mind to be aware of young ladies strolling the grounds. You should have nothing more to do with him.”
The sun strengthened through the trees and she stepped into a shady spot. The cool caress of the breeze and the scent of lilacs and roses filled the air. For a moment, it distracted Darcy from thinking about Mr. Brennan.
“I think it’s time we show Miss Roth how fast our thoroughbreds are,” she heard Daniel Rhendon say to the guests gathered on the porch.
“Surely, sir, our Virginia horses are superior to what they breed in England,” said one gentleman in a gray suit. “What proof do they need?”
“Since you have no English stallions in your stable, Mr. Rhendon, I do anticipate your competition between riders,” said Miss Roth, while fanning her face with an ivory fan. Her eyes glanced sideways toward Darcy, and then moved back to the circle of men. Then from out on the lawn, a man shouted, “Here they come!”
The guests rushed to the porch rail, and some hurried out onto the lawn. Down the hill came two riders. They jumped their mounts over a hedge, gained control, and galloped at a breakneck speed past the crowd. Cheers rang out as they skidded to a halt, the horses rearing under their firm hands. Ethan dismounted along with his competitor and they shook hands.
Captain Rhendon threw up his arms with a broad smile. “I’m afraid it is a tie, ladies and gentlemen. Both gentlemen have shown exceptional horsemanship. And my horses? Well, it goes without saying how superior they are.”
Cheers and handshakes all around, the crowd dispersed back to the veranda or the shade of the trees. Darcy turned away. “We cannot judge Mr. Brennan too harshly,” she told her cousin. “He is a bold rider and that says something about his character.”
Martha guffawed. “Hmm. I’d like to know what.”
Darcy took her cousin’s hand and moved with her to a bench beneath the veranda. “I have a stone in my shoe.” At once, she drew it off and shook free a tiny pebble. She hesitated when, just above her, she heard voices and the stomp of boots across the porch. She slipped her shoe back on and looked up through the lattice above her.
With his back turned, Ethan could not see her below. She noticed flecks of mud on his boots. Sunlight alighted over the earthy color of his hair and across his broad shoulders. How would it turn the color of his eyes? Would they lighten, or be averse to the glare?
She heard him say, “Who is the young woman with the glorious hair?”
Daniel replied, “Which one? There are several—and all so pretty.”
“The one who does not wear it up, but loose down her back. Do you know her name?”
“Ah, yes. I know whom you mean.”
Martha’s mouth fell open, and Darcy pressed her finger against her cousin’s lips to silence her.
“I believe her name is Darcy. Her aunt and uncle are over there, Mr. and Mrs. Breese. I saw her once down at the river. She and her cousins were wading … a wondrous sight for any young man to behold. Hair Glorious had her dress looped up above her pretty calves.”
Ethan leaned back against the banister. “I imagine the rest of her is just as lovely.”
Darcy widened her eyes and a flutter seized her. Never had she heard a man speak of her in that fashion. How dare he say such a thing aloud, or think of me in that way.
Martha cupped her hand and whispered in Darcy’s ear. “He must be a libertine and a hedonist. Did you hear what he said about you just now?”
“I could not help hearing it.” If their paths crossed again, she determined she would get the best of him. Were not the English more reserved than this?
“Come on,” Daniel said. “We shall hunt her and that fetching cousin of hers down, and I’ll introduce you.”
Then from the corner of her eye, Darcy watched Ethan turn away. “Later.”
A coy smile tugged at her mouth, and a tinge of insult caused her eyes to narrow. “Later?” she whispered back to Martha. “I shall avoid him at all costs.”
“Girls!” Her aunt tapped her fan against the railing and leaned over another inch or two. She made a most severe motion for them to make their way above.
Martha walked ahead of Darcy, with her head erect and her gait graceful. Darcy followed her up the stairs, and as she turned to the left to join