by Amy Field
As soon as she was seated, she kicked in her heels and shot from the stable yard, darting through the paddocks and out into the expansive pasture lands to the east of the estate. Tessie ran fast and free as they shot through the tall grass. The pastures were framed with forests alive with the colors of autumn. Blazing crimson, fiery oranges, and golden yellow leaves fringed the trees, and Arielle sucked in her breath at the beauty of it.
In the midst of her pause to observe the breathtaking scenery, she grimaced at the beat of approaching horse hooves. She’d nearly forgotten the earl’s incessant need to ruin her blissful morning. Before she could dash away again, the earl and his stallion, an overbearing brute of a horse, much like his master, pulled to a halt beside her.
“Miss Seabourn, I have yet to understand your desire to be rid of me at all costs. Am I that offensive?” he asked sarcastically.
“No, milord, on the contrary. My poor, delicate heart is not accustomed to such strength and masculinity. I must avoid you lest I be put abed with a case of the vapors,” she said mockingly, lifting a hand to her head in an overly dramatic fashion.
The earl shook his head in frustration. “I do not know how two sisters could be so utterly different in looks and disposition.”
Arielle scowled at him, no longer able to keep her temper in check. “Likewise, sir, I do not understand the differences between your kind, genteel brother and yourself!” She cried, urging Tessie forward. Her blood was boiling and she could no longer bite her tongue. Before she said something she would truly regret, or rather, would most likely embarrass her kind, sweet sister, she had to remove herself from his presence.
As she galloped toward the wood, she could still see him at the crest of the hill in her mind’s eye, a scowl gracing his too handsome face, the cool winds blowing his wavy brown hair. His horse, that massive stallion, matched the size needed for such a tall, broad man. In every way, the earl was an imposing figure, surely sending many of his tenants and those in his employ to cower before him, but not she. Arielle refused to bend to his will, something which she believed, drove him quite mad.
* * * *
Wes watched Miss Seabourn’s tresses, an ever-changing mixture of molten gold and rich honey, fall from her pins as she took off at a most improper speed. The girl was wild, untamed and impertinent, with little to no respect for her betters.
As he clucked his tongue and Diablo, his mighty horseflesh the shade of midnight, casually sauntered at a pleasant speed from the hilltop, completely beneath Wes’ careful control, he realized how very much Miss Seabourn’s parents had failed her. Clearly, they’d poured their time, wealth and attention into the elder sister, now Lady Pendleton, as she was the epitome of beauty and grace.
Catching the flicker of her blue gown and the glint of her blonde curls in the distance as she tore like lightning toward the forest, he shook his head, determining that something must be done for the girl. Poor thing. She lacked all propriety. It was his duty, as a benefactor of sorts, seeing that she lived beneath his roof, to ensure she was skilled in the delicate arts. Perhaps, some unfortunate soul none the wiser to her stubborn streak and blatant disregard for societal rules would come along and take her off his hands, while still providing her and her family, which were, after all, his own distant relations, a well suited and substantial matrimonial connection for her.
Scowling again, Wes took off in the general direction of his wayward charge. She wasn’t truly his charge, but he saw her as such. And she certainly did not need to be traipsing about the forests unchaperoned. Why could she not stay in the sunny pastures and hilly terrain belonging to the Pendleton’s estate? The lands surrounding Pelham House offered plenty of opportunities for exploring that did not take one along the narrow paths winding within the dense forest. Who knew what ruffians hid along the creek bed? What animals crouched in waiting to attack?
He frowned at the thought.
Miss Seabourn certainly did not take such sensibilities into account. As he neared the edge of the forests, he peered into the dense canopy of trees, and in the distance could make out the flash of her blue dress, traveling further into the thickened knot of leaves, grasses, trees and ferns.
“Miss Seabourn! Miss Arielle!”
He called out, hoping his voice would echo through the shadowy forest and reach her perfectly rounded ears, and possibly ward away any creature or person wishing to do her no good. He was not scared for himself, but he did not want anything to happen to his brother’s sister in law.
There was no answer. He followed the narrow trail into the forest, picking his way through the low hanging branches, cursing under his breath with each step Diablo took. He should be working on the last batch of ledgers he needed to approve.
That’s when he heard it. The faintest cry off in the distance. His heart lurched and he urged Diablo forward. Several yards up ahead, Miss Seabourn’s mare stood tethered to a branch, grazing peacefully on a cluster of ferns and grasses.
“Where’d she wander off to girl?” Wes asked the horse. Deciding to manage the rest of the way on foot, he dismounted and tied Diablo to a nearby tree a safe distance from the other horse.
“Miss Seabourn! Where are you?”
He continued to call as his boots crunched over fallen leaves and he ducked to avoid hitting the branches hanging at precarious levels.
“Help!” That’ must be her calling from somewhere close by. Following the sound of her voice, he rushed toward her, and in his hurry, ran straight into a branch, flinging him to the ground and knocking the wind from his lungs. Despite his pounding head and the breath barely wheezing from his lungs, he managed to rally to his feet and continue on his trek until he found her.
