struck her as being odd that her grandmother planned to help her dress.
The hunters gathered in the courtyard made a colorful tapestry in their bright coats and fashionable riding habits. Today they were not after fox, but deer. The staghounds were straining on their leashes and baying loud enough to frighten off any game within a five-mile radius. The men’s mounts were equipped with saddle holsters and guns; the ladies, however, were not armed. They joined the sport today as mere spectators.
Alexandra tightened the girth on her hunter and thanked Rupert for saddling her mare. She spied the twins across the courtyard, guessing that Kit wore red, and Nick wore green. A furious blush rose to her cheeks as the intimate details of the encounter with Nicholas came flooding back to her. The humiliation of Nick’s rejection still stung her pride. Moreover, both twins seemed to be avoiding her, so she deliberately snubbed them and trotted over to join the ladies. She eyed Annabelle Harding’s full figure, pictured her without her stays, and wondered if it were true that Lord Hatton was bedding her. The corners of her mouth went up. What a wickedly amusing lampoon it would make, with Annabelle clutching the bedpost as Henry struggled with her laces, trying in vain to stuff her abundant flesh back into her corsets!
The Hatton twins held their hunters on short reins as they conversed. Nicholas had given his new pistols to his brother in an effort to cheer him up, but Kit’s dark brows were drawn together as he tried to solve his dilemma. “If I tell the old man I’ll start paying court to Alexandra, do you think it will get him off my back? I could hint that I’ll agree to some sort of understanding; anything so long as he doesn’t announce my betrothal tonight!”
“Alexandra is very young. She isn’t ready for marriage either, Kit. I think it’s a good idea to postpone things.” Why did the thought of Alexandra and Christopher seem so appalling to him when their families had had an understanding since they were children that they would marry some day? He loved his brother deeply and wanted him to be happy. The trouble was he loved Alexandra too, like a sister he assured himself, and he couldn’t bear the thought of her unhappiness. That’s the biggest bloody lie you’ve ever told yourself. You don’t love her like a sister at all! But Nicholas knew it was a lie he would have to desperately cling to and live with for the rest of his life.
A hunting horn sounded and the dogs were unleashed. “I’ll go and talk with him. Hunting usually puts him in a good mood,” Kit told his brother and determinedly spurred Renegade and took off after their father.
An hour into the hunt, Nick spotted a doe with a fawn that must have been born late in the season. He did not raise his horn to his lips to summon the other hunters but watched the pair disappear into the woods that led to a dense forest. He could hear the staghounds baying in the distance and was glad they were not close enough to pick up the doe’s scent.
Alexandra, riding with the ladies, had long since ceased to listen to their incessant chatter about what they planned to wear to the hunt dinner. Her mind wandered back to the strange conversation she had had with Dottie that morning, predicting that an argument was in the offing. She had a feeling that it was going to be about more than her choice of gown. Her brows drew together as she remembered Dottie and Henry Hatton going off for their private talk yesterday. Then, like a revelation, it dawned on her that their plans concerned a betrothal between herself and Christopher. She had nothing against Kit Hatton, of course—nothing except that she was secretly in love with his twin! Alexandra immediately drew rein and turned her hunter about. She’d be damned if she’d allow them to arrange her future for her. The Hellion would mount a rebellion!
Nicholas, who had become separated from the hunt, raised
The hunters gathered in the courtyard made a colorful tapestry in their bright coats and fashionable riding habits. Today they were not after fox, but deer. The staghounds were straining on their leashes and baying loud enough to frighten off any game within a five-mile radius. The men’s mounts were equipped with saddle holsters and guns; the ladies, however, were not armed. They joined the sport today as mere spectators.
Alexandra tightened the girth on her hunter and thanked Rupert for saddling her mare. She spied the twins across the courtyard, guessing that Kit wore red, and Nick wore green. A furious blush rose to her cheeks as the intimate details of the encounter with Nicholas came flooding back to her. The humiliation of Nick’s rejection still stung her pride. Moreover, both twins seemed to be avoiding her, so she deliberately snubbed them and trotted over to join the ladies. She eyed Annabelle Harding’s full figure, pictured her without her stays, and wondered if it were true that Lord Hatton was bedding her. The corners of her mouth went up. What a wickedly amusing lampoon it would make, with Annabelle clutching the bedpost as Henry struggled with her laces, trying in vain to stuff her abundant flesh back into her corsets!
The Hatton twins held their hunters on short reins as they conversed. Nicholas had given his new pistols to his brother in an effort to cheer him up, but Kit’s dark brows were drawn together as he tried to solve his dilemma. “If I tell the old man I’ll start paying court to Alexandra, do you think it will get him off my back? I could hint that I’ll agree to some sort of understanding; anything so long as he doesn’t announce my betrothal tonight!”
“Alexandra is very young. She isn’t ready for marriage either, Kit. I think it’s a good idea to postpone things.” Why did the thought of Alexandra and Christopher seem so appalling to him when their families had had an understanding since they were children that they would marry some day? He loved his brother deeply and wanted him to be happy. The trouble was he loved Alexandra too, like a sister he assured himself, and he couldn’t bear the thought of her unhappiness. That’s the biggest bloody lie you’ve ever told yourself. You don’t love her like a sister at all! But Nicholas knew it was a lie he would have to desperately cling to and live with for the rest of his life.
A hunting horn sounded and the dogs were unleashed. “I’ll go and talk with him. Hunting usually puts him in a good mood,” Kit told his brother and determinedly spurred Renegade and took off after their father.
An hour into the hunt, Nick spotted a doe with a fawn that must have been born late in the season. He did not raise his horn to his lips to summon the other hunters but watched the pair disappear into the woods that led to a dense forest. He could hear the staghounds baying in the distance and was glad they were not close enough to pick up the doe’s scent.
Alexandra, riding with the ladies, had long since ceased to listen to their incessant chatter about what they planned to wear to the hunt dinner. Her mind wandered back to the strange conversation she had had with Dottie that morning, predicting that an argument was in the offing. She had a feeling that it was going to be about more than her choice of gown. Her brows drew together as she remembered Dottie and Henry Hatton going off for their private talk yesterday. Then, like a revelation, it dawned on her that their plans concerned a betrothal between herself and Christopher. She had nothing against Kit Hatton, of course—nothing except that she was secretly in love with his twin! Alexandra immediately drew rein and turned her hunter about. She’d be damned if she’d allow them to arrange her future for her. The Hellion would mount a rebellion!
Nicholas, who had become separated from the hunt, raised
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