Vying for the Viscount
Page 32
Bianca dropped Hudson’s hand and stepped toward the man who had watched out for her more than she’d ever realized. It didn’t escape her notice that of all the people reentering the room, her stepmother wasn’t among them. “Father?”
“Don’t pity me, girl. I’m only now realizing that you suffered for that decision far more than I did. At least I got Marianne and Giles.”
“I got them too, Father.”
He lifted his eyebrows and gave a shake of his head. “I saw she ignored you, and I thought if I pressured her not to, you’d get a mother.” He chuckled. “I think I could have done a better job.”
“I think everything is turning out as it should,” Bianca said with a smile.
“Be that as it may,” he said sternly, giving Hudson a hard look, “I’ll be paying more attention from now on.”
Hudson grinned. “I wouldn’t have it any other way, sir.”
“Good.” Father nodded. “Now. Ask her properly to go for a ride with you tomorrow. We all know she’ll be at that stable when the sun rises, but I won’t have you taking her presence for granted.”
Thirty-Seven
Hudson’s valet might be ready to quit after dealing with Hudson’s maniacal attention to detail when dressing for his morning ride. Normally, he threw on a coat without thought, fidgeted while his cravat was tied, and gave no notice to the shine of his boots.
This morning he wanted to look perfect.
It didn’t matter that Bianca frequently had seen him in his near-disheveled state. He wanted to show her that he was taking this time of courtship seriously.
Bianca and Aaron were already in the stable when he arrived, standing near Hestia’s stall, feeding her a treat. Owen was grooming a horse nearby with tiny, minuscule strokes that the horse was certainly enjoying but was going to make the job take five times longer than normal. Of course, it also put him in a position to watch every move Bianca made.
What to do with Owen would be a decision for another day. He’d take over paying the man himself, but with Bianca’s penchant for going riding, keeping a man employed to keep her safe wasn’t a bad idea.
Especially since no one had been able to find where Hudson’s uncle had run off to.
Hudson’s grin widened. How nice it was to be thinking of the future in terms of Bianca, in terms of keeping her happy and safe. That was so much more fulfilling than the solvency of his stable or the most impressive foal.
“Good morning,” Bianca said with a smile.
“Good morning.”
Aaron groaned. “All of you. Every single one of you. I’ve no friends left who aren’t nauseatingly happy.”
“Maybe you’ll be next,” Hudson said.
Aaron merely lifted a brow and shook his head.
Hudson nodded toward Hestia. “She’s the only mare we haven’t bred yet. Any ideas?”
“I have one,” Bianca said quietly. “But I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
“What is it?” Hudson was inclined to agree, even if she suggested her father’s old carriage horse.
“Well,” she said, primly folding her hands in front of her, “it seems silly to be thinking Hezekiah is the only one who could sire a winner.”
“He’s sired the last three winners of the Two Thousand Guineas Stakes and two of the last five Derby winners. He’s as close to a sure thing as a horse gets.” Aaron shook his head. “You can get a winner out of another horse, but you’ll be holding your breath while you wait for it.”
“Unless there’s a better horse that no one knows about.”
“I’ve only seen a better animal twice in my life. Both were in India.” Hudson shook his head.
“I know of a magnificent animal named Sunset’s Pride.”
“There was a Sunset’s Pride in India,” Hudson mused. “He was perfection.”
“I think it might be the same horse. The owner said he brought him over from India.”
Hudson couldn’t believe it—wouldn’t believe it unless he saw the horse with his own eyes. “That’s amazing. Why don’t you think I’ll like your suggestion?”
“Because . . . well . . . he belongs to Lord Rigsby.”
Hudson stilled. Aaron stilled. The bustle of the stable around them stilled, proving once again that none of the conversation had been private.
Bianca rushed on. “He’s not a bad man, you know. Well, you probably don’t know, and that’s understandable, but I think, maybe . . .” She sighed. “There’s no reason Aaron has to have anything to do with it. Hudson and I—” Color sprang to her cheeks. “That is, Hudson can approach him and arrange everything.”
“Are you trying to fade me out of a job already?” Aaron asked.
“Of course not, I—”
“I suppose,” Aaron said slowly, “that there comes a time when the right thing to do is let go of the past. Even if it’s difficult.”
“Tell that to my uncle if you ever see him again,” Hudson grumbled.
“I hope to never see your uncle again.”
Bianca murmured agreement.
