Let Love Find You

by Johanna Lindsey

  “Couldn’t have said it better,” Julie agreed. “Nasty contraptions, sidesaddles.”

  Grateful for her aunt’s support, Amanda continued, “I’m going to take lessons again, of course. If I still don’t like riding after that, then I will feel good about having at least tried. And I’ve been told riding astride is so much easier, which is why I’m having the special skirt made for it. I’ll worry about riding like a lady afterward.”

  “No fussing about this, Preston,” Julie added gruffly. “You know very well I rode with britches under my skirts at Norford. The gel needs to feel comfortable in the saddle. She’s got enough to overcome without adding a precarious seat into the mix. Besides, you know how stubborn she can be when she gets an idea set in her head.”

  Preston sighed. “Then by all means . . .”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “HOW IS CUPID DOING?” Owen asked. “Any more matches we’ll be hearing about soon?”

  Devin took a break from training the two mares he’d decided to sell and joined Lord Culley at the fence, where he’d been waiting for Devin. He’d met the white-haired, old gentleman at the races last year and quite a few times after that. Then Owen came to him last year for a new carriage horse. He had insisted he wanted one of Devin’s fast Thoroughbreds despite Devin’s trying to talk him out of it. Owen had returned the racer a week later. Devin had had a feeling he would, and had already had one of Donald’s geldings brought down from Lancashire waiting for the old gent.

  After that, Owen Culley had got in the habit of stopping by the farm on his trips to and from London. Just for chats. Devin had a feeling the old man was lonely, so he never ignored him or brushed him off on those brief visits, and eventually they’d developed an unlikely friendship.

  “I’m having trouble with my current client,” Devin admitted, though he never mentioned names. “Temperamental chit. Beautiful, but I’m not sure that’s enough to compensate for her hot temper.”

  “’Course it is,” Owen said with a chuckle. “Keep a woman happy, she has no reason to lose her temper.”

  “I suppose, though it’s getting to the happy part that worries me. I can’t think of any man who wouldn’t back off if she turned her temper on him.”

  “Would you?”

  Devin laughed. He liked Owen, but more, he respected him because he wasn’t afraid to admit when he was wrong. Owen had wanted to relive his youth with a fast carriage ride, had insisted he was up to it, but his old bones weren’t. How many other lords would admit defeat like that and laugh about it afterward? With his advanced years, he looked at life differently, so Devin enjoyed their talks.

  “I’m not in the running, so it doesn’t matter if I can handle her or not.”

  “So you can handle her?” Owen guessed. “Well, give the candidates for her heart a little more credit. Love has a way of accepting the good with the bad.”

  Devin wondered why he was suddenly having doubts about Kendall’s ability to withstand one of Amanda’s tantrums. Because he had a feeling she’d be the boss in that relationship and he didn’t think she’d actually like that? Even something so simple as a riding lesson she had to turn into a major catastrophe. But that had actually been his fault. Damned sidesaddles. Heaven forbid a woman actually gripped a horse with her legs the way a horse was supposed to be ridden. Instead a woman had to contort her body in a ridiculous position so she could sit on a horse daintily without showing any leg.

  Owen’s last remark suddenly sank in. Was she already in love with the boy? She was putting herself through what was obviously hell for her, just to win a man who would always pay more attention to his stable than to his wife. Of course she didn’t know that, and it didn’t mean Goswick wouldn’t make a good and loving husband, merely that his wife wouldn’t be his first priority. But if Amanda did end up sharing Goswick’s one and only interest, they could end up being happy as larks. Yet she shouldn’t have to master something she found so daunting just to win a husband. That was what was bothering Devin now, and that he’d set that in motion. But he’d had no idea just how traumatic it was going to be for her. It could still work out, but in the meantime, he shouldn’t close his mind to other possibilities—nor should she.

