by Etta Foster
Like that morning, he had been the one to saddle Shakespeare while his brother had saddled Socks, their older black horse.
“Yes,” Richard shrugged his shoulders and tried not to make a big deal out of it. All he wanted to do was impress a pretty woman. Wasn’t that normal?
He swallowed the growing knot in his stomach and managed a grin as he continued, “Of course. Shakespeare is an excellent horse for a beginner.”
Not wanting to invite more discussion on the topic, Richard climbed onto the other horse, Socks.
He tipped his hat to Jacob. “We’ll return shortly. Mrs. Pennyworth is finishing up porridge if you want to stop inside soon. Perhaps you could see to Luanne?”
It was a pointed question, though he hoped it didn’t come off as too strong. But he gave his brother a look to make sure that Jacob understood. That he at least considered making friends with the other young woman in the house.
It might be nice, Richard had spent the night thinking, if Jacob could turn his thoughts to someone else. Lately, his brother was too serious and wrapped up in his own head.
Jacob just shrugged before turning away. “We’ll see.”
He was gone before Richard could say anything more. Awkward tension began to grip Richard tightly as he gritted his teeth.
He shook his head for a second before remembering he wasn’t alone. He managed to find a smile for Louise.
“Are you ready?”
She gripped the reins with determination, a serious expression on her face. “Yes. I think I can do this.”
“You can,” he assured her with a light chuckle to set her at ease. “And remember, I’ll be beside you the entire time. Let’s take a walk around the barn first, just so you’re comfortable giving him directions. He’ll follow me, but it’s good to be ready.”
Louise inhaled deeply and then gave him another nod. “All right. Around the barn, then.”
Richard led the way slowly. He didn’t want to take his eyes off her. Not just because she was pretty, but because he wanted to keep her safe. At least that’s what he told himself.
“This is nice,” Louise nodded as they rounded the final corner. She flashed him a bright smile before turning back to watch the path. “And you were right. It’s beautiful out here. You can see for miles and miles, Richard.”
He realized that he liked the way she said his name.
Her accent focused on the second part of his name, breathing it out like a sigh. There was something tender about the way she spoke.
She could probably say anything she liked, he pondered, and it would sound lovely.
“I’m glad you like it,” he glanced down and fixed one of his gloves before looking at her again.
She really did look like a fine woman riding that horse of his.
He thought of her letters and how she had spent so much time focused on reading because there was so little she was permitted to do. That made him hope that Louise had found the freedom she had been seeking, that she enjoyed her time here.
He realized he was already hoping she would want to stay forever.
Clearing his throat, he rode up closer to her and pointed towards the path. “I thought we could head down that way. Let’s take it at an easy trot. And then you can tell me all about the news in Louisiana. How does that sound?”
Her dimples stood out in the morning light. “It sounds marvelous.”
Richard wasn’t certain what had compelled him to include in his ad that he wanted an educated woman. Though he definitely wanted someone he could hold a conversation with, he hadn’t been certain anyone would be educated in the manner he was expecting.
Besides, why would an educated woman want to live in the middle of nowhere?
But they took their ride slow and she spoke confidently. They even touched on Shakespeare and sonnets. The morning began to pass them by as he forgot about the chill in his fingers and toes and nose while he talked with pretty Louise Moreau.
“Have you never seen snow before your trip here?” Richard asked her curiously when they slowed down.
Louise couldn’t stop looking around. Her eyes darted about as though she was trying to memorize every little detail. “Only a few times.
“My family lives right out of New Orleans. It’s a large city, you see, with ships in port. People come there from all over the world.
“There’s no snow there, though our town most assuredly grows cold in the wintertime. Our mother’s mother lived further north in the territory. I remember traveling to visit her when I was young. There was snow on the ground, but my father didn’t like us getting dirty so we didn’t do much but stand back and admire the view.”
Richard couldn’t stop looking at her. “And? What do you think?”
Her eyes returned to him as she smiled. “I think it’s beautiful. You’re fortunate to live in the wild like this. There’s a - a peace to the world. You can almost hear the silence. That sounds silly, doesn’t it?” she asked after a second.
He shook his head. “No, I don’t think it does.”
When she shivered a third time, however, he knew it was time for them to turn back. His stomach growled for he had yet to break his morning fast.
“I think I’ve kept you out here long enough,” he smiled sheepishly at her.
Richard craned his neck around and pointed. “We’re hardly a mile out. I think we could move at a quick trot around the river’s edge. We should make it back to the house in just a few minutes. How does that sound to you?”
