A Gallant Gamble (25 page)

He spun around and scanned the crowd, desperate to spy her blonde curls. A knot of people had gathered around the Prince. The man preened in front of his audience, but Charlotte was not among them. Panic gripped him as the Prince stood back, waved his white handkerchief and, amid cheers and the snorts of impatient animals, the race thundered off. He turned back to Giles.

“Coalport said that you were going to show Lightning even though I couldn’t race. Is he at the stables?”

Giles gave a nod.

“He was in fine fettle last night. I suspect Charlotte will be with him. She was in the stables last night and again early this morning. I think she was about to give him some special treats as I saw that she took a bag of what I suspect were apples from the kitchen.”

Geoffrey wasn’t nearly so sure of the contents of his wife’s bag as he made his way towards Lord Davenport’s majestic stable block. It was quieter out of the bustle of the excited crowd and Geoffrey walked easily along the empty stalls. Several of the stable-hands gave him odd looks as he peered over each door, but he discovered neither Lightning nor Charlotte.

He turned to one of the lads who swept one of the stalls with vigour.

“Do you have the horses entered in the race stabled elsewhere?”

The boy shook his head.

“They was all in ‘ere Mister, but the race just started. I heard the church clock strike several minutes ago and I know that the Master likes things begun on time.”

Geoffrey felt the blood draining from his face.

“And there’s nowhere else that anyone would leave their horse?”

The boy shook his head again.

“Not the ones that were racing. They are all kept in ‘ere and only allowed to be seen by their owners or riders before the race. We had some sabotaged one year and ‘is Lordship insists we don’t let any others in. Which one are you looking for? Describe ‘im and I’ll tells you if I seen ‘im.”

“Big white stallion, goes by the name of Lightning, but he would have been withdrawn from the race yesterday. A lady, his owner, might have come looking for him not many minutes before the race began.”

The boy scratched his head.

“Even if he was withdrawn he would ‘ave still been ‘ere. Wiv the amount of guests staying at the house it’s far too much trouble to move them unless the owner wants to take them home. We had a white horse ‘ere last night but he’s gone now. Reckoned one of the gents must ‘ave left wiv ‘im. All we ‘ad today was a couple of greys and an odd dappled one. They must be out on the course by now.”

Geoffrey was about to turn and leave when he looked back at the young lad.

“And what about any ladies? A young woman with big blue eyes and blonde hair. A real beauty, about this high.” He indicated with his hand raised to his shoulder.

The stable hand shook his head.

“I only seen the gents. The ladies don’t come in ‘ere often. It mucks up their frocks.” He was about to go about his work when he looked up at Geoffrey again. He tilted his head slightly and scratched behind his ear. “Here, I do remember summat odd though. One of the nobs didn’t come to get ‘is ‘orse. The big dappled grey un. Sent his jockey instead, which is a bit unusual for a race like this one. Most of ‘em like to show off their ‘orseflesh. He was blonde and small like you said. Wore a cap, but I could see he had fair hair. Blue eyes an’ all too, but he was definitely a man, ‘cos I checked in the register. Talbot was ‘is name, if I recalls rightly. He had breeches an’ boots on and walked a bit funny. Sort of minced step. Thought Ned’s eyes was going to pop out.” The lad leaned forwards and whispered. “He’s good wiv the ‘orses but the rest of us fink he’s a bit odd. Seems to like the other lads a bit too much, if you know what I mean.” He raised his coarse eyebrows suggestively.

Geoffrey groaned and turned for the stable doors just as a grave faced Alexander and Giles walked in. He went straight to them.

“Bloody fool of a woman! Charlotte’s out on the course with Lightning. She’s disguised him with soot or some such colouring so that he wouldn’t be recognized. Lightning’s bright white colouring would have been a dead giveaway that he’s out on the course when he shouldn’t be. Davenport would have seen him and removed him from the starting line-up. I suspect that she’s put on her brother’s old clothes and boots. I knew she’d do something mad like this. God damn the woman! Why can she never leave well alone? It wouldn’t have mattered if we hadn’t raced.” His chest ached with the strain his rapid breathing was causing and he promised himself that he would throw her over his knee as soon as he saw her, and paddle her backside until she promised that she would never do anything so foolhardy again.

