Page 46

Chapter

TWENTY-FOUR

“But what made Juno rear?” His aunt Almeria, typically, wanted to know every detail and was interrogating Lottie like a Bow Street Runner. “She’s normally such a calm horse, isn’t she, Guy?”

It was only the four of them in the drawing room now since his mother had shooed all the rest of the guests out as soon as he had helped the still comically limp Lottie in.

She had assumed that the menace had needed peace and quiet while she sipped a cup of tea laced with fortifying brandy in case she required the urgent attention of the physician.

“She is.” Rather than embellish or assist the Valkyrie’s lies, Guy decided it was more fun to watch her scrabble around herself now that the brandy had miraculously fortified her in record time.

He helped himself to one of the jam tarts from the tea tray and took it to the fireplace at the back of the room so that he could watch her squirm from the best angle.

She hadn’t anticipated the Spanish Inquisition and that, in turn, made the situation all the more hilarious.

“Something specific must have spooked her.” His aunt stared at Lottie expectantly, thwarting the menace’s attempt to escape for “the little lie-down” she had claimed to need.

“I think it was the melee,” she said, twiddling her fingers as she stood on the rug in the center of the room, her hair still wet from the pond water he had doused her in and the back of her dress stained with mud and grass.

“The horses were all bunched together and one must have stepped too close.” She shrugged, clearly uncomfortable with this aspect of her genius plan. “Then she ran.”

“And you couldn’t control her?” Aunt Almeria picked up her quizzing glasses to stare through, a sure sign she smelled something was off. “ You —the Infamous Galloping Governess of Hyde Park?”

Infamous Galloping Governess of Hyde Park?

How funny and fitting was that? And how typical that Aunt Almeria would know all Lottie’s dark secrets too, then not care about them.

She’d always had a penchant for the unconventional and this breeches-wearing bundle of energy of a galloping governess was certainly that.

“You found Juno more of a handful than Lord Chadwell’s enormous Thoroughbred stallion?” His aunt was like a dog with a bone.

Lottie blinked. “Well… Er…” Then she did the oddest thing.

She put her hand behind her back and crossed her fingers.

“Normally, I would have managed it, my lady, but I was on a sidesaddle and I’m afraid the Infamous Galloping Governess has never ridden one of those.

” Suddenly, she was animated and not squirming at all.

“For the first two hundred yards it really was touch-and-go that I might get thrown, but I managed to shift position slightly and cling on until Juno calmed down. And that was that, really.” The fingers uncrossed and the hand dropped to her side.

“Then how did you end up on the ground in a faint if you weren’t thrown, gal?” Sometimes, Guy adored his aunt Almeria. “That is how Guy found you, isn’t it?”

He nodded as his aunt’s quizzing glasses turned to him, taking more pleasure out of the Valkyrie’s discomfort than was gentlemanly and not caring one jot.

She had scared him witless with this lie and then had acted like a tragic Greek heroine all the way home after making him her accomplice, so she had this coming.

It was fun to witness. The best fun he’d had in forever.

“Indeed, aunt. She was as limp as week-old lettuce by the time I caught up with her and discovered her spread-eagled on the ground.” Get yourself out of that, Lottie Travers!

She wasn’t the only one who could spin a yarn.

“For a moment, I thought she was dead. But when I crouched down to check for a pulse, she moaned. Thank goodness, as I have no idea—”

“What did she moan?” asked his aunt, interrupting and inadvertently giving him one of the best early birthday gifts ever as Lottie shot him surreptitious daggers over her shoulder, warning him not to gild the gaudy lily further.

Guy paused while he wondered what the headstrong hellion would hate hearing the most. “It was a fretful and frightening moment, as I am sure you can appreciate, so I do not remember what she said verbatim—but it was something along the lines of ‘ Lord Wennington, you are my hero .’” He shoved the jam tart into his mouth whole to stop the laughter from escaping.

“So you were thrown, Miss Travers?” His mother stared at her with concern. “Perhaps I should send for the physician because if you had a concussion rather than a faint, that could be dangerous.”

“I wasn’t thrown.” Lottie’s hand went behind her back again and her fingers crossed.

“But it was a close-run thing and I genuinely feared for my life. Even with my superior skills on horseback, a panicked, bolting horse is a challenge.” Her explanation and earnest expression were doubtless for his wily aunt’s benefit.

