Даниэла Стил - Royal

In his room, Anthony poured himself a glass of scotch and wondered what would become of her. She was like a child, and a breath of air. A little too much so for him. The women in his world were more exciting, and what they wanted from him was easy to give. What you’d have to give a girl like her was beyond him, and would have terrified him.

—

Annie was back in the stables at six o’clock the next morning, and had Flash in the main ring ten minutes later. He was more skittish than he had been the day before, but her steady routine and soothing voice calmed him, and by the time she brought him back to his stall at seven, he was peaceful and easy to manage again. She saw Lord Hatton go to his office as she walked Flash back to the barn. She was at the trainers’ meeting on time, and got her assignment for the day. She heard a rumor from the other trainers that there were photographers lying in wait for her, and then was told later that Lord Hatton had chased them away. He didn’t want Annie harassed by anyone, nor their collective privacy invaded. It was a great relief to Annie.

She’d exercised five of the horses by the end of the afternoon, and passed Anthony in the hall of the guesthouse. He was on his way out, looking very dashing. He obviously had a date or was going to a party.

“My father’s going to London tomorrow. Shall we race?” he said enticingly, and she hesitated.

“Will we get in trouble?” she asked him with wide eyes.

“We might,” he admitted, “but not if you don’t tell him.” The challenge was too great for either of them to resist, and they agreed to meet at seven the next morning. She was tempted to ride Flash, but knew he wasn’t stable, although she could have run any race with him. She didn’t want to win badly enough to damage a horse that wasn’t settled yet, and decided to ride a horse she’d exercised that afternoon, that was tried and true and easier to predict.

They settled on the meeting place, and she hoped no one would see them and tell Lord Hatton. It was a risk that seemed worth taking and she was looking forward to it.

She exercised Flash the next morning, and switched horses in time to meet Anthony. The idea of racing him was exhilarating. He was a good rider, but his skill was more mechanical, without passion. He had learned about horses and had been taught well, but didn’t “feel” them in his gut the way she did, or love them. She was smiling when she met up with him, in anticipation of what was to come. They left the more populated area sedately, and didn’t start the race until they were well out of sight. She gave her horse its head, and coaxed everything out of him he had to give. She wasn’t going to let Anthony beat her, and she calculated her horse’s strengths well, and won easily. Anthony looked angry when they finished, but got control of himself quickly.

“You’re a hell of a rider, Your Royal Highness,” he said grudgingly. “Rematch tomorrow?” he pressed her and she laughed. It had been an easy victory for her.

“Where will your father be?” They were like two naughty children, but she was pleased with beating him, and wanted to do it again. She’d outsmarted him as much as outrun him.

“He won’t be back till tomorrow night,” Anthony said.

“Then you have a deal. Same time, same place,” she said, and they headed back to the barns, with no one any the wiser for what they’d done.

She met him again the next day. She had chosen a different horse this time, one that was faster and more spirited. He danced around a bit on their way to where they had raced the day before. They were both wearing helmets, which would have been a tip-off to anyone who knew either of them that they were up to mischief, but no one had seen them leave the barn and ride off.

She got a good start on him as she had the day before, and they pounded across the meadow, and raced toward the cluster of trees that had been their finish line the day before. They were almost there when her horse shied from something he’d seen. She kept control of him, but he almost stumbled, and with no warning, she came off and flew through the air like a doll and landed hard, as Anthony reined his horse in, and raced to where she lay, suddenly realizing how foolish they had been. She lay lifeless on her back when he got there, and he grabbed her horse’s reins on the way, and tethered the two horses to each other as he jumped down and knelt next to her. She was breathing, but looked deathly pale. He took her helmet off and tried to decide what to do, and as he started to panic, she opened her eyes and couldn’t speak for a minute. She was badly winded, and when she tried to sit up, he stopped her.

“Stay still for a minute. I was an idiot to suggest this. Can you move?” he asked her. She gently moved her arms and legs and smiled up at him as she caught her breath enough to speak to him.

“It was fun, until I fell. I haven’t come off in years.”

“I should have known better. I’m older than you are.” He took off his jacket and folded it under her head, looking deeply concerned. “Do you think you can sit up?” He could tell that she wasn’t paralyzed but had difficulty moving. She’d had a hard fall.

“Should we finish the race?” she asked as she sat up and saw stars for a minute, and then her head cleared. She had a slight headache, but nothing serious, and nothing was broken. She had been lucky. She’d been going at breakneck speed, but the ground had been soft enough to cushion her fall.

“You’re insane. Do you think you can ride back, or do you want to ride with me?” he asked as he helped her to her feet. She was as light as a feather.

“I’m fine,” she said gamely, but she looked unsteady to him. He held her arm until she seemed solid on her feet, and he gave her a leg up back into the saddle, and he watched her closely to make sure she wasn’t dizzy, and stayed close to her. He knew she had to be feeling badly bruised from the fall, but she was steady in the saddle, and never complained. She was much tougher than she looked.

“You are one hell of a rider, and damn brave. I thought you were dead for a minute,” he admitted, still shaken by the sight of her flying through the air like a leaf on the wind.

“So did I,” she said and grinned at him.

“You could have broken your neck. I’m not racing you again.” She was too daring to be safe.

“You’re just afraid I’ll beat you. I probably would have if the damn horse hadn’t tripped.”

“You were not going to beat me this time. I was two lengths ahead of you.”

“One, and I was catching up. I hadn’t gotten Mercury up to full speed yet.”

“Don’t be a sore loser,” he teased her with a broad grin, grateful that she hadn’t been injured. It seemed like a miracle that she wasn’t. “You probably came off just to get sympathy. That’s women riders for you. And you want to be a jockey? In what, the powder puff races?” He teased her all the way back, but he had unlimited respect for her now. She was the ballsiest girl he’d ever met. “You’re a hell of a lot stronger than you look,” he complimented her, and even he could recognize that she was a better rider than he was. She was at one with the horse at all times, even if she’d flown off. If the horse hadn’t stumbled, she would have won in the end, and he knew it. “Let’s ride again sometime,” he suggested, “but no racing.”

“That’s no fun.” She looked disappointed and he laughed at her.

“I happen to like you, Your Royal Highness. I don’t want to kill you. I think you’re the craziest damn rider I’ve ever seen, and the bravest girl I’ve ever met. I’d rather not see you dead if you come off again.”

“Thank you,” she said for the compliments and smiled at him. She’d had a hell of a fall, and knew she’d be hurting by the end of the day. She already was but wouldn’t admit it. But she’d won something better than she had the day before when she’d beaten him. They were friends now. And she needed one in her new world. He was different from the men she had known in her previous life. More complicated, more spoiled, and surprisingly more interesting. She liked him better now than she had when they met.