her very presence tormented him or that he genuinely feared for her life?

Part of him wanted to give her a good spanking – another thought that did nothing for his comfort on horseback.

“Make sure you take care of her,” the duke ordered his brother gruffly and trotted over towards their mother, without waiting for the likely negative and undoubtedly juvenile reactions from either of the pair.

“St. Joseph’s first and then follow me to the first jump!” cried Benedict a few minutes later and the steeplechasers were off across the fields.

The lake ride group walked in a leisurely fashion towards the start of the easy bridle path they would take, the Duke of Ashbourne and his mother at the front, and Jeavons bringing up the rear.

Cassius’ eyes remained fixed on the steeplechase riders, especially the two black horses presently out in front, vying neck and neck for first place, with their riders bent low over the reins.

“Lady Josephine is certainly a strong rider,” Nerissa observed, following her son’s gaze. “Absolutely fearless, it seems.”

“They’re both damned fools, she and Benedict both,” cursed the duke. “I told him to look after her and he only incites her into more dangerous behavior. Look at that!”

His mother reached out and touched his shoulder, ignoring his language.

“They’re young, and foolhardy as the young generally are, except you. That is all, Cassius. I am sure Benedict and Lady Josephine will be fine and will have many stories to tell of their ride at luncheon.”

“I hope so,” Cassius muttered and turned his eyes towards the lake path.

“Ha - what a ride!” Benedict pronounced as he galloped onto the shore where the picnic was being assembled and slid down from his horse. “Lady Josephine took the first steeple, I bagged the last and Lord Carbury fell off into a muddy ditch. There he is, look at the state of him!”

Lord Carbury was indeed a state, but seemed to be taking his fall in good humor. At another guest’s suggestion, he went to the lake edge to wash off the worst of the mud.

“I’m glad you all enjoyed yourselves, Benedict,” said the dowager duchess smiling.

“There’s champagne already out in the buckets and the picnic should be ready within the hour.

Do make sure your party are well refreshed after their exertions.

Lady Josephine will be pleased to hear that Lady Madeline has already arrived at the house. ”

“Where is Lady Josephine?” demanded Cassius, who had been looking around the group, checking faces and counting heads while vaguely listening to his mother and brother.

“Oh, I thought she was already back. Isn’t she here?

She lost interest after the last steeple and I think her horse was tiring.

Apollo does run out of steam quicker than some although he is always a beast at the start of a race.

I told her there was a short cut across to the lake through the woods, if she wanted to take it. ”

Benedict’s blitheness in making these statements enraged his brother although he tried to control his temper.

“A short cut across the huge forest she doesn’t know and has no map for? On an unfamiliar animal that struggles with distance? For Christ’s sake!”

“Lady Josephine was absolutely fine,” Benedict protested. “You’re likely making a fuss over nothing.”

“She might have got lost,” noted the dowager duchess with a sigh. “Someone should go back and look for her.”

The Duke of Ashbourne had already strode across to his own horse and swung himself back into the saddle.

“I’ll do it. My horse will still be fresh after our easy ride. Tell me where you last saw her.”

In ill-temper, he rode away in the direction that that his brother gave. That terrible image of Lady Josephine thrown from her horse intruded itself in Cassius' imagination once more and he ignored Benedict’s shouts behind him that he would look for Lady Josephine too.