Her eyes crinkled as she pinned the duke with a solemn look. “Do you trust him—Sebastian?”
“Yes. With my life.” Without hesitation the words came, genuine, from the duke.
Brianna stared at him, searching for something to make her believe what seemed to come so easily to everyone around her. “How can you say that?”
“What do you mean?”
“How can you trust someone that unequivocally?” Brianna shook her head, attempting to manifest words that could explain. “You say something like that, and there is no question in your voice. But how can you really know what is in another’s mind? For what someone puts forth to the world can be very different from what true intentions are.”
He nodded, an understanding smile crinkling his face. “That is true. But it is not only instinct that informs my belief, it is history as well. Never once have I questioned Seb’s honor. His integrity—although his actions next to the stream with you were highly suspect.”
Brianna could not help a small smile from crossing her face.
“You will recall, we were in the wars together,” the duke said. “And through all of the death and injury that surrounded us—when sane men would have run and not have been called cowards, Seb was loyal—to his own detriment—to me, to the mission. He is loyal to a fault. Quite simply, I trust him because he deserves it.”
“I did not realize that about him.”
“You have only known him for a week, Brianna, so it is forgivable,” the duke said. His fingers tapped the table as he watched at her. “Here is what I know about Seb, Brianna. He has never once failed me. His intentions are pure. But he is also always moving. This past month—between London and Notlund—is the longest I have ever seen him stay in one place. He runs. From one location to another. Since the wars, he has always been like that. Nothing makes him stay in one place for more than a few days. But not now. It has been fascinating to witness.”
The duke stood from the table, stopping in front of her. “And quite honestly, Brianna, there is only one reason he is here, feet planted at Notlund.”
Brianna looked up to him, her voice tiny. “Me?”
He gave one crisp nod. “Yes. So that is how I know he wants to make a life with you. He would already be gone, were that not true.”
{ Chapter 8 • Earl of Destiny }
The pounding hooves sidled Brianna, appearing out of nowhere. Halfway down the open border of the south woods where she could really let Moonlight fly in the morning mist, she looked at the snorting black nostrils next to her.
Her head craned back. Sebastian.
She yanked up on the reins.
Moonlight slowed, then pranced in a circle, upset that the run had been interrupted. Brianna tried to control the horse’s fidgeting while glaring at Sebastian. “I was the only one in the stables—how did you catch up to me so quickly?”
Sebastian’s mouth curled up, the devil smile appearing with his shrug. “Seven days’ worth of you slipping from under my arm in the morning and making me trail you from far behind, and Little Tommy is now under orders to ready a horse for me the second you step foot in the stables.”
“Tommy? He was asleep in the hay when I went by him.”
“You must have woken him.”
“Yes, well, next time I will be sure to kick him awake so I do not have to saddle Moonlight myself. Apparently, the little bugger was bamboozling me with his fake snores.”
Sebastian chuckled. “Quite possible. He is not the most enthusiastic worker.”
Brianna tugged on the reins, finally stilling Moonlight’s excited steps. “Well, there is no need for you to follow me. I am just out for a ride, as I have been every other day this past week. You need not worry about a clandestine meeting for me this morning.”
“Or I could simply accompany you.”
“Or you could make your way back to the stables.”
“Are you afraid I will put your riding skills to shame?” He smiled at her, charm oozing. Damn if it didn’t make him look even more attractive. And he full well knew it.
Her frown deepened. She was completely aware he was baiting her. She had just spent the past week successfully avoiding her new husband, or at least ensuring she had the barrier of other people in the same room with them.
That, combined with retiring early every night and feigning sleep when he entered his bedroom, and Brianna had managed to have very little real conversation with Sebastian.
She knew she couldn’t continue it forever, but she had hoped the avoidance could go on for a long stretch. But now he was right in front of her, no buffer available. No buffer except to keep the horses moving.
Brianna didn’t want company—she never did when out riding, but what did it matter if he rode along with her? If he became too bothersome, she could unleash Moonlight and be free of him.
She gave him a curt nod. “If you can keep up, I will not resist your presence.”
She turned Moonlight, nudging her into motion. The mare was only too happy to oblige, and sprang forward, back up to her interrupted pace in seconds.
Brianna had the jump on Sebastian, but within two minutes, he was next to her, his black horse going stride for stride with hers. She pushed Moonlight harder, taking the lead, and turned inward to a trail that snaked through the woods.
Stuck behind her on the skinny path, Sebastian grumbled a laugh, and the second the trail widened, he attacked, passing her and sticking her with the dust.
Back and forth they traded the lead, mud flying as they crossed over the stream five times, weaving along the forest trails, clearing fallen trees, and bolting through two wide-open pastures. By the time they had raced down the last grassy knoll, far from Notlund, Brianna was gasping for breath, her muscles screaming for her to stop.
She looked over at Sebastian. He was watching her, smiling—not winded—but she could see the sweat on his brow.
Back near the bank of the stream, Sebastian pulled up, slowing his black horse. Even exhausted, Brianna wasn’t about to give in and stop first, so she was silently ecstatic when he halted and she was able to follow suit. As, she imagined, was Moonlight.
