Page 128 of Snowbound Surrender

“Scarlett!” he called. “Hold on a minute. I have to speak to you.”

He came up short when he stood in front of her. He looked up at her in astonishment before turning his face to the groom, whose cheeks burned from more than the cold as he looked away from the two of them to the floor.

“What do you think you are doing? And what are you wearing?”

“A riding habit,” she said, as though he were daft. “And breeches.”

“You cannot ride around like that!”

“Why not?” she asked, leaning over her horse’s head to peer down at him. “Men ride around in breeches all the time. And when I arrive where I need to be, I simply shake my skirts down over my legs. Hardly anyone sees me ride, and no one knows the difference. Do you know how much faster one can ride astride in comparison to sidesaddle? How less dangerous it is? Why I could never ride alone if I were draped over the side like a sack of potatoes!”

“Youshouldn’tbe riding alone! I… I…”

He was at a loss for words. He brought his hand to his forehead. “Never mind that for now. There is an urgent matter we must discuss.”

“It seems most things are urgent with you, Lord Oxford.”

“Hunter. Yes, well, will you just come down, please? My neck hurts from looking up at you.”

“I am going on a ride. My horse needs exercise, as do I. We can speak later.”

“We really must speak now. I?—”

But his words were lost in the air that flew by him as she urged her horse into a gallop and swept out of the stable, right past him. He stood there for a moment, staring after her in shock, before turning to his groom.

“Best ready my horse,” he said with resignation.

Scarlett laughedas she eased back on Star’s reins, slowing her horse slightly. Oh, but teasing Hunter was much more fun than she had expected. She could tell he had no idea what to do with her, and that was all very well. She also had a suspicion of what he wanted to speak to her about, seeing as he had been in his study for part of the morning already, meeting with the ghastly Stone. The man was a nightmare, and in fact, she did want to speak to Hunter about getting rid of him, amongst other things.

She hadn’t lied about needing the exercise, for her or the horse. Scarlett loved the freedom riding provided her, and she always allowed her hair free of its ties, today flowing from underneath her fur cap. When she opened her eyes once more, she knew she was not alone, and she looked over at Hunter, who had nearly pulled even with her.

“Impressive, Lord Oxford,” she called out. “I had quite the head start.”

“Yes, well, apparently you slowed,” he responded. “Though why, heaven only knows.”

“You simply have to ask me, Lord Oxford,” she said. “In fact, there are some things I should like to speak with you about as well. I thought we would be better off out here, away from everything and everyone, than in close quarters.”

“Very well,” he said, suspicion in his tone, but before responding to him, Scarlett looked around them to see they had made it to a clearing in the trees. The evergreens circled them, with one break in the trees that allowed for a view out onto the rest of the land beyond. The ground was currently snow-covered, the trees in the distance blanketed in the snow that had fallen the night before. The morning was warm, however, and Scarlett only hoped the snow would remain until after Christmas. Somehow, it always felt more like a true Christmas when the earth was covered in white.

After dismounting, she turned to find Hunter standing against his horse, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for her to speak. She took a breath. She didn’t enjoy conflict — normally she simply avoided it — but this needed to be said.

“It’s about your tenants, Lord Oxford,” she said, noting his nostrils flare at her words. “They are not well off, not at all. Many of them are poor and hungry, despite the fact that they seem to be successful in what they are growing and the animals they are raising. You own all this land,” she said, extending her arms in a wide circle around them, “for miles, and yet you do nothing for it. You leave others to do the work for you, while you simply collect their pay. It’s not fair, Lord Oxford, especially when you are making them pay exorbitant figures for rent.”

His frown deepened as she spoke, his stance as frigid as the air around them.

“Are you questioning the way I treat my people? Do you really think I would be so harsh with them?”

She stepped toward him, finger pointed into his chest. “Yes, I am questioning you, and of course I think that way! I haveseen it myself. Over the last few months, while you have been busy with your lords in London, I have been here, visiting them, seeing firsthand how they live and the way they are struggling. You know nothing of it! At least, I hope you are simply ignorant, for if this is purposeful, then I am even more horrified than I ever could have imagined.”

She was breathing hard, and she noted he was doing the same, as she could feel the rise and fall of his chest underneath the tip of her finger, which was now pressed into his cloak.

“Do you have any idea, Scarlett, of what I have been doing in London, to try to make lives better for the very people you are accusing me of sending into dire straits? No, you don’t. Have I visited my tenants lately? No. But only because you have been here, keeping me away. Do not accuse me of not caring for them. I have a very capable steward in place who looks after them while I am away. And while we are on the subject, I must speak to you about the fact that you seem to be taking matters into your hands, giving these people money that you have no authority to give!”

“If I could have the money for dresses or furniture for this grand house, then why can I not spend it where I see fit for a much better purpose?”

“Because that is not the way of things!” he burst out, raising his hands into the air. “You’re supposed good deeds will only lead to people feeling like they have been treated unfairly, that you are favoring some of them over others.”

“If that is seriously what you think, Hunter,” she said, not noticing until it rolled off her tongue that she had slipped and used his given name, “then you know nothing at all.”