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watch flying across the fields, even in a sidesaddle.
    Smiling at the mental image, he turned back to
his friends —and blinked. There, at the edge of the yard, on one of the most
beautiful bays he'd ever seen, sat Miss Seaton herself in an elegant burgundy
habit. She was talking to Mercer Emery, her father's man of business, who was
mounted on the same roan mare Miss Seaton had been riding the night Anthony had
first met her.
    Mr. Emery was dressed for the hunt, though his
red coat appeared rather loose across the shoulders, as though made for someone
else. He must have brought Miss Seaton to watch the Quorn start off, as ladies
occasionally did.
    Without realizing he'd done so, Anthony headed
Cinder in their direction. He was only a few yards away when Miss Seaton saw
him. Her deep brown eyes widened and her color rose perceptibly as their eyes
met.
    "I'm delighted that you have come to see
us off, Miss Seaton," he greeted her. "I hope you will be able to
find a vantage point from which to watch some of the hunt itself, so that I can
show off for you." He winked, mostly to see her reaction.
    To his delight, her cheeks pinkened further
and she dropped her gaze charmingly —but only for a moment. Taking a visibly
deep breath that made him notice how well-fitted her bodice was, she lifted her
chin and met his eyes again.
    "I expect to have an excellent view of the
hunt, Lord Anthony," she said, "for I will be riding in it
myself."

    * *
     *

 

    CHAPTER 3

    Tessa could not help but feel some amusement
at the shock on Lord Anthony's face. It helped to mitigate the nervousness she
felt at being among more people at once than she'd ever seen in her life. She
hadn't fully realized before how ill-equipped she was for socializing on this
scale after living such a retired existence.
    "You're riding with the Quorn?" Lord
Anthony echoed disbelievingly.
    "My father never allowed his subscription
to lapse," she told him. That had been a welcome surprise, though it was
money the estate could ill afford. "The Master was willing to allow me on
those grounds."
    In fact, it had taken Uncle Mercer two days to
convince Mr. Assheton Smith to allow her to ride, even equipped with a letter
from her father. Only after calling upon Sir George Seaton himself had Mr.
Assheton Smith grudgingly relented.
    "How very forward-thinking of him,"
Lord Anthony said. "Or, perhaps, backward-thinking. Either way, I must say
I approve."
    Now it was Tessa's turn to be surprised, for
every other gentleman who had learned of her intent had conveyed shocked
disapproval. "Thank you, Lord Anthony. I hope that Nimbus and I will aquit
ourselves well." She patted the bay's neck, striving to keep her own
nervousness from infecting the horse.
    "I've no doubt you will, if I'm any judge
of horseflesh," he replied, casting an appreciative eye over her mount.
"What a handsome animal that is."
    "Thank you, my lord," she said again.
"We think so."
    "And he'll be up for auction this
evening," Uncle Mercer chimed in, speaking for the first time since Lord
Anthony had approached. "Feel free to spread the word."
    He nodded. "I'll certainly do so. Ah,
there's the signal. I'll see you on the field, Miss Seaton." Touching the
brim of his hat to her, he expertly wheeled his gray and headed for a knot of
mounted gentlemen on the far side of the yard.
    "I hope none of them gents will queer the
deal for us," Uncle Mercer muttered as Tessa prodded Nimbus forward to
join the field.
    She paused. "What do you mean?"
    "Three of them was down at the stables
last week, remember? Nimbus wasn't exactly at his best just then."
    Tessa frowned, her earlier misgivings nagging
at her again. Remembering the leaking roof, she pushed them aside. "Then
I'll just have to convince them they were mistaken, won't I?" Touching her
heels to the bay's side, she directed him to a place at the rear of the others,
alert for any sign of hostility he might show toward the other horses or their
riders.
    She still