When they arrived back at the house, it was to find Lady Sinclair holding court and looking exceedingly attractive in a black habit which displayed her pink and white and gold beauty better than any colour would have done.
She looked at Indira disdainfully and said in an audible voice,
“I always think black is the most suitable habit for anybody who rides seriously. Colours are far too theatrical.”
Indira pretended not to hear her and tried not to laugh when Charles whispered, “meaow-meaow!” at what he had overheard.
When she went in to luncheon, she found that the Marquis had thought of her as he had last night, and she was seated not beside strangers, but with Charles on her right hand side and Jimmy on her left.
When she found her place, she looked down the table and met his eyes and she thought he understood that she was thanking him silently for being so considerate.
Because he had so many competitors to entertain, the majority of whom were men, she had assumed that he would be too busy even to give her a thought.
But once or twice she realised that he was looking at her and she hoped that he was not being critical because she was making no effort to entertain anybody except the two men with whom she had arrived at his house.
Lady Sinclair, on the other hand, constituted herself the Marquis’s hostess and was showing off in a way that made it obvious that she wished everybody to know that she had a special position in the Marquis’s household.
Indira could not help feeling that it was very wrong for her to parade her affection for him and his for her, when she already had a husband and, if Lord Sinclair had been there, it would have been a humiliation for him to see his wife in such a role.
Then she told herself that it was not for her to find fault, especially as she was pretending to be somebody she was not and was deliberately deceiving the Marquis.
‘Before I leave I will write him a letter of apology, but I don’t expect I shall ever see him again,’ she told herself.
The thought was depressing.
She told herself it was because she had no friends in England and she would have liked to feel that the Marquis was a friend and that she could see him again.
Yet she was quite certain that he would have no time for her, for not only was Lady Sinclair fawning on him in a way that seemed almost embarrassing, but other lady riders, two of whom were particularly beautiful, were doing exactly the same thing.
There were, however, only ten women competitors in all and, when luncheon was over and they rode down to the racecourse, Charles said,
“Don’t be nervous, I am sure you ride better than any of these other females and you certainly have a finer horse.”
“It was very kind of his Lordship to lend me Meteor,” Indira said. “I feel we understand each other and you will not be ashamed of me.”
“We could never be that,” Jimmy said impulsively.
“You have been absolutely splendid and the reason why Lady Sinclair has been behaving like a Prima Donna all through luncheon is because she is jealous of you.”
“I cannot think why.”
Charles was about to tell her the reason, when he thought that she might be embarrassed and it would spoil her chances in the race.
He had said to Jimmy last night when they went up to bed,
“You know, we really drew a winning card when we encountered Indira in that strange manner. Who would have thought that not only is she beautiful and extremely intelligent, but she rides better than any woman I have ever seen!”
“I was thinking the same thing,” Jimmy said, “and, if Ardsley is not infatuated with her, he damned well ought to be!”
“I think he is,” Charles answered, “but he is a strange man and it is difficult to know what he is thinking.”
“I am beginning to think I will lose my money,” Jimmy said with a smile, “but it has been worth it. It has certainly given a spice to our visit that I did not expect.”
“Nor I,” Charles answered, “and, Jimmy, if I am honest, I would like to pursue Indira after we have found her somewhere to live.”
“Why not?” Jimmy asked idly.
There was silence.
Then Charles said,
“The truth is, I am afraid I am falling in love! So, as I don’t wish to have a broken heart, the first thing I am going to do is to find another ‘Clarice’ to amuse me and forget her.”
“I suppose, even though she is so rich, your family would not waive their prejudice against a tradesman’s daughter?”
Charles gave a laugh that had no humour in it.
“You don’t know my family,” he said. “They are so stiff-necked, so certain that the earth was made for them to walk on, that they are as bad if not worse than Ardsley.”
“Impossible!” Jimmy exclaimed and they both laughed.
“How are we going to tell him that we have made a fool of him?” Jimmy asked after a moment.
“I don’t know,” Charles said slowly. “I would hate to do anything which would be an embarrassment to Indira and I think the best thing would be to wait until we have left, then write a letter apologising for deceiving him. We can be quite honest about it and say it was a bet.”
Jimmy gave a cry of horror.
“You must be crazy! Ardsley will never forgive us, and we will never be asked here again.”
“Well, you think of a better way,” Charles retorted sharply.
“After all, we cannot have gone to all this trouble for nothing.”
Jimmy thought about it for a moment.
Then he said,
“I suppose the only other way would be to say that Indira deceived us, but that seems rather mean.”
“And definitely unsporting! Ardsley has a great deal of power and he might make himself unpleasant to her and we can hardly allow that.”
“No, of course not!” Jimmy agreed quickly.
