Save a Horse, Ride a Viscount

by Valerie Bowman

  She glared at her father.

  “Take care of your mother, Theodora,” the man had had the audacity to say.

  Thea had lifted her chin. She understood precisely where her father was going and why. “I take better care of her than you do,” Thea had whispered.

  Her father had merely continued on his way.

  The next morning, Mama had gone out in the rain to ride Helena hell-for-leather across the pastures. She’d taken a path she normally didn’t take and attempted a jump she normally wouldn’t have attempted. She’d nearly broken her neck.

  Upon hearing the news that his wife had been so grievously injured, Father hadn’t even bothered to return to Devon to check on her. Instead, he’d written a letter to Thea, asking her to give her his best.

  From that day forward, Thea had treated her father like a stranger. She’d seen him briefly from time to time in the nearly two years her mother was sick, but he always left for London as soon as he’d finished any business at home.

  He visited mother sparingly and hadn’t bothered to see her at all the last time he left before she died. According to the doctors, Mama had died of a lingering brain injury resulting from the fall from her horse two years earlier. But Thea knew better. Her Mama had died from a broken heart.

  “I refuse to encourage you in sneaking about this house, putting your nose into affairs that have nothing to do with you,” Maggie said, pulling Thea from her unhappy memories.

  Maggie was across the room, folding some of Thea’s garments and placing them in the wardrobe. Thea turned her head toward the maid with an impatient sigh. “Don’t you want to know who Lord Clayton is hiding down the hall?”

  Thea hadn’t got far with Ewan last night. When she’d questioned him, he’d acted as if there was nowhere she couldn’t venture in the house. She guessed that was because he didn’t want to appear suspicious, and he most likely had no inkling that she would begin poking around bedchambers to find his (other) hidden guest.

  Exactly how many people was the man hiding in this house? For all she knew, there were more than two. He certainly had seemed as if he had nothing to hide. If there was another house guest, why wasn’t that guest invited to dinner also? Perhaps Rosalie was mistaken. Or perhaps, Ewan was simply a good liar. There was only one way to find out. She intended to go poking into bedchambers, as soon as she could get out of this blasted one.

  “No, I don’t want to know who Lord Clayton is hiding down the hall,” Maggie replied firmly. “And you shouldn’t either. In fact, you should be much more concerned with the fact that the same maid who told you that secret may be telling other people your secret.”

  Thea froze. “Good heavens, you’re right. I didn’t even think about that.” She bit her lip and considered her friend’s words for a few moments. “That is something to worry about, isn’t it?”

  “Yes. It is. And the reason you didn’t think of it before now is because you’re too busy being meddlesome,” Maggie replied.

  “I cannot help being curious. Besides, what else am I to do, trapped in this house? I cannot believe Anthony hasn’t at least written yet.” Thea would have stamped her foot if she hadn’t been sitting in a wheelchair with one leg propped up.

  Maggie blinked at her over the top of the bed sheet she was folding. “I thought you were hoping he’d arrive instead of write.”

  “I am, but at this point I’d welcome a letter.” Thea had maneuvered herself close enough to the door to tug at the handle, but the angle she was at would ensure that the door could not open wide enough for her to push herself into the corridor. “Please Maggie, help me.”

  Maggie sighed and stalked to the door. She waited with her hands on her hips for Thea to move herself far enough away from the door to open it. Once it was open, Thea gleefully pedaled herself into the corridor. “Thank you,” she called. “I’ll be back later.”

  “You’re supposed to be hiding,” Maggie replied in a half-whisper.

  “Very few servants are allowed on this floor. Rosalie told me herself,” Thea shot back.

  “Yes, let’s believe whatever Rosalie says. Including the fact that there’s another guest hidden up here somewhere.”

  Over her shoulder, Thea gave her friend a wicked smile. “There’s only one way to find out.”

  “I know my words are about to fall on deaf ears, but it’s none of your business if Lord Clayton is housing another guest on this property. You should leave it alone.”

