Page 3 of The Duke’s Second Bride (Regency Second Chances #4)
Ava fought back a shudder. “Thank you, my lord. As I said, your generosity is much appreciated.” She forced sweetness into her expression and her voice as she continued, “I could not have asked for a better brother.”
Brandon’s face soured further. “Quite,” he said tightly.
“You know, Ava,” Edith said, cutting in before Brandon could say anything further, “you promised my mother you would speak to her this afternoon about her gardening, didn’t you?
I see her just over there. We really ought to catch her before she tires of the festivities and heads home. A pleasure to see you, my lord.”
With a quick curtsy to Brandon, she all but dragged Ava off in the opposite direction.
Once they were out of earshot, Edith leaned back in. “I really don’t know why you put up with him,” she whispered. “It is positively vile, some of the things he says to you. And so brazenly! In public, and in broad daylight, no less!”
“If you don’t know why I put up with him, you must have missed the news for the past year or so,” Ava said dryly. “Did I neglect to tell you of my husband’s passing? It happened right around the same time as yours, as I recall.”
Edith waved a hand. “Yes, you recall correctly, which means I am in the same position as you, which makes me uniquely qualified to express confusion at your decision to let that man speak to you that way.”
“Edith, dear,” Ava said. “I am afraid we are far from being in the same position. It is true, as you said to Lady Southington, that I am not paying rent on my apartment. However, William did not leave me those estates. Everything went to Brandon, and it is only by continuing to remain in his good favor that I have anywhere to live at all.”
“Oh, dear.”
“Oh dear indeed.”
“Well. There must be something to be done,” Edith insisted. “This can’t be allowed to go on forever. If he is this brazen now, imagine how much worse it will get if he is not stopped?”
“If you come up with any ideas as to how such a thing might be enacted, I will gladly listen,” Ava said.
“You could marry,” Edith pointed out. When Ava only shook her head and smiled, she persisted. “Well? Why not? You are still young, still beautiful, good with figures, knowledgeable on the running of a household?—”
“I am nearly thirty, and a widow to a husband who made no secret of his wife’s hopeless infertility or his penchant for mistresses,” Ava said. “I think you severely overestimate my prospects on the marriage mart. Or the remarriage mart, as it were.”
It came out more sharply than she’d intended. Seeing the look of pity that settled over her friend’s face only made her feel worse.
She cleared her throat and shook her head, softening her voice. “Do not worry so, Edith. I can manage Brandon. Soon enough, he’ll find a wife of his own, and then he will forget he ever set eyes on me. I promise.”
Edith nodded, though she looked doubtful. “If you say so,” she said.
Just then, a group of dowagers approached. “Edith, dear,” one of them called from a distance. “Would you like to join us for refreshments? The heat is getting to be quite trying!”
“Oh, yes, Lady Edgars!” Edith called over. She turned to Ava. “What do you say, Ava, dear?” she asked. “Lemonade?”
Ava shook her head with a smile. “I think I could do with a moment alone,” she said truthfully. “But you go enjoy the lemonade. I shall see you soon.”
Edith nodded and went to join the other women in the refreshment line. Edith was always making friends, wherever she went. Ava could not help but admire her friend’s easy facility for social environments.
Walking away from the balloon, Ava felt herself relax as she drew farther and farther away from the chatter and hustle and bustle of the crowd, the peaceful quiet settling over her heavier and heavier as she reached an unoccupied part of the field.
Away from the main part of the fair, all that disturbed the grass this far out was some supply tents and some horses. Ava felt her heart alight at the sight of the large, gentle beasts.
Drawing nearer, she soon realized she wasn’t quite as alone as she had previously thought.
Standing beside one of the largest cart horses was a young boy, no more than ten or eleven. The horse seemed calm and docile as the boy stepped closer with his hand outstretched.
Suddenly, a loud noise crackled from the direction of the fair. Ava nearly jumped and whirled, pressing a hand against her heart where it raced in her chest.
Just firecrackers, she realized, nothing to truly be frightened of. Perhaps more worrisome still was a loud neighing from the direction of the horse.
Turning back, she saw the horse had reared up, even more startled by the loud noise than she had been.
The young boy was fixed in place, too frozen in fear to move.
“Careful!” Ava shouted.
She moved on instinct, quickly, without thinking, grabbing the young boy’s arm and pulling him away from the horse.
It was just in time. Not a moment later, the horse’s hooves came down hard upon the ground, striking exactly the place where the young boy had been standing just seconds before.
Ava lowered her voice, pressing the boy to step behind her as she gingerly approached the horse.
“Whoa, whoa.” The horse continued to tug at its rope, but seemed to calm at the sound of her voice. “There, there. You’re all right,” she murmured, hand outstretched. “You’re all right.”
By the time her hand was close enough to touch the horse, the creature had fully calmed, no longer yanking at its ties.
“There you are,” she said, gently petting the long, soft nose. “You were just frightened. So was I.” She turned just barely over her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
The boy, clinging to her skirts silently, nodded with wide eyes.
“You were very brave,” she said.
The boy smiled.
“And see? Nothing to be afraid of,” Ava continued. “He is a very gentle horse. Would you like to?—”
Another crack echoed from the field.
The horse once again reared up, kicking those strong, dangerous hooves into the air above Ava’s head?—