  He didn’t like having doubts so he tried to put them aside and grinned at Owen. “It’s too bad there isn’t a younger version of you walking around. This minx is going to need patience like—bloody hell, I’m sorry, Owen. I forgot—”

  “Don’t give it another thought. My grandchildren died long ago.”

  The old man smiled to put Devin at ease. While it wouldn’t be the first time he’d noticed a sad expression on Owen’s face—it couldn’t be easy surviving your whole family—today wasn’t one of them.

  “I’ll take a dram of whiskey before I head out, though. For the chill,” Owen added with a grin.

  Devin nodded and opened the gate to walk up to the stable with Owen, but the mention of whiskey reminded him of what shouldn’t have happened in his office that morning. But that and everything else went out of his mind when a bullet struck the dirt at his feet.

  “Good Lord!” Owen exclaimed, as Devin instinctively grabbed the older man’s arm and quickly led him back toward the stable. “Poachers misfiring this close to a farm?”

  Devin blanched as he realized what could have just happened. Owen could have been hit, or Reed. Amelia was in the house now with her mother so she wasn’t endangered, but this could have happened while Amanda had still been here. She could have been shot!

  “Not after I get my hands on him,” Devin snarled, turning and gazing at the woods that bordered the farm. “Let me get you inside the stable, then—”

  “No, go on, these old legs still know how to hurry. I’ll be fine. Find whoever was this careless, before he runs off.”

  Devin nodded and ran back to the fence. He untied his mount and leapt onto it. He debated grabbing a rifle from the stable, but Owen was right. He’d lose the miscreant if he gave him enough time to slip away. Reed raced toward him before he reached the woods, having also heard the shot. Devin directed him to ride north so they could cover more area at once, then glanced back to see some of the workers mounting up, too. They’d find him. . . .

  They didn’t. The woods surrounding his property were thick and a hunter wasn’t likely to have a mount with him. He’d managed to hide or run off quickly. Devin and his men spent most of the afternoon searching for the poacher before Devin tracked down a magistrate and reported the incident. Poachers had never come near his property before. The man had to be an absolute fool to hunt that close to a farm. Just one more thing for Devin to worry about now.

  Actually, before the day was over, he had yet another worry. Now that William was out of danger, Blythe had moved him back to their home. But it would take a couple of weeks for him to recover sufficiently to take over as his sister’s escort, so Devin took her to the party she’d been invited to that night. Like most of the other guests, he couldn’t help but notice when Robert Brigston walked in. Devin hadn’t thought the boy would receive any more invitations after his behavior at the ball the other night. Suddenly he was on everyone’s lips again.

  “Behaved like an arse because he was foxed, is what I heard.”

  “So that’s why he flirted with every skirt in sight? Have a problem with that m’self when I drink too much.”

  “Understandable.”

  “Delighted to hear that’s all it was. My sister’s set her cap for him.”

  “Prime catch once again—what rotten luck.”

  “Enough jealousy, boy, Lord Robert can’t have ’em all. There’ll be plenty of gels left for you to choose from.”

  Devin snorted at the turn the gossip had taken in regard to Brigston. Had the boy turned the tide, or had his father? What a paltry excuse to use to dig Robert out of that scandal he’d created the other night. Yet, apparently, it was working. But Devin wasn’t fooled and would make sure Blythe didn’t get her head turned by Robert Brigston. He was
n’t worried that Amanda might still be susceptible to the boy’s blandishments. According to her, her brother would shoot the lad if he got anywhere near her. If Rafe didn’t, Devin might.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  DEVIN OVERSLEPT, SOMETHING HE rarely ever did. He wasn’t surprised, considering all that had been on his mind when he’d gone to bed after such an eventful day. But the late hour had him racing to the farm. If Amanda was coming for a lesson today, she’d probably be there already. But when he arrived, she wasn’t there and, according to Reed, hadn’t been there earlier. He ought to set up an actual schedule with her if she was coming back for more riding lessons. She might not after that last crack he’d made about her legs—and everything else that had occurred while she’d been at the farm yesterday.

