Gentleman's Guide 01 - His Impetuous Debutante (20 page)

“
You don’t seem overly
worried. Why is that?” He asked.

“
When you have been with
Lady Phoebe as long as I, you get used to these things
happening.”

“
She has been in a
carriage accident before? She has cracked her ribs
before?”

“
Yes, but not at the same
time. I believe she was racing the carriage when it overturned. The
cracked ribs occurred when she fell from a tree, I
believe.”

“
But those were caused by
her own actions. Today she was a passenger in my
carriage.”

Holly’s eyes softened towards him.
“Lord Sandlin, your servants filled me in on your past wives and I
am deeply sorry for you. But you need not worry where Phoebe is
concerned.”

“
How can you say that?” He
demanded.

“
Because I have seen her
get into more scrapes than the rest of the community combined and
she always prevails. She is destined to live a long life. If God
had meant to take her at a young age, he has already had plenty of
opportunity.”

“
You truly believe
this?”

Her face softened further. “Yes, my
lord. I have been seeing to Lady Phoebe since she was an infant.
That one has too much life in her to be taken before she has seen
her great-grandchildren enter the world.”

Turning to the rest of his staff,
Taylor declared. “I am sure we are probably over reacting to the
situation.”

“
We have good reason, my
lord,” the elderly cook offered.

“
That we do,” Taylor
acknowledged. “But for my peace of mind, please keep a close eye on
her.”

“
It has been four weeks
since the accident and I am more than healed.” Phoebe stood in the
foyer, arms crossed over her chest, and tapped her foot.

“
It is not safe and I will
not have you injured again.” Taylor ordered back, voice
rising.

“
I will not be injured. I
have ridden for years.” She was not willing to give on the
issue.

“
Not with healing ribs,
I’m sure.”

“
No, but with a broken
arm,” she retorted in anger.

Taylor muffled a curse. “Well, I will
not sit around while you continue on your reckless course.”
Approaching her, he bent and lifted her, throwing her over his
shoulder, and turned toward the stairs. “I would really like to
blister your bottom, but see I must use some sort of distraction to
turn you from your path of destruction.” He mounted the stairs to
the bedroom.

Phoebe pounded on his back and began
kicking her legs. Taylor quickly subdued her legs. She proceeded to
pound on his back again, yelling at him to put her down. The maids
in the hall scampered out of the way when they reached the landing
and proceeded to their room. He kicked the door closed behind him
and he tossed her onto the bed. Phoebe sat up quickly and
defiantly.

“
Don’t you dare think you
can use this tactic to keep me from riding.”

“
I hadn’t planned on it,
my dear. I just didn’t want the entire household to hear our
argument.”

Phoebe got off the bed and set to
putting her hair back once again; it fell coming up the stairs. A
comb was missing. She stood to walk to the door.

“
Where do you think you
are going?”

“
I dropped a comb and
would like to retrieve it.” Her chin jutted out in
defiance.

Taylor grabbed her arm and whirled her
about. “The comb can wait. We need to discuss your reckless
nature.”

“
Wanting to ride a horse
doesn’t exactly qualify as reckless.”

“
It does when you are
injured.”

“
I am fine.”

“
Perhaps I should examine
your injury once again, to make sure you are fit,” he suggested and
reached out for her.

Phoebe danced backwards. “You just
threw me over your shoulder and carried me up the stairs. If that
caused no pain to my ribs, then horseback riding won’t
either.”

His hand dropped to his side. “I
didn’t hurt you, did I? I didn’t even consider. How could I have
been so foolish to treat you in such a manner?”

Phoebe laughed, though she really
shouldn’t. Taylor looked horrified with his open mouth, pale skin
and wide eyes, but he now understood that she was fine. “Now, if
you will excuse me.” She left the room and started down the
stairs.

“
If you are so bent on
doing this, then I see I will be forced to accompany you, to keep
you from trying anything foolish.” He caught up to her.

Phoebe stopped in the middle of the
stairs and turned toward him. “Such as?”

He shrugged. “I am not so sure, but I
will be there just in case you get some wild idea in your
head.”

Phoebe huffed, turned and marched down
the stairs.

He grabbed her arm to stop her. “There
will be no wild running,” Taylor stated with more seriousness then
she had ever seen.

Looking deep into his eyes, she
wondered what he was thinking. Worry marred his brow.

“
I would rather you got
used to the lay of the land before you run madly across
it.”

She knew he wasn’t giving her the true
reason, but she would accept it. In time she would be able to read
him more easily and judge what he was really thinking. “I’ll do as
you wish. Today.” She preceded him out the door to the
stables.

*

A week later Taylor finally relented
and allowed Phoebe to ride the stallion she had her eye on. After
the way she had handled all the other horses, he was confident she
could control this horse as well. Besides, she grew up in a family
that bred horses, and he now understood why she had felt insulted
when he asked if she had fallen from her horse.

They came through the trees at the
west end of the property, open fields stretched out before them.
Phoebe stopped her horse and turned to him. She smiled at him
mischievously, her green eyes twinkled with delight and she bent
over slightly, held tight to the reins and with one quick nudge of
her knee, the horst bolted, flying across the field. Her midnight
hair flew behind and her laughter could be heard in the wind.
Cursing, Taylor pushed his own horse to follow, leaning forward for
added speed. He hoped to catch her, almost believing he wouldn’t.
He had to admire her style. She rode the horse as if she were a
part of him. Never once did she use a crop to urge the animal to go
faster, only encouraging words, which he caught bits and pieces
of.