Her eyes swept over him with a soft look. Her lips curved upward, making his heart skip a beat. At that angle, she looked like a queen on her steed looking over her kingdom.
Richard swallowed hard as their eyes met. He wondered if that strange feeling in his stomach would ever go away.
“That sounds lovely,” she proclaimed. “But you won’t leave me behind if we move too slow, will you?”
Teasing her lightly, Richard trotted around her once and then winked at her. “Of course not. Besides, Shakespeare there wouldn’t dream of letting old Socks beat him in any kind of race. Just watch out for the ice.
“In a minute, we’ll be inside next to the fire warming our fingertips.”
Louise nodded. “If you insist!”
And then she tugged on Shakespeare to invite the horse to start moving again. The animal knew what to do now that they were clearly turning towards home.
As they started off, Richard nudged the horse beneath him to follow. A cold wind swept through his hair as he watched after the young lady. He gripped the reins tightly, feeling invincible.
But he didn’t know that would be the last second he would feel that way for a long time.
They had just rounded the final bend with the barn in their sights when Socks stumbled.
Richard dropped his gaze from Louise, his stomach plummeting as he realized he hadn’t been keeping an eye on his horse’s path closely enough.
He called out in surprise, but when it was clear that Socks was about to tumble, he let go. He was already airborne. Panic gripped his veins. There was no time to react as he felt himself flying. Richard reached out to grasp something, though there was nothing he could touch.
Until he abruptly slammed into something hard.
Pain rippled up his body. It was so violent and harsh that Richard was immediately welcomed by darkness. He didn’t fight it, as though he knew being awake would be terribly unpleasant.
Except the darkness didn’t hold him long.
When he heard a voice calling to him, Richard couldn’t resist reaching out for it. He followed the voice until he opened his eyes and grimaced in pain.
Everything hurt. Richard blinked as the world swam before him.
He was on the ground. It was solid beneath him. There was snow, enough snow that he felt terribly numb and couldn’t remember how to move.
Though his scarf had been in his mouth a second ago, it had been moved aside. He lay awkwardly on the hard ground with the sun above him.
“Richard? Richard, can you hear me?”
His head swam as he tried to pull himself together. When he blinked, he saw four copies of Louise before him. There were too many eyes watching him.
He squeezed his eyes shut and felt a hand touch his cheek. He inhaled sharply, trying to process what had just happened.
Louise was still talking to him. He could hear the tremor in her voice. But it still took him a good minute to pull himself together enough to speak.
“Louise,” he managed a minute later. There was a bitter taste on his tongue, but he couldn’t figure out why. After all, he hadn’t eaten anything that morning.
Richard blinked again and finally, Louise came into focus.
She knelt beside him, her hands fluttering over him as she tugged at his clothes as though to keep him warm and make him comfortable. Or she was trying to put him in more pain; Richard wasn’t certain.
The important problem was that she was frightened. Richard concentrated on that fact and grasped onto the single shred of sanity he could find.
He had fallen off his horse, Richard told himself, and he was in pain. But it was only an accident and he would be fine. All he needed to do was get some rest.
“I’m fine,” he tried to tell her. But the words came out tasting strange on his tongue. “Fine.”
Richard looked at Louise to see if she understood. Her eyes widened before she glanced around them. “I… I… I’m going to return to the house.
“We’re close to the house, Richard. I’ll find Jacob and - and he’ll know what to do. Do you understand? I’m not leaving you. I’m coming right back. I… here.”
He felt his head lifted slightly after she pulled off the scarf and set it below his head for a pillow. Richard tried to thank her, but it came out as a cough. He still was struggling to remember how to breathe.
Before he could worry about anything else, the darkness pulled him back in.
Chapter 10
Louise hadn’t seen the fall, but she had heard the landing.
Climbing down off Shakespeare by herself had been terrifying, but not as bad as it was reaching Richard’s side to find him in and out of consciousness.
And that sound. Though she wasn’t certain he had broken anything, she knew it couldn’t be good.
She could feel the panic tugging at her bones when she knelt down beside him.
Tugging her long hair out of the way, she tried to think fast. She had set his legs down at proper angles. She checked his arms for any breaks. And then she had tried saying his name.
Louise couldn’t count how many times she called out Richard’s name before he opened his eyes. It took him a minute to adjust, but she could see the pain in his gaze.
Her heart went out to him as she tried to think about what to do. But she didn’t know much about snow or ice or injuries. Socks had run off, having been spooked, and Shakespeare was standing around unable to tell her what to do.
She had come to see the man she had been writing to in case they wanted to continue their relationship. That didn’t mean she had come expecting to help him from a terrible fall. A lump formed in her throat when he said her name.
