“I’ll handle that,” she told him, holding out a napkin, in the middle of which sat a blueberry muffin. “Here. I brought you a treat as a little thank you. You have helped me so much, and I do not think I’ve ever expressed how grateful I am.”
His eyes widened at the sight of the muffin, and it seemed as though it took every ounce of strength he possessed to look away from it and up at her.
“My lady, you thank me every day. All the time when you return Scar to the stable and even when you retrieve him for a training session. I am glad to be of help to you, really. But…” he glanced at the pastry in her hand and swallowed. “I should not eat when I am working. It would not be proper.”
Agnes did not relent, keeping her hand extended out to him as she spoke.
“I know you have probably not had anything besides breakfast today, Simon. You should eat more. Everyone in the house – myself and the grumpy Duke included – all care for you. We would be devastated if you were to fall ill due to malnutrition.” She raised her hand a little higher so the pastry could be at his eye level. “It’s nice and warm – straight out of the oven. You should eat it before it gets cold.”
Wordlessly, he collected it, and she smiled, giving into the urge to pat his head gently as she moved to saddle Scar. The horse seemed eager to leave the stables that evening, practically walking ahead of Agnes as she led him out. The warm-up movements between trots and canters went by quickly, and soon, they were practicing their jumps.
Scar had really learned a lot faster than she had expected him to once he had gotten comfortable with the early stages of the training. Now, he could easily clear a height of two bales of hay, one stacked on top of the other. Not to mention his incredible speed when it came to racing. Simon had told her he was the fastest among the other horses, and it showed in how quickly he made his way across the expanse of land on which the mansion sat.
Undoubtedly, Scar was a force to be reckoned with, and Agnes had no doubt that he would make them proud on the day of the competition.
For a bit, she put Scar through the basics of a new trick – the last of which he would be learning for the competition. It would also help strengthen his balance after his jumps, and she thought it would be a nice way to round things up. They took breaks in between, leaving Scar to drink some water and nibble on some grass while she went over some of his progress with Simon.
The stable boy had a keen eye for details at his age, and with his love for horses, he was attuned to their strengths and weaknesses and was able to make suggestions on how to make certain tasks easier for Scar to grasp.
When the sun began to set, Agnes felt they had accomplished enough for the day and turned Scar around to head back to the stables. She had almost arrived at it when she felt an overwhelming urge to look up. Slowly – mostly out of curiosity – Agnes raised her head and felt her heart skip a beat at what she saw.
Silas was standing by the window of his study, staring intently at her.
She wanted to believe otherwise because there was no reason to call it as it was. He had barely spoken to her since their afternoon out, and while he did not seem as cold as before, there were no further shared moments to fuel her delusions of his interest in her.
So… why was he looking at her like that?
He raised his hand and pointed to her, then beckoned her with the same finger. She frowned, thinking of his actions.
He wants me to come to him? Why?
Her eyes widened in panic. Had she done something wrong? Was he really upset and likely to call off the wedding?
“Do not spend the whole evening there. If you make me wait too long, I will be angry!” he shouted at her.
Quickly, she dismounted and handed the reins to Simon before gathering her skirts in her hands and making her way inside. When she arrived at Silas’ study, she was breathless and uneasy, practically shaking.
In a bid to calm herself, she inhaled deeply and exhaled.
Then, she reached out and knocked on the door.
Silas cleared his throat and called her into his study, a little taken aback by how demure she seemed as she came in. Agnes walked in, eyes to the floor as she curtsied, and he gestured for her to stand before his desk, impressed when she did as he asked without a fuss.
Oh, he realized momentarily after noticing her trembling fingers sitting in her lap.She thinks I am upset with her.
That was far from the truth, but Silas had never been one to let go of the opportunity to catch someone off guard, and so, he schooled his expression to feed into her fears.
“How are the wedding preparations going?” he questioned, his tone cold.
“Very well, Your Grace. Nearly everything is in place, and it should go quite seamlessly,” she told him quickly.
He nodded. “And Scar’s training? Has he been doing well?”
At the mention of his horse, she seemed to relax a bit, clearly excited to talk about her favorite pastime.
“He has been doing remarkably well! He is an excellent horse – brilliant, not to mention a fast learner. He has picked up everything I’ve made an effort to teach him really quickly, and I believe he can easily win the competition,” she explained.
Silas nodded wordlessly, staring at her intently. Perhaps it was his lack of vocal response. Perhaps it was his gaze. Silas was not sure which, but something was making her squirm, painting her cheeks so red, he wondered if his fingers would pick up the stain if he ran them over her skin.