They thought for a long time before finally they went to their separate rooms, but both young men were awake for some time, trying to solve what seemed for the moment an unsolvable problem.
*
As they rode down the course, Charles looked at Indira and felt that his heart was behaving in a very strange manner and he told himself that he had to be careful.
‘She is too damned pretty for any man’s peace of mind!’ he thought. And he knew, because her eyes were shining and her lips smiling, that she looked very different from the frightened unhappy girl they had rescued from the hands of her father’s crooked Solicitor.
When they reached the starting point, the horses were already beginning to get into place and several gentlemen came up to speak to Charles and Jimmy, then looked at Indira in a manner that made it very clear that they wished to be introduced.
Because he was sure it was the last thing she wanted, Charles deliberately ignored every hint they made, while Indira, concerned with making a fuss of Meteor and talking to him in her own special manner, did not even notice.
Lady Sinclair arrived looking exceedingly lovely and very obviously aware of it.
She was again playing hostess and she said to the other women riders,
“It is so delightful of you to come and take part. I know you will help me to show the gentlemen riders that we are worthy of being the first competitors the dear Marquis has ever allowed to race in his steeplechase.”
“How did you persuade him to let us in?” somebody asked.
Lady Sinclair lowered her eyelashes and looked coy.
“You must not ask me such embarrassing questions,” she said, “but I can assure you I had to be very very persuasive.”
The innuendo in her words was very obvious and Indira deliberately moved out of earshot to the other end of the starting line.
Quite a number of riders were in place before the Marquis came riding up on Thunderer, which was the name of his stallion.
He moved in front of them and the chattering voices died away into silence as it became obvious that he had something
to say.
“Now, let me make it quite clear once again,” he began. “We all race together over the first five fences, then where the course divides the ladies will take the left-hand fork, where there are five more fences and will reach what is really the first winning post.”
He paused for a moment and then continued,
“The rest of us go on to where you know the course ends and I am sure it is unnecessary for me to say that the first person to pass the second winning post will receive the Ardsley Steeplechase Cup and one thousand guineas!”
He saw that one or two of the men look surprised and he added,
“The other thousand guineas will be given to the winning lady, together with an attractive prize which she can place round her neck.”
Somebody made a joke about this and amidst the laughter the Marquis said,
“I suggest you now get into place and as usual when the flag drops that is the signal for the ‘off’.”
As he finished speaking, he rode to the left of the starting line, where Indira was waiting with Charles and Jimmy.
Unlike some of the other horses, Meteor was standing quite still, and she had no trouble holding him in, but there was an alertness about him which made her think of the T’ang horse, which she had held in her hands yesterday.
Strangely enough, as the Marquis came up to her, she had the feeling that he was thinking the same.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “Don’t hurry Meteor over the first fences and he will easily carry you ahead for the last five.”
“I am sure he will,” Indira replied, “and he is looking forward to the race as much as I am.”
“I hope – ” the Marquis began, then hesitated.
Indira knew he was about to say that he hoped she would win, then even as he spoke she was aware that Lady Sinclair had come up behind him.
“I should get into position, Rosie,” he said. “Some horses get very obstreperous when kept waiting.”
“I am well aware of that, Seldon,” Lady Sinclair replied, “but you omitted to wish me luck and you know I shall not feel lucky without your good wishes – ”
She paused, then said softly, so that only he could hear what she said,
“ – and your love.”
There was a frown between the Marquis’s eyes.
He had not missed the way Lady Sinclair had behaved at luncheon and now he thought that only a very stupid woman would be so indiscreet as to parade her affection for him in public and in such company.
He knew that a number of the County families taking part were very strait-laced and in the past had expressed their disapproval of the Prince Regent and his friends.
While the Marquis was not particular about what was said about him in London, he had always been very careful in the country to protect himself against any hint of scandal.
It was obvious that he was talked about and he would have been stupid if he had not realised that sooner or later gossip concerning his affaires de coeur would be carried almost on the wind from London to Hampshire. But it usually was a slow process and, by the time Hampshire was discussing some beauty with whom he was said to be infatuated, the whole affair was over and her place had been taken by somebody else.
So, when he was at Ardsley Hall, the Marquis was careful to see that his parties, rather to the surprise of his friends, did nothing to offend the local hierarchy.
In fact, when he invited any of his more raffish contemporaries to stay, he was very careful not to include any of the local people in his dinner parties.
As a result, although they undoubtedly talked and were curious as to who was staying with him, it was all hearsay and they could never actually substantiate what they suspected.
Now he thought angrily that he had made a great mistake in allowing Lady Sinclair to persuade him to let women ride or even having her as a guest when he was running his steeplechase.
He knew that she was being particularly outrageous for the simple reason that last night he had gone to his own bedroom after saying goodnight to her.
