Page 28 of Lady of Fortune
“Was it because you love horses, or you love racing?” she asked, looking at him now, and he realized he had never really asked himself the question.
“Both,” he finally responded, and she nodded.
“I get that,” she said. “And I think it has to be both. For a man — or woman — who loves racing but not horses would be ill-suited to learn how to encourage a horse’s response. And without the love of racing, it would be difficult to put yourself out there, to do all it takes to win.”
“You have the way of it,” he said, and reflected, for a moment, on the misfortune that as a woman the life of a jockey would never be a reality for Julia, despite how well she was suited for it.
“Oh, dear,” she suddenly muttered, and Eddie turned to her in surprise.
“What’s wrong?” Eddie asked, and looked up to see a woman striding toward them. She was tall, slim, and wore a serious expression on what would otherwise be a classically beautiful face. Her gown was long and modest, her hair pulled back tidily underneath her bonnet.
When Eddie looked at Julia, he couldn’t tell whether she was pleased or slightly afraid to see the woman.
“Should I leave you, or do you need a little help still?” he asked. “Perhaps some protection?”
“No,” Julia said with a laugh. “This would be Elizabeth approaching us. She is one of my closest friends. She is aware of who I am, in reality. She probably just wants to lecture me about how reckless I have been. Or she probably wants to… oh. I missed lunch.”
“You didn’t eat?” Eddie questioned her now. “It’s not as though you have to cut weight. You must be far below what’s required.”
“No, I mean I was supposed to meet her for lunch, and with all of the excitement of the day, I completely forgot.”
“Well,” Eddie said as Elizabeth’s steps grew ever-closer, “You’ve had a few things on your mind. Besides, as a jockey, you don’t want to eat anything on race day unless you know you can handle it.”
“I couldn’t have eaten lunch if I’d tried,” Julia said somewhat morosely as Elizabeth came to stand before them.
“Julia Stone,” Elizabeth said when she reached them, and Julia looked around frantically to make sure no one was within earshot. “I have never, in my whole life, been so nervous as I was during the past two minutes. Though,” she added, and a twinkle came into her eye, softening her features, “I have also never been quite so thrilled. You were fantastic. Even though I know that was not a scheduled race, and that the lot of you weren’t actually competing for anything, I was still on the edge of my seat.”
“You didn’t think Maximus might actually win, now did you?” Julia asked with a laugh, and Elizabeth shook her head.
“No, I was well aware of Maximus’s abilities, I’m afraid. But he did remarkably well.”
“That he did,” Julia agreed, and as he remained forgotten, Eddie wondered whether Julia had any desire to introduce him to one of her friends, a lady by the looks of things. Perhaps he should just slip away, meet up with Julia another time. It rankled, but why should he have expected any different?
“Oh, Eddie!” Julia exclaimed. “I’m so sorry, I should have introduced you sooner. This is Lady Elizabeth Moreland, one of my dear friends. Elizabeth, meet Eddie Francis — the man who is the reason behind any success I may have on the track.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” he said, still unsure whether she introduced him out of politeness or if she, in fact, wanted him to meet her friend. “You’ve plenty of talent.”
“A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Francis,” her well-mannered friend said. “I have heard a bit about you. While I may not like the fact that Julia is risking her life, I am well aware that she would be doing so with or without your help.”
Eddie grinned then. The woman was straightforward, at least, which was something he always appreciated in a person.
“You’ve the right of it,” he agreed. “Though I likely should have said no, anyway. But she’s a hard woman to deny.”
“That she is,” Elizabeth said, looking between the two of them, and Eddie realized he was staring at Julia slightly too blatantly, particularly in front of a woman who seemed as astute as this one.
“Well, I should be off. Julia, I’ll have Finter see to Maximus?”
Julia nodded gratefully. “That would be wonderful, but I do have a question for you if you do not mind waiting a moment.” She turned to her friend. “I hope you didn’t wait long for me. I don’t suppose we could do lunch tomorrow instead?” she asked.
Elizabeth nodded. “That would be lovely. I shall see you tomorrow. And not to worry, the moment I walked into the door of the restaurant, I was told of today’s race and I had a feeling you would be in the middle of it. It was nice to meet you, Mr. Francis.”
Julia smiled at her friend as Elizabeth made her way back to the stands, and Eddie waited patiently to see just what it was Julia wished to speak with him about. Did she have questions about the race?
“Your friend asked me to come meet the lot of you at the tavern this evening.”
Eddie started at that. Of course Will, always welcoming, would ask a newcomer to join them, but then, Will had no idea that James Smith was Lady Julia Stone.
“What did you tell him?” he asked cautiously, not wanting to presume anything with Julia.
