face with his chest.
~* * *~
Lucy considered the bargain she had struck with Dominic as she backed away from the intimidating chest and climbed onto her horse. She hated to admit it, but he had an uncanny ability to work through her defences. This morning she’d had little intention of even talking with the man and yet here she had agreed to give him a chance.
One chance, that was all he had asked. She would give him that but she would not allow him access to her heart. Why she had even offered a mere chance, she was unsure. While Dominic was aware of the behaviour that dictated her opinion of him, what he did not realise was how deeply it affected her. His offhand comment those eight years ago had sealed the knowledge in her thirteen-year-old mind that she was as he had said -- nothing more than an unattractive, clumsy lass who could never hope to catch the attention of a man like Dominic, or any other man, for that matter.
And while she nurtured that knowledge, she nurtured her hatred of the brash lord and everything he stood for. Avoiding social activities, Lucy threw herself into books and horsemanship, and learning all she could from her mother and father about running a demesne. She laughed inwardly. Not that she would ever put that knowledge to good use. Once her brother, Edward, returned from France, she would have little to occupy her.
Ack, had she really just allowed herself to fall for the Lord of Thornewall’s infamous charms? It was true that she did not relish the thought of bickering with Dominic during the Christmas celebrations, but should she have accepted his apologies so easily? She peeked at him from underneath her lashes, observing the confident tilt of his chin. If she could but hold such self-assurance, then mayhap she would not fall so easily under his spell.
She thought of her mother’s insistence that she stay. For whatever reason, her mother clearly wanted this match to happen. Not that it could ever be a happy one. Even if Dominic did go through with this ridiculous contract, he would soon tire of her. To believe that a woman with a ridiculous figure and little to recommend her other than her wit could hold the charismatic Lord Dominic’s heart was pure foolishness.
Nay, she would not allow herself to be led down that path. She had looked up to him once before and he proved himself to be nothing more than a bully. A chance, she had said, to prove her wrong. Aye, she’d give him a chance but she’d not let him near her heart. As if he could prove me wrong anyway. The next pretty lass that came along would soon steal away his attentions. Why did her heart drop at the thought? Ack, she really was a fool.
She pulled her horse, Misty, back to allow the crowd of peasants to disperse as Dominic brushed off their profuse thanks and mounted his own horse. He glanced over and flashed a grin in her direction. His quick smile knotted her stomach and weakened her limbs. She jolted as her reins slipped from her fingers, and she snatched at them. Her sudden movement startled Misty who backed up under the eaves of a cottage, knocking into the wooden support. A rumble sounded but Lucy couldn’t comprehend what was causing it until a deluge of snow tumbled from the roof and onto the horse’s rear. Frightened by the cold snow, Misty bolted forward and careered through the crowd of people and out into the open countryside.
~* * *~
Dominic cursed as he flicked the reins and shoved his heels into the horse’s flank. His powerful mount cut through the street and out onto the surrounding hills rapidly, and he spotted Lucy’s pale steed making towards a ragged patch of trees. His throat closed over as the horse thundered down a steep slope, kicking up snow as it went. He waited for her to go tumbling over as he urged his destrier on but she somehow remained in the saddle.
The back of his neck prickled as he watched her mantle streaming behind her, the distance between them not closing rapidly enough
~* * *~
Lucy considered the bargain she had struck with Dominic as she backed away from the intimidating chest and climbed onto her horse. She hated to admit it, but he had an uncanny ability to work through her defences. This morning she’d had little intention of even talking with the man and yet here she had agreed to give him a chance.
One chance, that was all he had asked. She would give him that but she would not allow him access to her heart. Why she had even offered a mere chance, she was unsure. While Dominic was aware of the behaviour that dictated her opinion of him, what he did not realise was how deeply it affected her. His offhand comment those eight years ago had sealed the knowledge in her thirteen-year-old mind that she was as he had said -- nothing more than an unattractive, clumsy lass who could never hope to catch the attention of a man like Dominic, or any other man, for that matter.
And while she nurtured that knowledge, she nurtured her hatred of the brash lord and everything he stood for. Avoiding social activities, Lucy threw herself into books and horsemanship, and learning all she could from her mother and father about running a demesne. She laughed inwardly. Not that she would ever put that knowledge to good use. Once her brother, Edward, returned from France, she would have little to occupy her.
Ack, had she really just allowed herself to fall for the Lord of Thornewall’s infamous charms? It was true that she did not relish the thought of bickering with Dominic during the Christmas celebrations, but should she have accepted his apologies so easily? She peeked at him from underneath her lashes, observing the confident tilt of his chin. If she could but hold such self-assurance, then mayhap she would not fall so easily under his spell.
She thought of her mother’s insistence that she stay. For whatever reason, her mother clearly wanted this match to happen. Not that it could ever be a happy one. Even if Dominic did go through with this ridiculous contract, he would soon tire of her. To believe that a woman with a ridiculous figure and little to recommend her other than her wit could hold the charismatic Lord Dominic’s heart was pure foolishness.
Nay, she would not allow herself to be led down that path. She had looked up to him once before and he proved himself to be nothing more than a bully. A chance, she had said, to prove her wrong. Aye, she’d give him a chance but she’d not let him near her heart. As if he could prove me wrong anyway. The next pretty lass that came along would soon steal away his attentions. Why did her heart drop at the thought? Ack, she really was a fool.
She pulled her horse, Misty, back to allow the crowd of peasants to disperse as Dominic brushed off their profuse thanks and mounted his own horse. He glanced over and flashed a grin in her direction. His quick smile knotted her stomach and weakened her limbs. She jolted as her reins slipped from her fingers, and she snatched at them. Her sudden movement startled Misty who backed up under the eaves of a cottage, knocking into the wooden support. A rumble sounded but Lucy couldn’t comprehend what was causing it until a deluge of snow tumbled from the roof and onto the horse’s rear. Frightened by the cold snow, Misty bolted forward and careered through the crowd of people and out into the open countryside.
~* * *~
Dominic cursed as he flicked the reins and shoved his heels into the horse’s flank. His powerful mount cut through the street and out onto the surrounding hills rapidly, and he spotted Lucy’s pale steed making towards a ragged patch of trees. His throat closed over as the horse thundered down a steep slope, kicking up snow as it went. He waited for her to go tumbling over as he urged his destrier on but she somehow remained in the saddle.
The back of his neck prickled as he watched her mantle streaming behind her, the distance between them not closing rapidly enough
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