When she appeared at the stables, Clarissa in tow, Old Arthur, the head groom, raised a questioning brow at her. Pulling on her gloves, Sophie nodded a greeting. Ill take Amber out today. She hasnt had a run for some time, I believe.
Arthur blinked. Then, with a shrug which stated louder than words that it was not his place to question the vagaries of his betters, he went to fetch the mare. To Sophies surprise, Clarissa, busy mounting her own high-bred chestnut, refrained from questioning her choice. Amber was as close to docile as any horse in the Webb stables. Taking her cue from her cousin, Sophie steadfastly ignored the niggling little voice which harped in her ear. Her choice of mount had nothing to do with Mr. Lester-and even less with that gentlemans too strongly stated opinions.
The tenor of his comments, both before and after dragging her from the Sheiks back, had stunned her. She had not before encountered such arrogantly high-handed behaviour, but she was quite certain what she thought of it. Yet her lingering reaction to the entire episode was equivocal, ambivalent, no help at all in restoring her equanimity.
Setting placid Amber to the task of catching up with the boys and Amy, already well ahead, Sophie frowned.
Until yesterday, she had been inclined to suspect Jack Lester of harbouring some romantic interest in her. Her conscience stirred, and Sophie blushed delicately. Irritated, she forced herself to face the truth: she had started to hope that he did. But his reactions yesterday afternoon had given her pause; whatever it was that had stared at her from the depths of his dark blue eyes-some deeply felt emotion that had disturbed his sophisticated veneer and wreaked havoc on her calm-it was not that gentle thing called love.
Sophie acknowledged the fact with a grimace as, with a wave and a whooping halloo, Clarissa shot past. Twitching the reins, Sophie urged Amber into the rolling gait which, with her, passed for a gallop. Clarissa, meanwhile, drew steadily ahead.
Trapped in her thoughts, Sophie barely noticed. Love, as she understood it, was a gentle emotion, built on kindness, consideration and affection. Soft glances and sweet smiles was her vision of love, and all she had seen, between her uncle and aunt and her mother and father, had bolstered that image. Love was calm, serene, bringing a sense of peace in its wake.
What she had seen in Jack Lesters eyes had certainly not been peaceful.
As the moment lived again in her mind, Sophie shivered. What was it she had stirred in him? And how did he really view her?
HER FIRST QUESTION, had she but known it, was also exercising Jacks mind, and had been ever since he had returned from Webb Park the afternoon before. As soon as his uncharacteristically violent emotions had eased their grip on his sanity, he had been aghast. Where had such intense impulses sprung from?
Now, with the afternoon bright beyond the windows, he restlessly paced the parlour of Rawlings Cottage, inwardly still wrestling with the revelations of the previous day. He was deeply shocked, not least by the all but ungovernable strength of the emotion that had risen up when he had seen Sophies slender figure, fragile against the greys heaving back, disappear in the direction of the woods and possible death.
And he was shaken by what the rational part of his brain informed him such feelings foretold.
He had innocently supposed that courting the woman he had chosen as his wife would be a mild process in which his emotions remained firmly under his control while he endeavoured, through the skill of his address, to engage hers. A stranger, as he now realized, to love, he had imagined that, in the structured society to which they belonged, such matters would follow some neatly prescribed course, after which they could both relax, secure in the knowledge of each others affections.
Obviously, he had misjudged the matter.
A vague memory that his brother-in-law had not surrendered to love without a fight glimmered at the back of his mind. Given Jasons undoubted conversion, and his equally undoubted acumen, Jack had always wondered what had made him hesitate-on the brink, as it were.
Now he knew.
Emotions such as he had felt yesterday were dangerous.
They boded fair to being strong enough to overset his reason and control his life.
Love, he was fast coming to understand, was a force to be reckoned with.
A knock on the front door interrupted his reverie. Glancing out of the window, he saw his undergroom leading a handsome bay around to the stables. The sight piqued Jacks interest.
A scrape on the parlour door heralded his housekeeper. Mr. Horatio Webb to see you, sir.
Intrigued, Jack lifted a brow. Thank you, Mrs. Mitchell. Ill receive him here.
A moment later, Horatio Webb was shown into the room. As his calm gaze swept the comfortable parlour, warm and inviting with its wealth of oak panelling and the numerous sporting prints gracing the walls, a smile of ineffable good humour creased Horatios face. Rawlings Cottage was much as he remembered it-a sprawling conglomeration of buildings that, despite its name, constituted a good-sized hunting lodge with considerable stabling and more than enough accommodation for guests. Approaching his host, waiting by the fireplace, he was pleased to note that Jack Lester was much as he had imagined him to be.
