Truly astonishing and preposterous.
Chapter 7
Juliana rode her horse with effortless grace, discreetly admiring the skillful yet elegant way the earl sat upon his horse. They had entered the deep forest of his lands over ten minutes ago, two large dogs bounding ahead. The earl held a hunting rifle with familiar ease and skill. She carried the other along with a burlap sack rolled behind her saddle to keep whatever game he managed to shoot down.
She hadn’t thought a gentleman so in love with books would be equally at ease with the outdoors. But she should have suspected it, given the perfection of his body. He hadn’t been soft anywhere, and the memory of his masculine nakedness had heat rising in her cheeks.
Do not think of it, Juliana!
His society loved hunting. Once they retired to the country, they would typically shoot birds and rabbits during the autumn and hunt foxes during the winter. She understood shooting the birds since they could be eaten, not so much pursuing the beautiful, furry creatures such as foxes. She acknowledged that they were a pest to farmers but regretted the brutal manner of their extermination.
The air felt crisp, clear, and a bit chilly. She inhaled it deeply into her lungs. Though she had been in the earl’s home a week now, this was the first time she had spent any considerable time outdoors. The rain and the chill of the previous days had been a deterrent to walking during her lunch hour. “What breed are they, my lord?” she asked, staring ahead at the beautiful pair of dogs.
“They are Belvoir hounds.”
“And they’ll bring back the birds without eating them?”
He flashed her a quick smile. “And without their teeth piercing the bird’s feathers and flesh. Ptolemy and Pythagoras are well trained.”
He nudged his horse into a trot, and she followed suit, watching the woods. The dogs raced ahead, a sharp bark sounded, and then a flock of pheasant took to the sky. The sudden flapping of their wings sounded loud in the stillness of the forest, and excitement thrummed in her blood.
The earl aimed and without hesitation fired.
“Did you get it?”
“Of course,” he said with a touch of arrogance.
She laughed but hurriedly tempered the sound from sounding light and airy. Juliana ended up choking and spluttering.
“Another bug?” the earl drawled mockingly, his gaze upon her was piercing.
She made the motion of plucking something from her mouth and tossing it to the forest floor. “Why, yes, but it is gone now. Thank you for your concern, my lord. It is positively heartwarming.”
He smiled, slow and far too sensual, and she had to avert her gaze.
“I find I am curious about you, Julian. Tell me about yourself,” the earl smoothly invited.
His words kicked her in the chest, and her grip reflexively tightened on the reins. “I led a rather boring life, your lordship. There is not much to tell.”
“I like boring. Indulge me, my good lad.”
My good lad. There was an emphasis on those words which had alarm stirring in her veins. She felt as if he knew something, but surely it couldn’t be so. She sent him a challenging stare. “What exactly do you wish to know, my lord?”
Admiration and an indefinable expression darkened his eyes. “Astonish me.”
A flock of birds rose in the sky, and acting on the dare in his gaze, she nudged the horse into a small trot, took aim, and shot the bird the farthest in the sky. It tumbled through the air to land in the bushes, and the dogs darted after it.
The earl rode up beside her, and a long whistle of admiration came from him. “Mightily impressive, my good lad! Are we to have a competition?”
She laughed and had to bite into her bottom lip to halt the too feminine sound. “I would thrash you soundly, my lord. It would be unfair.”
His eyes widened in mock outrage. “Is that so?”
“Yes.” Juliana tossed her head. “My father was an expert hunter and marksman, and he taught me everything he knew about shooting.”
“Ah-ha!” He quickly reloaded his rifle. “But can you do this?”
He urged his horse into greater speed, and Juliana raced after him, a thrill bursting in her heart. Without slowing, he aimed his gun and her breath caught at his majesty—the image he presented atop his massive black stallion, his coat flapping behind him, that rifle held so steadily…his form so graceful.
It was impossible for him to shoot anything at such a precarious speed, but he fired, and a pheasant fell from the air. Juliana felt breathless by the time she reached his side.
“Now, can you beat that my good lad?” he demanded, grinning.
“Ah…why yes, I can.”
His smile wiped away, and he narrowed his gaze. “Prove it.”
Juliana reloaded her rifle, then surged her horse ahead. He thundered after her, and for several minutes they were caught up in their own world of fun. Thunder rumbled overhead, and she scowled at the sky. “It was too good to last!”
“We might have about an hour or more before the rain starts.”
She peered up at the sky beyond the skyline of the towering beech and oak trees. “And how can you tell?”
“The clouds are not yet so swollen or dark. We’ve ridden a considerable distance from the main house, but you are an expert horse…man. We should make it back before the deluge.”
The hunting dogs had gathered the birds in one area, and she admired their skills. Juliana hopped down from the horse to stuff the mix of birds they had taken down, a few quail, pheasant, and even a couple of wild ducks. “We have nineteen birds between the two of us. I shot ten and you nine,” she said, grinning up at him.
His brow arched. “I am the loser in our impromptu match?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“And I suppose you can tell which bird fell from your rifle?”
She swallowed the giggle rising in her throat. “Most assuredly.”
He dismounted, loosely holding his horse’s rein. “We’ll take them to the small church not too far from here. The vicar will see them distributed to the villagers after taking one or two for himself.”
“That is very kind of you.”
“Well, we cannot eat them all, and I am certain the manor’s gamekeeper caught enough fowl today for the kitchens, and hopefully, roasted quail will be on the menu again tonight.” He kissed the top of his fingertips. “Cook always roasts birds which are particularly succulent.”
Another laugh got muffled. Juliana liked this side to him. He seemed so relaxed and easy-going. Something felt different between them as if the bonds of master and servant was severed during their competition. Do not be silly, the earl is not my friend! She knew many lords were more comfortable around their manservants, who were their constant companions through their daily lives, than with their own families and friends. The bond of trust between master and man grew from mutually knowing their strength and vulnerabilities.
The bond wasn’t one of friendship, and she didn’t dare delude herself that more was forming. Not when he made her heart race so, not when she caught herself more than once thinking of what it would be like to dance with him, to be wooed by him. What if she had met him during a fancy ball in town? Would she have captured his regard?