Page 47 of The Secret Life of a Lady
Hannah tugged gently on the reins and Starlight shifted her gait, turning toward the drive. Hannah pretended she wasn’t surprised at all that her horse complied.
Killian pulled alongside her. ‘You’re a fast learner.’
She concentrated on keeping her hips moving with the horse.
‘Did anyone tell you how lovely you look in rose? That dress is almost the exact colour of your ni?—’
‘Must you always be so scandalous?’ Hannah’s cheeks heated.
Killian laughed. ‘I was going to say your neck when you blush. Like now. Why? What did you think I would say?’
Impossible man!
She decided to retaliate by remaining silent. It was a masochistic punishment because a million retorts burned the tip of her tongue.
‘So, are you interested in my earlier suggestion? You share your information, and I share my skills with your hidden pearl.’
Hannah waited a moment. ‘After giving it some thought, I have a better idea. Perhaps you should be the one sharing information, sir. And for every question I ask that you answer, I will allow you one favour.’
Killian’s eyes dilated. ‘What kind of favour?’
‘Whatever you ask of me within the bounds of our agreement.’ Hannah exulted in his silence. It felt glorious to momentarily stun the man. She had thought long and hard about his suggestion, and it was a brilliant way to extort information. So, she would use his tactics against him.
‘What if there are favours you wish to ask of me?’ He raised a brow.
‘If I want a favour from you, I will first answer your question, just as you suggested.’ Her breath was coming fast.
‘Tonight? Midnight?’
Hannah opened her mouth to agree when a shotgun blasted somewhere behind them. Starlight whinnied high and loud before breaking into a wild gallop.
Hannah screamed. She grabbed onto the horse’s mane. Starlight veered right, leapt over a fence, and galloped toward the forest.
‘Fuck!’ Killian glanced behind him. A man on horseback raced in the opposite direction over the paddocks west of Everly Manor. He should follow the shooter, chase him down and determine the man’s identity before beating him to a bloody pulp and turning him over to the local magistrate. But he couldn’t abandon Hannah. It was a miracle she didn’t fall off the horse when the damned animal vaulted the fence.
He spurred his stallion to follow her. She might be a fast learner, but she wasn’t ready for a wild race through the dangerous terrain of the woods surrounding Lord Cavendale’s mansion. Even a skilled rider would need to keep his wits about him dashing through the forest’s low branches and uneven ground.
Killian could see Hannah clinging to her horse as the beast entered the copse of trees. Hannah somehow managed to keep her seat. She was holding tight to Starlight’s mane, leaning low over the horse’s neck. Her position would help Hannah avoid any low branches, but she would be flung over the mare’s head if Starlight stopped suddenly.
Fear licked along Killian’s nerves. Tightening his grip on thestallion’s mane, he urged his mount on, dodging a low branch and leaping over a tangled root.
Thankfully, Starlight was an intelligent beast. Sensing the danger of pelting through the uneven terrain, she slowed down quickly to a trot. Killian pulled alongside the horse and her terrified rider. He tugged on the reins Hannah had dropped. Starlight came to a slow stop.
Hannah trembled. Her head was buried against Starlight’s neck, her hands gripping the horse’s mane.
‘It’s okay. You’re safe.’ Killian dismounted and ran his hands over Hannah’s back, soothing her while surreptitiously checking for wounds. That shot had been too close.
Her face was pressed firmly against the horse’s neck, muffling her voice. ‘I’m fine.’ Hannah’s body quaked beneath his hands.
Killian gripped her hips to pull her from the saddle, but she clung to Starlight’s back like a cat.
‘Shh. It’s okay. You’re safe. I have you,’ he crooned as he might to a frightened child.
Slowly, she released her grip, and he was able to pull her down. She fell against him, and he wrapped her in his arms. Orange blossom and vanilla blended with pine, soil, and horse. Her hair fell around her shoulders in disarray, soft waves tangling in his fingers as he pulled her closer.
‘It’s okay, Hannah. I’m here.’
Her whole body shuddered violently, but she didn’t cry. Instead, she became impossibly silent and completely still.