  Thea took off in the direction of the far end of the corridor. “You know me, Maggie. There’s no possible way I’m going to leave it alone.”

  “My lady, wake up,” came Maggie’s voice through Thea’s sleepy haze.

  Thea shook herself awake and glanced around. She was sitting in a corner of a corridor in her wheelchair and she’d clearly been asleep from some time. “What time is it?” she groggily asked Maggie who was smiling down at her, her arms folded over her chest.

  “Nearly four o’clock,” was Maggie’s reply.

  “In the afternoon?” Thea asked. Where was she? And what had she been do— She glanced around and searched her memory. “Lord Clayton’s houseguest. I never found her.”

  “By the looks of things, you didn’t get too far,” Maggie replied. “You’re only around the corner from your own room.”

  “What? What happened? I feel asleep?” Thea shook her groggy head, still not fully comprehending what happened.

  “Laudanum will do that to a person,” Maggie replied in a singsong voice.

  “Laudanum? But I didn’t have any laud—” Thea sat up straighter and glared at the maid. “My tea! Margaret Mary Hill, you put laudanum in my tea this morning, didn’t you? I knew it had a strange taste.”

  “I warned you to mind your own affairs,” Maggie replied.

  “You know how I am,” Thea insisted, trying desperately to back her chair from the corner.

  “Yes, I do, which is precisely why I put laudanum in your tea. Now, I’m taking you back to your bedchamber to begin preparing for dinner. Lord Clayton has asked that you join him in the dining room once again.”

  Chapter Twenty

  After the footmen had cleared away dinner that evening, Ewan dismissed them both. Then he wheeled Thea into the drawing room directly off of the dining room and shut the doors so none of the passing servants would see them.

  He pushed Thea’s chair to sit next to the settee and took a seat on the settee himself. They’d had another fine meal, talking and laughing, sharing bits of information they knew about others in the area and joking about everything from horse racing to Shakespeare’s plays.

  Ewan was thoroughly impressed with Lady Thea Ballard. She was proving to be witty, warm, and quite clever. She obviously loved her brother a great deal, loved Alabaster perhaps more, and was somewhat tepid when it came to her father. Her mother, however, was someone she had loved quite fiercely. It was tragic that she’d been taken from her young daughter so soon.

  Ewan stood and walked to the sideboard. “Would you care for some port?”

  “No, thank you. I don’t think alcohol and laudanum mix very well,” Thea replied.

  Ewan chuckled. He poured himself a glass of port and returned to sit next to Thea on the settee. They were merely a foot’s length apart.

  Thea turned to stare at Ewan, blinking rapidly. “I … I have something important that I want to say. Well, ask, really.”

  Ewan frowned. “Yes?” he prompted.

  She cleared her throat and folded her hands, placing them primely in her lap. “I want to ... admit to something. Something I’m not terribly proud of.”

  Dread began to spread through Ewan’s middle. “What is it?”

  “I was going to sneak around and look myself, but I’ve decided that did me no favors last time so this time—well, that and I’ve got a maid who’d sooner drug me than allow me to be meddlesome. At any rate, I’ve decided to come right out with it.” She blinked at him some more.

  Now that she was so
close, he realized that she had the loveliest longest eyelashes. He continued to eye her warily, however. “Out with what?”

  Thea straightened her shoulders and met his gaze directly. Quite disconcerting. Quite. “Who are you hiding in the other wing of the house?”

  Ewan nearly spit the sip of port he’d just taken. “What?”

  “You have another houseguest, do you not?”

  “Who told you that?” He was forced to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand.

  Thea let her gaze drop. “I overheard some servants talking.”

  “Which servants?” He eyed her warily again.

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s clearly true or you wouldn’t be so upset,” she finished primly, meeting his gaze once again. “Now, will you tell me, or must I investigate on my own?”

  Ewan set his port glass on the table in front of him. The girl couldn’t help herself. She’d only been able to act properly for two nights. Now she was back to being completely improper. Ewan wasn’t thrilled that one of the servants had been gossiping about Phillip to Thea, but the truth was, he’d already considered telling her about him. He expelled a deep breath. “Let me ask you something, Lady Thea.”

