Free The Lady Plays Her Ace (The Langley Sisters) by Wendy Vella

drew his eyes away from the horse’s neck long enough to shoot them a look that would have felled all the trees in England, only to see the twins nudging each other and laughing. They were enjoying this and he would be sure to extract revenge when the right moment arose.
    "Ace, try a canter now. Just touch your heels gently to the horse’s sides and it will spring forward," Alex said.
    "I don’t want it to spring forward."
    "You can’t walk and trot the entire length of England, Dillinger, so give it a go. There’s a good man."
    Ace was frustrated; he could usually master anything. However, this riding business was proving more difficult than he had anticipated, and he was fast coming to the realization that traveling in a carriage was the best way for him to move about England. Alex and Ben were his friends, yet he still felt uncomfortable creating a spectacle of himself in front of them.
    "Just a light touch of your heels to the horse’s flanks, Ace, and it shall all go well. You shall see," Alex instructed.
    "I think not. In fact, I think I have given you both enough entertainment. Therefore, I concede. Riding is not for me." As Ace said the words, he heard a horse thundering over the ground towards them.
    "Hold him steady, Ace!" This cry was from Ben. "Dear Christ, what was that?" Alex added.
    Ace's horse whinnied, then it reared up on its hind legs.
    "Hold the mane and learn forward, Ace!"
    Ace lunged for the horse’s neck, gripping the mane with both hands at Alex’s words, and then the horse righted itself.
    "For the love of God, man, don’t dig your heels in!"
    Ace heard Ben's words as his horse started galloping. He tried to reach the reins but they were flapping about and to get them, he had to release the grip he had on the mane, which was definitely not an option.
    He watched the ground fly by, saw his body lying broken and bleeding and wondered if his life would end here, at the hands of this cursed animal. After the life he’d led, the fighting and numerous other dangerous activities he’d participated in, to be brought down by a horse doing something he hated seemed wrong…of course, he’d be dead so it should not bother him, but it did.
    "Stop, you bloody beast!" he roared as anger and fear battled for dominance. He saw the trees and then he was flying under them, crouched low over the neck as the branches tore at this hair. His hat was dislodged, his hair freed, and coming out the other side he saw a small pond ahead and wondered if he would end up in it, and then suddenly the horse stopped and Ace did not.
    He landed with a thump and felt the breath leave his body. Taking a few moments to draw it back in, he then sat upright, shaking his head to clear it. Pain didn’t bother him overly. After all, he’d experienced his fair share of it over the years, but his pride was now sorely bruised.
    "Are you all right, Mr. Dillinger?"
    And that was all he needed for this entire episode to get worse. Turning towards the voice, Ace looked up into the gray eyes of Lady Althea Ryder as she drew near, pulling her horse to a stop expertly. One of her hands was holding the reins of the beast that had hurled him to ground, while she kept her horse in check with the other.
    "Good morning, Lady Althea," he said, standing and brushing at his clothing while he tried to control his humiliation and anger. Why was she here in this bloody park at this hour?
    "Ace!" The twins arrived then, full of apologies which he stopped with one look. "Dear Lord, I swear something spooked your horse. A stone or something seemed to hit its rump."
    Ignoring the twins, he kept moving. "I will walk back to my residence. Good day to you all." He did not look at her, instead striking out towards the gate that would end this farce.
    "So you are just going to give up?"
    "Go home please, my lady." Ace didn’t stop, just kept walking. "I am happy with my feet firmly planted on the ground, I assure you, and as I have no wish to insult you or