She glanced back and must have
realized how close he was getting because she leaned forward and
was practically laying her head on the horse’s neck. First the
horse neighed, pulled up and stepped right before rearing. Phoebe
sat up and held the reins tightly. Taylor watched the scene unfold
in slow motion. Unable to reach her, panic built inside him. He was
positive he would witness her fall and watch her be trampled by the
hooves. She hadn’t been thrown, but held on like the magnificent
horsewoman she was. Unfortunately, even though the horse was no
longer rearing, he was very agitated, and Phoebe struggled to bring
the animal under control.

Coming to her side, Taylor threw his
arm out, wrapped it around her waist, and lifted her from the
horse, setting her in front of him. The magnificent beast she had
been riding danced to the side, turned and headed back to the
stable, just as Taylor was slowing his own horse, bringing it
around.

“
I can’t imagine what
caused him to react such a way. I did nothing to hurt the poor
animal.” Phoebe appeared more bewildered than scared. She wasn’t
even shaking from the ordeal and, as a matter of fact, she was
quite composed. In that moment, Taylor was glad she was before him,
so she couldn’t see his face or the raw fear he knew must be
present. He tried to bring his breath and racing heart under
control and set a slow, steady pace for the horse.

“
It is certainly
uncharacteristic for the beast.” He hoped she didn’t recognize the
anxiousness in his voice. “I’ll have to check with the stable
master to see if something has happened that I am unaware
of.”

“
I would be interested to
find out, Taylor. I haven’t had to control an animal like that
since I was helping my father break some newer breeds he had
shipped in from America.”

Taylor stiffened. “You helped break
horses?”

“
Yes. The ones from
America were far from wild, but they were not as calm and obedient
as those raised in our own stables.”

“
I had no idea.” No wonder
she had held her seat so well. How often she had landed on that
pretty bottom before she learned to hold on and keep her balance.
If her father had allowed such activities for the young lady, no
wonder Phoebe was so reckless.

The horse Phoebe had been riding made
it back to the stable long before they did, as it had run full
speed until it entered the yard. As they rode up, there was no sign
of the horse, but Nelden was waiting, worried.

“
Is the Lady unhurt, Lord
Sandlin?”

“
I am fine,” Phoebe
laughed. He didn’t throw me. He just became a little
irritable.

“
Thank the Lord.” He
looked up to the sky before he turned his eyes to Taylor. They held
something more than concern and relief and Taylor knew there was
something wrong.

“
Is Romeo unhurt?” He
dismounted and then helped Phoebe from the horse.

“
In a manner of speaking,
my lord.”

Taylor noticed his hesitant tone. The
hairs on the back of his neck rose and a chill raced down his
spine.

“
Has he been injured in
any way?” Phoebe asked.

The groom cast a quick glance to
Taylor before he answered. “More anxious than anything, my lady. It
appears something spooked him.”

“
He did certainly act
spooked when he reared. Didn’t he, Taylor?”

“
That would be one way of
describing the situation,” Taylor responded in a dry tone. “See to
the horses, I’ll be out later to check on him.” With a hand in the
small of her back, Taylor escorted Phoebe into the
house.

“
Do you think we should go
check on him now?” Phoebe looked back over her shoulder.

“
No,” he dismissed. “I
have the best stable master in the country. He will determine what
is wrong.” He steered her toward his library. She took a seat after
he closed the door. He walked directly to the decanter, poured two
tumblers full of brandy and handed one to Phoebe.

“
Taylor, you are
shaking.”

He sighed heavily and sank into the
seat across from her as he drank deeply. “The incident has upset me
more than it did you, I can see.”

“
The horse simply was
spooked and reared.”

He held up his hand to stop her. “That
isn’t all of it, Phoebe. Nora, my first wife, was killed when a
horse threw her. She broke her neck.”

Phoebe’s eyes went wide and she
visibly paled. “I am so sorry,” she whispered.

“
When I saw the horse
rear, I was scared to death this was a replay of
before.”

“
Were you with her when it
happened?”

“
No, I wasn’t.” Taylor
sipped, a bit calmer now.

“
Still, no wonder. I am
sorry I made light of the situation, but I truly felt I had matters
in hand.”

“
You did. I over-reacted
to the situation. You handled the horse admirably.” He tilted his
glass in salute, before he refilled it.

“
Tell me about them. Your
other wives.”

He studied her for a moment, not
really wishing to discuss the past. Yet, she did have a right to
know. Perhaps then she would better understand why he was so
protective. “Very well. My first wife was Nora and a huge mistake.
I was so anxious to marry and produce an heir as dictated by the
will, I didn’t really stop to consider that the woman I married
would be with me my entire life.” He downed his drink. “Of course,
I didn’t know then what the future held. I met her during her
second Season. She knew what to say, how to behave and how to play
the role that would catch a titled husband. I fell for her shy
flirtations and married her. Within weeks the lady showed her true
colors. She made it very clear that she had no desire to live in
the country longer than necessary and would not miss a minute of
the Season. She required clothing and jewels due her standing
within society.”

Phoebe’s eyes were now wide with
shock. She stared, mouth open. With a half-smile and chuckle, he
added, “She was equally thankful the child would be born almost
three months before the Season began, so she would have ample time
to recover and order new clothing as a reward for providing an
heir.”

“
Was she the one killed
while riding?”

“
Yes. The horse threw her
a week after she told me she had conceived.” Bitterness remained in
his tone.

“
My goodness. How you must
have suffered.”

“
I mourned the unborn
child more than I did the mother,” he ground out.