Free Regina Scott by The Irresistible Earl Page B

plumed riding hat to a rakish angle on her curls and beamed at Meredee. “To find the elusive incarnata! ”
    Meredee was ready. She’d worn the practical blue cotton gown she used when hunting, a straw bonnet to shield her from the sun along the way and her high boots. She also carried her supplies in her father’s brown leather case. The groom hopped down to help her store it in the boot, and Lord Allyndale watched from his seat.
    “I thought perhaps we’d need provisions as well,” he said when she eyed the wicker hamper taking up half the space.
    “And do you intend to stay a fortnight?” she teased.
    He smiled as he climbed down to help Meredee into the carriage. “As long as it takes to see you triumphant, Miss Price.”
    He handed her up onto the seat and took his place beside her. She’d only ridden in an open carriage a few times, and never with such a handsome gentleman beside her. She found herself acutely aware of his body near hers, the least movement of his hands as he took up the reins and released the brake. When he flashed her a grin, her answering smile felt wobbly.
    Phoebe was turning her horse to take up position as if she were their outrider. “I told him we could bring the coachman and the traveling coach,” she confided to Meredee, leaning precariously out of her seat as she passed. “But he insisted it was more fun to drive himself.”
    “And how else am I to prove to Miss Price that I’m not some vain popinjay more interested in my clothes than my company?” he responded with a raised brow and a twinkle in his eyes.
    Was that why he objected to Algernon? Hardly enough reason to threaten a duel! And who was he to talk? Algernon might parade about in fancy clothes,but that didn’t stop him from doing what was necessary. Lord Allyndale refused to muddy his boots!
    But he was a crack driver. He threaded the curricle through the busy streets so smoothly she found she could relax against the seat and merely enjoy the ride. The sun was slanting through morning clouds, warming the air and gilding this building and that in shafts of light. Meredee clasped her gloved hands in her lap and sighed with pure pleasure.
    “You said you’d spent some time in Scarborough,” he ventured as they started up the hill out of town. “I must admit this is my first visit.”
    “I feel as if it’s nearly my first visit,” Meredee replied. “So much has changed in the last five years, the lamps to light the streets at night, the new public gardens. But some things remain the same.” She pointed to the square stone tower rising to the right of the carriage. “That’s St. Mary’s.”
    “And what is special about St. Mary’s?”
    “My parents were married there for one,” she offered. “And they have a choir of orphans who sing on Sundays.”
    “Then I must take care to have us back in time for services tomorrow.”
    Meredee smiled at the teasing tone. “You must take care to have us back by supper, my lord. My stepmother will have apoplexy otherwise.”
    He chuckled. “And Mrs. Price did not wish to join us today?”
    “No, indeed. Nor would she wish to visit the wilds of Africa, which I am persuaded she equates with the North Bay. But I can hardly wait.”
    The blacks seemed to sense her eagerness, for they pulled the curricle swiftly up the hill and out into open country. The gentle fields were covered in short grass where creamy sheep wandered. Lady Phoebe called the occasional question as they rode along. She perched on her little mare as easily as on a padded chair in her drawing room. Meredee still had trouble imagining the girl taking fences and pounding over rough terrain, but she certainly seemed comfortable on the sidesaddle.
    They reached the North Bay by nine, having stopped once in a copse of trees to rest the horses. The road roughened as they approached, winding down through overhanging trees to break out onto the shore and sunlight. As at the South Bay, the hillside edging the