The Earl's Desire (20 page)

Christine gasped. She could only stare at him as he left.

THIRTEEN

The air was hot, and the sizzling sun burnt down unmercifully on the crowd of people all trying to find the best spot to watch the race. There was little breeze to satisfy the women suffocating with their whalebone corsets shaping their bodies into small curves of hips and generous bosoms. Shouting and cursing rang alongside the laughing of youngsters, and drunken men mixed with the crying of lost little ones. On top of the green, numerous picnic blankets were laid on the freshly cut grass. Food and wine flowed freely. Beautifully crafted hats decorated with flowers and butterflies glided back and forth on top of beautifully painted, soft faces.

Christine raced down the hill toward the busy crowd on the race course of Huntingdon Estate, puffing as she slowed down.

“
Chris! Wait for me. Don’t run so fast,” Paul, Mr. and Mrs. Robinson’s son, who had just returned from London, shouted. His mouth was wide open, fighting for air as he sprinted after her. Christine turned at his shouting and slowed down. He caught up with her then and overtook her.

“
Beat you!” he yelled, beaming with pride as he urged Christine to run faster down the last few yards. She reached him a second later and put both her hands on her slim hips, gasping for fresh air to fill her starved lungs.

“
God man, you blush like a girl!” he teased, punching her on the shoulder. She bit her lip and gave him no comment in return.

Betty, Emma, and Andrew, the stableman, walked down toward them with baskets and blankets.

“
Hurry up. The race is about to begin. I wouldn’t want to miss this one; the earl is in it,” Andrew urged both women as he raced down to where Christine and Paul stood. The women chased after him, giggling and beaming at each other. Betty reached them first. When she came to a stop by the small group, she shaded her eyes against the hot sun with her hands and looked around them. There were people everywhere, seated in groups surrounding the racetrack.

“
Well, where should we sit?” she asked.

“
Oh, I think here will do; we can see just fine from here,” Andrew said as he spread out the blanket on the grass.

“
Hmm, the view is rather good from here,” Paul commented as he tilted his head to examine the racetrack.

“
It is rather a hot day, isn’t it?” Emma complained, eyeing enviously those ladies sitting under the tent with their bright parasols and their pretty bonnets shading their heads.

Christine looked around the field. There were many people, and the atmosphere was like that at a fair. Under the tent, she could see Lord and Lady Queensbury. Seated beside them was Lady Anne, who was seated next to Sir Allan. Christine saw Anne lean toward him. They were sitting intimately close. Anne said something funny in his ear, causing them both to laugh.

“
Do you know Sir Allan doesn’t look like his lordship?” Emma said to Paul.

“
Why should they?” Christine asked, raising her eyebrows at the maid.

“
That’s because—” Emma started and paused. “Wait, first promise me ye won’t spread this to anyone if I tell you.” All heads came into a circle, including Andrew, who was now interested in the hot topic of discussion. They all nodded in agreement.

“
Well, you all see, Sir Allan is the earl’s uncle’s bastard, but that uncle of the earl insists that Sir Allan is no bastard at all. In fact, he announced to all that Sir Allan is his legal son, and besides that, Sir Allan is the nominated heir to the earl’s fortune.” She finished off, satisfied.

“
Hey, the race is about to begin. Look. They are lining up the horses,” Paul shouted enthusiastically, and everybody turned to look at the racetrack in unison.

“
Look, there’s the earl. He’s in the third row. Wow, look at Starlight,” Betty said admiringly.

“
I bet his lordship is going to win,” Emma commented and stretched herself up to get a better view.

Everyone was in suspense waiting for the race to begin. Christine stood up on tiptoe to look around for Merrick. He was in the third row, as Betty had mentioned. He looked so strong and handsome on his stallion, a godlike figure in her eyes. Everybody was cheering for the race to begin.

Suddenly, the gun fired, and the crowd roared with encouragement. Starlight shrilled, threw his front hooves high in midair, and they were off. Merrick and his steed were not in the lead in the initial stage of the race. He held his stallion back, leaving them in the middle of the pack, conserving their energy for later when the real race began. Near the end of the first lap, they were still in the middle of the pack, but soon after he urged his stallion to increase the pace. He passed four other Jockeys, who tried to urge their stallions to go even faster. They were looking at him in amazement and annoyance. He smiled and urged his stallion again with his heels in its sides. He was almost onto the leader, and they were rounding the second lap. Once past the second lap, he kicked his stallion on the side. The stallion lurched forward and sped past two more horses in front of them. Merrick and his stallion took the lead. He was smiling. He knew he was going to win this race.

Then suddenly, Starlight started to snort and slow down. It started to kick and jump in the middle of the racetrack while every other stallion passed them by.

“
Calm down, boy.” Merrick soothed and patted the horse.

Starlight, however, did not calm down. It jumped and kicked harder. It then raced across the field. The horse sped up so fast that Merrick could feel the wind beating against his face and hair. Then it veered, and he was tossed into the air. He held on tightly to the rein. He hit his backside hard on the saddle as gravity reclaimed him. Then he saw another somersault coming. The horse shook its head and ran blindly into another horse. The other horse and its rider fell. Merrick and his stallion then raced crazily around until they hit a tree. They crashed to the ground, and Starlight fell on top of him.

