Tristan trotted over to Natalya and she greeted him with no sign of their earlier restraint.
‘That hunter of yours goes like the wind,’ she told him, sending an appreciative glance towards his mare.
‘Yes, I was fortunate to find such a fine animal at the stables.’
‘That is a hired mount?’ Natalya’s brows went up. ‘She is much better than the usual run of job horses.’
‘She is indeed. Possibly a recent addition, from the stable of some gentleman who has been obliged to sell up. I have reserved exclusive use of her until further notice.’ He added, ‘If I had known I should be riding out so much, I would have brought my own horses.’
His quizzing glance reminded Natalya of their meeting on Lansdown Hill and she felt a flush stealing into her cheeks. She leaned forward to run a hand along her own mare’s glossy neck.
‘After you passed us, Bianca was desperate to catch up, but it was a forlorn hope.’
‘Do not despise her efforts, she is a game little mare. Fleet, too. You ride well, Miss Fairchild.’
‘Thank you. It is something I enjoy, very much.’
‘Who taught you, your uncle?’
‘No. I learned at school.’
‘Indeed? I know little of these matters, but I think that is unusual.’
‘Is it? We were encouraged to do so, but then the school was situated in a very remote area of Yorkshire and there were few carriage roads.’
‘And what was the name of this school, Miss Fairchild?’
‘Miss Norwood’s Academy. A very select establishment for...’
He waited for her to finish. She looked very solemn for a moment until she noticed he was watching her. She gave a little smile.
‘I have always enjoyed riding, especially over the wild moorland. Unfortunately, my uncle allows me no more than an occasional outing from Bath, and even then, except for Lansdown, there are so many farms and small fields, there is little opportunity for hard riding.’
‘True, unlike Devon, where I have a hunting lodge.’
Tristan stopped, aware that he had been about to say how much he would like to take her there and to ride out together, over the hills and moors. She was watching him, waiting for him to finish the thought and he cleared his throat.
‘The country is very different from this,’ he ended awkwardly.
‘I suppose it must be.’ She looked back the way they had come. ‘The carriages are making heavy work of the hill. I expect my uncle would like me to wait for them to catch up.’
‘Or we could ride on to the picnic site with the others.’
She looked at him, her eyes twinkling with shy but unmistakable mischief. ‘Yes, we could.’
They turned their horses and followed the other riders the few hundred yards to where the picnic had been set out for them. Natalya chattered away quite freely and Tristan found himself wishing that the picnic was another mile away. All too soon they reached the servants’ carriage, where grooms were waiting to take care of the horses while the guests made their way to the picnic rugs and baskets of food laid out a short distance away.
Tristan jumped down and went across to help Natalya dismount. The Pridhams’ groom came running up to overtake him.
‘No need to fret, my lord, I’ll help Miss Fairchild.’
‘Nonsense, I’ll do it. Stand back.’ His tone brooked no argument and the servant reluctantly stepped aside.
As Tristan lifted her down, Natalya gave him another of her mischievous glances.
‘Poor Forbes, he has orders to look after me, you see.’
‘And what harm do the Pridhams think will come to you here, in company?’
His hands were still on her waist and as he looked down into her smiling face, he knew the answer to that question, for he had a sudden desire to pull her close and capture that inviting mouth with his own. As if aware of his thoughts, she blushed and looked away from him. With an effort Tristan released her, but could not resist taking her hand and pulling it on to his arm. It was the courteous thing to do, he told himself, but as they walked on the silence between them was charged with an awareness that neither of them would risk naming.
Although chairs were available, most of the riders preferred to make themselves comfortable on the rugs and Natalya accepted an invitation to sit down with Laura Spinhurst and Jane Grisham. Freddie was close by, but she felt safer there than with Tristan. She had thought she might faint when he lifted her down from the saddle. That moment of helplessness when he held her in his arms had set her heart fluttering, but she had managed to maintain her composure until he had set her on her feet. If that was not bad enough, he had then looked down at her and the glow in his eyes had made her stomach swoop in the most frighteningly delightful way. Even now, thinking about it set her heart thudding and her skin still tingled where his hands had rested around her waist.
She tried to listen to the conversation going on between Jane, Laura and Freddie, but her eyes kept wandering to Tristan. He did not sit down, but strolled around, exchanging a word with various acquaintances, and when the carriages arrived he walked over to help the ladies to alight. She wondered if they, too, would feel the same electric tingle of excitement at his touch.
‘Heavens, Lya, was that a sigh?’ Jane Grisham demanded in playful tones. ‘Are you tired of our company already?’
‘I know the cause,’ declared
