Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

I t felt as if her heart was about to beat right out of her chest. Agnes couldn't believe what she'd just done. Sneaking out of her chambers to read in the library at midnight was one thing. Sneaking out of her chambers near dawn to visit a gentleman in his study was something entirely different. Especially when that gentleman was devilishly handsome with a gaze capable of reducing her to a mess.

It was only a natural and scientific reaction to a gentleman like the duke, she told herself as she slipped into her bedchamber. Agnes pressed her hand against her chest, feeling the off-rhythm staccato of her heartbeat. It was nothing. She was a lady and he a gentleman. A woman and a man. She was nothing but a slave to her animalistic reactions and that was all her beating heart and flushed skin meant.

Agnes marched over to her vanity table, taking a good look at herself. She looked no different than normal. Despite the chaos raging in her mind, no one would know where she was coming from. That was all that mattered now.

So she tucked a few curls back into place, grabbed her parasol, and left her chambers. Rather than go down to the dining room or the drawing room, she headed to a side door she knew would take her out to the gardens, one she had spotted during the dowager duchess' tour of the manor. She headed around to the front of the manor and breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted the butler.

"Oh, it is a good thing you're here," she breathed, closing the parasol. "I seem to have forgotten my way around. I have not been here long enough, it seems."

The butler seemed surprised by her sudden appearance but he hid it a moment later, bowing. "Good morning, miss."

"Good morning," she greeted with a bright smile. "I am simply famished! Could you escort me to where the others are having breakfast?"

"Certainly, miss. Just this way."

Agnes gave him a grateful smile and followed him in through the front door. As she suspected, everyone else was having breakfast in one of the drawing rooms. Agnes waited until the butler opened the door for her before she spoke again.

"Thank you," she breathed, sweeping into the room. She made sure she was fully within sight before she handed her parasol to the butler. "It was truly appreciated. And I would also appreciate if you could take this to my room for me."

"Of course, miss," the butler said instantly, unaware of her ploy.

She offered him another smile of gratitude before she turned to face the others. Her eyes instantly fell on the duke, who was sitting next to Caroline. At least there was one person who knew what she was doing.

He gave her an impressed look and it took all her strength not to preen happily under his approval. Instead, Agnes made her way to where her brother sat. Her parents were seated with Lord and Lady Reeds by the window and they gave her a small smile which she returned. The dowager duchess was, unsurprisingly, absent.

"Good morning, everyone," she greeted loudly. "Forgive me for being late."

"Agnes, I was just asking His Grace if he has seen you," Caroline said with a happy smile. "I went to your chambers but you were not there."

"I decided to go for an early walk and lost track of time amongst the rose bushes," she lied. She ignored the pang of guilt. She didn't like lying to Caroline, mostly because Caroline's softheartedness often gave way to naivete.

"A walk?" Paul probed, wrinkling his nose. "And here I was telling everyone that you were probably holed up in the library with towers of books stacked around you just waiting to come tumbling down."

Agnes rolled her eyes at him. "Your imagination knows no bounds, dear brother. Perhaps it would be better served elsewhere."

"I enjoy terrorizing you," Paul said with a grin, popping a grape into his mouth.

"And I would so kindly like to see you pick up a book now and again."

"No can do, sister," he said easily. "I shall be going horse riding with Lord Christopher—I mean, Christopher—this afternoon."

"I shall be teaching him a few of my tricks," Christopher spoke up at last. Agnes held back her smile. How expected of him to join in when the conversation turned to horses.

"Tricks?" Caroline echoed, frowning worriedly. "Won't that be dangerous?"

"Not as dangerous as you may think, Miss Caroline," Christopher said easily. He set his mug down and turned to her, giving her his full attention. "The horse is oftentimes seen as a fickle creature that is ruled by their personalities, but every horse can be trained, if given the right attention. And I know just what do to make a horse easily trained."

"Oh?" To Agnes' pleasure, Caroline seemed interested by that. "What sort of tactics do you use?"

"If I were to say them all, Miss, I may never stop," Christopher said with a laugh.

"Perhaps you could show them to her," the duke said.

