Page 94 of The Earl's Bluestocking Bride
“Margaret is waiting with one in the foyer, and a pair of walking shoes too.”
He really had thought of everything. But why? What did he hope to achieve by sweeping her away for a picnic?
She sighed. “I suppose we’d best be off, then.”
She could simply tell him she didn’t want to, but that would be churlish when, as she’d already reminded herself many times, he didn’t deserve it.
He grinned and escorted her back through the door. As he’d said, Margaret was waiting with a redingote folded over her arm and a pair of walking shoes on the floor. Andrew released Amelia, and Margaret helped her into the redingote, then knelt to remove her slippers and slide her feet into the shoes.
When she was ready to depart, Andrew took her arm and led her to the door. “You enjoy riding, don’t you?”
“I do.” Where was this going?
“When we’re in Suffolk, we’ll have to go riding together. Today, I thought we could take my phaeton.”
To her annoyance, a spark of excitement began within her. She did love to travel without being confined within a closed carriage. Carriages served their purpose and provided shelter when needed, but phaetons and curricles were much more enjoyable forms of transportation.
“I haven’t seen your phaeton before,” she said as he held the door open for her. She stepped out and, searching their surroundings for the phaeton, immediately spotted it parked near the bottom of the stairs.
“It doesn’t get out much in autumn and winter,” Andrew said, closing the door and stepping out beside her. “But today is unseasonably warm, and it seemed like Providence.”
Amelia glanced up at the sky. Clouds floated across it, and the sun wasn’t particularly bright, but he was right that the temperatures were unusually mild for this time of year. They walked together to the phaeton, and he offered her his hand to help her up. She sat on the far side, and he climbed up beside her and took the reins.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
If he intended to take her to Hyde Park, they wouldn’t get a moment to themselves, which might be a good thing, in the circumstances.
He waggled his eyebrows. “It’s a surprise.”
Her heart clenched. Why must her husband be so endearing?
It simply wasn’t fair.
Andrew urged the pair of black horses into motion, and Amelia gripped the side of the phaeton as they rolled smoothly out of the courtyard and onto the road. He shot her a look and encouraged the horses to go faster—although not so fast that they would be a danger to anyone around them. Despite herself, she grinned.
She wondered just how fast the phaeton could go. It was sleek and well-made. She could imagine him racing his friends with it when he was younger. She suspected that if he gave the horses free rein, they could go very fast indeed. Perhaps she’d have to ask him to do so when they were in the country.
They swept around corners, the air rushing past her face and stinging her eyes. She laughed and clutched more tightlyto the phaeton. No doubt her hair was a mess, but she didn’t care.
The phaeton bounced along a nearly empty road on the edge of Mayfair and turned down a private way. They traveled down the tree-lined drive for several minutes before emerging into the open air.
They were in a garden. Lush trees and shrubbery occupied most of the area, with neatly maintained grass pathways winding between them. There wasn’t a lot of color, but she imagined that during spring and summer, flowers brought stunning bursts of brightness to the garden.
As they came to a stop, she closed her eyes and breathed in. Even though they were still in London, all she could smell was grass and trees. None of the usual city odors.
“It’s beautiful,” she said.
Andrew set his reins aside. “It belongs to a friend of mine. He’s granted us private usage for the day. We’re the only ones here.”
“That’s so generous of him.” Although it did, unfortunately, mean that she wouldn’t have anyone to act as a distraction if Andrew opened a subject she’d rather avoid.
He jumped down and held out his hand. She rose, laid her palm on his, and let him help her down.
“Have a look around,” he said. “I’m going to set the horses loose.”
Her eyebrows rose. “They won’t stray?”
“Not far. They’ve been well trained, and since we’re the only ones here, I don’t believe there’s any reason to worry.”
