The Wounded Nobleman (The Regimental Heroes)
Read The Wounded Nobleman (The Regimental Heroes) Online
Authors: Jennifer Conner
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The Wounded Nobleman
Jennifer Conner
The Wounded Nobleman
Regimental Heroes Series Book 3
Copyright
©
Jennifer Conner
2012
Books to Go Now
For information on the cover illustration and design, contact [email protected]
First eBook Edition –April 2012
Printed in the United States of America
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, any place, events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously.
If you are interested in purchasing more works of this nature, please stop by
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This story is dedicated to my horse friends
Ali, Darlene, and Marilyn
Who showed me how impaired my knowledge of horses really is!
The Wounded Nobleman
Book 3
Book 1:The Duke and the Lost Night
Book 2:The Reluctant Heir
please look for Jennifer’s other short stories
The Mobile Mistletoe Series
Love Comes for Saint Patrick
’s Day &
Love C
omes for Valentine’s Day
Valentine Surprise
Cupcakes and Cupids
Do You Hear What I Hear?
New Year Resolution
Christmas with Carol
Auld Lang Sigh
Rush of Love
Fields of Gold
Christmas Chaos
The Christmas Horse
The Music of Christmas
All I Want for Christmas is You
Weddings First Chance
and novel
Kilt by Love
Chapter 1
Ellis Garrison breathed in the scent of fresh cut
hay as he refolded the heavy wool horse blanket and threw it over the stable gate. He loved the smell. It reminded him of spring and everything new. He began to straighten when his ears filled with a horse’s panicked cry. The hair on his arms rose.
The cry came again.
Good God!
He knew the sounds of all his beasts with his back turned. He did not recognize it. It had to be the new horse he had taken on yesterday against his better judgment.
He looked around for his cane. It had been over eight months and he still wasn’t used to using it, or keeping track of where he’d propped it. Why could he never find the bloody thing when he needed it?
The horse cried again, this time the protest mixed with the curses from his stable hand.
He dragged his wounded leg and limped out of the barn towards the shouts. Ellis raised his hand against the bright light and squinted at the sun over head. The Friesian, Liber, reared up on his hind legs over the stable hand sprawled on his back in the dirt. The man fumbled under his dirty coat and pulled out a pistol.
“No!” a female voice cried. “He’s only scared. Don’t shoot him!”
Callie Dunning?
What the bloody hell was she doing here? The feather-brained chit was going to get herself stamped to death or shot if she carried on like this.
Should I care?
She’d crushed his heart before he’d left for the war.
The stable hand still had the barrel of the pistol pointed at the chest of the rearing horse.
“Give me the long lead,” she demanded.
The stable hand blinked.
“Now! Give me the lead you halfwit!” She stumbled forward and yanked the rope free from the man’s hand, then spun back to face the horse. “There you go—you’re fine. Everything will be fine.” She led the horse towards the far side of the round pen.
The horse stopped and whinnied. Callie shook her head. “No you don’t, come on, let’s all calm down.” Liber cried again but didn’t rear. She took an apple from her pocket. “One more time around without a temper tantrum and this is yours.”
Liber stomped his foot but followed her.
Amazing.
Ellis limped into the pen. “I demand to know…”
She held up her hand. “Hush! Do you want to excite him again?”
“What?”
“You heard me.” Her gaze never left the horse’s. “If you scream and yell, you will just excite him. Who knows what he will do?”
“It’s my horse.” How dare she? Who did she think she was? He was the son of the Earl of Garrison and the owner of
all
these horses. She was, well… trespassing.
“I know that full well, but I just saved him from being your
dead
horse. So hush.” She walked Liber to the center of the ring and left Ellis to stand alone.
He moved to the side of the pen to give her room. They would discuss this later. Right now, she
did
have Liber under control. In fact, Liber dropped his head and pushed at the pocket of her dress.
Callie smiled at the horse, took an apple from her pocket and fed it to him. He ate it in one large crunch.
Ellis leaned a hip on the cut wood slats of the pen and watched with fascination. This was not the same girl he’d pined over in younger days. He’d remembered her always coiffed to perfection. Shiny hair. Gloves. Satin dresses. Colors that matched her creamy skin and blue eyes, anything to catch the boy’s eyes…
including his
. Now the dust the horse kicked up covered her plain brown muslin dress. There were smears of dirt on her cheeks and her blonde hair tousled around in wispy strands. She was still beautiful. It seemed strange to see her hands without gloves. They were so small, but must be strong. She held the beast secure
ly.
