Sweet Deception Regency 07 - The Divided Hearts (18 page)

For the first time, Judith noticed that Nate
was not dressed in his usual outrageous style. He wore buckskins
similar to the ones he had worn on their ride to the tenant farms.
Although his boots gleamed to perfection, there was a decided lack
of ornamentation to his outfit. Nate’s eyebrows arched and he
lifted his quizzing glass to scan the arrogant Zeke.

“My dear Zeke, the object of fashion is to
dictate what is proper to wear for each activity. For a race,
buckskins are quite the thing. Am I right?” Nate, eyes wide with
innocence, appealed to the gathering that obligingly emitted a
chorus of laughing agreement.

“Methinks you fear my chestnut,” the young
man crowed, ignoring the putdown.

“One who dares wear a lemon yellow suit to
church, fears nothing,” Jeremy said.

Nate laughed a loud braying snort, nodding
his thanks to the younger man. Zeke clenched his jaw and glared at
Jeremy.

“Didn’t notice you willing to race against
my Scavenger,” Zeke sneered.

“I’m afraid that my old nag would not be up
to the challenge,” Jeremy replied good-naturedly. “She has trouble
enough on the hills outside of town.”

“You could borrow a horse for all the good
it would do you,” Zeke continued. “No matter the horse, it’s the
rider that makes the difference.”

“Jeremy’s a very good rider.” Unnoticed,
Maggie Case had joined the group and now her cheeks flamed as the
two young men turned to her. Zeke’s eyes glinted dangerously as he
noticed the pleased expression on his Jeremy’s face. He made a move
toward Maggie but was brought up short by Nate’s idle comment.

“Scavenger has always seemed to be a little
light in the flanks.”

“Light?” Zeke shrilled, whirling with the
speed of a cock attacked from another quarter. “My father brought
that horse all the way from England. Came from the Duke of York’s
stables, don’t you know.”

“You don’t say.” Nate tilted his head back,
staring in a puzzled fashion over Zeke’s head. “York, hm. Wasn’t it
just last year that York’s judgment was challenged in Parliament.”
He dropped his head and appeared stricken at his
faux pas
.
Hastily he added, “Not about horses, of course.”

“Enough talk, Nate,” Zeke snarled. “What bit
of blood will you put up against my horse?”

“Lord Touro ought to be an even match. It’s
a reasonably flat course. Just going for distance?”

“Agreed.” Zeke’s voice was arrogant as his
confidence returned.

The crowd around the men called
encouragement as the rules were set down for the race. They would
start in front of the farmhouse and ride straight down the road to
the Glowen’s farm, circle the barn and return. It was a total
distance of two miles. There was much shouting and laughter among
the guests as they started walking toward the stables. Judith
walked beside Maggie and a subdued Jeremy. They stood on the edge
of the crowd as the horses were brought out.

Zeke’s chestnut was a brute of horse.
Scavenger snorted, baring his teeth as he pulled back on the reins
in Zeke’s hand. His chest was enormous and his legs were like
pillars. The black, quietly controlled, approached the starting
line in a loose shambling walk. The white blaze on his forehead
seemed to catch and hold the sunlight. He was a magnificent animal
with a proudly arched neck. Yet the chestnut looked enormous next
to the sleek stallion, and for a moment Judith questioned if Nate
could win. Zeke gloated while Nate’s face was set in boredom. Out
of the corner of her eye, Judith saw Jeremy’s grin.

She took another look at Touro and
understood the reason for Jeremy’s expression. The black stallion
was smaller and more compact in the body but one look at his legs
told the story. The muscles were whipcord tight and had the power
and stamina required for a long race. The chestnut’s weight would
be a detriment over the long haul.

There was much milling around in the yard.
Judith noticed a line of children, Patrick among them, who had
climbed to the roof of the front porch for a better view of the
proceedings. Zeke had shed his coat and was trying to control the
nervous prancing of his horse. Simon offered to hold the reins for
Nate so he too could remove his jacket. Nate moved between the
horses then appeared to stumble as the chestnut shifted closer to
Touro.

A woman screamed and pandemonium erupted. As
the crowd surged forward, Judith lost sight of the men, waiting in
agony until order was restored.

“Move back, all of you,” Dr. Case
shouted.

