Page 57 of Suddenly a Bride
He gave her a little half smile that made her heart warm.
“Start handing things to me.”
When they were all ready, he turned to help her mount the mare, but she backed away.
“Gwyneth?”
“I know I am being foolish, Edmund,” she said, wearing a shaky smile.
“Try petting her.”
He showed her how to stroke the horse’s nose and the special place she liked between the ears.
“What is her name?”
“Star.”
“Just what I would have picked.” Gwyneth watched his gentleness with the animal and felt a sense of peace steal over her. She was so lucky to find a man like him to marry. It felt strange to owe Earl Langston her gratitude.
After having her feed a carrot to Star, he said, “ ’Tis time to try mounting her. It would be easier for you to learn to control the horse when riding astride instead of perched on a sidesaddle.” He smiled gently. “Trust me.”
She used a stool to reach the stirrups and get up into the saddle. She was taller than Edmund like this and could see many people in the courtyard as they stopped to watch her. With a low groan, she closed her eyes.
“Hold onto the pommel,” he instructed her as he adjusted the stirrups. “You won’t fall.”
“ ’Tis not that. I just…feel very foolish learning to ride a horse at my age.”
“Don’t. I am proud that you’re trying.”
She couldn’t imagine feeling better if he’d told her she was the most beautiful woman in the world.
He gave her some basic instructions about using her legs and the reins, then led her slowly about the courtyard as she became accustomed to sitting in the saddle.
“Do you know why horses frighten you?” he asked as he walked beside her.
She gripped the reins tightly. “I’m not sure. My father tells me that when I was a little girl, he used to put me up in the saddle, and I would ride about our farm.”
“And you do not remember?”
“I had only seven years when we moved to London. But my mother thinks the true reason for my fear is really a sense of loss. She claims I cried for days when they had to sell that horse before we moved.” She felt herself blushing, and she risked a glance at her husband. “Foolish, aye?”
“Nay, I do not think you’re foolish at all.”
They had stopped in the middle of the courtyard, and Edmund stood with his hand on Star’s neck, looking up at her solemnly. She couldn’t think of a thing to say, unless it was that she might be falling in love with him. And he certainly wouldn’t want to hear that.
He finally stepped away from the horse. “Are you ready to try? I promise we’ll start slowly.”
She nodded and resolved to make him proud of her.
When they were finally on the road, with the castle dwindling in the distance, she began to let herself relax. The mare seemed content to travel at the The General’s side, with little guidance required from Gwyneth. It felt awkward to have her legs spread so wide, but she was certain she’d become used to it. Even when Edmund picked up the pace, she only clutched the pommel for a moment until she felt she wasn’t going to fall off. She was beginning to feel quite proud of her new skill—and relieved.
They stopped to rest only once on the journey, and she felt a little stiff but otherwise fine. They reached Richmond just before the noon meal and entered through the town gates. Again she was struck by how pretty the town was, with its gray stone houses side by side on curving lanes running up the hillside. The streets were cobbled, but there was a line of sewage running down the middle of them.
At the tavern where they had dinner, Edmund asked for directions to the jail. On their way, they even passed the church where they were married. Gwyneth glanced at him, but he seemed not to realize the significance, and her shoulders drooped. But she was in this battle until victory was declared, and she would fight on.
The jail was a small, single-story building on a back street. There were bars in the window that they passed, and she shuddered when she heard two men yelling at each other from within. When they stopped out front, Edmund gave her a searching glance.
“You should visit the shops,” he said. “There are some nearby, so you won’t be too far away.”