  She had an impatient look on her face, but she nodded.

  Ewan smoothed his hand down his shirtfront while he spoke. “If the other guest knew you were there, would you want that guest to come looking for you?”

  Thea wrinkled her nose. Clearly, she didn’t appreciate his logic. “I suppose I would not,” she finally said.

  She’d been honest. That was big of her. He’d been half expecting her to deny it. “Well, then, don’t you think you should do my other guest the courtesy of staying in privacy?”

  Thea blinked at him again. She was nodding. “I know I should do that, but I’m afraid I’m overwhelmed with curiosity and I cannot stand it.”

  Ewan laughed and shook his head. “You’re honest, I’ll give you that.”

  “Father says I’m honest to a fault.” She sighed. “But not as often as Father says I’m stubborn to a fault.”

  “That I know firsthand to be true,” Ewan replied. “I suppose me asking you not to try to find out who my other guest is will do no good?”

  Thea had the most adorable guilty look on her face as she raised her pretty gray eyes to meet his. “I could promise you I wouldn’t, my lord, but I’m afraid I would break my promise within hours.”

  Ewan shook his head again. “Very well. Then it’s probably a good thing that I was already considering telling you about him.”

  “Him?” Her eyes went wide.

  “Yes,” Ewan chuckled again. “You didn’t truly think I had more than one young lady hiding in the wings, did you?”

  Thea smiled. “Honestly, I had no idea. I have a vivid imagination, you see, so I had many different guesses.”

  “Please, don’t tell me any of them. You might shock me.”

  Thea inclined her head. “I’m afraid I would, honestly.”

  Ewan leaned closer to her and whispered. They were so close their breath mingled. “The truth is that I was planning to ask for your help where my other guest is concerned.”

  “My help? How could I possibly help?” she whispered back.

  Ewan was so close he could see the tiny trace of freckles along the bridge of her nose. He was tempted to reach out and touch the soft skin of her cheek. He shook himself to clear his head of such thoughts. “The other guest is my friend, Phillip. He’s been staying here for several months. He’s not quite himself at the moment.”

  Thea’s chest rose and fell with each breath. Ewan couldn’t help but notice her decolletage.

  “What do you mean?” she breathed.

  “He’s a soldier. In addition to some other injuries he sustained in the war, he has a brain injury. From being thrown by a horse.” He paused and watched as Thea digested that bit of information.

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” she breathed.

  “He hasn’t spoken since he arrived.”

  Thea’s slight gasp made the hair on the back of Ewan’s neck stand up. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she whispered.

  “I was hoping—”

  “You were hoping I might be able to help, given my experience with my mother?” she finished for him.

  He nodded once. “I understand if you don’t want to. It’s a lot to ask.”

  “Not at all. I’d be happy to help. It’s the least I can do after you’ve been so kind as to allow me to stay here. But I do have one question.”

  “What’s that?” Ewan asked.

  “I can understand you wanting to help your friend who was injured in war, but what I can’t understand is … why is it all such a secret?”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Thea watched as a range of emotions played across Ewan’s face. There was surprise, there was regret, and there was … indecision.

  When he finally spoke, he said, “Did you know there’s quite a bit of scientific theory on the effect of animals on the mind of those who’ve experienced shock?”

  “Yes, actually,” Thea replied, confusion marring her brow. What did this have to do with the secrecy surrounding Phillip? “There is a man on the continent who is an expert on the subject. I wanted to try to send for him when Mother was ill, but Father refused. His name is Forrester, I believe.”

  Ewan expelled his breath. “Would you believe me if I told you that Mr. Forrester is here?”

  Thea’s eyes widened. “What? Truly?”

  “Yes, he’s been working with Phillip for a several days now.”

  “But … why?” Thea asked.

  Ewan turned to her. “You asked me why Phillip being here is a secret. I know it seems odd. But there is a good reason. You see, Phillip isn’t just a soldier.”