The crowd parted, opening a space around the
horses. Judith clutched at Maggie’s arm as she saw her father along
with the doctor bending over Nate’s recumbent form. Her heart was
hammering painfully as they helped the man to his feet but Nate
waved his hand to indicate to all that he was unhurt.

“It’s just a scratch,” Nate said, but Judith
caught her breath at the thin trickle of blood on his forehead. She
watched anxiously as he dabbed at it with a lace-edged
handkerchief. “Forgive me, my friends, but I fear I will not be
able to ride. Dash shaken up, don’t you know.”

A groan was uttered by the spectators, half
in sympathy, half in disappointment that the race would be
cancelled. Zeke’s face was complacently smug and Judith had a
sudden urge to smack the man. From the looks on several faces, she
surmised she was not alone in this desire.

“I claim a win since you have forfeited,”
Zeke shouted in glee.

Nate reached for his quizzing glass and
raised it to his eye. His magnified eye scanned Zeke from head to
toe. Even disheveled and bleeding, the outrageous dandy appeared at
ease.

“Never say, dear Ezekiel,” Nate drawled,
bowing in the angry man’s direction. “The race will still be
run.”

“You just said you could not ride,” Zeke
snapped.

“I can not ride,” Nate said. “I will just
have to let someone else have the pleasure of beating you.”

“There’s no other horse that can touch
Scavenger with the exception of your blasted stallion.”

“Then surely you will have no objection to
me mounting someone else on Touro’s back?”

Zeke was uneasy at the blank expression in
Nate’s eyes yet scanning the crowd he could think of no one else
who was as good a rider as he. His forehead beaded with
perspiration as he stared into Nate’s cold eyes. He flicked a
glance at his restive horse and one at the black, standing quietly
beside Nathanael and his mouth widened into a triumphant grin.

“I can beat anyone,” Zeke announced. “Name
your substitute.”

Judith held her breath as Nate’s eyes
aimlessly roamed the crowd. There were many shouted offers but he
ignored them all. Finally his glance came to rest and he smiled
conspiratorially.

“I say, Jeremy, would you do me the
honor?”

The slight young man looked as stunned as
the rest of the crowd. Low murmurs and light giggles were heard as
Nate crossed to Jeremy. Zeke and his cronies were laughing in
disbelief at the poor choice. Standing next to Maggie, Judith saw
the flash of anger in Nate’s eyes as he stepped up to Jeremy. The
crowd quieted as the two friends stared at each other.

“You’ve been up on his back enough, my
friend,” Nate said low-voiced. “You’ll have to do it. I’m counting
on you.”

“I don’t know, Nate,” Jeremy began.

“You can do it,” Maggie said at his side.
She flushed when the young man turned to her in astonishment. She
drew herself up, her eyes shining as she reached up to untie her
hair ribbon. “You could wear this for luck.”

Jeremy reached out a shaking hand to accept
the token, but instead, embarrassed but determined, the girl tied
it around his arm. He fumbled at his glasses then straightened up
turning to Nate.

“It will be my honor, Nate,” Jeremy said and
the crowd of spectators cheered with enthusiasm.

Judith was aware that the race had turned
into something of a grudge match. Zeke’s eyes glared back and forth
from Maggie’s face to the ribbon on Jeremy’s arm. The arrogant
young man had been the main contender for Maggie’s hand and was
furious that the inconsequential doctor’s apprentice should even be
in the running.

Still apparently shaken from his fall, Nate
leaned heavily on Jeremy’s shoulder as they approached the black.
Nate cupped his hands and threw the younger man up into the saddle.
He took his time adjusting the stirrups for Jeremy, giving Touro a
chance to get used to the change of riders. He could feel the
nerves jump in Jeremy’s thigh and slapped his leg smartly.

“Let Zeke ride his horse out,” Nate advised.
“Stay back to avoid any accidents. Then at the last, lay down
across Touro’s neck and he’ll bring you home.”

Nate stepped away from the horse, moving to
stand between Judith and Maggie. She noticed that he seemed to have
recovered quickly from his accident. Her eyes lifted to his face
and without reason, she knew he had deliberately arranged for
Jeremy to ride. But why? She looked sideways and saw Nate put a
comforting arm around Maggie. With all his other contrary roles he
was now playing the part of Eros. But this time, Judith heartily
approved.