“I don’t suppose the world will end if I go make a business proposition to the legitimate son of my wastrel father,” Aaron mused.
“What happened to you isn’t his fault,” Bianca said. “I think he might be lonely.” She reached out and clasped Hudson’s hand. “I wouldn’t wish spending life alone on anyone, even if they think they have all they need.”
Aaron groaned. “I’ll do it.” He ran his hand over Hestia’s nose. “I won’t let you down, old girl. One more champion foal, coming up.” He gave Bianca and Hudson a nod. “I’ll get out of here now and let you two experience this lovely day.” He glanced at the window. “I wouldn’t stray too far, though. Looks like it might rain.”
Hudson looked out at the now-familiar dismal grey. “It looks like a fabulous day for a ride.”
Bianca laughed. “I agree.”
He reached up to smooth an errant curl. “You are amazing.”
Her returning smile lit up the dim stable like a sunny day in India.
“You are everything I didn’t know I needed,” Hudson said, “and everything I hadn’t realized a man could hope for.” He cupped her cheek. “I love you, Bianca.”
“I love you too.” She gave him a sweet smile, her eyes shimmering. “Now, I think the right thing for us to do is get out of this stable before we have to start over establishing our correct footing.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” He offered her his arm and escorted her outside to where their saddled horses had been tied. He walked past Odysseus and over to Hades. “I do believe we made a bargain once. That if you helped me get the woman I needed, you would get to ride Hades, so”—he took her by the waist and, even as she shrieked and grabbed his wrists, lifted her up onto the tall black horse’s back—“up you go.”
She grabbed the reins and a handful of mane, laughing and jerking her head from side to side to look down at the ground. “He’s so tall.”
“He is, so perhaps no galloping. We’ll keep to a pace Odysseus can handle. At least for now?”
Her brown gaze held his, excitement and happiness and everything else right and good shining from her face. “Does that mean you’ll let me ride him again?”
“I think a woman whose husband owns a racing stable should know what it’s like to ride a racehorse. It does seem like it would make watching the race that much more enjoyable.” He placed a hand on the horse’s neck. “Let’s build up to that, though.”
“We’ll keep it slow today.” She nodded toward Odysseus. “Particularly since I wouldn’t want to leave you behind.”
With an answering grin, Hudson mounted up and they rode off, the first of many mornings they would spend establishing a new life together. Several feet behind them, Owen followed on the back of Poseidon.
As they crossed the drive and trotted into the pastures, Hudson envisioned one day taking this ride with their children, a family taking on the world together.
It hadn’t been the idea of family he’d grown up with, but it was the one he’d come to know since arriving in England, and he couldn’t think of any legacy that would be more right for him to build.
Acknowledgments
When I sat down to write my eleventh book (this one, in case you were wondering), I thought I knew what I was doing. It turns out that just like Hudson and Bianca, my plans weren’t God’s plans, and the entire book ended up being different from how it started.
The tale you just finished would not have been possible in its current state without the help of a great many people.
Jacob deserves all the awards for listening to me gripe, acting as a sounding board when I had to rework the plot, and being willing to read this book more times than he’s read anything since I got published.
Much appreciation to my children, who made the enormous sacrifice (note the sarcasm there) of going on a trail ride with me so that I could remember how wonderful being on the back of a horse was.
For my Voxer Girls, the biggest of hugs. Every day you encourage and inspire me. I can’t wait to see what we all do next.
Thank you, Regina, for reminding me that my career wasn’t over simply because my book needed a lot of editing in those early stages.
And thank you to the team at Bethany House for the patience and guidance demonstrated during all that editing.
To my horse-loving friends, you were worth every cup of coffee I bought you while you shared your stories with me.
Finally, to my readers, thank you for taking this journey with me. A story is dead without someone to listen to it. Thank you for completing the circle.
Kristi Ann Hunter is the author of the HAWTHORNE HOUSE and HAVEN MANOR series and a 2016 RITA Award winner, an ACFW Genesis contest winner, and a Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award for Excellence winner. She lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. Find her online at www.kristiannhunter.com.
Instagram: Bethany House Fiction
Resources: bethanyhouse.com/AnOpenBook
Newsletter: www.bethanyhouse.com/newsletter
Facebook: Bethany House
Table of Contents
Cover
Half Title Page
Books by Kristi Ann Hunter
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Prologue
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
List of Pages
1
2
3
4
5
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
&
nbsp; 239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353