instructions and demonstrating before the girls made their own attempts.
She wore a blue riding habit that Bianca had worn last year. The skirt draped elegantly over the side of the horse, covering Sophia’s legs. It was entirely proper and looked entirely out of place. Could she do the riding she loved in that skirt? Even though she’d raced sitting aside, she’d been astride when she had given demonstrations at Trent’s house.
Her laugh drifted to him through the air, and his gut clenched. “Does she look happy?”
Graham looked at Aaron and then Sophia. There wasn’t any way to see her face or any real detail. Still, he said, “Yes, she does.”
“Good.” Aaron could move on as long as Sophia was happy. He didn’t want to have made a mistake with her while he was finding his own way.
They stood there too long. When Sophia circled her students, she looked up and saw them, then rode Rhiannon over to the closest corner, the only spot clear of trees.
Her shock was apparent. He gave her a smile and wave, hoping it would be enough.
Her lips moved, and it looked like she might be saying his name.
He couldn’t hear it. And he needed to leave before he did. Giving her one final nod, he turned and walked back to the carriage.
It was time to go home.
IF JONAS’S VISIT had left Sophia at sixes and sevens, seeing Aaron on the road beside a carriage loaded down with trunks made her utterly befuddled.
She ate her breakfast and stared into her tea. It was time to admit this was not what she’d thought it would be, yet it was all she was ever likely to have.
She’d envisioned having a handful of students who, even if they couldn’t commit to the level of training her father had taught, would be interesting in learning the basics.
Instead, all she had to show for a month of work was many young ladies with a proper seat. Mrs. Carlton still didn’t care if they were good at riding. She just wanted them to appear as if they were.
That lack of interest from the school and her students led her to spend more time alone than she ever had before. She amused herself by working with Rhiannon, attempting to perform some of her disciplines while sitting aside. Once she and the horse learned how to use a whip as the right-side leg aid, they started making progress.
Unfortunately, she had no one to share it with. Pouring out her accomplishments in a letter to Jonas wasn’t the same as talking to him.
Sophia missed talking.
“Good morning.”
Sophia smiled at the other teacher’s greeting. The staff were nice, but since Sophia spent her days out of doors or in the stable, they hadn’t been able to get to know one another beyond the pleasantries.
The post arrived and with it a letter from Jonas. Sophia tucked it into the pocket of her riding habit to read alone later. It had taken her a couple of weeks to become accustomed to managing the longer skirt of the habits, but she thought herself rather skilled now.
She’d had little to do but practice.
In the stable, she opened the letter, anxious for a taste of home. Now that Jonas could sit, was he considering looking for a job in London?
Her eyes flitted over the letter. No. In fact, he’d written the opposite.
No one is going to say they enjoy mucking out stalls, but outside of the stable the air is fresh. Mr. Knight likes me more since I have been able to climb back into a saddle.
I cannot ride for prolonged periods of time, but I can exercise the horses in the countryside. I’ve found wonderful places to sit and sketch. I’ll show them to you when I see you next.
She couldn’t ask him to come—couldn’t even hint at it. He sounded content. She wouldn’t want him to give that up just because she wasn’t. If she asked him to come to London, he’d willingly work in the dankest stable in town to make her life better.
If Jonas were here, he’d tell her she was despondent because the heart truly longed for God and wouldn’t be happy until He was its purpose. Maybe there was something to that. After all, six years of trying to regain what she’d lost wasn’t leaving her fulfilled.
MRS. CARLTON STOPPED her after dinner that night. “The girls’ riding has improved greatly. They look very proper.”
Sophia smiled with clenched teeth. “Thank you.”
“It does not, however, seem to be