Then he tried to say something else, but his tongue wasn’t working. It had been garbled speech that faded away, so she had spoken up in the hopes he would hear her.
He didn’t respond. Instead, his eyes closed so she was left alone. For a minute, terror had clutched her soul in the certainty he had died.
But then he took a ragged breath and she was able to breathe as well. Louise realized she was holding his arm tightly, so she let go.
She had to do something, she told herself.
Her gaze reluctantly left Richard as she turned to the house. Jacob would have to help her. Help him. Louise thought dimly of what Mrs. Pennyworth had said that morning but shook it off. Richard was injured, and his brother would most assuredly help him.
At the very least, she had to do something.
“Right.” Her voice was shaky and her legs were shakier as she forced herself to stand.
Louise looked around for the horses before running over to Shakespeare. He stood there patiently, nibbling at some grass peeking out of the nearby pile of snow.
She reached for the pommel only to hesitate. Richard had had to help her into the saddle before since the horse was so tall. How could she climb onto the saddle herself?
She glanced over her shoulder at Richard. The fear turned into a resolve that gave her the energy to boost herself.
Louise had to jump to reach the pommel, also putting her other hand over the saddle to pull herself up. Her thick clothes only created a heavy buffer that took several tiresome seconds of wrestling around to pull herself completely into the seat.
“I can do this,” she told herself anxiously. “I can do this. We can do this. Can’t we, Shakespeare? Off to the barn, then.”
But Richard had been right. The horse didn’t want to go anywhere without the man who usually rode him. Shakespeare grumbled as he swung his head over towards Richard as though to make a point.
“I know,” Louise said frantically, wondering if she was going crazy for talking to a horse. “I’m trying to help him. Don’t you want to do the same? He needs help! More help than what I can provide!”
She said a short prayer in her heart and nudged the horse again.
Grudgingly he turned, obeying her hands on the reins, and they started towards the house. A lump formed in her throat the further they went from Richard. He had to be so cold.
Praying he wouldn’t wake up to find himself alone, she nudged the horse faster. Shakespeare obeyed and took her to a fast trot that led them straight up the hill and over to the barn. They circled it before she managed to direct him towards the front doors. Just before they were about to enter, Jacob stepped out.
“Having fun, then?” he asked as he fiddled with his gloves.
The young man had dark hair that sat long against his brow. Though a few years older than herself, there was a crease against his brow that made him an old man and a young child all at once. Louise couldn’t explain it, but there wasn’t time.
“Richard fell,” she panted breathlessly.
Shakespeare pranced nervously under her, as though he could feel the tension in her shoulders. When she tried to point towards Richard, the horse turned so she had to keep correcting herself.
Jacob’s gaze flickered there and then shrugged. “Then he should have been more careful. He knows there’s ice.”
When he turned around, Louise grunted to the horse who maneuvered his way between Jacob and the barn. But only for a second before they walked in a circle around him.
Her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Her thoughts were everywhere as she tried to control the horse, set aside her worry for Richard, and tell Jacob what had happened.
“I mean it,” she pressed, turning her head to try and meet his gaze. Shakespeare kept walking in a circle around Jacob who crossed his arms at her. “He’s terribly hurt. There - there’s blood and he couldn’t stay awake. He needs you, Jacob. Please. Don’t you understand?”
Jacob’s gaze narrowed at her. “This isn’t a joke?”
“No! There was an accident. He fell off the horse.”
“Who, Socks?” The young man shook his head. “The horse is a good one. Did you even see it happen?”
Louise couldn’t help the flush creeping up her cheeks. “No, but I heard it. I heard it, Jacob. Your brother is terribly hurt, and he needs your help. Please. He’s just down the lane. We have to do something.”
Her words were spat out so fast that she wasn’t sure she was making any sense. She tried to control her thoughts flooding, but her heart kept interfering.
It was hard not to wonder if Richard would be all right. And if he wasn’t, she didn’t know what she would do. Though they had been writing letters for months, though they had enjoyed each other’s company since her arrival the other day, they hardly knew each other.
; Her heart pounded against her ribs, trying to break free. It beat so hard that it hurt. Tears sprang to her eyes just as she realized Shakespeare was going to keep dancing around Jacob.
So she swung a leg over and jumped down, not caring if something happened to her.
Jacob grabbed her arm before she could land in the dirt. “Careful! You wouldn’t want to ruin Richard’s prized horse, would you?” he pointed out gruffly.
She ripped her arm from his grasp with a stern expression.