The Dark Earl by Virginia Henley Read Free Book Online Page B

grown-up, he’ll avoid you like the plague.”
    “Before I forget, may Rachel borrow your mount, Mother? We’d like to go riding in the park tomorrow.” Harry didn’t divulge it would be at the crack of dawn.
     
     
    “It isn’t even light yet,” Rachel said. “Are you sure we should do this?”
    “Absolutely sure. Fortune favors the bold. It will give you a chance to be alone with Lord Butler. I shall make myself scarce as soon as you meet,” Harry assured her.
    “You are very generous.”
    “On the contrary, I’m quite selfish. I have an ulterior motive. A certain male acquaintance of mine might just be in the park at such an ungodly hour.”
    When the pair arrived at the row, dawn was breaking. Galloping horses thundered by them, mounted by gentlemen intent upon their morning exercises. It wasn’t long before a man drew rein beside them and tipped his hat.
    “Lady Rachel . . . Lady Harriet . . . what a pleasant surprise,” James Butler declared. “Would you care to join me, ladies?”
    “I think my horse picked up a stone. You two go ahead and I shall catch up with you,” Harry urged. She winked at Butler to let him know it was a ruse.
    She watched them gallop off, side by side, then proceeded with a slow canter. She examined each of the male riders who passed, and smiled serenely when they tipped their hats. It was a quarter of an hour before the horseman she’d hoped for reined in beside her.
    Lord Anson did not tip his hat. “Surely you’re not riding here alone at this hour?” he demanded.
    “I would love to tell you that I am, simply to ignite your outrage, but alas, such is not the case. I came with my aunt Rachel. By coincidence, we encountered an admirer of hers, so I’m giving them a little privacy.”
    “Their meeting was accidentally on purpose, no doubt.”
    “As was ours, perhaps.”
    Pewter eyes looked into green. “I don’t ride here often. Rotten Row is too tame for me. I like to ride farther afield.”
    “I enjoy a good gallop myself,” she hinted.
    “Would you care to join me tomorrow on a ride to Richmond?”
    “I thought you’d never ask. Can we ride alongside the river?”
    He nodded his assent. “Meet me at Cumberland Gate—same time.” This time he did tip his hat, and galloped off on his black hunter.
    Harry watched him. If I narrow my eyes, man and horse merge into one. She thought over their encounter. He totally disapproves of me, yet he wouldn’t have made the assignation if I didn’t intrigue him. She smiled her secret smile.

     
    “You were right, Harry. Riding in the row this morning was a brilliant suggestion.”
    Rachel hung her habit in the wardrobe, and donned a day dress.
    The corners of Harry’s mouth turned up. “The idea came to me in a vision.”
    Rachel sat down at the writing desk. “I want to jot down your romantic suggestions for my next book. I’m still shocked at the idea of anyone having to marry to settle gambling debts. I don’t know much about gaming—I suppose I should do some research.”
    “Oh, I’ll teach you how to gamble and wager. It’s great fun,” Harry assured her.
    “Charles James Fox ran his own gaming hell. In Regency times, it was not considered decadent. It was all open and aboveboard. Even Almack’s had a gaming room upstairs.”
    “Since Victoria came to the throne, the middle class is hell-bent on reforming public morality. At all costs we must be protected from the Seduction of Gambling.”
    They heard someone whistling a merry tune. “It’s James. I’ll ask him to bring us some cards.” Harry went to the door and hailed her brother. “Bring us some playing cards, and some dice if you have them.”
    In a few minutes, James returned with both. “If there’s any betting, let me in on it.”
    “I’m going to teach Rachel how to play cards and wager. It’s too bad there are no gaming hells anymore. We need to do research for a book, and White’s has always prohibited females.”
    “White’s