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The trees, birches for the most part, were at least twenty feet tall, reaching their fingers to the sky. The undergrowth at their bases, home to badgers or fox, was densely intertwined.
“This brute’s still fresh.” Geoffrey wheeled the grey tightly. “There looks to be some ruins over that way.” He nodded to the east. “Think I’ll just shake the fidgets with a quick gallop.” He glanced at Philip and lifted a brow.
Philip nodded. “We’ll go back by way of the ford. You can join us on the other side.”
Geoffrey located the stream and the ford, nodded agreement, and left.
Antonia watched him cross the fields, an affectionate smile on her lips. Then she sighed and turned to Philip, her eyes holding an expression he could not immediately place. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am to see he hasn’t lost the knack.”
Leading the way off the knoll, Philip raised his brows. “Of riding neck or nothing? Why should he?”
Keeping pace beside him, Antonia’s lips twisted; she gave a light shrug. “Eight years is a long time.”
Philip blinked. A long moment passed before he asked, “Haven’t you—and Geoffrey—been riding regularly?”
Antonia looked up, surprised. “I thought you knew.” When Philip threw her a blank look, she explained, “Papa died in a hunting accident. Virtually immediately Mama sold his stable. She only kept two carriage horses—she said that’s all we’d need.”
Philip kept his eyes fixed ahead; his face felt like stone. His tone was careful even when he asked, “So, essentially since you were last here, you’ve been unable to ride?”
Simply voicing the idea made him blackly furious. She had always found immense joy in riding, delighting in her special affinity with the equine species. What sort of parent would deny her that? His opinion of the late Lady Mannering, never high, spiralled downwards.
Her attention on the roan, Antonia shook her head. “For me, it didn’t really matter, but for Geoffrey—well, you know how important such skills are to young gentlemen.”
Philip forced himself to let her answer pass unchallenged; he had no wish to reopen old wounds. As they gained the flat, he tried for a lighter note. “Geoffrey has, after all, had excellent teachers. Your father and yourself.”
He was rewarded with a swift smile.
“Many would say that I’m hardly a good example, riding as I do.”
“Only because they’re jealous.”
She laughed at that, a warm, husky, rippling sound Philip was certain he’d never heard before. His eyes locked on her lips, on the column of her white throat; his gelding pranced.
Instinctively, he tightened his reins. “Come, let’s ride. Or Geoffrey will tire of waiting.”
They rode side by side, fast but not furiously, chestnut and roan flowing effortlessly over the turf. Geoffrey joined them at the ford; they wheeled and rode on, ultimately clattering into the stableyard a short hour after they had left it.
The two men swung down from their saddles; Philip tossed his reins to Geoffrey, who led both grey and chestnut away.
Before Antonia had well caught her breath, she lost it again. Philip’s hands closed, strong and sure, about her waist. He lifted her, as if she weighed no more than a child, lowering her slowly until her feet touched the ground.
Antonia felt a blush tinge her cheeks; it was all she could do to meet his gaze fleetingly. “Thank you, my lord.” Her heart was galloping faster than any horse.
Philip looked down at her. “The pleasure, my dear, is entirely mine.” He hesitated, then released her. “But do you think you could possibly stop ‘my lording’ me?” His tone, slightly acid, softened. “You used to call me Philip.”
Still breathless, but at least now free of his paralysing touch, Antonia wrestled her wits into order. Frowning, she looked up and met his grey gaze. “That was before you came into the title.” Considering, she tilted her head. “Now that you have, I’ll have to call you Ruthven—like everyone else.”
His eyes, cloudy grey, held hers; for an instant, she thought he would argue. Then the ends of his long lips twisted, in grimace or self-deprecation she couldn’t say. His lids fell; he inclined his head in apparent acquiescence.
“Breakfast awaits.” With a graceful flourish, Philip offered her his arm. “Shall we? Before Geoffrey devours all the herrings.”
Chapter Three
“Ah—I wondered who was attacking my rose bushes.”
