The Incorrigible Mr. Lumley Read Online Free Page B

While in London, Joanna was unable to let
Patriot have his head and she feared he would lose some of the
speed they worked so hard to gain. At the end of the week, Robert
would take him back to Newmarket for the Second Spring Meeting. She
would follow a day later, if he allowed her to attend, making
faster time in a carriage than the walking pace the race horses
traveled.
    A swelling in her throat threatened her
breath when she considered the training of her beloved horse was
most likely to end soon. She’d done all she could. She would have
to be content to watch him from the sidelines with her brother.
    The trails of Hyde Park were occupied by
nannies and dog walkers, their charges doing their best to run
wild. Joanna kept Patriot at a calm pace, only urging him faster
when they reached Rotten Row. She allowed him to trot the length of
the path before turning him. As she again approached Park Lane, she
heard shouts above the thundering of hooves.
    A handsome bay stallion raced past her in
the opposite direction. A block behind him, a man in riding dress
ran after him. Without hesitation, Joanna urged Patriot around and
took chase. She clenched the pommel tightly with her bent leg, and
pressed her crop firmly against Patriot’s side. Holding her horse’s
mane, she bent as low over his neck as possible while sitting
aside.
    She gave Patriot his head and he lengthened
his stride, slowly gaining on the other horse, whose course kept
shifting around the traffic. Ahead of them, men shouted to clear
the road for the runaway. Joanna waited until she was beside the
stallion’s head then reached for his reins while speaking to him in
calming tones. Her left leg trembled with the tension of staying
mounted. The other horse shied away, his eyes wide with fear.
    Joanna nearly fell, but caught herself in
time. Patriot continued to keep pace with the bay, and she kept
talking to it. Seeing a familiar street corner ahead, she guided
Patriot toward the right, forcing the bay in that direction. The
horses slowed slightly, and she heard Wallis’ mount in the distance
behind them. Somehow, she managed to make the turn onto the narrow
side street, which was a dead end.
    The bay slowed drastically in the crush of
street peddlers, carts and shoppers. Joanna grabbed his reins,
encouraging him to a walk. He whinnied and shook his head, but his
ears responded to her voice. His eyes narrowed almost
imperceptibly. Whatever had spooked him was now a distant memory.
Patriot sidestepped beneath her, vocal in his displeasure at the
other stallion’s presence. “Easy, boys, easy. There’s no mare here
to challenge for.”
    She got the horses turned and met Wallis at
the corner. The groom was panting as hard as his mount. “My lady!
His lordship would ‘ave my ‘ide for lettin’ you ride off like that.
It’s a wonder you weren’t thrown.”
    She handed off the stallion’s reins,
noticing the deep crease between Wallis’s brows before she put some
distance between the two stallions. Some years ago, he’d told her
that more than half of his grey hairs were attributable to her
escapades on horseback. He no longer spoke to her that way since
her come out, but the fondness he held for her shone in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Wallis, but I knew Bertie would not carry you fast
enough to catch the bay. I had to ride after him before he hurt
himself.”
    “A runaway horse is not sumthin’ what
should concern a lady. What will his lordship say? What will the
Dowager Countess say?”
    They turned the horses back toward Rotten
Row while Wallis lectured her in his fatherly way. She bit her
tongue when she wanted so badly to defend herself and her love for
speed. Riding fast was not ladylike. Defending oneself to the
servants was even less so, even one who overstepped his place out
of concern for her well-being.
    The horseless rider she’d seen earlier now
trotted up on foot, obviously winded. He grinned at Wallis and
reached for his horse’s bridle.