  He definitely hadn’t expected her riding lesson to turn out as it did, with blunder after blunder on his part. What the deuce had made him think that someone who hadn’t ridden in years, and was fearful of doing so, could master an infernal contraption like a sidesaddle? And he’d been out of his depth dealing with fear of that sort—or a slightly foxed duke’s daughter.

  Bloody hell, what had possessed him? Drinking half of that glass of whiskey himself was no excuse. But because of it he now knew how sweet she tasted, how delightful she smelled up close, how damned quickly she could heat his blood. But that was all he was ever going to know about her. She was so far out of his league it was laughable.

  The last time he’d thought that about a woman, he’d shrugged it off. This time he couldn’t. He’d actually tasted forbidden fruit, what he couldn’t have—because of his mother. Because of that bastard who’d ruined her, and him, and had never felt the least bit of remorse for it. So many times Devin had thought about confronting him, but he’d been afraid he wouldn’t be able to control himself long enough to tell the bastard off. He was afraid he might kill him instead because the mere thought of him brought forth such rage.

  When he noticed he’d crushed Amanda’s hat in his hands while sitting at his desk thinking about his father, he threw it across the room. It didn’t go far because the room was so small, but he still winced over what he’d done. She wasn’t whom he was angry at, and he should probably return the little hat to her before he ruined it any further. He owed her an apology anyway for letting things get so out of hand. He might even have to face complaints about his behavior from an angry father.

  So he grabbed up the hat again, stuffed it in his pocket, and headed back to London. He had to pick up an order from his tailor anyway, and he couldn’t do that if he spent all day every day on the farm. A good excuse. He almost laughed at himself when he went straight to the St. John residence.

  It was late morning, an acceptable time to call on any ladies of the house. But the last thing he expected to see was Robert Brigston coming down the steps. The door was closing behind him. Turned away? Or just leaving after a visit? Devin decided to find out and blocked the boy’s path to the curb.

  “Oh, I say, Cupid, ain’t it?” Robert even smiled. “I think you’re the only chap I met the other night who didn’t give me the cold shoulder.”

  “That’s right, we didn’t actually introduce ourselves, did we? I prefer Devin Baldwin to that silly nickname, and what are you doing here, Robert?”

  “Calling on my soon-to-be-wife.”

  “I’m going to assume that’s just wishful thinking on your part. Last I heard, her family was going to shoot you if you got anywhere near her.”

  Robert winced. “I did muck it up pretty badly, didn’t I? But it’s getting turned round nicely now.”

  Devin raised a brow, remembering the gossip he’d heard last night. “Foxed? You and I both know you weren’t the least bit foxed at that ball.”

  Robert shrugged. “My father’s suggestion, and he’s having the word spread through the more vocal gossipmongers. Seems to be working to quiet things down.”

  “But is that what you want now?”

  Robert chuckled. “Ah, yes, I did say a bit more to you than I should have, didn’t I? I was bloody miserable that night. I guess I needed a shoulder to cry on.”

  “So you’re buckling under to your father’s dictates?” Devin guessed.

  “No choice now,” Robert admitted with a sigh. “The old man summoned me home. Didn’t know he was keeping tabs on me, but I should have. Never seen him so furious. He’s going to disown me if I don’t see this through.”

  If Amanda wasn’t involved, Devin could almost pity the young lord. “If she marries someone else, that should let you off the hook.”

  “Right you are, except what’s the chance of that, eh? I can’t not court her now. I have to make the effort. My bloody inheritance depends on it.” Then Robert whispered, “My father’s man is waiting in my coach. He’s got his orders, too, to make sure I start courting the chit proper.”

  “Did they even let you in the house?” Devin asked curiously, nodding at the door behind the boy.

  “Oh, you think she hasn’t heard the new gossip yet that forgives my behavior? Quite possible. But she ain’t here. The butler said she changed residences yesterday afternoon. She’s moved away.”

