Page 38 of The Austen Escape
“Clara is eight years old,” Grant reminded me.
“Good point.”
He positioned me in the saddle.
“I’m just supposed to balance here?”
“I’ve lengthened this pommel and added one here for greater support.” He swung my right leg over and around the second pommel. “As I said, Lady Grey is gentle and knows what she’s doing. I trust her. But...” He paused until my eyes met his. “If you must fall, fall this way.” He patted my dangling shins and smiled without any humor.
“Got it. Fall toward my feet. Not my head.”
He lifted Isabel to her saddle without any instructions, but then again, Isabel had been riding horses for years.
As we ambled out of the pen, I called to Grant. “You made these changes yourself?”
“Ladies love riding sidesaddle on these vacations, but few have ever done it before. I spent some downtime on my last deployment working out improvements. It helps my grandfather.” He twisted in the saddle. “Then when Gertrude mentioned a young girl was coming, I felt we needed more safety measures.”
“I’ll be sure to thank Clara.”
Grant’s chuckle was deep and genuine. Isabel darted her eyes between us.
After a few moments of awkward silence, I spoke again. “Did you say your grandfather lives here?”
“Yes, and he’s lived here his whole life. I used to come here for summer vacation as a kid. My grandfather—you’ll meet him somewhere on the grounds—has been head gardener here for over fifty years.” He twisted the other way to address Isabel. “You said you were interested in the gardens. If you want to learn about them, you need to talk to him. I’ll introduce you later.”
She said nothing in reply but gave an almost shy-looking nod.
Grant turned back to me. “I’m staying with him while on leave.”
“Oh...”
Flirt with military officers...Napoleon was on the edge of every Austen story. Britain was at war and soldiers populated her scenes. And, unlike the Marys, Austen liked her soldiers.
“You’re part of all this too. Fighting the French, are you?”
Grant burst out laughing. “Lieutenant Grant Chessman at your service. Real name. Real officer. On real leave from the real British army.” Lady Grey, as if needing to be near Lord Byron, brought me beside him. “But it was a natural assumption. Gertrude has the house staff dress for these parties, but they do keep their real names, real life stories too. It can get confusing. But I’m not on staff, and Granddad steers clear of it all.” He glanced to Isabel again. “Are you all right, Miss Dwyer?”
“Yes. I’m fine. Thank you.”
We walked on. I asked a few questions about house parties in hopes that Isabel would chime in. I wanted to draw her out. It didn’t work.
She said nothing more during the entire ride. So as we looped back along the path, I decided to find out all I could about this Grant Chessman, who made Isabel blush at first meeting and left her speechless now.
He was on leave for six months, having just returned from two deployments to places unknown and classified, was staying with his grandfather and helping him through the winter, and appeared very adept at soothing horses and nervous women. I liked him.
When we reached the stables, Grant helped us both down.
“Thank you, Grant.” I patted Lady Grey. “Isabel? I think Gertrude is expecting us for lunch.”
“I wanted to meet...” She stepped to Grant. “I thought you might introduce me to your grandfather.”
“I’d be happy to. He’s beyond the terraced gardens. We can go after lunch or...” He looked back at the horse. “If you feel comfortable coming with me alone, we can ride there now.”
Isabel raised her arms for assistance. It was a definitive answer. “Mary, will you tell Gertrude I’ll be along shortly?”
I looked at Grant.
“I’ll take care of her.”