In a small clearing, Arielle stood, trying to dislodge her foot from being stuck between a fallen tree and a clump of rocks. She appeared relieved to see Wes, but as soon as she took in his appearance, her face turned pale and her mouth popped open.
“Are you alright?”
He grunted. “Quite well. I heard your cries for help. How may I be of service?”
“I’ve seemed to have gotten my foot rather stuck here,” she said, gesturing toward her lifted skirt and black riding boot.
He walked toward her and examined the situation. With much effort, he lifted the large boulder and she pulled her foot out.
“Thank you!” she cried in relief as she regained her footing.
“Is your ankle sore?” he asked.
“Only a bit. I am quite fine.”
Before she had a chance to protest, he lifted her in his arms and turned to carry her back to their horses. She wriggled, attempting to get down, but his grasp was too strong.
“We are going back to Pelham House to see about your ankle before you manage to get hurt any worse,” he informed her in a stern voice.
“I assure you, I am fine. Please, I beg you, put me down!” She squirmed in protest, but his hold only tightened.
“No. This is absurd. Pray tell, what would you have done had I not been following you?”
“I would have been more careful! In my hurry, I did not pay attention as closely as usual, and I lost my footing.”
They reached the horses and Wes placed Arielle on Diablo’s back before mounting behind her.
“I have my own horse,” she remarked, no longer fighting him.
“Yes, which means you will bolt. I cannot waste any more time rescuing you from yourself today.”
She scowled at him as he took hold of Tessie’s reins, and led them out of the forest. With the sun high overhead, he suspected the dinner hour would soon be upon them.
Chapter Two
She’d only wanted a reprieve. Though the man was cold and frustrating and ridiculous, Arielle could not help the heat that crept through her when he drew near, his handsome features and clear blue eyes trained solely on her. She knew he found her to be silly and thoughtless, and therefore, would never view her as a potential match for him. She sighed as his arm held her securely in fr
ont of him, and her back leaned against the muscular planes of his chest.
“You really must be more careful, Miss Seabourn,” he said as they maintained a steady pace back to Pelham House.
“As you wish, sir,” she said in resign. What else could she do?
“I would ask you not to stray so far into the woods. It is most grating on my nerves that you would choose to use so much of my valuable time.”
“I did not wish to have you put upon. Truly, it is none of your concern if I spend time among the woods is it? I am but a distant relative. Nothing more.”
“You are a young lady under my household and my protection. I do not believe my request to be irrational in the least.”
“Very well,” she sighed. The wind picked up, whipping her blue gown against the earl’s legs, her blonde, unpinned hair into his face. She tried to smooth it down, but little could be done upon horseback.
When they reached the stables, he assisted her down and handed Diablo’s and Tessie’s reins to a waiting stable lad. He extended his arm formally to accompany Arielle back to the house.
Her brow furrowed. He was such a strange man, full of decorum and structure, but every once in a while his carefully maintained guard would slip away, and she would see the kind, devilishly handsome yet soft man beneath the mask. Only once in all of her months at Pelham House had she heard his laugh, but the sound had been like music to her ears.
“How shall you pass your afternoon, Miss Seabourn?” He asked as they walked.
She stifled a yawn. “I suppose I shall work on my embroidery and play the pianoforte,” she responded in rote. Though those were the last tasks she wished to occupy her time that afternoon, as there was a particularly wonderful pond that begged her to row across it on the edge of the estate. However, she was quite sure, after this morning’s escapades, the earl would most likely not approve.
“That sounds lovely. I have business to attend to in town, so I shall be gone most of the day. However, I will arrive back home in plenty of time for the evening meal.”
“Lovely, milord. Just lovely,” she smiled sweetly. In her mind, she was attempting to calculate how long it would take for her to reach the pond, have a quick row about it, and return in time to dress formally for dinner that evening. She would have to take great pains with her hair and gown if she did not want him to suspect anything was amuck.
“Until this evening,” he bowed stiffly before walking through the great hall in the direction of his study. She poked a petulant lip out and turned in the opposite direction. She couldn’t understand why he simply couldn’t leave her be.
* * * *
Wes heard the grandfather clock in the hall outside his study strike four times. He’d lied to Arielle, knowing that she would surely be up to no good if she believed herself to be unchaperoned and free to roam for the afternoon. He truly wished he did not believe it necessary to check up on her, but it was for her own good. She needed guidelines. A bit of taming.
“Come in,” he called out when he heard the light knock at his door.
Henson appeared and glided to his side. “The young miss has slipped out of doors. She is headed on foot in a due west direction.”
“Thank you, Henson,” Wes rose to his feet. “I wonder what business she could have on the west side of the estate,” he pondered aloud.
“That I do not know, sir. Though she did inquire with one of the gardeners about a pair of work boots,” Henson told him.
Wes shook his head. “That girl shall put me in an early grave yet,” he sighed, closing his ledger book and striding from his study.
Less than an hour later, he found her, though she did not notice his approach. He saw her gliding about the pond in the rickety old boat he and James had once used many ages ago as children for fish and sport. A wide smile was spread across her face, and an occasional burst of laughter sprang from her lips. For a brief moment his heart warmed at the sight, and he considered turning back and not interrupting her afternoon frolic. But then he remembered that she had lied to him about her plans for the day. That did not sit well with him.