Everyone looked at him. Everyone except Agnes. She poured herself a cup of tea and took a sip to hide her smile.

"After breakfast," His Grace went on. "We could all get horses from the stables and we could make our way to the lake. That is a perfect place for you to show us these tricks you speak about."

"A marvelous idea, Your Grace," Agnes agreed.

Paul frowned at her. "You do not like horses," he pointed out. "How odd of you to be interested in such a thing."

"I do like the thought of lounging next to a lake, however," Agnes countered with ease. "Perhaps we could even make a picnic out of it. What do you think, Caroline?"

Caroline nodded with a smile, just as Agnes expected her to. "It sounds like a wonderful idea."

"I shall have Mrs. Adams prepare the picnic then," His Grace said with a decisive nod.

"And perhaps we could have one of the maids act as chaperone? I think we should give the others some time to relax without worrying about us."

"I do not think they will be?—"

"A sound idea, Miss Agnes," the duke interjected, cutting into Paul's confused protest. "I shall look about it."

Agnes felt a wave of pleasure wash through her. With the duke's help, this was going to be far easier than she'd predicted.

Without thinking, she met his eye. He hid his smile behind his cup but there was no mistaking it in his eyes. For a moment, Agnes forgot about the others. As Christopher began telling Paul about the tricks he intended on showing him, Agnes's mind wandered to this morning and how wonderfully risky it had been. One wrong move and they could have gotten caught. Everything they had planned could have gone horribly wrong. She didn't like acting in ways that might bring more risk than reward.

But that smile they shared, the moment of understanding that passed between them as their plans were solidified, made it all worth it.

She tried to contain her excitement as the morning gave way to afternoon. Agnes tucked herself into the library and buried her nose into a book about astrology, but she barely read a thing. The only thing she could think about was the horse ride and picnic that was set to happen in a fee hours. And when the time came for her to get ready, there was only one thing on her mind.

The duke.

Agnes told herself that the only reason she donned one of her prettiest dresses was because she had to at least pretend she still cared about being courted by Christopher. She told herself that the reason her heart was stuttering in her chest was because she was expected to lie to her friend again and act as if she wasn't scheming to ensure Caroline and Christopher found their happy ending. But as she made her way down to the stables where the others waited, Agnes was beginning to wonder just how much of that feeling was true.

"Ah, she finally arrives."

The smile that touched her lips came with no hesitation. Agnes tried to calm it as she tilted her head to the side, approaching the duke who stood alone at the entrance of the stables. "What an odd way of greeting someone, Your Grace? Were you waiting long?"

The duke nodded, crossing his arms. Despite the stern look he tried to give her, she saw the mirth shining in his eyes. "Yes, we have all been waiting ages for you to arrive. I was beginning to wonder if I should go in search of you myself."

The sudden thought of the duke knocking on the door of her chambers sent a thrill through her body. "Forgive me, Your Grace. It takes some time to put myself together, you see."

"I do see." His eyes ran down the length of her. "And I certainly am not complaining."

Agnes' smile slipped, her heart skipping her beat. The duke met her gaze again and blinked as if he hadn't meant to say such a thing. He scratched the back of his head. "We should join them," he told her.

Agnes still hadn't thought of a proper response to that so she only nodded. The moment he turned away, she took a discreet breath, hoping it would chase the heat from her cheeks. She didn't need Caroline noticing the blush on her cheeks and bringing attention to it.

Together, they made their way inside the stables where Paul, Christopher, Caroline, and a maid bearing the picnic food and items stood. Four horses had been saddled.

"Finally!" Paul exclaimed the moment he laid eyes on them. "I thought you would never show."

"Patience is a virtue, Paul," Agnes drawled.

"A virtue I do not need since I possess so many others," he countered as he swung himself onto one of the steeds. "Let us go, shall we? I do not want to waste any more precious time."

He revealed an excited grin before he trotted out of the stables. Agnes noticed that Christopher seemed just as eager to do the same. But he turned to her instead.

"Did you not say you were afraid of horses, Miss Agnes?" the duke spoke up before Christopher could get a word in.

