A Proper Companion

She swallowed and looked down, struggling to regain some semblance of dignity. “I thank you, Major Grenville.” Her eyes stung, but she forbade tears to fall. “You have shown me nothing but kindness. I do trust you.” She inhaled yet another bracing breath and looked up at him again, this time with a teasing smile. “Shall we begin? After all, what’s the worst that can happen?”

Releasing his grip on her arms, he stepped back and chuckled, then laughed out loud, a most welcome sound. “Your brother told me about your family’s game. But let’s not play it, at least not today.” He took her elbow and led her to the horse’s head. “Miss Newfield, may I present Bella.” He ran a hand down the creature’s nose. “Bella, this is Miss Newfield,” he murmured as he took Anna’s gloved hand and guided it down the creature’s nose. “Unlike poor Miss Peel, she is not the least bit nervous.”

“You should not lie to her.” Anna’s voice wavered, but whether it was from the touch of the major’s hand on hers or his deep, soothing tone, she could not tell.

Again he chuckled, and a shiver, not at all displeasing, swept over her. She mentally shook it off. Why should this man’s presence have such a disconcerting effect on her? Why did his smiles mean so much to her? She must dismiss all these thoughts, including her sympathies for Lady Greystone’s late companion, and remember Peter’s fearless determination to ride so he could become a dragoon.

Setting aside his cane, Major Grenville gripped Anna at the waist and lifted her into the saddle. With every care for propriety’s sake, he settled her left shoe into the stirrup and helped her drape her right knee over the pommel. Pressing her foot into the stirrup, she rose slightly to adjust her seating, and the saddle dipped on that side. Anna dropped back with a gasp.

“It’s all right,” the major said. “The girth is firmly cinched. It won’t slip.” He gave her a reassuring smile such as one might give a child, then nodded to the groom.

The man clicked his tongue and tugged on the bridle. Bella lurched forward. Or so it seemed to Anna. She grabbed for the front edge of the saddle.

“Easy.” The major walked along beside her, cane in one hand and his other hand stretched out toward her, should she need it. “If you must hold on, you can grip her mane. Try to sit straight and balance your spine over hers. Keep your eyes straight ahead.”

Anna followed his instructions and soon was able to sit without holding on for a few seconds at a time. They walked around the circle drive in front of the manor house, and she found herself moving comfortably with Bella’s walking gait. Her confidence grew, probably because of Major Grenville’s presence. Well into the second time around, she ventured a sidelong glance at him.

“Have you taught many people how to ride?”

“A few young dragoons who’d not had the advantage of learning at home.” He grimaced, and she guessed his injured leg was giving him pain. Yet he made no complaint. “You’re doing very well.”

Pleased at his compliment, she relaxed into the saddle. “If that is so, it is your doing.”

“Nonsense.” He used his mother’s favorite word, but without the sharpness the viscountess employed. “Riding is in your blood. Newfield was the best rider of all my officers, some of whom had ridden all their lives.”

“Peter has always been fearless.” Anna refused to speak of her brother as though he were dead, despite the shadow that passed over the major’s handsome face.

“Indeed. Fearless describes him well.”

They fell silent as they continued their walk, and Anna grew more and more comfortable on Bella’s back. She lost count of how many times they circled the great fountain in the center of the drive. She imagined the structure would be quite lovely in the spring and summer, when water flowed from the marble pitchers held by four dainty Grecian maidens in marble gowns. She prayed she would still reside at Greystone Lodge to see it. And although she wished the major a speedy recovery, she hoped he would still be here then, too. Like her father and brother, he made her believe she could do something that frightened her beyond reason. And he was right.

* * *

After spending the morning with Miss Newfield, Edmond experienced a satisfaction unlike any he could recall. She was nothing like the young ladies he had observed in London, the girls who simpered and giggled and posed in their pretty frocks while trying to ensnare some unattached peer or heir. The same young misses had turned their backs when he approached because he was a younger son lacking both title and fortune. He could not imagine any of those giddy girls facing a challenge as admirably as Miss Newfield. Although she had been afraid, she had not only faced her fears but done it with good humor, just as her heroic brother might have done. Her insistence upon giving him the credit for their successful lesson soothed a hidden wound in his soul.

To his relief, he observed that Miss Newfield did not wilt under Mother’s scorching rule, which had been his concern from the moment he invited her to Greystone Lodge. Thus he could not regret bringing her here, for he felt certain she would do only good for the entire household. Still, he must remain on his guard against any display of admiration, especially in the presence of his mother and his bothersome eldest brother. While Mother seemed oblivious to Miss Newfield’s beauty, Greystone took entirely too much delight in teasing Edmond as if they were still boys and his joking could create no lasting damage.

But indeed, it could utterly destroy a kind and innocent soul, should Mother decide the young lady had set her cap for him.

Chapter Eight

Anna had no illusions that her good experience with the first riding lesson indicated she would become a skilled rider, for Major Grenville had kept Bella at a walk the entire time. Horses also trotted and galloped. What would the mare have done if the groom had released the halter? If something had startled her into a run? Anna prayed she would develop both aptitude and proficiency very soon. And a much better attitude would not hurt. So when Lord Greystone met Anna and the major in the front entry and asked her how the lesson went, she put on her best face.

“Major Grenville is a remarkable instructor. I am certain I shall become competent enough on horseback to please Lady Greystone.” She ended in a rush, for this was the first time she had addressed the viscount. Or any peer.

“Ah, yes, I have no doubt my brother is an excellent riding teacher.” Lord Greystone chuckled and nudged the major, who scowled at him. “And if you manage to please my mother, madam, you will have accomplished something no mortal has yet been able to do these past seven and forty years.” He sauntered away, still laughing, but not before he cast a smirk in the major’s direction.

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