The Deception
Page 33
I thought of his tears on the field of Waterloo and knew he must be hating this. The man walking next to him said something into his ear, and I saw him shake his head.
Harry leaned down from his horse. “What’s it like to be married to such a great hero, Kate?” he asked.
I looked at him. He was laughing.
“It’s a bloody nuisance,” I said distinctly. “No one ever lets the poor man alone.”
Harry drew in his breath in a loud parody of shock. “Lady Greystone! Such language!”
“Really, Kate,” Caroline said. “Suppose someone else should hear you?”
“They will think the great hero is married to a shrew,” I said.
“He is,” Harry informed me.
I stood up and lifted my reticule as if I was going to whack him with it. He pretended to cringe away from me, lifting his arm to protect his face. He made me laugh, he looked so funny.
By now the procession had reached our end of the bridge, and I resumed my seat. The Regent and the Duke of York stepped off the bridge. The band struck up. The Duke of Wellington and Lord Anglesey disappeared behind a protective circle of Household Cavalry. Adrian veered off from the procession and began to make his way toward us through the crowd.
“You should have ridden Euclide,” I told him when he finally arrived. “Think of him passaging all the way across the bridge. No one would have paid any attention to you; they would all have been looking at him.”
The tense look left his face and he grinned.
“What is a passage?” Caroline asked.
“You will be able to read all about it in Kate’s book,” Adrian informed her.
“Kate’s book! What book?” Both Harry and Caroline were staring at me with looks of identical astonishment.
“The book she is going to write about equitation,” Adrian replied.
“Oh I say, Kate, that is a splendid idea!” Harry said.
“Yes,” I returned placidly. “It will be utterly brilliant, and then when Adrian and I go out together, people will look at me, not him.”
“Well, the Regent wants to look at you,” Adrian retorted.
“Now?”
“Now.” He held up his arms. “Come along, Lady Greystone, royalty awaits.”
I wrinkled my nose. I did not approve of the Regent.
“And I would like to introduce you to Anglesey,” Adrian said. “Perhaps we can get him to order copies of your book for the entire cavalry.”
“Well, they can certainly use it!” I retorted.
I placed my hands on his shoulders and felt his hands encircle my slightly swollen waist. His thumbs moved up and down in a brief, private caress, and then he was lifting me to the ground.
“You can drive Caro home,” Adrian said to his brother. “Leave your horse with me, and I’ll have someone bring him back to Grosvenor Square.”
“All right,” Harry said, beginning to dismount.
Adrian had kept one protective arm around me and I leaned against him for a minute, relishing the feel of his big, solid body against mine.
Caroline and Harry began to brangle over something trivial as he took up the reins of the phaeton. I rested against Adrian and listened to their voices, and knew that I was happy.
Harry began to back the horses.
“I hope he doesn’t run someone over,” Adrian muttered.
The sun shone warmly on my head. The sky was deeply blue. Adrian’s arm was still around my shoulder. We stood and watched until Harry was safely clear of the crowd, and then we turned and went together to meet the Regent.
For Pam, a book of her very own
Copyright © 1996 by Joan Wolf
Originally published by Warner [ISBN 0446602752]
Electronically published in 2012 by Belgrave House
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No portion of this book may be reprinted in whole or in part, by printing, faxing, E-mail, copying electronically or by any other means without permission of the publisher. For more information, contact Belgrave House, 190 Belgrave Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94117-4228
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This is a work of fiction. All names in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to any person living or dead is coincidental.