Stepping from behind the dense bushes that had masked his approach, her mouth popped open when she caught sight of him, and he heard her shriek of surprise from her spot in the middle of the pond.
“This is getting quite ridiculous, Miss Seabourn,” he called out as she remained frozen in shock, the boat bobbing slightly with the wind. “Not only did you lie to me, but you have no business boating all alone, especially in these temperatures. You could grow ill.”
Arielle said nothing in reply, her shoulders simply slumped as she sighed and rowed back toward the small dock. He helped her out of the boat and tied the vessel’s rope securely to the dock.
“I was in no way a harm or burden to anyone,” she defended gently as they started walking the rather lengthy trek back to the mains.
“Miss Seabourn, I beg you, stay within doors and keep your rides within the safety of our lands until my brother and your sister return,” he pleaded.
“Very well,” she sighed, knowing fully the depth of her defeat.
Chapter Three
As soon as formal greetings had been doled out and Arielle and Melanie were alone in Arielle’s bedchamber, the two sisters embraced each other tightly, shrieking with delight.
“How I’ve missed you!” Arielle cried, jumping up and down with uncontainable excitement now that her sister was back beneath the roof of Pelham House.
“And I you! Of course, James and I had a splendid time, but it wasn’t the same not having you by my side these past few weeks,” Melanie told her. “How were things here at Pelham?”
Arielle paused, frozen in her inability to provide Melanie with an adequate answer.
“What is the matter, Arielle? Did you and his lordship not get on well together?”
“I suppose one could say that.”
“Arielle!”
“We were neither the most agreeable of sorts in one another’s company.”
“Pray tell, Arielle, what is the meaning of your cryptic summary?”
“I only mean that he is rather difficult and frustrating, despite his handsome countenance . . . even though even that is marred by the horrid furrow of his brow,” Arielle shrugged.
“You are rather contradictive, dear sister of mine,” Melanie replied with a giggle, eyeing Arielle closely.
“Well, there is no denying the handsomeness of the earl. He is far too pompous and exasperating, however.”
Melanie’s eyes grew wide. “I do believe you very well may care for him, Arielle!”
“Never! He is far too frustrating,” Arielle swiftly defended, though her cheeks warmed and she grew quite flustered.
Melanie said nothing in reply, giving her sister a knowing look.
“Stop looking at me in that way!” Arielle cried, swatting her sister with her shawl.
“Whatever do you mean?” Melanie asked smugly.
Arielle sighed in frustration. “I am going for a walk. Now that you and your husband have returned, perhaps the earl shall leave me be and I can explore a bit without being hunted down and returned promptly to the house.”
Melanie laughed. “I should hope so.”
As Arielle walked along the edge of the pond, feeling free for the first time in weeks to do so without checking behind her back for her warden to appear, she thought about what Melanie had said. Did she indeed care for the earl?
She shook her head furiously, though no one was nearby. The idea seemed so preposterous. He drove her quite mad. Reluctantly, however, if she truly looked within herself, to the very heart of the matter, she had to admit affection for the earl was tucked in the recesses of her soul, deep within where she could hide it behind layers of denial, frustration and defense.
Sucking in a deep breath, she blew it out, watching the puffs of white smoke release into the chilly afternoon air. The surface of the pond trembled with the strong wind, and glancing up, she saw the clouds begin t
o gather. They would probably see the season’s first snowfall soon.
“Miss Seabourn,” the familiar deep voice called from behind her, and she grew still. Turning about to see the earl a few yards away, her mouth dropped in surprise. Lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t noticed his approach.
“Milord,” she said stiffly, acknowledging his presence. Her heart thudded wildly in her chest. He stepped toward her, closing the distance between them quickly and offered her his arm.
“Though I could give you a proper tongue lashing on the unwise decision of walking about in this type of weather so close to the sun setting, I shall not. I will only escort you back to the house and keep my opinions of your folly to myself.”
Arielle begrudgingly took hold of his arm, letting his cleverly hidden insult go, since the wind was picking up considerably, and she had been about to turn back toward the main house anyway. “Why have you come to collect me? Do you not have much more important business to attend?”
Wes stared ahead. “I could not locate James or your sister, and I know the weather will soon be worsening. I headed out myself before wasting any more time.”
“Thank you for thinking of me,” she said softly.
“I only wish you would think of yourself,” he said in exasperation. “Leaving the house and heading this far off was not wise.”
“Can I not simply give my thanks without your lectures, sir?” She asked, trying her best to curb her temper.
“Very well. I have more important matters on my mind as it is.”
“What, pray tell, has you more concerned than hunting me down each day as if it were sport?” She half teased, her smile brightening when he chuckled against his will.
“If you must know, I will soon be leaving for London. Though the height of the Season is a few months off, I shall be attending a bevy of dreadful parties and balls in search of a wife,” he replied glumly.
The disappointment settling in the pit of her stomach unnerved Arielle. “That does not seem to be the most terrible of tasks,” she replied slowly.