“However, after I managed to pull Juno up and climbed off her, it all rather caught up with me. I felt dizzy and sat down and then… I must have passed out. Probably because I didn’t eat breakfast.”

“Hmm.” Aunt Almeria wasn’t convinced. “You’ve never struck me as the feeble sort, either with or without a full belly.”

“Usually I am not.” Lottie’s fingers were now crossed so tight, the tips of them were pink as she did her best to wriggle out of exposure.

“But today really was quite the ordeal. Even for m-me.” She managed to inject a distraught hitch to that last word and Guy almost spat out a mouthful of crumbs.

“But I am fine now, thank goodness. Just feeling a little… well, fragile, I suppose.”

“Oh, go and have a lie-down then!” Aunt Almeria shooed her away with a complete lack of sympathy and Lottie happily bolted.

That was when his mother and his aunt turned to him with twin do-you-think-we-were-born-yesterday expressions and Guy realized that he was about to be interrogated too.

“I should also go.” He wasn’t stupid either.

“I need to check on Juno. She’s a valuable horse and might need some medical treatment herself. ”

“I smell shenanigans, Guy Harrowby,” said his mother to his retreating back, “and, rest assured, we are not done with this yet!”

He could have gone back to the stables, but did not trust either Miss Maybury or Lady Lynette not to track him down and dominate his afternoon, so instead decided to take Zeus out to visit some of his tenants.

Although he could hardly go dressed like this.

He had donned a formal outfit for this morning’s ride.

Too formal for a casual catch-up with those who worked his land, and thanks to Lottie’s mad dash, his cream breeches and once-shiny Hessians were covered in dust and mud.

He needed to change first and was on the way to his bedchamber when Lottie’s head poked out of her door.

“Thank you very much, Judas!” It was a toothless reprimand because it was accompanied by a begrudging smile. “You were more hindrance than help down there. Spread-eagled indeed! And do not get me started on the ‘Lord Wennington, you are my hero’ nonsense.”

“You thought my improvised additions too much? My apologies for not being as natural a liar as you are.” He shrugged, not bothering to hide his amusement. “Probably because I didn’t realize that simply crossing one’s fingers behind one’s back canceled a lie out.”

“Ah…” She colored slightly. “You saw that, did you?” Then she grinned.

“I am aware that it is a wholly pathetic thing to still be doing at my age, but I am afraid I’ve been doing it for too many years to break the habit.

It was something my older brothers always did to get themselves out of trouble with our parents and it’s stuck.

I am also a dreadful liar if I don’t cross them. ”

“Yes—I noticed how all the um-ing and er-ing stopped the second you crossed them. It was fascinating.” As was she. Every facet of her bold and unconventional character intrigued him.

She leaned her head against the doorframe, seemingly as keen to linger and chat as he was. “Do you think they believed me?”

“Absolutely not. Do you?”

“No.” She sighed. “I am in for more questions once your aunt gets me alone again, aren’t I?”

“Undoubtedly.” Guy rested his back against the opposite wall. “Tell her the truth. My aunt Almeria has always had a warped sense of humor and will find that story hysterical. Just as she doubtless found hiring the Infamous Galloping Governess amusing. But I take it Lord Chadwell didn’t.”

She winced. “No.”

“I went to Cambridge with his son.”

Her expression instantly shuttered. “Are you and he friends?”

The mere thought of the wastrel had Guy pulling a face of disgust. “Absolutely not.”

“Good.” She edged back into her room, her sunny smile back, and gestured to her hair.

“I’d best go fix the soggy bird’s nest on my head before Lady Frinton comes to tear me off a strip.

Can you believe that some ungentlemanly scoundrel thought it funny to almost drown me in half the pond?

I certainly shan’t be saving him from all his annoying admirers at tonight’s bridge tournament.

Instead, I shall amuse myself by taking a seat at the back and leaving him to their mercy while I eat jam tarts. ”

“I shall survive for one night unchaperoned.” He shrugged, matching her playful tone.

“After I beat you tomorrow, Miss Travers, my hordes will all be your problem because you will become my constant bodyguard who has to fend them all off.” While his heart wanted him to linger longer and flirt with impunity, his sensible head told him that this seemed like the most prudent time to back away.

“Enjoy your lie-down and your inevitable dressing-down, Miss Travers.” He pushed himself away from the wall. “And thank you for saving me today.”