Sebastian was off his horse, removing his gloves and to her side before Moonlight’s feet had stopped.
His hand came up to help her down. Brianna grabbed it, her thigh slipping off the pommel of the saddle. Instantly, his free arm came up around her waist, and he slid her downward along his body. Unexpected, but she had to admit it was easier than jumping down from the saddle in her riding habit.
Sebastian didn’t release her right away, instead, holding her captive between him and her horse.
Busy energy still coursing through her body, she looked up at him, smiling. “That was fun.”
A half smile caught his face as his thumb came up, wiping a splotch of mud from her temple. “You say it like you are surprised you could actually have fun with me.”
“Well…” Her head tilted back and forth noncommittally.
He squeezed her waist, bringing her tight to his body.
She laughed, pushing off from his chest and grabbing Moonlight’s reins. “I just was not expecting it. I have never ridden with anyone like that. Usually I am anxious, waiting impatiently when I ride with another.”
She patted Moonlight’s white neck and then started to walk her horse down the grassy bank to the stream. “I did not realize you had such skill with a horse, but I suppose I should have guessed.”
“Why is that?” Sebastian joined her, bringing his black stallion to the water’s edge.
“Your work with the horses. You must know just how to push them to get the best from them in order to choose the right ones. The duke has said there is no one better than you at recognizing horses of great worth.”
“Then I owe him a thank you if he informed your opinion thusly.” Sebastian tied back his reins to his saddle, letting the horse wander along the bank of the stream, nosing about for the juiciest grass.
“The duke’s o
pinion only verified what I just witnessed.” Taking off her gloves and dark blue riding jacket, now splattered with mud, Brianna knelt by the stream, dipping her hands into the water. “I do realize you could have gone on much longer than me.”
“I cannot believe you just uttered those words.” His feet stopped next to her and he bent, balancing on one knee. He cupped water to splash his face and then the back of his neck.
Brianna looked at him, chuckling, watching the water drip down his neck and soak the top of his white linen shirt. He had foregone a jacket this morning—probably in too much of a rush to catch her. Again, like every morning this week, she had been forced to slip out from under his arm over her belly that morning. She would have to become more skilled at not waking him.
He looked over to her, smirk on his face.
She rolled her eyes, splashing a spray of water his way. “Do not think it was easy for me to admit to such a thing. Do you ever enter races with your horses?”
“Occasionally—minor ones, but only when we are trying to convince an owner or investor of the worth of our breeding lines. We have jockeys for the major races like the Derby and Oaks at Epsom Downs.”
Sebastian sat back on the edge of the stream, crunching small, smooth pebbles as he stretched his legs out in front of him and leaned back on his palms. “And then we have a number of other riders throughout England and the continent that race our horses.”
“They are successful?”
“Our horses do have an admirable winning percentage behind them.”
Brianna pulled a handkerchief from the pocket in her skirt, dipping it into the water and wiping away the other splotches of mud she could feel on her face.
“I apologize for the mud splatters,” Sebastian said, pointing at her face.
“It is nothing. Mud only signifies a good ride.” Brianna looked over her shoulder at him. “And I am not the only one with a splotch or two.”
Smirking, she turned, leaning back to him to wipe clear two mud spots that remained on the side of his cheek, mixing with the dark stubble.
She went back to the stream, dipping the cloth and rinsing it in the water, then wrapped it around the back of her neck before she sat down next to Sebastian.
“Water?” Sebastian handed her a leather-wrapped flask.
Brianna sipped from it, relaxing for a few moments in comfortable silence, letting her eyes rest on the rolling water and her mind wander into nothingness.
Sebastian sat just as easily in the silence, gazing at the ground rising from the stream opposite them where the rocks and pebbles transitioned into a hill covered with long, flowing grasses.
He nodded to the view across from them, his voice breaking through the crackle of the water and the birds chirping. “That—I have always loved when the fields come alive—when the wind hits the grasses, waking them up, making them dance in green waves. So free, so much space. Just like the fields we went flying through.”
Brianna watched his profile. He was handsome, and each and every time she looked at him, she was reminded of it. His full dark hair with streaks of light brown in it, a finely cut jaw and hard cheekbones.
If she had thought to actually gain a husband, he would have been very much what she would have been attracted to. And for all she didn’t trust him, she was having a hard time not liking this man, liking his depth of character. Liking that no matter how many frowns she threw his way, he was unaffected—seeing right through them.
Maybe he truly did have an unnatural ability to see things others could not. At least with her.
She picked up a pebble, rubbing the smoothness of it on the pads of her fingers. “Is that why you spend so little time in London—you like the open lands? The duke told me you rarely stayed there for long. You must like the freedom?”
“Too much so. I have never been one for the close quarters of London. Nor for being pinned down in one place. I know Rowe thinks I am a wanderer.”
“Are you?”
He smiled his devil grin, his eyes still watching the grasses play. “Possibly.” His look swung to Brianna, the brown in his eyes particularly warm in the dappled sunlight. “But I am finding wandering less and less appealing.”
Transfixed by his gaze for a long moment, Brianna knew exactly what he implied.
