Winning the Gentleman (Hearts on the Heath #2) - Kristi Ann Hunter Page 0,26

crept over her ears, and slid down her cheeks. She hated when she blushed. Jonas would tease that it looked like her hair was bleeding into her face.

Miss Snowley was bent nearly double now, her hands wrapped in the fabric of her proper pinned-up riding skirt. “You ride astride in these?” Her eyes flew up to meet Sophia’s. “Is it easier to control the horse that way?”

“Sometimes?” Sophia hated that the answer came out like a question, hated that even more heat flooded her face.

“All the prattling you did on the walk here, and this is what embarrasses you?” Mr. Whitworth shook his head and looked past her shoulder. “Put your skirt down. Simply putting you on a racehorse is scandalous enough. I’ll not add your riding astride to the mix.”

Gracious, he intended for her to run harum-scarum across the Heath in a sidesaddle? She could do it. The thought of everything that could go wrong made her knees shake, but she could do it. She smoothed her skirt, lifted her chin, and walked over to the grey horse. His back wasn’t nearly as wide as Rhiannon’s and was at least a hand higher. The nostrils flaring in his thin face implied an energy she’d not handled before.

She swallowed hard. “I’ll need a leg up, please.”

This was one reason why she often rode astride. It was nearly impossible to mount a sidesaddle on one’s own without a block to stand on, because there was no way to resettle the saddle once she was atop the animal.

If she put too much weight in the stirrup while racing . . . no, she wouldn’t consider that. Dwelling on the potential problems would have her quitting before Mr. Whitworth could find a reason to fire her.

Everyone was still for a moment, and then Mr. Whitworth stepped forward, joined his fingers, and lowered them for her use. It wasn’t until she’d placed her foot in his hands and pushed up that she saw a mounting block a few feet away on the horse’s other side.

The burn in her cheeks continued as she settled in the saddle and arranged her skirts. The wide leg of her trousers was still visible, and the skirt didn’t flow like a proper riding habit, but that couldn’t be helped. This was the best riding outfit she owned.

She gathered the reins and looked down at Mr. Whitworth. There was a peculiar expression on his face, one that might have been admiration if she didn’t know he already considered her a thorn in his side.

And wasn’t that a shame? It would have been nice to talk with a handsome man who respected horses and her abilities with them. Jonas never talked down to her, often even deferred to her when it came to equine knowledge, but it just wasn’t the same.

Mr. Whitworth swung up into his saddle and secured her small bag to the back of it. Lord Stildon crossed to stand at the horse’s side and speak in low murmurs.

“Don’t you need a chaperon?” Miss Snowley asked. “I could mount up, perhaps even ride—”

“As we are both employees of Lord Trenting and will be out in the open for the entirety of this ride,” Mr. Whitworth said, cutting off both Miss Snowley and Lord Stildon, “a chaperon will not be necessary.”

Miss Snowley sighed.

Lord Stildon crossed his arms.

Sophia shifted in her saddle and looked away. Was this why Mr. Whitworth had said she would ruin him? If she cost him this job . . . no, she wouldn’t. She would win, she would show people what she was capable of, and she would make these men glad they had taken a chance on her.

If only they gave her time to do that. She cut her eyes to see the end of a hushed conversation between Lord Stildon and Mr. Whitworth. He was frowning as he nudged his horse forward. Had he already lost his position?

“Come along,” he said, turning the horse from the stable and crossing the paddock to return to the Heath.

Sophia sent her horse after him, enjoying the steady gait of the grey and resisting the urge to encourage him to hold his head higher.

“Is everything well with your position?” she asked as she pulled her horse alongside his.

“Your concern for my position is somewhat late,” he said with a lift of his eyebrow. His glance barely skimmed her face before he nudged his horse forward to see to the gate that would let them out of the fenced