Page 21 of The Hired Hero
Instead, he satisfied himself by dropping the lad none too gently onto the rutted ground.
“You damn fool,” cursed the earl as he dismounted. “I should take my crop to you. Don’t you know you could be trans?—”
It was then that he noticed that the lad’s hat had fallen off. There was a mass of honey-colored hair spilling over the pale face. His eyes traveled lower, to where a pair of slender—and very shapely—thighs were revealed by a pair of tight buckskin breeches.
With a start, he realized they werehisbreeches, from when he had been a boy.
He closed his eyes for an instant and swore yet again.
Caroline slowly began to move.
“You!” roared Davenport, his voice choked with anger. “You nearly got both of us killed! What in the name of Satan were you thinking, trying to ride a blooded stallion?”
She struggled to a sitting position, clutching at her arm. The oversized jacket had slipped on her shoulder, making her look even smaller and more vulnerable. Her face was pinched and streaked with mud, while her lips were pressed tightly together, trying to suppress the slight quiver at their corners.
And yet, when she looked up at him, her eyes held only a spirited determination.
“I ride as well as any man,” she managed to retort. “It wasyouwho caused the problem by charging out of the bushes like a…a highwayman.”
His jaw dropped in astonishment. “A bloody highwayman,” he sputtered. “You impudent chit. You were stealing my horse!”
“I-I wasn’t exactly stealing him.” Caroline hesitated. “I was going to give him back.” She brushed away the loose curls that had fallen across her cheek. “You know, you should give that magnificent stallion his head more often. A top-of-the-tree horse needs a good run to keep him up to snuff.”
Davenport wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly. “What did you say?” he asked in an ominously low voice.
“I said, I hope you know how to handle him properly.”
He gritted his teeth. “You callthathandling him properly, flying neck and leather out of control? It’s a wonder he didn’t throw you sooner.”
“I wasnotout of control! I’ll have you know I have been riding blooded stallions since I was six and can handle a mount as well as—or better than—most men.”
The earl couldn’t quite believe he was standing here brangling with her. Frustrated and angry, he lost control of his temper. “So you like something spirited between your legs?” he snapped.
Color flooded her face, and she crabbed away from him. The movement must have sent a jolt of pain through her shoulder for he saw her bite her lip nearly hard enough to draw blood.
Feeling his anger ebbing, Davenport walked over to where she was sitting. “Are you all right?” he asked curtly.
Caroline nodded.
He reached down and lifted her to her feet. When her legs buckled slightly, his arm came around her waist. “Come. Sit down over here.”
He guided her to a fallen tree by the side of the cart path and settled her on its broad trunk. Neither of them spoke for a few moments. She took a few deep breaths as if to steady herself. Her face was still ghostly pale.
“Better?” he asked
She nodded again.
Davenport turned to stare into the distance. Finally, he cleared his throat. “I apologize,” he muttered through gritted teeth. “That was an unpardonable remark.”
He then shook his head in disbelief as his fingers moved absently to his cheekbone and began to massage the thin white scar running across it. “Ye gods, the chit steals my horse, and hereIam apologizing.”
Caroline slanted him a sideways glance. “I’m sorry as well. I provoked you. Truly, I didn’t wish to steal your horse, but you wouldn’t help me. I had no choice. You don’t understand—I must get away from here.”
Her hands tightened in her lap. “Right now.”
Davenport let out an exasperated sigh. “We’ll discuss this in a more suitable place. Will you be all right for a moment while I fetch Nero?”
A strangled sound came from Caroline. He thought for a moment that she was finally succumbing to girlish hysterics, then realized she was trying not to laugh.