It caught her off-guard, as all those moments did when he looked at her like that—the look that silently screamed he wanted to grab her, kiss her, tug the shirt off her shoulder, slide her skirts up...
Brianna yanked back on her wandering thoughts, clearing her throat and setting the flask down as she forced her eyes to the stream. It would not do to look at him in those moments. Though she was highly suspicious of his attentions, she was finding it harder and harder to resist them.
She flipped the smooth pebble in her fingers, tossing it into the stream and watching the rings float away with the slow-moving water.
“Where are your lands, Seb? I never hear you speak of them.”
“You have never asked. Most of them are scattered throughout Suffolk and Essex. We also have a few swathes in Lancashire.”
“What are they like?” Brianna pointed at the field across from them. “Do they look like this? Do you have stables and pastures like here at Notlund?”
“No. My family never cared for horses past the coaches they pulled, even though there are pockets devoted to horse racing near our lands. Most of the Suffolk land has rich dirt for crops. And in Lancashire we are devoted to sheep and we have several textile mills.”
Brianna nodded, tossing another pebble before looking at him. “Your family? Do you have brothers or sisters?”
“My father and older brother are dead. I have no other siblings. My mother lives mostly at our main estate in Suffolk.”
“Your mother is alive?” Brianna sat straight, turning toward him.
“Yes. Why?”
“I did…I did not think she was alive. I am surprised she has not been invited to Notlund, what with our marriage. It is not done that I have not met her. Will she be coming soon—has she been invited to Notlund?”
A deep frown settled on Sebastian’s face. “I doubt she would come.” He looked away from her. “Nor is she awaiting a visit from her son.”
The way he said it, sharp, with a note of closure, clamped Brianna’s mouth shut.
For all that she hid from him, he wasn’t exactly forthcoming about information of his own family.
Before she could explore the topic of his mother further, Sebastian’s frowned eased, and he pinned her with his eyes.
“Speaking of family, Brianna, I have been curious about something.”
Brianna’s guard flew up. “Yes?”
“Tell me what your sister refers to when she says you are doing something to her again. I have heard Lily say that more than once to you. So what is it that you are doing to her again?”
A quick glance to his face, and Brianna picked up the flask for a slow sip before setting it down and leaning forward, resting her forearms on her knees.
Sebastian grabbed the flask, swallowing a healthy gulp as he waited for her to answer.
She stared at the water tumbling past a mound of rocks at the edge of the stream, weighing her response.
While she had never shied from taking responsibility for what she did, she hesitated. For some reason, she didn’t want to have to highlight her flaws in front of Sebastian. But if he wanted to learn of the real her—what she was capable of—he may as well hear it from her lips.
Brianna’s eyes stayed on the water as she swallowed sigh. “About a year ago, Lily was in love and wanted to marry a man, Garek Harrison. He was not good enough for her, so I paid him to leave her alone. To leave the country.”
Sebastian sputtered out the water he was drinking. “You what?”
“I paid him to leave, to disappear.” Brianna refused to look in his direction. “The very fact that he took the money proved he was not worthy of Lily. No one is who can be bought so easily.”
&nbs
p; “So you manipulated the situation? Took away someone Lily loved?”
Her head whipped to him, her eyes meeting his. “I am not proud of what I did, Seb—of how I went about it. I could have done it in a more delicate way, but I panicked, and that is what happened. I cannot change my actions.”
“And Lily found out?”
“Yes.”
“So why do you even think to interfere with her and Lord Newdale?”
“I am still going to protect her, Seb. And the past is exactly why I need to investigate Lord Newdale so thoroughly. I cannot be wrong about him. If I interfere again—if I block anything between the two of them, I have to be absolutely certain of his intentions where Lily is concerned.”
“You were not certain of the man you paid off?”
“Yes…No. Not certain enough. There was a possibility I was wrong, but I did it anyway.”
“Do you regret it?”
“Yes. At least that I acted without knowing all of the facts as actual facts. And that is why Lily continues to remind me of my past actions—she has never fully forgiven me for it. Not that she should.” She shook her head, her voice trailing. A pause, and then her eyes snapped to Sebastian. “But I do not apologize for keeping him away from Lily. Whether or not I was certain of him, of the facts, there were lies and he was not to be trusted.”
“So it is back to that. Trust.” Sebastian set the flask down, grinding the leather wrap into the pebbles. “Is there anyone you trust, Brianna?”
“Lily.” She shrugged. “Wynne and the duke, partially.”
“That is your list?”
“Yes.”
“What about me? What about your husband?”
“I have only known you for a fortnight, Seb. I have no reason to trust you.”
“I married you. Married you without any gain for myself. Does my faith, my trust in you not count for anything?”
“You trust in your own instinct, Seb, not in me.” Her look went back to the stream. “Do not confuse the two.”
The rocks clinked beside her as Sebastian sat upright. He grabbed her chin, forcing her gaze to his face. A face that looked more intense than she had ever seen it. Heat pulsated through his fingers, throbbing against her skin.
Lord of Fates: A Complete Historical Regency Romance Series (3-Book Box Set) Page 38