Mr. Webb? Jack held out a hand as the older man drew near.
Mr. Lester. Horatio took the proffered hand in a strong clasp. Im here, sir, to extend my thanks, and that of Mrs. Webb, for the sterling service you rendered in averting misadventure yesterday afternoon.
It was nothing, I assure you, sir. I was there and merely did what any other gentleman, similarly circumstanced, would have done.
Horatios eyes twinkled. Oh, I make no doubt any other gentleman would have tried, Mr. Lester. But, as we both know, few would have succeeded.
Jack felt himself falling under the spell of the peculiarly engaging light in his visitors eye. His lips twitched appreciatively. A glass of Madeira, sir? When Horatio inclined his head, Jack crossed to pour two glasses, then returned, handing one to his guest. Phoenix is, perhaps, one of the few horses that could have caught your Sheik. Im just devlish glad I was on him.
With a wave, he invited Sophies uncle to a chair, waiting until the older man sat before taking a seat facing him.
With the contemplative air of a connoisseur, Horatio sipped the Madeira, savouring the fine wine. Then he brought his grey gaze to bear on Jack. Seriously, Mr. Lester, I do, as you must understand, value your intervention of yesterday. If it werent for the fact well be shortly removing to town, Id insist you honour us for dinner one night. His words came easily, his eyes, calmly perceptive, never leaving Jacks face. However, as such is the case, and we will depart on Friday, Mrs. Webb has charged me to convey to you her earnest entreaty that youll call on us once were established in Mount Street. Number eighteen. Naturally, I add my entreaty to hers. I take it youll be removing to the capital shortly?
With a wave, he invited Sophies uncle to a chair, waiting until the older man sat before taking a seat facing him.
With the contemplative air of a connoisseur, Horatio sipped the Madeira, savouring the fine wine. Then he brought his grey gaze to bear on Jack. Seriously, Mr. Lester, I do, as you must understand, value your intervention of yesterday. If it werent for the fact well be shortly removing to town, Id insist you honour us for dinner one night. His words came easily, his eyes, calmly perceptive, never leaving Jacks face. However, as such is the case, and we will depart on Friday, Mrs. Webb has charged me to convey to you her earnest entreaty that youll call on us once were established in Mount Street. Number eighteen. Naturally, I add my entreaty to hers. I take it youll be removing to the capital shortly?
Jack nodded, discarding the notion of urging Sophies uncle to forbid her his more dangerous steeds. The shock she had so recently received should, with luck, suffice to keep her from the backs of murderous stallions, at least until the end of the week. I intend quitting Melton any day, as it happens. However, as I must break my journey in Berkshire, I dont expect to reach the metropolis much in advance of your party.
Horatio nodded approvingly. Please convey my greetings to your father. We were once, if not close friends, then certainly good acquaintances.
Jacks eyes widened. Youre that Webb! Blinking, he hastily explained, Forgive me-I hadnt realized. With so many Webbs in these parts, I wasnt sure which one had been my fathers crony. I understand you and he shared many interests. He has told me of your devotion to the field.
Ah, yes. Horatio smiled serenely. My one vice, as it were. But I think you share it, too?
Jack returned the smile. I certainly enjoy the sport, but I feel my interest does not reach the obsessive heights of my fathers.
Naturally, Horatio acceded. You younger men have other obsessions to compete with the Quorn, the Cottesmore and the Belvoir. But the Lester stud is still one of the best in the land, is it not?
Under my brother Harrys management, Jack replied. Our kennels still produce some of the strongest runners, too.
While their conversation drifted into a discussion of the latest trends in breeding both hunters and hounds, Jack sized up Sophies uncle. Horatio Webb, while younger than his own father, had been a long-time acquaintance of the Honorable Archibald Lester. More specifically, it had been he who had dropped that quiet word in his fathers ear which had ultimately led to the resurrection of the family fortunes.
Taking advantage of a natural lull in the conversation, Jack said, Incidentally, I must make you all our thanks for your timely advice in the matter of the Indies Corporation.
Horatio waved a dismissive hand. Think nothing of it. What friends are for, after all. Before Jack could respond with a further expression of gratitude, Horatio murmured, Besides, youve cleaned the slate. I assure you I would not have liked to have had to face my brother-in-law, eccentric though he is, with the news that his Sophie had broken her neck on one of my stallions. As far as I can see, the scales between the Webbs and the Lesters are entirely level.
Just for an instant, Jack glimpsed the reality behind Horatio Webbs mask. Understanding, then, that this visit had many purposes, perhaps even more than he had yet divined, Jack could do no more than graciously accept the older mans edict. Im pleased to have been able to be of service, sir.