in the water at Vauxhall Gardens. So he’s not of noble birth; does that really matter?”
“To my brothers it would, and to Daniel. He said as much to me.”
Dimity made that little sniffing sound that suggested she wasn’t impressed by what she’d heard.
“Your brothers are fools and have never been in love.”
“I am not in love!”
Dimity laughed. “Your reaction tells me different.”
“I know nothing of him—or love, for that matter.”
“What do you need to know?”
“It is easy for you. You can marry whoever you want, Dimity. I cannot.”
Something passed over her friend’s face, but it was gone in seconds. “I cannot marry royalty, and it’s unlikely a nobleman would want me either.”
“I should not have said that, forgive me. Of course you too would face opposition should you want to marry your prince.”
Dimity sighed. “I could imagine myself wandering the long halls of a palace draped in luxurious fabrics with someone meeting my every whim. But we digress. The fact is, Abby, you could marry whoever you wanted, but it would mean you have to go against your family.”
“There is little point in this discussion, as Daniel has shown he has no wish to pursue me.”
“And yet in the water that night, he showed you different,” Dimity said softly before turning to look out the window once more, leaving Abby alone with several uncomfortable thoughts.
Chapter 24
Daniel was ill-prepared when the rain started. Hard, driving sheets of water that drenched him in seconds and sent chills down his spine.
He had not heeded his mother’s advice and rested to recover after his illness and now was paying the penalty. It was, he believed, late afternoon, and heavy waves of fatigue meant it was taking all his strength to stay upright in the saddle. He knew there was an inn nearby, as the man he’d ridden alongside for a few miles had informed him of that, but if he did not find it soon, he would end up falling from his horse’s back, never to be seen alive again.
A trifle dramatic perhaps, but he wasn’t entirely sure he had the energy to continue on much longer.
Urging his tired and wet horse on, he felt weak with relief as, squinting through the driving rain, he found lights in the distance.
“Nearly there, Syd.” The horse didn’t reply.
Unlike Oliver, Daniel liked to ride, and since the day the Hetherington twins had taught him, he’d tried to do so often. It was his preferred mode of transport, even though there were carriages available in the family.
As the rain poured down on him, he wondered how his family had taken the hurried note he sent to them that he was departing London the following day. There would be questions, of course. Kate would pry, his mother would worry, and Oliver would be angry.
He’d felt foolish after he’d calmed down. The long-held anger was childish, now that he actually allowed himself to think about that time in his life. He was a man now, and not the boy who had fought for his life most days after Oliver had left. He also knew his brother believed he’d done what needed to be done. As it turned out, his leaving had changed their lives. So why, then, was he so angry?
“L-let it go, Daniel,” he muttered as he rode into the courtyard of the inn. In fact, he didn’t know why he hadn’t been able to.
He had a business interest near Devon, which was why he had chosen this direction. A piece of land he had been wanting to inspect for some time. That, and there was a reaping machine he’d heard someone was working on, and it was nearing completion. This would make cutting and gathering crops a faster prospect, if indeed it worked.
Dismounting, he clutched the horse’s mane to steady himself, then led Syd to the stables.
“Good day to you, sir. Nasty night out there.” A man approached as he entered the building.
“Could you feed and c-care for my horse, please?” Daniel’s teeth were chattering now, and his head felt light. He feared that his mother’s prophecy that he’d end up sicker if he did not have a care was about to come to fruition.
“Indeed I will. You get on inside now, and my cousin will find you a nice warm bed and a meal.”
The thought sounded like bliss and galvanized him to run through the rain and into the inn.
“A r-room and a bath, please,” Daniel said to the man at reception. His body was now shaking.