Page 85 of Duchess By Accident
“Would you care to wager on that?” Adrian murmured, his breath tickling her ear.
Natalie only just managed to suppress the shivers that threatened to run down her spine, a flush rising from her neck to her cheeks.Oh I am going to make him pay for that.
“I do not have any money.” Melody frowned.
Natalie took advantage of the intervention and stepped away from Adrian, forcing her mind back to the present. “Hm… Well what about if we say that if you win, you can have two puddings after dinner.”
“All to myself?” Melody looked between Adrian and Natalie.
Natalie nodded. “Yes.”
She knew Adrian would not object – nothing made him happier than to see his daughter eating, and Melody rarely indulged in excess.
Her stepdaughter considered this for a moment. “What about if you got me a puppy instead?”
Natalie stroked her chin thoughtfully, ignoring Adrian who was clearly trying to mouth the word ‘no’ while Melody had her attention focused on Natalie. “I think you would have to win at least five races for me to get you a puppy.”
Melody nodded. “So if I win five races, I can have a puppy.”
“Maybe.” Adrian gave Natalie a look, exasperation and amusement clear on his face. “We shall have to see.”
“But if Mother said I could, then that means I can.” Melody said glaring at her father.
There was a beat of silence as Adrian’s eyes widened just slightly. Natalie’s breath caught.She called me mother. She has never called me that before.She had thought that being called mother would make her feel old; a part of her had feared it even as another part wanted it.
Yet as soon as the word left Melody’s mouth, all Natalie could think was how much she loved the little girl. It felt perfect. She glanced at Adrian who looked back at her, a smile on his face.
In the silence, Melody flushed slightly and tugged gently on Natalie’s hand. “You do not mind if I call you mother, do you?”
Natalie shook her head, a lump in her throat. “Of course not.”
“You can still call me Melody, and sometimes if you wish, you may call me daughter. But I think if you said it all the time it would sound rather strange.” Melody squeezed Natalie’s hand, and tugged her in the direction of the stables. “Do you know where the ruins are? You will need to if we are all going to race.”
“I think so. It is not very far away.” Natalie mentally mapped out the route, trying to remember if there was more than one river to ford as they made their way through the gardens.
“Do not worry, you can follow me.” Adrian winked at her.
“How can I do that when you will be behind me?” Natalie replied sweetly, swatting at him as he danced out of reach..
“There are worse places to be.” Adrian let his eyes drift down her body and Natalie blushed.
“Mother has already said she knows where to go silly. She will not need to follow anyone.” Melody turned to face Natalie, a determined look on her face. “Father says I am still too small to ride a horse, but I think he is wrong.”
Natalie looked at the hopeful expression on Melody’s face and felt her heart melt. She looked at Melody and then at one of the smaller horses, then back at Melody. She shook her head and the girl looked crestfallen.
“I am afraid he is right. It would not be safe for you to ride one of the bigger horses. If we had another small mare, perhaps, but Birch has only just had her foal and will not be ready to ride for some time.” Natalie gestured vaguely, hoping the reminder that there was a foal to fuss over after their ride would help alleviate some of Melody’s disappointment.
Melody frowned. “But my pony has little legs. It hardly seems fair when you will both be riding horses.”
“That is a good point. What if we gave you a head start?” Natalie glanced at Adrian who inclined his head to signal his agreement.And it will give us some time together as well.“You can ride ahead of us and we will follow behind whilst you warm up yourpony. Then you may start to race and we shall wait and follow along when you are a suitable distance in front of us.”
Melody chewed thoughtfully on the end of one of her braids. “Yes, that seems fair.”
“Then we have an agreement.” Natalie held out a hand and Melody shook it.
They had reached the stables, and the grooms were coming out to greet them. Melody waved at them happily.
“You should help get Sir Stockings ready for the ride.” Adrian jerked his head towards the stable.
