Page 22 of Lady of Fortune
Which was not at all an untruth. Her knowledge of racing had been somewhat limited, as apparent through her first and only race. Eddie’s description of it, how to see the course and intuitively sense how to direct the horse, created a much more fulsome understanding. She had known the basics, and the mechanics of it all — of the position for starting, of how to encourage the horse to run faster, crouching low over her neck in order to decrease the wind’s effects on the two of them.
But now she knew all of the other aspects that were just as important — how long to save the horse, when to push her faster, when to pay attention to the field around her, and when it was unimportant.
“The other part of racing,” he said, tilting his head to the side as he studied her now, “Is experience. For I’ve told you what works for me, but something different works for every person and every horse, and I cannot be certain you will find success with my own tactics.”
She nodded, though it turned her mood slightly glum. For that was one thing she would not gain. She had one more race, and that would be the end of her short career. She could hardly keep this up following next Saturday’s race.
“Say,” he said, his eyes sparkling once more with their usual mischief. “I’ve an idea. What if we stage a mock race? Not a mile, and you’d have to ride another horse, for it’s too close to the Two Thousand Guineas for you to race Orianna full on, but it will give you an idea of what to expect.”
“However would you manage it?” she asked with wide eyes, already excited by the idea, and Eddie shrugged and waved a hand.
“Leave it to me,” he said. “We’ll do it early in the morning, when we would typically begin one of our training sessions. I’ll ask a few friends to take part, telling them the truth — I’m helping to train a young jockey and ask if they would offer a few minutes of their time. They’ll agree, I know it. They live for the thrill. At least it will give you the opportunity to practice once more.”
“Very well,” she said, nodding her head in agreement.
“Excellent,” he said with a smile, as he leaned ever so slightly toward her.
Julia froze for a moment. Was he leaning in to her in an attempt to embrace or even kiss her, or was he simply being friendly? How should she respond? Of course, she desperately desired to lean back in to meet him, to press her lips against his, but she certainly didn’t want to misread his signal and look a fool. And so she began to move ever so slightly toward him — not overly forward, but enough that he would understand what she was trying to relay to him — but in doing so, she lost her balance and began to fall backward off the fencepost. Eddie reached out to try to help her, but instead he tipped too far over and they both tumbled off the fence. It seemed as though they were moving in slow motion as they fell off the wooden plank and tumbled to the ground. It wasn’t particularly far to fall, but still, she expected to receive a fair jolt when her back hit the ground, despite the fact that a carpet of fresh, lush green grass lay beneath them.
But instead, she was shocked when she landed on softness and gasped when she heard a groan of pain behind her.
“Eddie!” she cried out as she flipped over to find him lying prone on the ground beneath her. It was not as though she weighed much, but while he was strong and wiry, he wasn’t an overly big man either. “Are you all right?”
“I think so,” he said slowly, and she chewed her lip nervously. If anything happened to Eddie this week of all weeks, before one of the biggest races of the season, it would be entirely her fault and it would be yet another item to add to her list of reasons to feel guilt.
She watched his face anxiously, particularly when the pain didn’t vanish, though it did… change slightly. It went from bodily pain to one that was more, well, she wasn’t entirely sure how to describe it, but she thought it looked like a frustrated pain, of a man who wanted something that was just out of reach.
And then her attention wavered for a moment. Suddenly she was much more aware of what was below her — those strong, sinewy muscles she had been thinking of but moments before were hard underneath her own chest, and her nostrils were filled suddenly with his scent, which she had never before been close enough to completely catch. He smelled of horses, of course, which some might find repellent, but she rather enjoyed. There was something else there too, a musky, spicy scent, and she wanted to lean closer to smell more.
But then she remembered where they were,whothey were at the moment, and she hastily pushed back away from him.
Only, the entire process was something of a fumble, and her elbows and knees seemed to be everywhere they shouldn’t be as she scrambled back down his body. He let out anoomphas she caught him between the legs, and she sucked in a breath as she was flooded with embarrassment.
“I’m so sorry,” she repeated a few times, until she finally stood in front of him, and reached out a hand to help him up. He waved it off as he pushed himself to his feet, wiping himself off, though when he turned to look at the back of his breeches, Julia had to hold in a bit of a laugh, for there would be no way to simply brush off the green stain.
“It’s all right,” he said with a wave of his hand. “At the very least it has woken me up in time for my own training session.”
“Yes, that’s right,” she said looking down at the ground. “I should be going as well.”
“A big day of social engagements ahead of you?” he asked, and immediately the easy banter between them ceased.
“Yes,” she said, holding her head high, refusing to be quelled or ashamed by his words. “There is, actually. And you?”
“I’ll do whatever I feel like,” he said with a bit of a smirk. “Perhaps I will play a game of cards. Or nap. Or maybe ride out in the fields if I so choose.”
“Oh,” she said, biting her lip. “That sounds altogether lovely. And perhaps a nap in the fresh air.”
“Perhaps,” he said, his smile turning true.
“There’s to be a musicale today,” she said with a sigh. Normally she didn’t mind musicales — as long as she didn’t have to perform — but she was far too tired to enjoy one. Besides that, Eddie’s day sounded much more agreeable.
“You don’t sound particularly pleased about that.”
“I’m far too tired today to make polite conversation with people I do not particularly care about, nor listen to a long line of women try to impress one another and all of the young men.”
“Ah yes, the difficult world of theton.”
She turned to him with narrowed eyes. She had quite enough of his comments regarding her world. It was not as though she had been asked to be born into.
