Read Online The Antique Love by Helena Fairfax - Free Book Online Page B

just bought a new house over the way, and this is Penny.” He turned and beckoned in Penny’s direction. “Penny’s doing some work on the house. Penny, this is Cass.”
    Penny lifted a hand in greeting, keeping her boots firmly planted a safe distance from the horse’s hooves. Cass took in her muffled face and the hems of her jeans, still dusty from Kurt’s cellar, and gave the briefest of nods, raising a neatly gloved hand before turning her attention to Kurt.
    “So you’ve finally bought a house in Richmond? Fabulous. We’ll be seeing a lot more of you, then?”
    Kurt’s head tilted in that measured way he had when he was considering something. “Yeah,” he said slowly. “Actually, I’m planning on stopping by the stables next Sunday. I’ve an idea I’d like to run by you.”
    “Fabulous,” Cass said again, with a lilting laugh. One of the riders called to her, and she lifted a hand to Kurt in a wave, ignoring Penny altogether. “Bye, then. See you next week.”
    With what to Penny seemed a terrible stamp of hooves, she whirled the gigantic horse round and trotted off to join the rest of the group. Kurt watched her ride away.
    “Great rider,” he said, looking after her.
    “Is she?” Penny followed his gaze to where the horses were now beating a path over the tall, wet grass. “I wouldn’t know. She’s got her horse pointing in the right direction, so I suppose she must be.”
    Kurt laughed and turned to look at her quizzically. “I guess you don’t ride.”
    “No.” Penny was beginning to realise how big the gulf was that lay between their two worlds. Having rarely left London’s streets, she couldn’t imagine what it must be like to get up on a horse. She tried to imagine the thrill of galloping through wide open spaces, but the whole thing was so alien to her experience that her imagination—usually so ready to fill in the gaps—failed her.
    “Did you learn in Wyoming?” she asked.
    “My mom taught me when I was just a kid. My real mom, that is.” On the spur of the moment, he added, “I could teach you if you wanted.”
    * * * *
    An astonished silence followed his offer. As soon as the words left his mouth, Kurt himself could hardly believe he’d spoken them. It was one thing to take a walk in the park with Penny after a morning’s work. Offering riding lessons was something totally different. It would throw them together on a far more intimate footing. And yet, Kurt found a large part of him desperately willing Penny to say yes.
    He glanced sideways at her, but with her face all covered up like that, her usually expressive features were hidden to him. The little that was visible of her cheeks was unusually pink, but that might have been the effect of the cold.
    “I don’t know,” she said. She brought her mittened hands together and twisted them. “I think I’d be a pretty slow learner.”
    “I’m a patient man.”
    Kurt imagined how it would be, spending more time with Penny, the physical closeness that riding lessons would bring, and was filled with an unexpected longing for her to agree. But he was sensitive enough to know if he pressed her too hard, she would back off and refuse altogether. He slowed his pace, turning to look at her.
    “Why don’t you just give it some thought?” He gave her one of his rare smiles. “You never know, it might even be fun.”
    Penny nodded, but there was a constraint to her response, and she offered no answering smile. Kurt realised it was the first time since he was an awkward teenager that he’d been turned down by a woman. Maybe he had come to take their acquiescence for granted. He gave a wry, inward laugh at himself as he turned his footsteps back to the path. Being with Penny was proving a novel experience in more ways than one.
    * * * *
    Penny squeezed herself into a seat on the tube. The doors slid shut, and the walls of the station moved slowly past the window, gathering speed before plunging into blackness. She caught