Startled in the act of lopping off a developing rose-hip with a buccaneer-like swipe, Antonia jumped. Half-turning, she glanced reprovingly at Philip as he descended the steps to the walk. “Your rose bushes, my lord, are running to seed. Not at all the thing.” With a decisive click, she removed another deadhead.
She had spent the morning inscribing invitations for the fête-champêtre. In the silence of the afternoon, with Henrietta napping, she had taken to the gardens. After their ride that morning, she hadn’t expected to see Philip before dinner.
Smiling lazily, Philip strolled towards her. “Henrietta mentioned you were easing her burden by taking things in hand around the house. Am I to take it you intend to personally deal with anything you discover running to seed around here?”
Poised to pluck a half-opened rose, the delicate bloom cradled in her hand, Antonia froze. Philip had halted a bare foot away; she could feel his gently teasing gaze on her half-averted face. Catching her breath, surreptitiously, she hoped, she looked up and met his eyes. “As to my personal interest, I rather suspect it depends on the subject. However,” she said, turning back and carefully snipping the rose, “as far as the garden is concerned, I intend speaking with your head gardener immediately.” She laid the bloom in the basket on her arm, then looked up. “I take it you don’t disapprove of my…” she gestured gracefully “…impertinence?”
Philip’s smile deepened. “My dear Antonia, if acting as chatelaine can be termed impertinent, you may be as impertinent as you please. Indeed,” he continued, one brow rising, his gaze sweeping her face, “I find it distinctly reassuring to see you thus employed.”
For an instant, Antonia met his gaze, then, with the slightest inclination of her head, turned and glided along the path. Reassuring? Because, as she hoped, he saw such actions as evidence of her wifely skills? Or because she might, conceivably, make his unfettered existence more comfortable?
“The design of your gardens is unusual,” she said, glancing back to find him strolling in her wake like a predator on her trail. “I’ve studied both contemporary and classical landscapes—yours seems a combination of both.”
Philip nodded. “The fact that the lake and stream are so distant from the house rendered the usual water features ineligible. Capability Brown saw it as a challenge.” His eyes met Antonia’s. “One he couldn’t resist.”
“Indeed?” Inwardly cursing the breathlessness that seemed to afflict her whenever he was near, Antonia halted beside a clump of cleomes. “To my mind, he’s succeeded in moulding the raw ingredients into a veritable triumph. The vistas are quite enchanting.” Setting aside her basket, she bent over the clump of soft white flowers, selecting and snipping two stems for her collection.
Beside her, Philip stood transfixed, his gaze on an unexpected but thoroughly enchanting vista. Antonia shifted, then straightened; Philip quickly lifted his gaze to the neat row of conifers bordering the sunken garden. “Yes,” was all he could think of to say.
Antonia threw him a swift, slightly suspicious look; he promptly smiled charmingly down at her. “Have you been through the peony walk?”
“Not for a few days.”
“Come, walk with me there—it’s always a pleasant route.”
Antonia hesitated, then acquiesced. Together, they climbed the steps from the sunken garden, then turned into the narrow hedged walk where peonies of every description filled beds on either side of the flags. Although past their best, the plants were still blooming, displaying splashes of white and all shades of maroon against glossy green leaves. The path had been laid like a stream, gently twisting; here and there, small specimen trees grew, no longer in blossom but adding interest with their foliage.
They strolled in companionable silence, stopping intermittently to admire the extravagant displays. Antonia paused to examine the blooms carried on one long stem; Philip watched the subtle play of her thoughts rippling through her expression.
She was, on the one hand, so very familiar; on the other, so startlingly different.
He had almost grown accustomed to the change in her voice, to the husky undertone he found so alluring. Her eyes, a complex medley of greens and golds, had not altered but her gaze, although still direct, seemed more deeply assured. As for the rest of her, that had certainly changed. There was poise, now, where before had been youthful hedonism; elegant grace had replaced a young girl’s haste.
