Page 22 of Adeline

“I think that wise.” He took her bow and quiver, along with his, and tied them to the back of his saddle before assisting her onto her horse. “You must miss your friends now that you’ve left the schoolroom.”

She looked down at him from her sidesaddle and laughed. “Oh, my friends are never far, and London is a veritable treasure trove of archery tournaments. I’ve competed in several since my return to town; came close to winning a few, too. However, since my father passed and my brother became Viscount Melton, I have had to assist my mother with caring for the young ones.”

Jasper calculated the years in his head as he turned and mounted his own horse. Miss Adeline could not be more than nineteen, possibly twenty. Her return from school was likely around her seventeenth birthday, or at least his own education told him that debutantes were normally presented to society around that age. Her father must have died quite recently.

“Our time of mourning ended only several weeks back, and my brother, as our guardian, thought it best that Arabella and Ainsley attend school as I did.” She sighed, slouching in her saddle. “It will give my mother a bit of solitude, even though finding the funds for schooling will be difficult.”

For once, Jasper did not curse a woman’s tendency for chatter. If she spoke of her own family, that kept her mind occupied on matters other than his family.

“You have a rather large family.” It wasn’t a question. He spurred his steed into an even trot, allowing Miss Adeline to ride alongside him. “How many siblings have you?”

He glanced at her just as she shook her head and flipped her tied hair back over her shoulder, her brownish gold eyes sparkling with mischief as she began reciting. “Alistair, Abel, me, Adelaide, Amelia, Arabella, Alfred, Adrian, and Ainsley.” She paused and used her free hand to tick off the numbers in her head. “Yes, that is all nine. I must say, sometimes I forget one of us.”

“Nine children?” he said aghast. “Your family could coordinate an entire group of cricket players!”

A single raindrop hit his cheek, but Jasper merely brushed it away. It had been many years since he conversed with someone who knew naught about him and Jasper was unfamiliar with them. The shocking thing was that he was actually enjoying their back and forth.

“Heaven knows my father would have paraded us about in matching attire if he’d thought of it.” She glanced up at the darkening sky, lifting her elegant chin and exposing her swan-like neck to his view. “Alas, it is more likely he would have banded us together to raise our voices in a soft harmony, that is if any of us possessed an ounce of talent. What about you, my lord, any brothers or sisters?”

He swallowed hard, turning his focus to the Abbey in the distance. “I am afraid not.”

“Well, that is likely for the best,” she mumbled. “A horde of siblings can try any person’s patience, even a serene woman such as myself.”

At that, Jasper could not fight his chuckle, though he was hard-pressed to decide if it was due to her comment or the notion of Miss Adeline ever masking herself in serenity.

They fell into a companionable silence as they continued toward Faverhsam, the storm pressing at their backs as the wind increased by the minute. Yet, Jasper was hesitant to speed up their pace. Soon enough, Miss Adeline would depart his estate in her newly repaired carriage, leaving Jasper alone once more.

It was something that had never caused him a moment’s thought or a night’s lost sleep. Jasper was more than accustomed to living alone with only his servants and the few townspeople who did not run in the opposite direction when he approached as companions. His duties at the gunpowder plant and managing his estate kept him busy most days, without time to dwell on his singular lifestyle. Would things have been different if his parents had lived and the opportunity to journey to London was available?

Soon enough, they arrived back in the stable yard, the sight of her dismantled carriage greeting them.

Watson, George, and Miss Adeline’s driver were all crouched next to the conveyance discussing something in hushed tones as Watson pointed at the undercarriage.

Dismounting, Jasper threw the reins to his waiting stable boy, though he did not move fast enough to Miss Adeline to assist her before she slipped to the ground on her own with a grin. He was uncertain what he’d thought London misses to be like, but the woman before him was not as he’d expected.

Exploring the reasoning behind why this made him smile was not high on his list of priorities.

His servants turned toward him, their expressions darkening as they exchanged a look between them.

Jasper made an attempt to wipe the grin from his face. “Have you discovered the damage and what is needed to repair it?”

Watson motioned for him to have a look under the conveyance. As he lowered to his haunches next to the trio, Miss Adeline leaned far over, attempting to gain her own view of the undercarriage.

“It appears the brake push bar has been worn clean through and—“

“Cause’n the reach bars ta dislodge,” Watson finished for him, wiping the sweat from his brow. “Gonna be a might difficult ta repair. Gonna have ta see the blacksmith in town ta retrieve the parts.”

Jasper pushed back to his feet. “Of course, of course,” he sighed, somewhat relieved Miss Adeline would not be departing Faversham only to enter yet another storm. She was safer here. For even if her carriage were mended, there was a high probability it would become damaged again in muddied conditions. “I will begin dismantling the coach further while you seek out the blacksmith.”

A spattering of heavy drops hit the side of the lifted carriage as the storm bore down on the stable yard.

“It be best ta roll the thing inta the stable for cover,” Maxwell, Miss Adeline’s servant, suggested. “The tempest be return’n—and it looks ta be mad as a frog in Lord Melton’s travel’n trunk.”

Miss Adeline burst into laughter at her servant’s remark, as Watson and George looked at him to see if he understood the irony of Maxwell’s words. When Jasper only shrugged, they turned back to their work.

“I suppose I will retire to the house to freshen up.”

“That would be wise,” Jasper replied. “We shall endeavor to have the carriage repaired by noonday and have you on your way then—if the storm allows it.”