Otherwise Engaged - Joanna Barker

Chapter One

Hertfordshire, 1822

Of the many things that could be depended upon to make a young lady swoon, a love letter certainly made the list.

I perched on a low rock in the center of the quiet meadow, one knee tucked to my chest, the skirts of my riding habit spread about me. The sun shone fiercely against the cloud-strewn sky, as if demanding my attention, but not even the brilliance of the sun could steal my focus from the letter in my hands, though I’d read it a dozen times or more.

My dearest Rebecca,

How is it that I can miss you before you have even left Brighton? I know I will see you tonight, but already, I ache to let you go, not knowing when we will see each other again.

I sighed aloud. Stella snorted from where she grazed a few paces away, as if mocking me.

“Oh, hush,” I said. “You cannot judge me. You’ve never been in love.”

My horse did not offer a response, which was just as well. I’d heard that love could cause madness, and a talking horse would surely be an alarming symptom.

I read the rest of the letter once more and then touched where the writer had signed his name. Edward Bainbridge. He’d slipped it to me on our last night together in Brighton. A smile climbed my lips at the memory, and I made no effort to restrain it. After all, as my dear friend Marjorie had said, if a recently engaged young woman did not wish to smile all the day long, she had no business being engaged.

But then my smile faltered, as it always did. I could not ignore the larger problems that Edward and I faced. I folded the letter and stashed it in my pocket as I tried to keep my uncertainty and lurking questions at bay. I’d left Edward in Brighton only two days ago, arriving again in Hertfordshire yesterday. There was plenty of time yet to put my plan into motion.

Stella’s not-so-gentle nudge all but knocked me to the grassy field. “All right, all right,” I said with a laugh. “You’ve gotten bossier, you know. Let us hope you haven’t also gotten lazy. ”

I gave the meadow a quick perusal as I stood. Empty, of course. I’d never seen anyone here in all my rides, as the neighboring estate, Linwood Hall, had stood vacant for years. I quickly unbuckled Stella’s saddle and heaved it over a nearby log, her bridle and reins soon following. Stella pranced as I returned to her, and her anticipation was contagious.

“Ready, girl?” I spoke quietly as I moved to her left side, facing her shoulder and gripping her mane with both hands. I could not hesitate, or I’d never make it up. With a quick breath, I took a running step and threw my right leg over her back, my arms pulling me up with every bit of their strength. Stella started a bit but did not run off as she had the first time I’d attempted it.

“There we go.” I tried not to feel too pleased with myself. Despite not riding in over a month, my body had remembered how to execute that rather inelegant mount. I wouldn’t even have had the slightest idea how to do it if Mama and I hadn’t visited Astley’s Royal Amphitheater multiple times in London. I’d stared open-mouthed as the bareback trick riders had done the impossible again and again: headstands, flips, balancing with one foot while playing a pipe. All riding bareback, and all breathtaking.

“Did you miss me?” I whispered to Stella as I stroked her neck, her golden coat smooth beneath my fingertips. Her only answer was a flick of her ears, but I fancied she had missed me a little.

I glanced around again, checking once more for unexpected visitors because the most difficult part of riding bareback was not mounting or keeping my balance. It was ensuring no one discovered I rode bareback at all.

Satisfied the meadow was secluded, I nudged Stella into a walk. It had taken me a year of practice for this to feel natural, the uneven ridges of her spine and the pull of her muscles beneath me. Her shoulders tensed as if she were tempted to throw me from her back, but slowly she began to relax. I allowed her stride to lengthen into a smooth canter as I led her in a long oval, using the signals we’d developed in lieu of reins: small nudges with my heels