Her Sister's Fiancé - Book #1

Chapter 3

 Ethan pulled the fine trap to a stop in front of the Antrucha mansion, tossing the reigns to a waiting servant. He had begun to mount the steps when he heard it. Someone was singing, and the voice was captivatingly beautiful. For a moment, he stood listening, then, unsure what cause him to do it, he whirled and followed the sound.

Lord Antrucha had only recently built the stables, and they were large and spacious with plenty of room for all the horses a man in his position could want. They were neat and well kept, signifying a diligent group of stable hands. Ethan sighed softly, stables had always been a comforting place for him, they had held a sort of charm to him since he was a small boy. He'd always loved the soft smell of fresh hay and the comforting warmth provided by the horses. He stood still in the quiet solitude of the stables, half closing his eyes as the sweet voice filled the air around him.

'But me and my true love

Will never meet again

On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomund.'

Lavinia Antrucha exited one of the stalls, her skirt covered with strands of hay, her hair loosely swept up. Her face was framed by strands of hair that had escaped their confinement. She didn't seem to notice him as she approached one of the horses, taking its muzzle in her hands and continuing her song.

"I thought you didn't like horses." He said as the final words faded from her lips into a comfortable silence. She jumped with surprise and whirled around to face him, her lips slightly parted, her large eyes staring at him with their usual intensity.

"I didn't know you were here," She said almost apologetically. "And I never said I didn't like horses, I simply don't like riding, there's a difference."

"Ah," He grinned, raising a brow as he stepped further into the stable. She held his gaze, her lids didn't lower in foolish coquetry, she just looked at him, and he found himself enjoying the fact that he was subject to the gaze of those large, innocent eyes. "There is a vast difference between those two."

"Why are you here?" She raised a brow at him, making no attempt to honey her question with flowery words.

"I came to see if the Antrucha ladies wanted to take a ride about the countryside with me." He waved a hand toward the yard where the trap still waited. Lavinia looked over his shoulder, a glimmer of something bright—was it excitement?—in her eyes. Then she looked at him again and swallowed.

"Cassandra isn't here." There was something like disappointment in her voice.

"Well, I have plenty of time, I can wait. The weather is fine, and I shouldn't like to have come all this way for nothing."

"That's not necessary, she and Kitty have gone shopping, they won't be back for a long time." She turned away from him, stooping to lift a curry comb off the floor.

"All the same, I don't mind waiting." He followed her to the horse stall and watched her begin brushing it with careful strokes.

"No, really, if you wait, you'll be waiting until dinner time, trust me, and by then, it will be too late to take any kind of ride. You'd be better off to head home and do something else with your day." She said, her eyes on the horse. Was she avoiding his gaze?

"Perhaps," he said slowly. "Haven't you heard of taking moonlit drives with only the stars as company? You would enjoy yourself, I recite poetry while I ride." She took a sharp intake of breath, had she really thought he'd forgotten the book he'd discovered in the conservatory yesterday?