𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐘𝐒𝐓

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

"They teach you how to ride horses in public school?"

Miles' voice rang high above the sound of stomping hooves beneath you. It was a brisk autumn day and you both found yourselves on one of the many walking trails that rooted deep into the forest behind the manor. It was rude to ask just how much land the Fairchild's owned, but you were nonetheless silently curious.

"No," you huffed, gathering the worn leather reins in your fists. It was peeving you off how he was still hung up on the education you may or may not have received. "I had private lessons outside of school because I wanted them." 

You were comfortably seated atop Delilah, Flora's kind-natured white speckled mare. The proud animal had been passed down to her after the deaths of her parents but it had belonged to her mother once upon a time. Miles rode up swiftly next to you, one hand bunched up in the reins while the other had a loose grip on the horn of the saddle. Neither of you had any intention of challenging each other so instead, you found yourselves clomping down the winding paths at a leisurely pace.

When Miles told you he was taking you riding, you didn't imagine it would be so early in the day. Flora woke you up via an assault of feather pillows way before the sun had risen above the trees. She insisted that you eat an early breakfast with everyone else in the house before taking off while she was still absorbed in her morning lessons with her tutor, Kate.

You liked Kate despite Mrs. Grose's obvious disapproval of her and her modern ideas. As far as you could tell, she was kind, gentle, and cared about Flora which was all that really mattered to you anyway.

No one addressed the chain of events that took place last night. Not even Flora seemed phased by what happened when she came to wake you up around six-thirty. Neither you nor Miles said anything about how he pulled your sodden body out from the almost-frozen pool or the conversation in your bedroom that followed. Because of this, you decided that you could brush off his goodnight kiss as just that -- a goodnight kiss. A platonic gesture.

Realizing that your thoughts were consumed by it, you found yourself shaking your head at the mere idea that it could have been anything else.

"Flora said that you visited Samson too while I was at school." Miles looked away from the scenery that he was still re-familiarizing himself with and tilted his head in your direction. "Yeah," you nodded in confirmation, switching the reins in your hands when your fingers began to ache. "Nearly every day."

A smug look overtook his features and he bit back a smile, turning away in a poor attempt to hide it. It was like he knew something that you didn't and the idea made you frown. "What?" You insisted, shooting him a sideways glance before directing your attention back to Delilah who had wavered dangerously to the edge of the path which branched off into the dark woods.

"Nothing," Miles shrugged, still chewing on his bottom lip. "It's just...Samson doesn't let anyone near him but me."

You remembered Flora telling this to you almost every time you visited the stables together. Up until now, you figured she was making it out to be a bigger deal than it really was. Sure, the massive coal-colored beast wasn't the most approachable animal in the world, but you figured it had more to do with his general unhappiness. But Miles' comment seemingly proved otherwise.

"Maybe he just wanted the sugar cubes I brought him," you said, noticing how Samson's ears twitched backward at the mention of his favorite snack.

"Or maybe he's just a good judge of character."

Right, you wanted to say along with the playful roll of your eyes. But you could only beam at his off-handed compliment. Your smile, as contagious as it was, caught on and was quickly plastered onto Miles' face as well. Both of you fell into a comfortable silence and you took this time to study your surroundings.