Free Lady X by Claudy Conn Page A

working the scent?” Woops, she thought, perhaps they didn’t do that in this century.
    He shook his head, “ Americans. I don’t know anything about this drag hunting, but I will tell you, that you haven’t been fox hunting till you have done the Quorn.”
    “Tough territory?” she asked.
    He eyed her. “I love the way you have of phrasing things. Tough? I will tell you that at the end of the day hunting in the Quorn, one can scarcely move, indeed I have found myself quite done up after just such a day!” he answered her jovially and with such good cheer that she laughed.
    “It sounds thrilling,” she told him smiling brightly. “Well as to that, no, I haven’t had a chance to hunt in the north as I have only just arrived in England a little over a week ago and the season was well over.”
    “Do you Stag hunt in America?” he asked curiously.
    “I do not, and I am told that it is a killer hunt, straight line, all out,” she said with a shake of her head. “I don’t like the kill at the end of the hunt, so I prefer a ‘drag hunt’ which works the hounds over a scent. Beautiful to watch them, lovely fences to take, and no death at the end.” She couldn’t remember when ‘drag hunts’ came into being, but she told herself, he would just chalk it up to her being American.
    He frowned again but said, “Aye, watching the hounds work, is quite a wondrous thing.”
    He seemed to hesitate before he asked, “Do you not have any siblings, a brother or a sister?”
    “No, I am quite alone,” she answered happy that she could do so truthfully.
    “And no beau?” he didn’t quite meet her eye.
    She laughed, “No, no beau.” she answered without adding anything to this.
    “That’s hard to believe. I would think you would have a string of them dangling.”
    She laughed, “Very uncomfortable notion.”
    He smiled, “Right, so are you off to relatives then?” he frowned and she could see he was concerned.
    “Not… exactly. As it happens, my father and the late Squire of Kingston House, where I was a guest had been friends.” The lie nibbled at her mind and made her feel and look uneasy. She hurried on to add, “He ended his life in debt just a year ago, and they were unable to get word to me not to come. You see, they aren’t able to properly look after themselves, let alone a guest. They thought it best I go to relatives of theirs where I might make myself useful.”
    “Ah, I see,” his eyes were shaded but she could see he did not look pleased with this piece of information.
    She laughed, “Don’t look like that, Sir Jacob; I am sure it will be okay and it won’t be for so very long.”
    “Okay?” he puzzled up at her.
    “Oh, it means fine, it will be fine, just a term my… er…mother was wont to say to me.”
    “Right, but what makes you think you won’t be stuck there for a long time, and where will here actually be?”
    “Oh, I don’t know. One never knows where one will be from one moment to the next,” she said hoping to perplex him and leave it at that.
    “Your very next moment is what I am wondering about. Where are you headed exactly?”
    “Horwich House.”
    “Horwich House? Egad, I am sorry for it.”
    “Uh-oh, that doesn’t sound good.”
    He retracted, “I am a blabbering fool. I don’t care much for the present squire, but that is only because of the way he manages his inheritance.” He blushed. “Here I am I calling the kettle black.”
    She laughed, and then sighed. “Well, it will be a roof over my head until I can leave.”
    “What does that mean? Until you can leave?”
    “Well, one must find a way to improve one’s situation, right?” she countered hoping this would serve to satisfy him. Why did she always speak before thinking?
    “Ah, I see,” he answered. It was evident to Exerilla that he didn’t, which was just fine. He decided to shrug this off and said, “You may be certain that we …I… will make this up to you by seeing you to your door.