Merrick opened his eyes. The world was buzzing around him. The pain was unbearable. It throbbed badly. He could feel himself blacking out. He heard a faint voice. It was so soft and warm.

“
Merrick, please tell me you’re all right.”

He felt soft hands lifting his head, and then moments later, he felt a soft lap beneath his aching head. He tried to open his eyes. He blinked a few times to make the blurriness and tears go away. He could see more clearly now, and he stared into bright violet eyes that were brewing with tears.

“
Someone, please help!”

He felt her soft hands soothing his head and face. Then he knew no more. Blackness invaded him.

* * *

Merrick opened his eyes. All he could see was a blur. He blinked a few more times. Then the images became clearer. He could see a ceiling that was designed with exotic flowers, nymphs, and various mythical gods and goddess. Where was he? He tried to remember what had happened and where he was, but his head hurt like hell.

He turned his head. Pain shot through his whole body. “Grr!” He gritted his teeth. Why the hell was his head hurting so much? Then he felt hands soothing the side of his forehead. He lifted his hands to touch those fingers. They were small. He turned to look at the person who owned such lovely hands. He saw a pair of violet eyes gazing down at him. The expression in them was raw pain.

“
Merrick, you must not move so much. It will only cause you more pain,” she said softly.

“
Chris.” He lifted his other hand to touch his head and felt the thick fabric there. He applied pressure on the injury site and moaned. “What happened?”

She ignored his question and tucked the blanket up to his chin. He pushed it back down to his waist. She frowned at him. “Merrick, you are not well. I don’t want you to get a fever.”

“
Mayhap you would just tell me what happened.”

“
You are not well enough to hear the story yet,” she said and pulled the blanket up to his chin again. He sat up roughly as he kicked the blanket down.

“
Wow!” he howled, loud enough for the whole of Huntingdon Hall to hear.

“
Merrick, you must not sit up. Your injury is very bad. Please lay down.” She came closer to him and urged him to lie down.

“
Nay, Chris. Tell me what happened,” he commanded.

“
Please lie down,” she pleaded with him in desperation.

“
I believe Master Chris is right, my lord. You must lie down. Your head will not hurt so much,” Dr. Liam said.

“
What happened?” Merrick asked the doctor.

“
I’d say that an angel is looking after you. This accident could have killed you instantly,” the doctor said.

“
Killed me?” Merrick murmured under his breath. He turned to look at Christine. “My stallion?”

“
Ah, your stallion. Well, I’m not a horse doctor, am I?” the old man commented with a smile. “You’ll have to stay in bed for a couple more weeks. You’ve been unconscious for three days and nights. That fever could have claimed you. But you’re strong. Thanks to Master Chris there. He was by your side all day and night, wouldn’t go to his own room to sleep.” He chuckled and glanced at Christine.

Merrick looked at her. He saw that she was very pale, and there were dark circles under her eyes.

“
Why don’t you let Paris look after the earl tonight, Master Chris?” the doctor said.

“
Nay, I want to look after him, and Mr. Paris is very tired too,” she said.

“
From doing nothing?” the doctor said with his brows raised.

“
He’s investigating, sir,” she explained.

“
Investigating what?” the old man asked. “You need your rest, lad.”

“
But Merrick needs me,” she protested.

“
Huh. I won’t argue with you,” he said and turned to Merrick. “He’s very stubborn. Now that everything is under control, I’ll take my leave.” He got up, went to get his bag, and turned. “Rest well, my lord,” he said, and then he was gone.

Jacob came in at that moment. “My lord,” he said.

“
Jacob, tell me what happened,” Merrick ordered.

Jacob ambled from the door toward the bed. Christine got up, but Merrick caught her hand and forced her to sit down beside him. She obeyed his command.

“
You were racing, my lord, and then your stallion went crazy. The next second, it was running toward the other horses, and then you and Starlight crashed into a tree. Your stallion, sir, fell on top of you. It’s a miracle that you did not die, sir,” Jacob said, frowning for there was much mystery surrounding the incident.

“
What of my horse, Jacob?” Merrick asked.

“
I’ve checked the beast, and it has been poisoned. I assure you, I have been looking after him particularly carefully. I don’t know how this could have happened. Somebody must have sneaked in and given Starlight something a few minutes before the race.”

“
Thank you, Jacob. You will conduct an investigation,” Merrick ordered.

“
Aye, my lord, I’ve already started on that. I’ve got our men to go around and do some searching, sir, and Mr. and Mrs. Ross have been interviewing the servants all evening to find out if they’ve seen or heard anything, but so far, nothing,” Jacob said.

“
Thank you, Jacob,” Merrick said.

Jacob turned to go, but he hesitantly turned back and said, “My lord, do you think is it possible that someone is trying to murder you?”

“
Do you think that it is possible, Jacob?” Merrick said, raising his brows.

“
Well, sir, there was that shooting last winter,” Jacob suggested.

“
I believe you are right there, Jacob.” Merrick turned to Christine, squeezing her hand. “Jacob, make sure this little piece of news doesn’t get spread to anybody and especially
not
to my guests.”

“
Aye, my lord.” Jacob bowed his head and left.