Page 13 of Lady of Fortune
He heard a shout from behind him, and he turned to see Will racing to catch up with him.
“Ed! Where’s your head at? I’ve been hollering at you for the last half-mile.”
“Sorry, Will, must not have heard you. Was thinking about Valiant, today’s race, and the Two Thousand Guineas, that’s all.”
“You always were much more serious about it all than the rest of us,” Will said with a grin and Eddie smiled sheepishly, regretting lying to his friend, but he had promised Julia he would keep her secret and keep it he would. It was now of the utmost importance for both of them.
“Come to the tavern tonight?”
“I’m not sure,” Eddie said, which was entirely out of character for him. He loved nights at the tavern, especially when he was celebrating a victory. It was not so much the drink or carousing — no, it was the company. Sure there were jockeys that he didn’t particularly get along with, and there were many he distrusted. But when it came time to enjoy a drink and have a bit of fun, they all seemed to get along just fine.
“You’re not sure?” Will asked quizzically. “Are you all right, Ed? Did you take a spill I didn’t see, hit your head somehow?”
“No,” Eddie said with a laugh. “Just feeling out of sorts, is all. A bit of my past caught up with me today and it has thrown me some.”
“Well, I can think of no better cure than a drink, then,” Will said with a wink, and Eddie laughed.
“Fine, Will, you’ve talked me into it,” he said. “Lead the way.”
CHAPTER7
Julia had never slept so soundly in her life. She had thought perhaps she would have trouble sleeping, so swept up she was in the events of the day. But when the rush in her veins left her, she fell onto her bed drained, and slept soundly throughout the night.
She had, thankfully, remembered to leave her curtains open, and the moment the slightest bit of light hit her face the next morning, she leaped out of bed, hurriedly splashed water on her face, and began to pull on the short brown pants and matching jacket she had stolen from her brother’s chambers last night. She knew they would no longer fit him, for it had been some time since he had been in Newmarket, but would likely be too big for her.
She was, however, somewhat surprised as she hadn’t accounted for her curves, slight as they were, and the breeches and jacket not only loosely fit but provided her great flexibility.
As she tucked her hair up into the cap, she peered into the mirror before her. While up close it was easy enough to tell she was… feminine, if she kept her head down and stayed upon her horse, then she might get away with most people thinking she was male, albeit rather young.
Julia jumped slightly when there was a knock at the door, and when she saw Maybelle’s face peek around the corner, she motioned her in hurriedly.
“What do you think?” she asked, turning around in front of her maid, whom she had no choice but to take into her confidence, for she needed someone to cover for her. She and Maybelle had been together for so long that she only hoped that the girl’s loyalty to her was stronger than that to her parents. She hated to ask her to lie, to bring her into this scheme of which she seemed to have lost control, but she didn’t have much choice. Last night, when she told Maybelle all that had happened as she prepared for bed, her maid was actually fairly excited about it all, and eager to help in any way she could.
“You look…” Maybelle’s eyes were huge in her face as she looked Julia up and down. “Scandalous.”
“Scandalous!” Julia cried. “That is not at all my intention.”
Maybelle shrugged. “Perhaps. But you do still look a woman.”
Julia frowned and stared at her reflection. She had never thought of her breasts as overly large, but perhaps there was enough there that they would give her away.
“I’ll need some linen, please,” she said as she stripped off her jacket. Perhaps she wouldn’t be as comfortable as she originally thought. “We shall have to bind them down.”
Ten minutes later, now tied down and ready for the morning’s charade, Julia snuck through the house behind Maybelle, leaving through the servant’s entrance. She received some odd looks from a couple of servants who observed her, but when she put a finger to her lips, they shrugged their shoulders and continued on their way. Orianna was stabled at their own residence which was not far from the Rowley Mile, but it would mean that Eddie would have to travel to meet her here.
But first, she would have to prepare her horse on her own. She had told the groom last night to expect a new jockey this morning, and now here he was.
“Finter,” she greeted the man with a nod, keeping her face toward the ground and masking her voice with as much gruffness as she could. “Mornin’. I am James Smith, the new jockey, here to take Orianna through her paces.”
“Ah,” she heard Finter say, and she looked up ever so slightly to see him nodding his head. “Very good, I shall fetch her. You are aware my lady is not in the building today?”
Julia responded with a nod. “She told me I would be meeting an Eddie Francis.”
Finter’s eyes lit up at Eddie’s name.
“Yes, my lady told me just last evening. We were ever so excited around here, as Eddie used to work with us and his father was the head groom for years. But that was some time ago now. If there was one thing he knew, it was horses. We’re looking forward to seeing him again. He’s a right admirable jockey now, one known for winning, and if you do not mind me saying so, Smith, I think you’ll learn much from him, you being so young and all.”
Julia only nodded, and Finter continued to speak, mostly to himself, as he went to fetch Orianna. Of course, the one who was not a bit fooled was Orianna. When Finter brought her out, the horse nuzzled Julia’s shoulder as she always did, and Finter looked at them with surprise evident on his face.
