A Secret Surrender - Darcy Burke Page 0,69
hands gripped her, one pushing beneath her backside, as he lifted her up. She did as he’d instructed, putting one foot in the stirrup and curling her right knee around the pommel. The fabric of her gown pulled, and she saw right away why a habit with its voluminous skirts was necessary.
She looked down at him as she tried to find security in her seat. “Wouldn’t it just be easier if I wore breeches and rode like a man?”
He laughed. “Probably. But unacceptable, which is too bad.” His gaze moved over her with a promising heat that only fanned the flames of her desire. He stared a moment too long at her backside, and she wondered if he was thinking of the way he’d just caressed her. She certainly was.
Harry handed her the reins. “Take these. You’ll need them.” He winked at her. “Trask is going to hold the lead, however, so you won’t really need to steer. Not today.”
That implied there would be other days. She thought of the life she’d envisioned yesterday when she’d been with Luther. She and Harry together. He could finish teaching her to ride.
As much as she wanted that, she couldn’t see it happening.
“Now, try not to lean forward,” Harry instructed. “Center your weight on your right thigh. It will take some getting used to.” When she did so, he continued. “This is when talking to your horse comes into play—you’ll tell Hyacinth to ‘walk,’ and she will follow your command.”
“It’s really that simple?”
“For now, yes. Things will get a touch more complicated when we move faster, but that won’t happen today.”
She narrowed her eyes at him dubiously. “What, exactly, is a touch?”
“Well, it’s not a specific form of measurement,” he said, grinning. “Knowing you as I do, I feel confident in saying it will not be beyond your ability. Will that suffice?”
Knowing her as he did. She did think they’d come to know each other rather well and was pleased to hear he thought so too. “Yes. I trust you.”
The realization that she did made her breath catch. She never trusted anyone. And he would never trust her, not if he knew the truth.
Don’t think about that just now. Enjoy this moment.
“Ready to walk?” Harry asked, interrupting her thoughts, for which she was most grateful.
“Yes.” She watched as he went and leapt effortlessly atop his horse.
Harry steered his mount next to hers. “You know what to do next.”
Gripping the reins more tightly than was probably necessary, Selina made herself relax. “Walk.”
Hyacinth stepped forward, moving sedately as Trask held the lead rope. The sidesaddle was not particularly comfortable, nor was her position. She could see how this would take plenty of getting used to. As Hyacinth moved, Selina felt every shift of the animal’s muscles and seemingly every pebble on the ground.
“How on earth is it possible to canter like this?” she asked Harry, who walked beside her.
He laughed. “Carefully. And not until you have more skill. You’ll get there, however, even if it doesn’t feel like it.”
“How long did it take you to learn to canter?”
Harry grimaced. “About five minutes, much to the groom’s horror.”
“I’m sorry I missed that,” Trask said. “I’ve heard the story of course. Mr. Sheffield managed to stay on the pony and wasn’t scared for a moment.”
Laughing, Harry said, “That’s not exactly true. I recall being frightened for a split second.”
Selina shook her head, grinning. “You do not.”
He gave her a sly glance filled with humor. “No, I don’t. I’d watched my father ride enough that I knew exactly what to do to make the pony run and I did it.”
“He always was too smart for his own good, as long as I’ve known him,” Trask noted, chuckling.
Yet Selina had been able to deceive him and continued to do so. A wave of shame crashed over her, and she nearly blurted the truth to him right there.
But she couldn’t. Not with all that was at stake for her future—and for Beatrix’s.
She grew angry. Couldn’t she just enjoy herself for one morning without thinking of how to survive?
Yes, she could, and she meant to do just that.
“Well, don’t tell me how to make Hyacinth canter, thank you.”
“Not until you’re ready,” Harry said. “You’re doing very well. See, I told you Hyacinth was gentle as a newborn fawn.”
“I don’t recall you saying that,” Selina said with a laugh. “But yes, she’s quite lovely.” Selina patted the horse’s neck. “Aren’t you, girl?”
Hyacinth twitched her mane in response, and Selina closed her eyes