Read Online Magical Weddings by Leigh Michaels, Aileen Harkwood, Eve Devon, Raine English, Tamara Ferguson, Lynda Haviland, Jody A. Kessler, Jane Lark, Bess McBride, L. L. Muir, Jennifer Gilby Roberts, Jan Romes, Heather Thurmeier, Elsa Winckler, Sarah Wynde - Free Book Online

for himself. Celia nudged the mare to the edge of the gravel to wait for the others to mount; Simon sidestepped the gelding over beside her.
    She said tartly, “You can chaperone me from further than two feet away.”
    “This is the appreciation I get for nabbing the best mare in the stable for you?” His voice was a low rumble. “You could have been stuck with that nag Billings is riding.”
    She looked over the mounts again. “Lord Stone’s stable seems a bit thin–so thank you, Simon. But I can hardly further my goals by riding next to you when I might be charming one of the gentlemen. I hope you won’t feel it necessary to stick so very close. Or have you changed your mind about wanting me to win my bet? Are you trying to clip my wings?”
    “If you prefer the company of the others, go ahead and run away from me.”
    “I know better than to try,” she admitted. “You’re too good a horseman.”
    “From sarcasm to flattery in mere moments. One might wonder why. Perhaps you’re feeling–let me guess–guilty?”
    She bit her tongue, annoyed that he had read her so well, and tried for an airy tone. “Guilty over what? Not being properly gracious in expressing my gratitude?”
    “Because you have some reason to feel guilty.”
    “What are you yammering about, Simon?”
    “Only yesterday you suggested I court the Carew sisters, but before the day was out they seemed to be courting me instead. I cannot help but ask why.”
    “How modest you are!” Her voice sounded high and tinny. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Perhaps they listened to Jane–who thinks you’re quite handsome. Or they may have simply reconsidered their manners and decided to act like ladies.”
    Simon’s eyes narrowed. “Whatever you did, Celia, it’s time to undo it.”
    The line of horses moved down the long carriageway and under the oak trees. Lord Billings, riding the placid gelding, drew up beside her. “Would you care to ride beside me and chat, Miss Overton? I don’t believe in rushing around; I find galloping upsets my digestion.”
    No wonder he’d started to argue that Lady Stone–and her chaise–should accompany them. Celia didn’t dare meet Simon’s gaze for fear of bursting into giggles.
    But Simon didn’t try to catch her eye. He shifted his weight in the saddle and touched his heel to the roan’s flank, breaking into a canter which left Celia stuck with Lord Billings and feeling entirely bereft.
    How utterly foolish, when she’d asked him to leave her alone!
    But of course it wasn’t Simon abandoning her which made her feel so out of sorts. Her body ached with regret; she was so far in the wrong she could barely see daylight. What had possessed her to tell such a taradiddle, anyway?–much less convince herself that Simon wouldn’t notice? Of course he would catch her out; he had never been slow about adding together random bits and pieces and coming up with a full–and usually quite accurate–assessment.
    But what was she supposed to do about it when she was stuck at the back of the line with Lord Billings, of all people?
     
    ****
     
    The day was beautiful and bright, and their destination was a tumbledown abbey which stood atop a hill, overlooking a long green valley. The site had been so long abandoned that trees had grown up everywhere. Lush vines shrouded heaps of fallen stone and piles of dark red Tudor brick, making it difficult to tell where one ruined building ended and the next began. Enough of the carved stone cloister pillars remained, however, to define a space just right for strolling. An almost painfully-clear blue sky arched overhead.
    A perfect day, in Celia’s estimation. At least it would have been if not for her own folly.
    The two grooms who had accompanied the party helped the ladies to dismount near the cloister, taking the horses off to a makeshift paddock at the far side of the abbey, but the gentlemen rode on with them. Jane was apparently counting noses to be certain