stepped back, then whirled to face Dalton. Her face was a study of silent rage as she slapped her hands on her hips. She glanced over her shoulder at the black stallion. As though satisfied the horse was all right, she strode determinedly toward Dalton, then shot past him.
“Wh-where are you going?” he asked as she strode from the ring. He took off after her. When they had left the paddock, she turned around to lock the gate. When she had slid the bolt through the latch, she rounded on him.
“If I am to make any progress with your stallion, you must not interrupt me.”
“Interrupt? I was trying to save your life. See here, you don’t seem to understand how dangerous that horse—”
“I know exactly what I’m doing!”
“No, you don’t!” He found himself glaring down at her, arms akimbo, as she mocked him, exactly as she had done in the stable, the first night she arrived.
“Come, Lady Alicia,” he said, peering around to see if anyone was watching. “I would like a few words with you.” He took a deep, unsteady breath, then took her elbow, leading her to the bench inside the high arbor of roses he knew would be vacant this time of day. Most of the female guests would be napping before dinner, and the men were either at billiards, whist or shooting skeet. The rose garden would be the perfect place to explain the rules to this recalcitrant wench.
Alicia said nothing as he hurried her along and stood while she took a seat on the curved Italian marble bench.
“Well?” She glared up at him in such a fierce attempt to unnerve him, he almost laughed.
“Have you forgotten the orders that I already gave you?”
Alicia took a deep breath. “Your grace, I’ve dealt with injured animals before. But I can’t help Bashshar if I can’t win his confidence. Now if you continue to interfere when I—”
“Bashshar is a high-strung animal. He’s a one-man horse, and to expect to work with him without my presence is simply foolish.”
She took another deep breath, and Dalton was becoming more than a little irritated with his immediate reaction to her. “You are his master,” Alicia said, the sun catching the fiery glints in her hair. She leaned her face into the sun, reminding him of a pink blush tulip opening to the dawn.
“I have no wish to infringe upon your mastery with your horse. But Bashshar must come to trust me. Trust me completely. And it will occur more quickly if I am the only one he sees. Not the stable boys, or the grooms or even the stable master. That is why I’m asking you to refrain from interrupting our sessions while I’m working with Bashshar.”
Dalton could only stare at her. Didn’t she know that men quivered in their boots when addressing him? Didn’t she know that she was breaking every civilized rule to address him with such audacity? Damn, she was giving him orders like they were equals.
She looked so small, so helpless, sitting before him. He remembered Elizabeth’s hurtful comments earlier and how hard Alicia had tried to cover up the pain he knew she felt. An overpowering need to protect her shot through him. “You must promise me you won’t take chances again with Bashshar.”
She tilted her head to the side. “I’ll make you an offer.”
He almost laughed. Damn! She’d make him an offer? He was the duke of Wexton, and she would make him an offer? Her dark eyes twinkled, and he could only wonder what she had in mind.
“Very well, what is your offer?”
Her slight smile hinted that she thought she was making progress, and the thought gave him a surprised spark of pleasure.
“I won’t take unnecessary chances,” she said carefully, “if you promise me one thing.”
He eyed her warily. “Which is…?”
Her mouth turned up in a bow as she studied him, as though judging how best to begin. “I want you to promise me that you won’t have any contact with Bashshar for…four weeks.”
His mouth dropped open. “What the—”
“And I promise to be extremely prudent in my future actions with your horse.”
“Four weeks? That’s absurd!” Dalton stepped back. “First, Bashshar won’t allow you to bring him food and water to his stall.” Satisfied that he had won the argument so easily, he chuckled. “So you see, I can’t remain away from him.”
Alicia shook her head. “I will feed and water him.”
“Bashshar won’t let you.”
“Bashshar will go hungry until he does.” Her words were said without sarcasm, merely as a statement of fact.
“You’d really let him go hungry?”
She smiled. “Bashshar is too smart to go hungry. He’ll come around, and I’ll gain his trust in the bargain.” Alicia lifted her chin. “You know there’s wisdom behind my technique.” Her smile widened, revealing a small dimple at the side of her enchanting mouth. He wondered, for a fraction of a second, what it would be like to kiss that adorable mark.
“Well, your grace?”
Dalton drew his thoughts away from her mouth. “Ah, well…no! No, I won’t allow it, and that’s final.”
“Very well.” She rose to her feet. “If you’ll instruct the stable master to send a groom for my trunk, I’ll pack while a carriage is made ready and the horses are hitched. If I leave before dark, I should be at Marston Heath by morning.”
“What the devil—?”
Alicia ignored him as she trudged past the fountains and headed along the green toward the stables.
“See here, you gave your word.” Dalton’s long strides easily kept up with her.
Alicia stared straight ahead, her stride never wavering.
“Your father will be most distressed,” Dalton added.
She marched evenly, her arms ramrod straight at her sides.
When they reached the paddock door, Dalton caught her elbow and spun her around to face him. “You are the most stubborn woman….” His words faded as he stared into her large, warm brown eyes, filled with laughter.
“You’re a vixen, Lady Alicia Spencer.” A beautiful, strong-minded young woman, one like he had never met before. “Very well. Four weeks, but not a day longer.”
Her eyelashes lowered, then swept up as she gazed into his eyes. “Thank you,” she said simply.
He expected some sign of her win, like the smugness she had shown earlier when she had won the race to the barn by diverting the way back to the stables. She was so unlike the other women he had known. Unspoiled, fresh, she had a natural grace that came from an inner wholesomeness that he found so appealing. For an incredible instant, he wanted to gaze into her lovely eyes forever. He felt mesmerized by her. Damn, but she was a vixen, a tempting siren who could cast spells upon men and beasts.
With
