Page 47 of A Single Thread of Moonlight

“Hello, old girl,” I whispered, holding her long face in my hands for a moment. I fished out the sugar lump from my pocket that I had stolen from the breakfast table.

“This here is Biscuit,” the stable boy said. “’Fraid she ain’t much of a goer, miss.”

Biscuit crunched the sugar cube in my hand and butted at me with her nose, searching my pockets for more. “Oh, I don’t know,” I laughed. “There may be some life in her yet.”

“Let me help you,” Stefan said, striding towards me. He guided me gently to the side of the horse, cradled his hands for me to step into, then threw me up into the saddle. I adjusted my skirts and looked down at him.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Stefan stood for a moment looking up at me, his hand resting on the horse’s neck. “You look very well up there, Miss Fox.”

“I feel very well,” I said. “Perhaps Biscuit and I shall give you a run for your money.”

He laughed then, that deep, happy laugh that echoed my own feelings at the moment, and looked pointedly over at his own mount, an enormous grey, who must have been at least eighteen hands.

“I wish you luck, Miss Fox.”

With that, he strode over to his horse and mounted with ease.

Nicholas rode up beside me, looking predictably splendid even with mud-spattered boots. “Well, there’s no going back now,” he said, eyeing me with a displeasure that may have been masking anxiety.

“I should hope not,” I replied, and with a flick of my whip I was off.

For all of my bravado, I had wondered whether I might have forgotten how to ride; but the instant I took the reins I knew that I could have no sooner forgotten this than my own name. I felt anticipation taut in my limbs; the longing to lengthen the reins and fly across the ground was like a hunger gnawing at my bones. Still, I took it easy at first, riding alongside Sophia, who I noticed rode well.

“You enjoy riding, Miss Fox?” she asked.

“I do, though I admit I’m a bit out of practice.” I glanced towards her. “You?”

Sophia nodded. “I used to love it.”

“Used to?”

Sophia bit her lip. “I’m surprised you don’t know all about it.”

“If it’s town gossip then I assure you I’m the last person who would hear it,” I said. “There’s absolutely no obligation for you to tell me either, whatever it is.”

Sophia hesitated for a moment. “No,” she said at last, “I’d like to tell you. It will actually be nice to talk to someone about it myself, rather than knowing it’s all passing through the rumour mill.”

Sophia took a deep breath. “My father made some bad investments several years ago,” she said. “The property he inherited was already in debt and part of an entail, so he wasn’t allowed to sell any land off. For generations the Bells have been stretched further and further.”

I nodded.

“I’m afraid it’s all become quite dire,” she sighed. “It seems…” She trailed off awkwardly for a moment. “Well, it seems my father has got into trouble with several wagers that he made recently. Large wagers.”

I felt my mouth thinning. Like Agatha and Cassie’s father, Lord Bell seemed to have no care for the consequences his actions may have for the women in his family.

“I don’t think my parents are foolish enough to hope I’ll make a good match – other than my name, there’s very little to recommend me,” Sophia continued with a frown. “It’s my brothers I worry for. Poor Percy … my parents will try to marry him off to an unsuspecting heiress, I suppose, though I don’t really think he’s the marrying type…” She raised a gloved hand to her mouth. “Oh! I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Don’t worry,” I said. “I expect they’re doing what they think is best for your family. As for me, I like your brother very much, but I am certain we wouldn’t suit each other – nothing you’ve said has changed my opinion of either of you, one bit.”

Sophia looked relieved. “Anyway, that’s why there’s been no riding lately. No horses.”

“That’s a shame,” I said. “You ride well. We shall both just have to make the most of every opportunity to take out Lady Scott-Holland’s horses while we’re here.”

“Yes!” Sophia’s face crinkled into a smile with the same sweet quality as her brother’s. “You’re right, Miss Fox. It is pleasant to have someone to ride with.”

We rode in silence for a while, but it was a strangely comfortable silence.