Agnes shook her head, ignoring the duke's brother to the best of her ability. "I did not say I was afraid. I said I did not like them. There is a clear difference."

"A difference that I shall have to see to believe," the duke told her. "Allow me."

He held out his hand. Agnes looked at it for a moment. She knew he was putting on a show, ensuring that they were together to force Caroline and Christopher to ride together instead. Despite that, she couldn't stop her stomach from flipping when she slid her hand into his.

"Your chivalry is unbecoming, Your Grace," Agnes drawled, partially because she did not want to make the others believe they were interested in each other and partially to keep herself sane.

"It can be no such thing, Miss Agnes," he countered with ease. His strong fingers were joined by a hand at her elbow as he guided her to the horse.

"Miss Agnes, perhaps we could?—"

"I fear I will not be an enjoyable partner during your ride, Christopher," she said, cutting into his attempt. "I am not very fond of horses, you see. Perhaps it would be best if you rode with Caroline. She adores them and would be far less likely to screech in your ear if we go too fast."

Christopher frowned at that and she thought for a moment that he would insist. But then he nodded and turned to Caroline, who was watching the entire interaction in surprised silence.

"Allow me, Miss Caroline," he said politely, taking her by the hand.

Caroline, ever proper, gave him a small smile as she took his hand. He guided her to one of the horses before helping her onto its back. Agnes felt a bite of pride at how well that went.

"Up you go."

She let out a gasp as she was suddenly plucked up and put atop the horse's hind. The duke swung in front of her with ease, as if putting her side-saddle had taken no energy at all. The lingering touch on her waist seemed to burn.

"We shall go on ahead," Christopher said to them. "I think Paul is waiting rather impatiently for us."

Agnes could only manage a nod and a smile at Caroline before the two of them trotted off.

"You won't screech in my ear, will you?" the duke asked her, turning his head slightly to the side.

All of a sudden, Agnes was glad to be behind him. She would hate for him to see the horrifying blush currently creeping up her neck. "I only said that to convince Christopher to let Caroline ride with him," she said softly so that the maid, lingering behind on the last horse, did not hear them.

Agnes caught the end of the duke's grin. "If you say so."

She wasn't given much of a chance to argue as he squeezed his legs together and the horse took off.

She clung to his waist, the wind whipping through the meticulously done hairdo that had taken her far too long, undoing it in seconds.

"Your Grace!" she screamed as he tore the horse past the others. Agnes thought she might have heard Christopher or Paul call out to them but she couldn't be sure. Not with the rush of wind in her ears.

Suddenly, the duke slowed. He glanced back at her with a look of innocence. "Oh pardon me. Was that too fast for you?"

Agnes tried scowling at him in between catching her breath. "I will ensure that you regret doing that," she grumbled.

"How will you do that?"

"You needn't know the details, Your Grace. Only be aware that I will not forget your transgressions for as long as I live."

To her annoyance, he chuckled. "Now I wonder if it was worth it at all."

"It was not," she grumbled.

He said nothing as the others caught up to them. Agnes tried to pretend her heart still wasn't in her throat but it was difficult, especially since most of her hair was not teasing the nape of her neck.

"Are you all right, Agnes?" Caroline asked in genuine alarm.

Agnes nodded, still a little breathless. "I am fine…surprisingly."

"Good," Christopher said with a grin. "Because the pace we're going will have us arriving at the lake closer to sundown. We should pick it up a bit. Are you ready?"

Everyone was looking at her. Agnes steeled her nerves, knowing she was going to regret her next words. "I'm ready."

Christopher nodded at that and wasted no time sending his horse into a full race across the meadow, Paul right on his heels. Agnes couldn't help but cling to the duke a bit tighter, bracing for when he would do the same.

"Any tighter and I might prevent your lungs from working, Your Grace," she murmured in the hopes that jesting might help settled her nerves.

"I do not think it is the tightness of your grip that is causing it, Miss Agnes."

She frowned, trying to look at him. "What do you?—"

He was off, the rest of her words surging back down her throat and a scream threatening to rear its head instead.