His gaze caressed her hair, glinting golden in the sunlight; he was prepared to accept that it was still as long and thick as he recalled. The curves that filled her muslin gown were, however, an entirely new development—a thoroughly distracting development.
Her head used to barely reach his shoulder yet when she turned, Philip found his lips level with her forehead.
Bare inches away.
His gaze dropped and met hers, wide and, he realised, somewhat startled. Her scent wafted about him, rose, honeysuckle and some essence he could not name.
Her gaze trapped in his, Antonia caught her breath, only to find she could not release it. Unable to move, unable to speak, unable to tear her eyes from the darkening grey of his, she stood before him, feeling like a canary staring at a cat.
Smoothly, Philip stepped back. “It’s nearly time for luncheon. Perhaps we should return?” His lids veiled his eyes; languidly, he waved to a cross-path that would lead them back to the house.
Slowly exhaling, Antonia glanced up at the sky. Her heart was racing. “Indeed.” In search of a topic—any topic—she asked, “What was it that brought you to the garden?”
Philip’s gaze ranged ahead, his expression bland as he considered and rejected the truth. In the distance, he saw Geoffrey returning from the stables. “I wanted to ask if Geoffrey had had any experience of driving. After what you told me of your last years, I imagine he’s lacked male guidance. Would you like me to teach him?”
Looking down, he caught the peculiar expression that flitted, very briefly, across Antonia’s features.
“Oh, yes,” she said, throwing him a grateful glance. “If you would, you would earn his undying gratitude. And mine.”
“I’ll take him out then.”
Antonia nodded, her eyes downcast. Side by side, they walked towards the house. Puzzling over her strange look, Philip shot her a shrewd glance, then slowly smiled. Schooling his features to an expression of deep consideration, he said, “Actually, I have to confess I’ve no experience of teaching striplings. Perhaps, as you are, unquestionably, a superior horsewoman and in loco parentis, as it were, I should practise my tutoring skills on you?”
Antonia’s head came up; she fixed him with a clear, very direct glance. “You’ll teach me to drive?”
Philip managed to keep the smile from his face. “If you would care for it.”
“I didn’t think—” Antonia frowned. “That is, I’d understood that it was no longer particularly fashionable for ladies of the ton to drive themselves.”
“Only in certain circumstances and only—pray God—when they can actually manage the reins.” Halting at the bottom of the terrace steps, Philip turned to face her. “It’s entirely acceptable for a lady to drive a gig or a phaeton in the country.”
Antonia raised a brow. “And in town?”
Both Philip’s brows rose. “My dear Antonia, if you imagine I’ll let you tool my horses in the Park, you’re misguided, my child.”
Antonia’s eyes flashed; she lifted her chin. “What carriage do you drive in London?”
“A high-perch phaeton. Forget it,” Philip tersely advised. “I’ll permit you to drive my curricle, but only here.”
Brows rising haughtily, Antonia started up the steps. “But when we get to London—”
“Who knows?” Philip mused. “You might turn out to be ham-fisted.”
“Ham—!” Antonia rounded on him—or tried to, only to feel his fingers close about her elbow. Effortlessly, he propelled her over the threshold into the morning-room where Henrietta sat tatting.
“One step at a time, my dear.” His words were a murmur in her ear. “Let’s see how well you can handle the reins before you reach for the whip.”
That comment, of course, ensured she was on her mettle when, the following afternoon, Philip lifted her to the box-seat of his curricle. Determined that nothing—not even he—would distract her from her lesson, Antonia thrust her ridiculous sensitivity to the back of her mind and carefully gathered the reins.
“Not like that.” Philip climbed up beside her, settling on the seat alongside. Deftly plucking the reins from her fingers, he demonstrated the correct hold, then laid the leather ribbons in her palms, tracing their prescribed path through her fingers with his. Despite her gloves, Antonia had to lock her jaw against the sensation of his touch. She frowned.
Philip noticed. He sat back, resting one arm along the back of the seat. “Today, we’ll go no faster than a sedate trot. Not having second thoughts, are you?”
