“Of course. Look at that spread of antlers. Incredible.”
Waiting for the grooms and footmen to arrive, the two of them tied their horses to a nearby thicket, then Freddie bent down to cut the corpse’s throat with his hunting knife. The hounds whimpered at the scent of blood on the air, but roamed around the vicinity and sniffed the ground. Once the servants arrived to gut and skin the stag, Robert and Freddie remounted their horses.
Riding side by side, their knees almost touching, Freddie suddenly asked, “Why does Thea not like you, Robert?”
Caught off guard by the question, and its suddenness, Robert gaped for a moment. His memory flashed back to that incident so long ago, his shame rising, and he quickly covered his consternation with a quick shrug and rueful grin. “Why, I have no idea, Freddie. What does she say?”
Freddie turned his face to stare straight between his horse’s ears. “She will not say.”
Relief spread through him.She never told him, or their parents.“When can a man know a woman’s mind?” he asked with a chuckle.
“It is important, Robert,” Freddie said, frowning a little. “I love her.”
“As do I.”
“Before I can consent to allow you to wed her, I need to know that she will be happy.”
“Of course, I will turn myself upside down to make her happy,” Robert said, a wriggle of unease squirming in his belly. “I adore her, even if she does not return my feelings right now. In time, I hope and pray she will.”
Freddie faced him again. “Did something happen between you two?”
“Whatever do you mean?” Robert’s uneasiness grew and spread.
“Thea does not simply dislike a person for no reason,” Freddie said, watching him closely. “And yet her animosity toward you grows deeper every day. There must be something that caused it. Maybe something happened when we were all children?”
“Of course not,” Robert scoffed, his mouth dry. “I would never hurt Thea, then or now.”
Freddie nodded, at last, accepting it. “I apologize if that seemed like an interrogation. I am simply baffled by her behavior.”
“As am I, old chap, I cannot conceive of any reason at all why Miss Miller does not care for me, especially in light of how I feel toward her.”
Riding back toward the estate house, they rode at a swift trot, their talk returning to their successful hunt. Immersed in his worry over Freddie’s line of questioning, Robert paid little heed to their surroundings as Freddie reined in his horse, staring toward his right and the low lying hills a short distance away.
“Did you see that?” Freddie asked.
“See what?” Robert reined in his own horse, looking in the direction Freddie gazed.
“I thought I saw a flash of light.”
“Light? What –“
The sound of the rifle shot struck Robert’s ears the instant Freddie tumbled from his saddle.
Chapter 15
Thea stood up from the table in the solar and stretched her back. “Thank you, Mary,” she said, feeling some of the stiffness from sitting so long drain away. “I really like your ideas on the cakes.”
“Thank ye, Miss Miller,” Mary Carter replied, also standing. “I wi’ get this list tae Mrs. O’Bannon straight away sae she may begin orderin’ the food she wi’ need.”
“That would be most helpful if you did.”
Thea paused before heading toward the solar door and gazed thoughtfully at the head housekeeper. “Mary, have you seen Liam today?”
Mary glanced up from the list in her hand quizzically, a slight frown creasing her brow. “Nay, Miss Miller, I hae nae seen him today at all. Has me lad done something wrong?”
“No, no, please do not think that,” Thea replied, waving her hand to try to appease the woman’s worry. “He served us at breakfast this morning, but I have not seen him since. He usually attends me through the day, so I was just wondering where he might be.”
“I wi’ find him, Miss Miller,” Mary assured her with a confident smile, “and beat him about the head and shoulders fer nae servin’ ye proper.”
