Winning the Gentleman (Hearts on the Heath #2) - Kristi Ann Hunter Page 0,78
Either she or Jonas had been in the mare’s vicinity almost her entire life.
The two men talked as the trio walked toward Hawksworth, but all Sophia could do was remember the way Mr. Whitworth had stormed from the breakfast room. He’d tried to interrupt the men multiple times. Had he something to add, or was he trying to tell them she wasn’t worth risking their reputations and relationships for? That had certainly been what she’d wanted to say, what she still wanted to say.
Or was he mad at her? It wasn’t as if she were at fault for the situation.
Very well, she was completely at fault. If she hadn’t come to Newmarket, his well-ordered, meticulous life would be going on just as it always had. Even losing the challenge race wouldn’t have caused him this many problems.
A familiar hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked up to find they’d moved from open countryside to fenced pastureland. Lord Stildon walked a few feet ahead, leading his horse.
“You can’t change the past,” Jonas said softly as he closed a gate behind them.
“Of course not.” She tried to brush off her brother’s statement, as if the idea that she’d been contemplating, of how things could have been different, was far from what she’d been doing. Her brother knew her too well.
“I’m serious, Soph.”
“I know.” She tried to leave her response as a simple acknowledgment, but holding back words had never worked for her. “If I hadn’t been here . . . If I hadn’t come . . . If I hadn’t raced . . . What if I’d just taken the money he offered and left?”
“Then he’d have another problem to deal with. He didn’t hire you on a lark, Soph.” Jonas sighed. “If Father had not taken that last loan. If Mother hadn’t gotten sick. If we’d sold the horses and taken service jobs in Ireland.” He shrugged. “Our paths could have gone in other directions at a hundred different times, but we have no idea where they eventually would have led. You can’t change what path you’re on. You can only change what you do next.”
As usual, Jonas had managed to go straight to the heart of the matter. No more looking back. She would focus on what was ahead, on working with Mr. Whitworth to do better in next week’s races, on riding the best she could. She would make mistakes. Some people wouldn’t like her. But all she could do was put one foot in front of the other and make each next step as right as possible.
But what if her best step was not in the direction of Hawksworth?
“Stop,” Jonas groaned. “I can hear your head spinning.”
She nudged his shoulder. “No you can’t.”
“Mm-hmm,” he said with a nod. “It sounds like a wagon with a broken wheel.”
She was laughing as they approached the stable. The last time she was here, she’d stayed outside. The inside was like nothing she’d seen before. Stone walls separated the stalls. A wide, clean aisle led the way to loose-boxes at the end. Large open doors let in air and sunlight. She could only imagine the amount of work it took to maintain a place like this.
Mr. Whitworth stood in the center of a great bustle, in complete command of his domain. He had grooms cleaning out box stalls to make room for the racehorses, grooms heading to the training yard to collect those horses, and grooms saddling mounts. It was a fascinating controlled chaos.
He might not have been able to get out a word in the breakfast room, but no one was interrupting him here.
He gave Sophia no more than a glance before turning back to the thin man next to him. His weathered face was creased and tan, proving he spent more than a little time in the sun, squinting at the horizon.
“Fitzroy!”
Both Sophia and Jonas jumped forward, looking at each other with wide eyes.
Mr. Whitworth groaned and rubbed a hand across his face. “You can’t both be Fitzroy.” He pointed to Jonas. “Since you’ll be working in the stable here, you’ll be Fitzroy for now.”
Jonas frowned in mock surprise. “Does that mean I get to be someone else later?”
Sophia nudged him with her elbow. Now was not the time to be witty. Then again, Jonas always seemed to know how to get the best possible reaction out of people. It had worked for a moment in the breakfast room. Maybe it would work here.