Page 34 of The Duke's Lesson in Love

ChapterThirteen

The following Saturday, Gill hoisted Edwin onto the saddle before seating himself. It was another sunny, late spring day after three days of rain at the beginning of the week. The air had a crisp, fresh scent that always followed rain.

In the distance, the sloshing of the river against the watermill’s waterwheel is carried by the gentle morning breeze.

Gill secured Edwin between his arms. “Ready?” he asked his son and gently flicked the reins.

“He is fast,” Edwin said, the wind touseling his light brown hair.

“He can go even faster. Squeeze your calves gently into his side.”

Edwin did as he suggested.

“A little more pressure,” Gill said. “The moment he gives in, release your calves.”

They spent the morning riding the perimeter of the property, speaking with the tenants, and inspecting the crops.

Miss Fields judged him correctly. If he wanted to leave an inheritance that was more than a house in disrepair, a relationship with Edwin was necessary on all fronts. He knew how to be a friend, even a lord, but being a father was a new experience.

He now believed he’d done Edwin a disservice by keeping him far away from what remained of his family and the connection to a painful past. In so doing, he had deprived them both of a new beginning.

Gill dismounted to rest the horse. They started walking towards the Porters’ cottage with Edwin still on horseback. “Hold the reins and use your legs to steady yourself.”

“Like this?” Edwin said with a nervous quiver in his voice.

“Excellent. Straighten your back and relax.” After a few minutes of slow, steady strides, Edwin loosened his tight grip on the reins. “That’s it, feel him beneath you.”

“I do not want to fall,” Edwin said. “Mr. Jacob will not like it if a horse bested me.”

Gill snorted. “Mr. Jacob’s feelings on the matter have no bearing. You will not fall and if you do, I will catch you.”

“Promise?”

“Of course.” A promise to catch his son before he hit the ground was easy to fulfill. “What did you enjoy most about the orphanage?” he asked, hoping some semblance of joy came from Edwin’s time there.

Edwin shrugged his small shoulders. “My friends.”

“Did you have many?” Friends were another pleasure he was not allowed as a child, except for his dog, and that was taken away.

Edwin nodded. “There are always new ones too, but sometimes they are very sad. Mamon Sadie says it is up to the rest of us to make them welcome.”

Welcomed, not happy.

“Mamon Sadie said it is okay to be sad, that sometimes children cannot help it.”

He cleared his throat. Sometimes adults could not avoid being sad either. “Your Mamon is very wise.”

“Because she is old.”

Gill snorted. “We will not tell her that.”

Edwin frowned. “That is not a very good secret. She already knows.”

“Nevertheless, we will not mention that she is old. You’ll learn that ladies are very particular about their ages.”

“And mud.” Edwin nodded. “Girls shriek during mud fights, the teachers too.”

“Women are a prudent lot,” Gill said. His mother was particularly unamused by insects. He initially collected them as companions before they became a means to annoy his parents. He had paid for each incident dearly.

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