  Amanda had left town? Devin felt his heart sink. This had to be his fault. But at least that put her out of Robert’s reach, too. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the boy, but he didn’t like the reasons behind his pursuit of Amanda. She deserved better. Brigston might be able to overcome his bad start and actually be allowed to court Amanda. Unfortunately, Devin didn’t think for a moment that she would be able to see through the subterfuge to Brigston’s real motives. No, she was likely to conclude that Robert Brigston would be much preferable to her than riding lessons.

  “Do yourself a favor,” Devin suggested casually. “If you feel you have to go through with this, do it tepidly.”

  “You mean only give the appearance of being in hot pursuit of Lady Amanda, so my father thinks I gave it my best effort?”

  “Exactly.”

  Robert gave that a moment’s thought before he frowned. “But how would that work, when she’s bound to fall in love with me?”

  Devin refrained from laughing. “Perhaps by not sounding quite sincere to her? Or you could seem a little bored with her company? Or you could simply let her know you’ve been ordered to court her.”

  Robert looked appalled. “I can’t risk telling her the truth! That could get back to my father.”

  “Then I repeat, keep it tepid. The girl’s not stupid. If she senses you’re not really interested, then she’s not going to accept a proposal, when you’re not the only prime catch of the Season who she’s met. As long as she leans toward the other, you’ll be safe.”

  “I have competition?” Robert sounded worried, but then Devin noticed a glint of excitement in the boy’s eyes.

  Devin groaned to himself. What the hell had he just done? But Robert hurried off before Devin could say anything more. He still had a hat to return, so he stuffed the little hat in his pocket and decided to pay Amanda’s aunt a visit to find out where she’d run off to.

  The butler led him straight to the parlor.

  Julie St. John glanced up at him from the book she was reading. Her brows snapped together before she lashed, “Do I need to fire my butler? I hope you know you wouldn’t have got your foot in the door, young man, if you’d asked to see Amanda.”

  Devin almost winced. Amanda had spilled the beans obviously. “Yes, I know she’s moved—”

  “That’s not why you would have been turned away. She doesn’t allow her beaus to call on her, hasn’t since last Season, so you might as well wait until you find her at a social. You’ll be turned away at her brother’s door, too.”

  She hadn’t left town? And he wasn’t being called on the carpet by her aunt for his improper behavior with Amanda? Then why did the woman sound as if she’d like to be breathing fire at him?

  He carefully tested the waters, grinning. “Is that so?”

  Her golden brow went up at a shar
p angle. “You find that amusing, do you? Why?”

  “Possibly because I’m not one of her beaus? I’m Devin Baldwin—”

  Julie snorted. “Should have said so. According to my son Rupert, we have you to thank for warning us about that rake sniffing at Mandy’s heels. Rue spoke highly of you—despite your nickname that he finds so amusing.”

  Devin choked back a laugh, her manner was so quarrelsome. “I take it you disapprove of my matchmaking as much as the grand dame Mabel Collicott does?”

  “Mabel! There’s nothing grand about her! That old biddy doesn’t have a lick of sense when it comes to anything. Caught her spreading rumors about my son during his rakehell days that weren’t the least bit true. Have been feuding with her ever since. In fact, if I hadn’t decided to hire you to look after Amanda’s romantic interests this Season, I’d hire you instead to put Mabel Collicott out of business.”

  Devin was incredulous. Yet another member of Amanda’s family was trying to hire him? He couldn’t confess that he was already working for Lady Ophelia when she’d sworn him to secrecy.

  “I will be happy to keep an eye out for good prospects for your niece. You don’t need to hire me to do that.”

  “Nonsense, can’t have you working on our behalf with no compensation. Succeed and you will be pleasantly surprised.”

  Devin gave up trying to talk the lady out of it. She was much too bullish to accept a refusal. He wouldn’t take her money, though. He would leave it to Ophelia to confess the matter if he was successful. And he would be, if Amanda continued her riding lessons, which meant he was going to have to keep their relationship strictly professional henceforth.