Lady Anna sighed in a resigned manner, eyeing her goddaughter in a judgmental way as she said, “It is because horses are involved. This child is nearly obsessed with the creatures. If she is not watched closely, she could live in a stable.”
“Oh, Silas has attempted to do that before. It did not bode well for him, and he returned after a single night spent in a stall.” Alexandra nodded as though she were sharing some devastating news.
Silas choked on his drink and began to cough, turning to his grandmother with wide eyes to beg her not to continue the tale. Agnes beat him to it, eagerly enquiring,
“What happened? However, did he come up with that idea?”
“You know how young boys are – always believing that they are capable of whatever it is they put their precious little hearts to. It was just shortly after he had received Scar as a birthday gift. He was so attached to the horse, desperate to spend his every waking hour with the creature, and one night, he announced over dinner that he, henceforth, would be dwelling in the stables. His grandfather had nodded seriously and wished him good luck, and he had been so happy to gain his approval of the ridiculous idea. I tried to convince him that it was a bad idea, but you know children and how stubborn they can be.
“And so I let my precious little man do what he wished. The next morning at breakfast, he appeared at the table, covered in bug bites, and his grandfather asked if he would be moving back into his chambers, and he said yes. We never heard a word about it again.”
Silas groaned, pressing his face into his hands. “Why must you hate me so?”
“That was a charming story. I would’ve never imagined that you would be so committed to something.” Agnes teased.
“If it is about horses, his world would light up over it,” Alexandra assured.
“Agnes is the very same,” Lady Anna added, then momentarily paused thoughtfully before speaking up again. “It is odd that youboth have not decided to ride together. Perhaps you can share your equestrian knowledge.”
Agnes blinked, panicking as she waved her hands to dissuade her godmother from the idea. “No, that is not –”
“That is a wonderful idea, Annie. They should ride together.” The Dowager Duchess nodded in support, waving over a servant. “Tell Simon to fetch two horses from the stable and to bring them over to us so that the Duke and Lady Agnes can ride around for a bit.”
“Grandmother, please –”
“Silas, dear, tell him what horses to bring.” She waved at him.
Silas barely managed to stifle a groan, exhaling instead as he requested Scar and Outlaw to be brought to them.
“Outlaw? You have quite a flair for naming horses,” Agnes mumbled sarcastically as they walked out of the gazebo.
“They are my horses; I can name them whatever I wish,” Silas said, almost sounding petulant.
He then gave Agnes a once over and asked, “Are you sure you are well enough to be riding?”
Agnes sighed, long-suffering, and pointed at him in warning. “The next person who fusses over my well-being will receive my wrath.”
Silas raised his hands and stepped away, exhaling in relief as the horses arrived. He reached for Scar’s reins and nodded in Agnes’ direction, and the other horse was taken to her.
“Do not worry,” he told her as she eyed the saddle uncertainly. “I bought another, and I made Simon ensure that they were thoroughly checked before any horse was saddled.”
Agnes nodded and prepared to mount, confused when Silas held her arm and asked her,
“Wait… don’t you… can you do it?”
“So help me God, Silas –”
He didn’t wait for her to finish her statement, returning his attention to his own horse. He mounted easily, and when he looked back to her to see if she was doing all right, she had already settled on her own horse, stroking his mane and whispering compliments to him. Silas urged Scar to walk, and Outlaw followed behind, with Agnes looking quite at home on top of the stallion.
She called out to him, and when he looked in her direction, she asked.
“Do you want to race?”
“I don’t think –”
“That oak tree!” She pointed at a tree in the distance. “The last one there owes the winner a favor!”
Silas barely heard the last words in her statement before she darted forward, kicking Outlaw into a canter that quickly increased into a run. Cursing under his breath, he urged Scar to do the same, a little distracted by the way Agnes’ hair whipped around behind her in the wind. He could hear her laugh, could practically feel the excitement she was intoxicated with as she bounced atop her saddle, the gap between them widening more and more.