  Thea held her breath. “Who is he?”

  “He’s the rightful Duke of Harlowe.”

  Thea’s eyes shot open wide. “What?”

  Ewan nodded again. “That’s correct.”

  Thea lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned closer to Ewan. “The rightful Duke of Harlowe? The old duke’s second son? But I thought he was dead.”

  Ewan nodded slowly. “Everyone thinks he’s dead. But he didn’t die at war. He was put on a ship back to England and my friend, the Marquess of Bellingham found him. Phillip was nothing like his former self.”

  Thea took a shuddering breath, trying to assimilate the news. “So that means …”

  “Alabaster was his horse. They were at war together.”

  Thea nodded as tears stung the backs of her eyes. In a hundred years, she would never have guessed that Ewan had wanted to win Alabaster to give him back to a man who had nearly lost his life.

  Thea listened silently and carefully, tears stinging the backs of her eyes, as Ewan spent the next several minutes telling her the story of how Phillip had saved his life.

  “And so, when Bell wrote to me from Dover telling me a ship had just arrived with injured soldiers from the Continent and one of them was Phillip, I made haste to the shore to gather him. I brought him here and he’s been here since. His brother had already died by then and it wasn’t clear whether he was aware of it.”

  Ewan was still within an arm’s length of her when Thea leaned even closer and whispered. “So, you owed your friend your life and in return you’ve taken him in at his darkest hour?”

  “Precisely,” Ewan replied, his gaze locked with hers.

  “That’s why you had to buy Alabaster,” she breathed.

  “Yes.” Ewan nodded.

  “And that’s why it’s a secret that Phillip is here,” she continued.

  Ewan nodded again. “Yes, and I must ask you to keep it a secret.”

  She nodded sagely. “Of course I will keep it a secret. But the entire ton thinks he’s dead,” she whispered. “Why wouldn’t he want to declare himself right away?”

  “There are a few reasons,” Ewan replied, “but the most important at the moment is that he’s not yet ready to t
ake his place in Society. He isn’t strong enough.”

  Suddenly, it all made sense. The secrecy. Ewan’s need to buy the horse at any price. Mr. Forrester being here, all of it. Thea tried to remember. Had she ever met Phillip before? The second son of the Duke of Harlowe? She couldn’t recall such a meeting, but perhaps it had taken place when she was younger.

  “It must be difficult for Phillip,” she finally said, turning her head toward Ewan. “He’s been so ill, and his brother died.”

  “Precisely.” Ewan rubbed the back of his neck. “He needs a bit more time.”

  “It’s completely understandable,” Thea replied, nodding. She felt nothing but compassion for the poor soldier who no doubt had the weight of the world on his back now.

  Ewan’s gaze met hers. “I must have your word that you will tell no one that Phillip is here. Or that he’s alive for that matter. It’s quite important.”

  “You have it, of course,” she replied, pleased that he trusted her enough to share such a secret.

  He leaned toward her and for a dizzying moment, Thea thought he was going to kiss her. First, he’d trusted her with his largest secret, now he was going to kiss her. And she wanted him too. She closed her eyes, ready, so ready.

  His lips barely brushed her cheek. A shudder raced down her spine as he whispered in her ear, “Thank you, Thea.” Then, he pulled away.

  Thea wanted to sob.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The next morning, Thea prepared herself to meet Phillip. Ewan had asked her to meet him today and she had readily agreed. Maggie had already helped her dress and Thea was sitting in her wheelchair staring out the windows of her bedchamber, thinking about last night, and Ewan.

  Her mind raced whenever she thought about their conversation last night. They’d been close enough to kiss. In fact, she’d had the thought more than once that he was going to kiss her and worse, she’d thought more than twice that she’d like it if he did. She’d been hoping that he would kiss her. Only he hadn’t. And Thea was left to wonder if she were going mad. Why was she having thoughts about Lord Clayton … Ewan kissing her? It was madness, was it not?