Dr. Case scratched a line in the dirt with
the toe of his boot. He pulled a white handkerchief out of his
pocket and held it aloft. Zeke’s horse shied. The sudden movement
startled Jeremy and he jerked his head back. His glasses flew off
his nose and the spectators emitted a concerted moan. Just then Dr.
Case dropped the flag and Zeke shot across the line. Jeremy
squinted his eyes in the swirl of dust and thundered after the
chestnut. The crowd roared and Maggie and Judith ran over to
retrieve the spectacles.

“Thank heavens, they’re not broken,” Maggie
said, holding them by the wire earpieces as though they were some
treasured object.

“How will he see where he’s going?” Judith
asked. She was aghast that the girl was so interested in the fate
of the glasses.

“He only needs them for reading,” Maggie
confessed. “He’s so shy, I think he uses them to hide behind.”

The two girls laughed but their eyes
returned to the road, empty now of riders. In their anxiety they
held hands and Judith repeated low voiced assurances to the younger
girl. She tried to remember the layout of the road they had
traversed on the way to the party. There were places where the
branches crowded in but that would only be dangerous if the horses
were riding neck and neck. With the start that Zeke had gotten, he
should be well out ahead for at least the first half of the
race.

Nate, Simon and Dr. Case were at the center
of a group of men. They were laughing and talking as they waited
for word that the riders had been sighted. Judith’s eyes were drawn
to Nate, and she smiled at the disarray of the fastidious man’s
clothes. His trousers were dirty and even his powdered hair was
covered with dust. Judith thought he looked better in disorder. His
muscular body showed to greater advantage without the fashionable
fripperies he favored.

“They’re coming!” Patrick’s shout could be
heard above the rest.

The spectators ran to the road, bordering it
like a guard of honor. They jostled each other, craning their necks
for a first glimpse of the riders. Judith and Maggie pushed through
the crowd until they found a spot beside Simon and Nate.

“Hurry, Jeremy, hurry,” Maggie whispered
under her breath in a tense litany.

A huge rolling wave of dust could be seen
behind the horses but Judith could not tell at that distance which
horse was ahead. The earth around her vibrated with the ecstatic
cheers of the crowd. Then as the horses came closer, a hush fell
over the spectators that sent goosebumps up Judith’s arms. Holding
on to Simon’s arm, she leaned her head out, her heart pounding in
anticipation.

The chestnut was in front. She closed her
eyes, praying for the black. When she opened them again she yelped
with joy as the plucky Touro, legs stretched out in breathtaking
grace, passed the frothing Scavenger. The black extended his neck
and his stride appeared to lengthen even further and he widened the
distance between the two horses. He was several lengths ahead of
the chestnut at the finish line.

Maggie flung her arms around Judith and they
twirled, laughing in near hysteria. The cheering crowd surged
around the winner. Jeremy sat the black, a fatuous grin of delight
on his face. Virtually alone as he crossed the finish line, Zeke
shoved his way toward the stable, ignoring the winner.

“Good race, Nathanael,” Judith said.

“There was never a doubt, m’dear,” Nate
drawled.

“How’s your head?”

“Merely a scratch.” He shrugged, then looked
at her, his brows furrowed in concern. “You don’t think it will
leave a scar?”

“You might have been trampled, you know,”
Judith said sharply.

Nate’s eyes kindled with surprise at the
perspicacity of the girl. He had not thought his actions were so
obvious. “It was always a risk.”

Their eyes touched and Nate smiled. It was a
genuine smile, full of warmth and shared humor. Judith felt the
corners of her mouth twitch and she gave in to the enjoyment of the
moment.

“Can I give Touro a carrot?” A small voice
piped up between them.

With great difficulty Nate pulled his eyes
away from the magnetic hold of Judith’s gaze. Patrick’s face,
sweaty and dirt-streaked, stared up at him in anxious anticipation.
Groaning at the interruption, Nate ruffled the boy’s hair in
exasperation.

“You’ll have to ask my man Jimbo. He’ll be
cooling Touro down after such a hard ride,” Nate said.

“He’s a wonder horse,” Patrick declared.
“Roger Finney said Zeke’s horse would beat him all to blazes. But
you told me when I got the pony, that looks don’t always equal
performance.”

Judith smothered a laugh at the startled
look on Nate’s face. “What did you bet?”