Read Online Rivals of Fortune / The Impetuous Heiress by Jane Ashford - Free Book Online

Rowntree?” he asked.
    This unexceptionable question relieved her. “No, not yet.”
    â€œBut you are to go, I hope.”
    Nodding, Joanna told him of her mother’s plans.
    â€œAh, good. I can look forward to the pleasure of seeing you then. May I claim your hand for your first dance at Almack’s?”
    Joanna smiled. “You are roasting me, sir.”
    Denby spread his hands. “Why do you say so?”
    â€œIt is more than eight months before I go to town.”
    â€œAnd so? I wish merely to put in a claim ahead of the legions of young bucks who will no doubt surround you after you arrive. I am becoming too old to jostle with the sprigs.”
    This sort of conversation was wholly new to Joanna. She found that she liked it, but she could think of no reply.
    Sir Rollin took another tack. “You will like London, I think.” And he began to tell her of the main amusements of society and the places they frequented.
    Joanna was soon enthralled. Among the delights of Almack’s, Hookham’s, Rotten Row, and Vauxhall all her previous statements about not going to town dissolved. She listened with wide eyes and parted lips as Sir Rollin expertly captured the scene at each place and brought it alive for her.
    â€œOh,” she sighed when he paused, “it sounds splendid.”
    He smiled. “There is splendor in it, on occasion.”
    Joanna looked at him shyly. “And you are a friend of the Prince, Sir Rollin?”
    Something in her question made him grimace, but he said, “Yes, I have that honor.”
    She sighed again. “ He is very splendid. My mother saw him at a ball once; she has told me.”
    One corner of Denby’s mouth jerked. “Oh, yes, Prinny is the most splendid of us all. And when your mother saw him, I daresay, he was even more so.”
    His tone brought Joanna up short. “Don’t you like him?” she inquired, shocked.
    He raised his eyebrows. “But naturally, my dear Miss Rowntree.”
    Joanna met his eyes, and he held her gaze for a long minute. She felt almost as if he had physically grasped her wrist. She could not look away until he turned to gaze over the fields. “Ah,” he said, “here comes our energetic friend back to us.”
    Jonathan pulled up before them and began to urge them to join him. This time, Joanna agreed before Sir Rollin could speak, and she spurred her horse at once. Soon, all three were flying over the meadow. Sir Rollin rode as well as Erland, and Joanna’s seat was also good, so they kept even for some time. Then, Denby pulled ahead, his black clearly the strongest mount. But as he approached the hedge at the end of the field, Erland spurred his chestnut, seeming to want to catch Sir Rollin. The two men rode furiously side-by-side for a short period. Joanna could see that both were grinning as they leaned over their horses’ necks. Fascinated, and slightly frightened by their intensity, she slowed her mare.
    They came up to the hedge very fast, and at the same moment precisely, both horses lifted and flew over it. Their form was flawless, and Joanna drew an admiring breath before she too cleared the bushes. On the other side, the men waited for her. Erland looked exhilarated, but somehow a bit disappointed as well, and Sir Rollin showed his habitual sardonic amusement.
    The rest of the ride passed without much conversation. Joanna pointed out various paths and shortcuts to the two gentlemen, and they were properly appreciative. But she spent most of the time deep in thought. Did Sir Rollin know of her engagement to Peter, she wondered? He had certainly sounded as if he did for a moment. As Joanna’s thoughts went to Peter, a man who puzzled and intrigued her. Erland completely slipped from her mind as she thought of him.
    Both men escorted Joanna home, but they did not come in. When she had dismounted and walked up the steps to the front door, she turned and watched