Lady Adelaide joined the duo at the railing. “Miss Fitzroy, come join us. I’ll have a man take your horse to the stable.”
Almost before she’d finished speaking, a footman was coming down the steps to meet Sophia. It felt strange, letting someone else take care of her horse while she . . . socialized? She felt off balance as she slowly climbed the stairs.
Lady Adelaide introduced the black-haired woman as Miss Hancock.
“I’ve heard about you,” Miss Hancock said with a sly smile.
Sophia gulped. “I’m sure you have.”
“You can do amazing things on the back of a horse. Would it be too much of an imposition to ask for a display before dinner?”
Ah. She was the entertain-everyone-but-still-get-invited-to-dinner sort of guest. She could handle that. “It would be my honor.”
“Wonderful.” Miss Hancock moved back to the railing. “Will that area do?”
The expanse of lawn beyond the veranda was large and so pristine a gardener must spend a great deal of time on it. “If Lady Adelaide and Lord Trent don’t mind, it will do nicely.”
Miss Hancock waved a hand through the air. “She won’t mind.”
Miss Snowley shook her head. “You’ll soon find that Harriet doesn’t know the meaning of the term guest. Or discretion.”
“All the world’s a stage, my dear, and it’s amazing how many people will believe you’re the lead if you simply act like it.”
Sophia laughed, but she wouldn’t be pulling Rhiannon out without the permission of the actual owners.
Lord Trent squinted at the area in question. “It’s grass. You can’t eat it. Might as well have fun on it.”
Sophia all but skipped to the stable. Yes, she was going to perform again, but unlike the circus act, this would be a sophisticated display. The kind of demonstration her father had put on.
Rhiannon danced about as Sophia led her out of her stall, as if she were as excited for the opportunity as Sophia was. Horse and rider both sighed as she settled into the saddle. A few muscles protested being astride once more after putting in so many hours in the sidesaddle, but the pain was gone by the time they reached the house.
Her audience had grown while she’d been tacking up her horse.
Lord Stildon now stood at Miss Snowley’s side. Lord Farnsworth and Lady Rebecca were occupying seats near the top of the stairs. Sophia’s heart jumped at seeing them.
A movement behind them revealed Jonas standing near the wall, far back from the crowd, grinning at her. Finally, she shifted her attention to the group standing at the balustrade to see that Aaron had joined them, watching her intently as he swirled the liquid in his glass.
“Show them what you can do,” he said quietly, giving a nod toward the lawn.
Because she was nervous and hadn’t been on Rhiannon in over a week, she began with a portion of the circus show. As the horse trotted tightly in place, then pranced through a series of tight circles, there was a smattering of polite applause and a few murmurs from the terrace.
She took a deep breath and sent the horse dancing sideways across the lawn. The lateral movements and quick lead changes made Rhiannon appear to be flying. Gasps of pleasure joined the applause.
Then she reached the portion of the routine where she would normally stand on Rhiannon’s back. Standing on the horse was purely a trick for the circus, but making the horse stand on her hind legs was a show of skill and elegance.
An enthusiastic response rose as Rhiannon’s front hooves lowered back to the ground. Sophia sent the horse into a passage, trotting in a circle in such a way that the animal seemed to be moving slower than the rest of the world, suspended in the air without answering to time. Finally, she had the horse bow before the crowd, but this time she bowed as well, without dismounting or handing anyone a rose.
Applause and cheers washed over her. Rhiannon shook her head, making her mane billow about in a soft white cloud. The horse enjoyed the praise as much as Sophia did.
Though it still felt strange to let someone else care for her mount, she allowed one of the stable boys to take the reins before she climbed the stairs to join everyone else.
“You didn’t stand,” Aaron said in a low voice near her ear.
Hoping he would understand, she answered, “My father didn’t teach me that.”
Chaos swirled around them as she received so many compliments that she didn’t know whom to thank for what. Still, she felt Aaron’s silent scrutiny. Then he nodded, took a sip of his drink, and turned to say something to Lord Farnsworth.
Jonas came up and wrapped one arm around her shoulders in a light hug. “This is a fancy dinner we’re about to eat. You may want to go change first.”
He had washed and donned his Sunday suit. A glance down at her riding ensemble had her wincing. Was she going to have to change every night? They were going to get awfully tired of seeing her one good dress. It was the best she had, though, even if it couldn’t begin to measure up to the other ladies’ gowns.
As she went up to her room, she fought to hold on to the joy she’d felt being on Rhiannon again. These women were the type she hoped to teach one day. It shouldn’t bother her that she would never be one of them.
Twenty-Eight
The following days went much the same. There were always guests at dinner, though the number varied from night to night. The other two jockeys made it back to Newmarket, and though they didn’t seem delighted in the new developments, they never protested her presence at morning training. Having someone nearer her stature to watch was helpful, even if they never deigned to speak with her.
She rode Rhiannon every afternoon, though she didn’t give more demonstrations. The first October Meeting was closing in, and if the increase of riders on the Heath was anything to go by, the surrounding area was filling up.
Sunday morning was the first break in her happy little haze. Walking with Jonas to church, she couldn’t help jumping at every bird call, every snapped twig. It was the first time she’d gone out in public since the challenge race.
St. Mary’s was full as she and Jonas slipped in at the last minute. Relief that they might have to leave because of the lack of space was cut short when Aaron called their names. He’d saved them seats in the back corner.
They didn’t talk during or even after the service, but she found herself mooning over the encounter all the same. Though Aaron had been at dinner every night, they hadn’t been alone since that first evening in her new home.
She probably shouldn’t think of it as home. Her temporary quarters?
After church, she and Jonas went to Hawksworth to help with the animals. “At least church is on this side of town and we didn’t have to venture too far into Newmarket,” Sophia mused as she brushed down one side of a horse while Jonas worked on the other side.
He shot her an unreadable glance. “Enjoying the isolation, are you?”
“I suppose.” The hairs aligning with the brush mesmerized her for several strokes. “We’ve had a lot of people in our lives the past few years who always wanted something from us.”
“And you don’t feel that way now?”
“Well, no.”
Jonas propped his arm on the back of the horse and pinned her with a serious look. “You do realize we work for them, right? We haven’t even been here two full weeks yet.”