Antonia shot him a haughty look. “Of course not. What now?”
“Give ’em the office.”
Antonia clicked the reins; the horses, a pair of perfectly matched greys, lunged.
Her shriek lodged in her throat. Philip’s arm locked about her; his other hand descended over hers as she grappled with the reins. The curricle rattled down the drive, not yet fast but with the greys lengthening their stride. The next seconds passed in total confusion—by the time she had the horses under control and pacing, restless but aware of her authority at the other end of the ribbons, Antonia was more rattled than she had ever been in her life before.
She shot Philip a fiery glance but could not—dared not—take exception to the steely arm anchoring her safely to his side. And despite the urge to tell him just what she thought of his tactics, she felt ridiculously grateful that he had not, in fact, taken control, but had let her wrestle with his thoroughbreds, entrusting their soft mouths to her skill, untutored though he knew that to be.
It took several, pulse-pounding minutes before she had herself sufficiently in hand to turn her head and meet his improbably bland gaze with one of equal impassivity. “And now?”
She saw his lips twitch.
“Just follow the drive. We’ll stay in the lanes until you feel more confident.”
Antonia put her nose in the air and gave her attention to his horses. She had, as she had earlier informed him, some experience of driving a gig. Managing a dull-witted carriage horse was not in the same league as guiding a pair of high-couraged thoroughbreds. At first, the task took all her concentration; Philip spoke only when necessary, giving instructions in clear and precise terms. Only when she was convinced she had mastered the “feel”, the response of the horses to her commands, did she permit herself to relax enough to take stock.
Only then did the full import of her situation strike her.
Philip’s arm had loosened yet still lay protectively about her. Although still watchful, he sat back beside her, his gaze idly scanning the fields. They were in a lane, bordered by hedges, meandering along a rolling ridge. Glimpses of distant woods beyond emerald fields, of orchards and of willows lining streams, beckoned; Antonia saw none of them, too distracted by the sensation of the solid masculine thigh pressed alongside hers.
She drew in a deep breath and felt her breasts swell, impossibly sensitive against her fine chemise. If she’d been wearing stays, she would have been sure they were laced too tight. That left only one reason for her giddiness—the same ridiculous sensitivity that had assailed her from the first, from the moment she had met Philip in the hall. She had put it down to simple nervousness—if not that, then merely a dim shadow of the infatuation she had felt for years.
An infatuation she had convinced herself would fade when confronted with reality.
Instead, reality had taken her infatuation and turned it into—what?
A shiver threatened—Antonia struggled to suppress it.
She didn’t, in fact, succeed.
Through the arm about her, Philip felt the telltale reaction. Lazily, he studied her, his gaze shrewd and penetrating. Her attention was locked on his leader’s ears. “I’ve been thinking—about Geoffrey.”
“Oh?”
“I was wondering if, considering his age, it might not be advisable to temporarily delay his departure for Oxford. He hasn’t seen much of the world—a few weeks in London might be for the best. It would certainly put him on a more even footing with his peers.”
Her gaze on the road, Antonia frowned. After neatly if absentmindedly taking the next corner, she replied, “For myself, I agree.” She grimaced and glanced fleetingly at Philip. “But I’m not sure he will—he’s very attached to his books. And how can we argue, if the time wasted will put him behind?”
Philip’s lips curved. “Don’t worry your head about convincing him—you may leave that to me.”
Antonia shot him a glance, clearly not sure whether to encourage him or not.
Philip pretended not to notice. “As for his studies, his academic performance is, I’m sure, sufficiently strong for him to catch up a few weeks without difficulty. Where’s he going?”
“Trinity.”
“I know the Master.” Philip smiled to himself. “If you like, I’ll write and ask permission to keep him down until the end of the Little Season.”
Antonia slowed the greys in order to turn and study him. “You know the Master?”
Philip lifted a haughty brow. “Your family is not the only one with a connection to the college.”
Antonia’s eyes narrowed. “You went there?”