His leg ached from standing in one place too long, but Callie made a good distraction. Many things haunted him these days, and she mixed through
it all. Mad at himself, he liked his memories where they were. Now that he’d seen her once again, he remembered her pressed against him, kissing her sweet… oh so sweet mouth.
Ellis looked out over the pastures where his other horses grazed. Nothing had changed about the land in a little over a year’s time, but everything was different.
Garrison
should be
long to his brother, Clarke
. He was the eldest. But his brother fell in love, married, and basically turned over all of
Garrison
to him. He hadn’t put up a fight. What else would
he do? After his leg was badly wounded in the war, the thought of returning to the land and horses he loved was the only thing that brought him through recovery.
He knew Clarke hadn’t forfeited the estate to him out of pity. He’d never understood, but Clarke truly disliked horses. He would be saddled, he smiled at his pun, for the rest of his life breeding and raising Garrison’s prized carriage horses. Their Friesians were some of the best beasts in England. Had been for generations. He should be honored to accept the post of his brother.
As he watched Callie walk Liber around and around the pen, Ellis tried to pinpoint what was different about her. It came to him.
Her eyes.
They didn’t sparkle with life and that devil-may-care look they once held. Her eyes were sad. Troubled. Haunted. Like his and so many of the men who returned from the war.
But she hadn’t fought. What was her life’s story? Had she been jilted by a lover like she’d jilted him? He hadn’t seen her in over a year and had no claims.
He moved behind her. She spun with a startled squeal.
She brushed a hand over the front of her dress. “The poor creature’s been abused.”
Ellis raised an eyebrow. “And how would you know this?”
She pulled back his lip. “He’s ground his teeth down and he’s panting.” She moved to his flank
. “He’s
been beaten with… something. Look, there are scars. He was terrified when the stable hand hit him with a stick.”
“
Good God
,” he heard himself mutter. Callie was right. Ellis placed his hand on Liber’s flank and it flexed. He trusted an agent to do the purchase. He knew he should have checked the horses upon their return to the stable. He would never hire that man again. “Why did you step between them? You could have been killed!”
“I couldn’t let this innocent animal be helplessly abused again.” There was a sudden darkness in Callie’s eyes. Ellis thought she would cry. Instead, she tipped her chin high and handed him the lead rop. “I am sorry for talking to you so abruptly. You were right, it is your horse. I had no right to interfere.”
“But you did.” He ran his hand along the rope but didn’t take it. “Why are you here?”
She looked at the ground. “I love your horses. I come here and watch them as often as I can. Your horses are the grandest.”
“I know.”
“Yes.” A weak smile tipped her lips. “I’ve done my best to avoid you… up until today.” She met his gaze. Her eyes were so blue they were almost transparent. “I’m sorry I hurt you back when we were… younger.”
“It was only a little over a year ago.”
“It seems like a lifetime. I can guess we have both changed. Will you forgive me?”
“For what.” He knew bloody well what she meant, but wanted to see her squirm and feel dreadful for what she’d done to him.
She sighed and shook her head, but said nothing.
He let the rope slip and took it
from her. When his fingers brushed hers, she jerked her hand back. Ellis watched her strange reaction.
She turned to leave and he suddenly realized he didn’t want her go.
“Come back tomorrow. There is obviously no stable hand in my employment who can handle Liber as well as you.”
“Me?” she asked. Her eyes widened in surprise.
He motioned his hand. “I don’t see anyone else standing here. If you promise you will not throw yourself between a man with a gun and a horse, you can come back tomorrow and work with Liber. You can help him adjust.”
Strangely enough it wasn’t the horse that needed to learn to adjust back into life, it was him. Things were so much simpler before. Before the war Callie had so many men courting her he’d lost count. He’d thrown his hat in the ring as a suitor and marriage prospect when she’d practically cold-cocked him throwing it back. She let him kiss her
… a few times.
God…
that memory kept him warm on many cold nights. But she’d made it clear he was not at the top of her list. Not nearly rich enough for her tastes. He was a dalliance and was told to move on when she’d met the Duke of Bingham.
As far as Ellis knew, the Duke never asked for her hand and then the poor chap died of whooping cough. That meant she was available, but Ellis was nothing but a wounded nobleman with a hand-me-down
estate. What did he have to offer the beautiful Callie Dunning? The same as before… now with a limp thrown in. Nothing that would ever interest her or be good enough for the likes of her.
There were many reasons he had made sure to avoid her since he’d returned from the Crimean War. The main reason was he could never get her far from his mind.