Hestony blushed. “Well…you are dressed for riding, it seems. You may have to wait for me a moment before I can join you.”
He bowed low over her hand. “You may take as long as you wish.”
Hestony smiled and his heart soared. If only she knew how much her smile lit up his world! He wished he could tell her. Instead, he simply grinned back, feeling like all the sunshine in the world was taking up residence inside him.
She stood, leaving the room, while he waited for her return.
He found himself imagining her in there. He felt his cheeks get hot with a blush as his mind tried to fill in details of what she might look like under her clothes, dressed in shift and stays.
Hal Ellington!
He went red. How could he, as a decent, honorable gentleman, be sitting here, undressing Hestony with his mind?
All the same, the thought of what her tender body might look like was having a strong effect.
“Sir?” the butler entered, making him jump. At that moment, Hestony returned. She smiled at him shyly.
“Are you ready to go riding?” she asked him.
“You look beautiful,” he said. She was wearing a riding-dress made of white linen, decorated with lace. Delicate and pretty, it suited her perfectly. He smiled as her cheeks darkened.
“Thank you. I must say, you look rather handsome, too.”
Hal grinned. It was the first time in ages that she seemed amenable to him, and he was more than ready to seize the opportunity to be close to her to the full.
“Thank you – though I am sure I do not merit walking beside so lovely a vision, Lady Hestony.”
She giggled. “We’ll be riding,” she pointed out.
He laughed. It was so good to see her being more like herself again!
Still laughing, he followed her downstairs. On the ground floor, she turned to him, pressing her finger to her lips.
“Shh,” she said, pointing towards the dining-room.
He raised a brow but tiptoed past the door. Together they headed out to the stables.
The morning had grown brighter since Hal rode here, and he felt his spirits lift as they rode out of the grounds and into the countryside. Amhurst was a smaller estate than Westmore, but it nonetheless extended far toward the hills. Heading out of the garden, Hestony rode ahead up towards the trees.
“You’re fast!” Hal called.
“Princess needs exercise!”
Hal laughed and squeezed his horse’s flanks gently, sending them speeding up the slope together. He felt the wind flow past his hair and reached up to grip his top-hat, knowing it was like to come off at any moment as they increased speed to a gallop.
“Slow down!” he yelled, only half in earnest, as they sped up the hill.
“I’ll stop at the top!” Hestony called back. He could hear a laugh in her voice and he knew that she was having fun. It was such a pleasure to see her enjoying herself, that he couldn’t bear the thought of putting a curb on her fun.
“No! Hestony…the cliffs!” he yelled suddenly. Memories came back to him from his time riding here in his youth. He had often visited Luke, and they’d ridden with the Amhurst party a handful of times. He remembered that their land reached up to the cliffs, and that speed up here was dangerous – one could never know when one was going to run out of ground.
“Not yet…” Hestony called back.
Hal bit his lip and rode to catch up with her. It wasn’t safe up here! They should go down. He felt his heart almost stop as she screamed and he heard her horse rear.
“No!”
Heart pounding, vision blurred, he rode as if terror gave him wings. He couldn’t bring himself to think of what was happening, couldn’t bring himself to think of her tumbling down sixty feet into a valley below.
At the top of the hill, he stopped and dismounted. His horse was panting. Her horse had stopped perhaps three feet from the cliff’s edge. Hestony was seated very still. She turned around to face him.
“You saved me.”
Hal looked up at her and swallowed hard. He was breathing too deeply to speak and all he could think about was the wonder – the miraculous wonder – that she was safe.
“I didn’t,” he said. “I almost lost you.”
He felt a tear run down his cheek slowly. He was too exhausted to hold it in anymore. He sat down on the grass, feeling a fool. His legs had given out and his heart was pounding fit to burst. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“Hal! Oh, Hal…” Hestony crouched beside him, reaching out to draw him to her chest. She wrapped her arms around him, and to his astonishment, kissed his head.
“Hestony,” he murmured as he reached for her and held her to him, rocking as he embraced her. “I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“Oh, Hal.” Hestony giggled. She put her hand on his cheek, feeling the tears there. He sniffed but didn’t feel any shame for them. He had been terrified of losing her. “Here,” she said. “I have a handkerchief, if you need…”
“Thank you,” he said. He took the handkerchief very gently from her fingers as she reached up to wipe his face. His eyes met hers and his fingers brushed her own.
Suddenly, he became very aware that he was seated with her in his arms, and her face inches from his. He could see the moistness of her lips and he ached to kiss them. He leaned forward, and she leaned forward, his mouth pressed to hers.
Feeling an impossible ache in his loins, he wrapped his arms tight around her torso as he drew her closer. His tongue found entry to her mouth and he sighed as his whole body responded to the joy of her kisses.
She held him close, and he felt her soft body pressed against his hard chest. She was kneeling on the grass before him and he drew her closer, so that her tender breasts pressed against his chest.
“Hal,” she murmured, as they moved apart. Her eyes held his gaze. She looked nervous, shy and pleased.
He smiled. His whole body felt the way he imagined fireworks must feel, when they exploded into colored light above the palace grounds. He was dizzy, fizzy, and joyful. He saw her eyes sparkle and realized that she, too, felt the same.
“Hestony,” he murmured. His voice was at least a register lower than usual and he grinned, cleared his throat, and tried again. “Hestony. I want to ask permission to court you.”
“Oh, Hal,” she murmured back. “I want that. More than anything. But…what of my family’s finances?”
“No matter,” he interrupted, seeing her face crumple with the sadness of that. “You know my family would think nothing of that. I want no dowry, Hestony. I want only you. Surely you know that?”