Giles took hold of his shoulder and forced Geoffrey to sit down on a bale of hay.

“It’s worse than we imagined. I just spoke to Charles Latham again. He’s says that Rookwood threatened Charlotte at the ball last weekend and she suspects that he’s behind your attack. Latham has been talking to his old friends about your experience in the inn and it seems that Rookwood has been loose with his tongue. He wanted to make sure that you didn’t enter the race and win. Threatened dire consequences unless she handed over the Caithwell diamond. He even went so far as to make it look like a genuine wager with her. Obviously she refused to be blackmailed by him, however that made him take matters into his own hands and you ended up on the end of a beating.” He took a breath and held up his hand as Geoffrey was about to speak. “There’s more. She’s been making wagers all week. She wants Rookwood to lose his bet and she wants to teach him a lesson. Latham thinks that if Rookwood doesn’t win the prize he’s going to go broke, so he’ll be out for her blood. Coalport has taken Charlotte’s letters to Olivia every day while you have been ill. They contained messages to some of your friends and Olivia sent Bottomley out to deliver them. It seems that Charlotte was offering odds on Rookwood losing and many people took her up on her offer. She’s also made bets on Lightning winning, and she put up the diamond as collateral against her wagers. Do you know what this means Geoff? Even if she wins the damned race, she’s done it for nothing. She is not the registered equestrian. She’s going to lose the jewel and possibly a lot more.”

Geoffrey’s head swam. His breath came in ragged gasps as the enormity of what she had done sank in.

“I don’t give a cuss for the blasted diamond. They can all have it, and much good it will do them as no one wants to buy it. It’s a fabulous but useless bauble worth nothing until it can be sold. They are welcome to it. It’s Charlotte who I am worried about. If Rookwood has gambled as you say, he will do anything to stop her. He’ll kill her. I have to go after them.” He stood quickly, but almost fell as pain and nausea hit him.

Alexander moved forwards quickly to steady his friend.

“Geoff, you can’t go after them. Apart from the fact that you are still almost too weak to walk, we don’t have another horse good enough to catch them. Davenport says that there are stewards on the course. So long as she remains behind Rookwood there won’t be a problem.”

Geoffrey let out a short, painful laugh as he looked his friends in the eye.

“And you can see her letting him win without a fight, can you? When did Charlotte ever let anyone win a damned thing? She’ll be sitting right on his tail until she can see a chance and then she’ll make her move, but we have no idea what Vanquish will do. He’s never been tested in a competition. We don’t know his weak spots, if he even has any. The horse is enormous and he’s a fighter. Lightning has been gently bred. He won’t stand a chance if that animal gets near him.”

Giles guided them back out into the sunlight. The clock on the church tower struck the quarter hour.

“Well we won’t have long to wait to discover the outcome. It will all be over any minute. We had best go back to the winning line. If Lightning is first over the line, we may well have to take action to protect her.”

Geoffrey gasped.

“Rookwood wouldn’t dare do anything in front of the Prince, surely. The man would go as far as to embarrass royalty? It would surely do far more than empty his purse. He could lose his title.”

Alexander strode ahead of them.

“Blow his blasted title! If that horse is as bad as you say and he loses control of it, he could not only kill your wife but lose his own worthless life as well...But perhaps we are mistaken. Let’s hope that the foolish woman has merely taken Lightning out for an afternoon jaunt.” He turned his head slightly as a slow roar of excitement built in the crowds gathered along the tree lined lane at the back of the stables. The horses were nearly home.

Geoffrey pushed through the throng just in time to see the leading horses pass by him. The massive Vanquish appeared to be a length ahead, but a big dappled horse looked to be hard on his heels. Geoffrey peered into the shadows as the horses galloped on past. Both riders were sitting forwards close to their mount’s necks, but Geoffrey didn’t have to look twice. He’d seen Charlotte ride Lightning over the sands near Ormond all too often. He groaned inwardly as Giles and Alexander paled beside him. They all would have recognized that breeches covered backside anywhere. All three men turned as one and hurried towards the grand terrace where the Prince sat in the front row.