Although undoubtedly she would have expected him to come to her room later to make love to her before saying goodnight again, he had merely climbed into his own bed and gone to sleep.
Ever since she had come downstairs this morning she had been trying to inveigle him into being alone with her and he was quite certain that she was going to ask him what was wrong.
But adroitly he had avoided a tête à tête or even a low voiced conversation, which was what she was seeking.
He knew now from the expression in her eyes and the hard note in her voice that she was growing increasingly angry.
However, there was nothing more she could say at the moment and the Marquis calmly moved away.
After looking to see that all the riders were at the starting point, their horses facing in the right direction, he took his own place in the line and then raised his hand to the starter.
The flag went down and they were off.
Indira was careful not to rush the first two fences and to keep Meteor firmly under control.
The jumps were easy. Even so, there was one fall and another horse refused, which put those following out of their stride.
Then, as they jumped the fourth fence, Lady Sinclair shot ahead and sailed over it in a manner which made it quite obvious that she was now straining every nerve to win the race.
The Marquis thought with satisfaction that once the ten ladies were out of the way, it would make the going very much easier for the men, who would certainly require no distractions if they were to survive the very high fences he had erected over the rest of the course.
He himself always enjoyed a challenge and, although he was aware that he had an advantage in that his horses were superb and he had had the opportunity of practising over this particular course during the past month, he knew too that he had some stiff competition to face.
This was provided by riders who had come not only from Hampshire but from several adjacent Counties merely because they wished to compete against him.
They would do everything in their power to prove their horses superior and their riding as good as his, if not better.
The Marquis thought with satisfaction that if he did win, it would not be an easy victory and he and Thunderer would both have to prove themselves exceptional to keep the Ardsley Cup at The Hall.
He settled down to ride with his usual expertise, which made him seem part of the horse and he knew as he did so that Thunderer was enjoying himself as much as he was, while the other riders were straining and urging their mounts at the first all-male fence.
It was high and certainly formidable, but without exception each horse swept over it, landing without mishap to go on to the next jump.
It was after they had jumped the third fence that the Marquis glanced to his left and thought that he must be mistaken.
Then he saw to his astonishment that while the other nine ladies had obeyed his instructions and left the course where he had told them to do so, Indira was still riding with the men and was a little ahead of the field.
‘Why the hell could she not have done as she was told?’ the Marquis asked himself angrily.
Then, as he took the next fence with perfect timing and realised that she had done the same, he thought with a twist of his lips how angry Rosie Sinclair would be and that no other woman he knew would have dared to jump this part of the course as he had laid it out.
Then, as he jumped the next fence, he heard just behind him a horse fall and he had a sudden fear that Indira might fall too.
She looked so frail and so graceful mounted on Meteor that he could not bear to think of her being thrown to the ground and perhaps injured.
He wondered if he could reach her and order her to pull out of the race, then knew it would be impossible and there was nothing he could do but ride on and hope that by some miracle she would survive.
The next two fences were particularly difficult and, as one rider after another cl
eared them, the Marquis felt even as Thunderer leapt over them that he was willing Indira to clear them too.
Now the field was thinning out considerably. At the same time riderless horses, which were always a danger, had struggled to their feet and were galloping on regardless of the fact that there was no one on their backs.
One of them crossed in front of a rider and he let out a stream of oaths before his horse stumbled on landing and threw him over its head.
When there were only two fences left, the Marquis was aware that there were five riders clear of the rest.
Indira was level with Thunderer and only about two lengths behind were Charles, Jimmy and Lord Neville.
As Lord Neville was on one of the Marquis’s finest horses, it was not surprising that he was one of the leaders.
The Marquis knew that, although he was a good rider, he was not exceptional and at the next fence, a very difficult one, he lost nearly a length.
After the last fence the Marquis had arranged that there was a long stretch of flat ground before the winning post and it was on this run-in that he knew the best horses would show both their stamina and their speed.
Somehow it was not a surprise when he found himself racing neck-and-neck with Indira.
It was what he might have expected, he thought, and yet he had never envisaged that his closest competitor for the trophy he had won four years in succession would be a woman.
It was then that he realised what was giving Indira her advantage. Thunderer was indeed a slightly better horse than Meteor, but he was also carrying a far greater weight.
As they started to race over the flat ground, the Marquis knew unmistakably that this year he had met his match and he would not win the cup as he had so confidently expected.
Then as the winning post came in sight, he was aware, to his surprise, that he was gaining and Thunderer was now a few inches ahead of Meteor.
For a moment he thought he must be mistaken, but when he looked again he knew it was the truth.
She was not urging her horse on, as anybody would have expected, but instead was using all her strength to hold him back.
Riding to the Moon Page 10