She’d never felt so exhausted in all her life. The fences had been daunting, but after the first shock of seeing how high they were going to have to leap, she had narrowed her eyes, squeezed her thighs around her horse and had let him fly at the barrier.

The exhilaration as they soared through the air together was something she could barely describe, but the fifteen fences since had put the thrill and her delight back into its proper place. Her hands strained to hold onto the reins as Lightning galloped on boldly. His stride had barely altered from when they had started the race and Charlotte wasn’t ready to push him yet, but with three more of the terrifying fences to go, she wasn’t sure how wise she had been to smuggle the pair of them into the race.

It had felt like her only option at the time. Giles had just informed her of the strict rules. Neither horse and rider could be substituted or changed. If your name appeared in Lord Davenport’s register, that was who would ride the animal stated.

Her heart had sunk as she thought of her failed scheme of revenge for Geoffrey’s injuries and the several bets she had placed with various friends of Lord Rookwood, tempting them to gamble their all for a chance at the fabled Caithwell diamond. Geoffrey deserved some kind of retribution from those who had sought to kill him. She couldn’t leave it and give up.

She had demanded to see the register, had wept over the evidence of Geoffrey’s signature, and had then blinked as a miracle happened before her very eyes. She had closed the book quickly and gone straight to her room. Everything had been prepared. All she had to do was to enter the race and win.

Now, as she followed a whole length behind her enemy, she was beginning to see some flaws in her plan. Vanquish hadn’t put a foot wrong the whole race. Rookwood had turned in his seat several times to take note of the rest of the field galloping at his heels. Twice he had grinned lecherously at her. Three times he had deliberately blocked her path. She’d dropped back a few strides since the last time, but she couldn’t afford to wait much longer.

Her concentration slipped and she felt Lightning’s hesitancy between her thighs. She focused on the horse and rider in front of her and leaned forwards to whisper words of encouragement into Lightning’s soft and receptive ear.

Geoffrey gazed down the track and squinted into the sunlight. He could see a cloud of dust forming in the distance but had no idea who now took the lead. There was still one more fence to master, and the home straight to run before anyone could be declared the victor. The swirling dust cloud came closer and his heart almost pounded out of his chest as it neared them, but with the last fence in the way, he still couldn’t make out who was in first place.

And then he heard it. The crowd further down the course began chanting out two names.
Vanquish! Lightning!
The Prince leapt to his feet, upsetting one of the ladies with whom he sat, as he bounced on his toes in excitement. The crowd’s roar became louder, the air filling with their shouts. Ladies waved their ribbons while the men threw their handkerchiefs into the air.

The horses approached the last huge fence. The black head of Vanquish rose first with the sooted, grey face of Lightning just behind. Geoffrey closed his eyes and couldn’t look as both horses fought their way over the high wall of sticks and bracken. He opened them just in time to see Vanquish’s feet touch the ground and skid in the soft earth, forcing Lightning to take an awkward leap sideways. Rookwood raised his arm high, whip in hand, and thrashed it down on his mount’s rear. Vanquish screamed, eyes rolling wildly as he raced forwards once again.

Giles bellowed something at Geoffrey and pointed down the field, but his words were lost in the sound of the yelling spectators. Alexander cut a path towards the Prince, furious with Rookwood’s treatment of a defenceless animal. The way parted in front of him, his height and presence giving him an advantage over lesser men and Geoffrey and Giles followed close behind. Ten paces from the Prince, they were stopped by the Regent’s personal guard. Alexander yelled in the guard’s ear, but the man simply stared straight ahead and refused to move from his position.

The shouts surrounding them became deafening. The three of them turned as one and watched the sweating horses thundering up towards the finish line. Vanquish looked to have the race. Lord Rookwood’s evil grin split his face moments before the small figure on Lightning’s back leaned down and rubbed the horse gently on his neck. Lightning responded instantly. He leapt forwards in three giant strides and moved to the front.