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Ben’s eyes widened a little before he burst into laughter. He cupped his forehead in one hand and slid down in his seat. Even Ferox looked over his shoulder at his feeder and whinnied.
Ben shook off his glee and smiled at me. “A brilliant idea. And then I should have it reviewed by Lady Trent’s club.”
I grinned. “I’ll be sure to give it the rating it deserves.”
He grinned. “That would be a low rating indeed, but if you look ahead and to our left, I may be able to bribe you into a better one.”
I craned my neck and beheld a short driveway lined on either side with hundred-foot sycamore trees. The smooth and white branches stretched over the gravel drive and nearly to the elegant whitewashed two-floor manor house at the end. A large stable and green horse pastures surrounded the idyllic home. There was even a garden and chicken coop, and I glimpsed a vineyard behind the house where people were thinning the ripening crop of tasty red grapes.
“Wow,” I breathed as I plopped back into my seat. “That’s really pretty.”
“And filled with a great many prizes from one of my great-great-great uncles,” he mused as we traveled through the arena and out into the stall area. The crowds were still large, but they lingered about in a sort of puzzlement about what to do next. “He was an avid sailor and owned his own ship. Many of the treasures in the halls of the villa are from his voyages.”
I smiled up at him. “Then I can’t wait to see the inside, especially if it’s as pretty as the outside.”
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
We leftthe busy March and turned onto the driveway. The scent of freshly cut grass filled my nostrils and the shade from the green sycamore leaves cast an appreciated coolness over us. Ferox soon drew us into the large yard in front of the house and parked us near the door.
Ben was just helping me down when a man strolled out of the large stables some fifty yards away. He wore dirty coveralls and heavy boots, and a large-brimmed straw hat covered his head. The man appeared to be about fifty, and behind him came a lad of ten who was a miniature version of himself down to the poop on the front of his coveralls.
“Good afternoon, Your Excellency!” the man shouted.
Ben turned and his face brightened. “Good afternoon, Lambert! You seem to have an eager companion with you this fine day.”
Lambert couldn’t help but puff out his chest a little as he stopped a few feet from us. “It’s my grandson, sir. You remember David.”
Ben’s eyes widened. “Not the little stick that used to run about the stable yard!”
David grinned. “I’m not a little stick anymore, sir! See?” He drew up one sleeve and flexed his arm to show a tiny bump of muscle. “I got that from helping Papa this morning.”
Ben smiled down at the young lad. “I’m sure you make your family proud of your efforts on the estate.”
“You said you were coming down to check out the books,” Lambert spoke up as he eyed me. “But you seem to have brought a pretty guest. Is this the miss I’ve been hearing about?”
Ben lifted an eyebrow. “Hearing from who?”
“From the papers!” David spoke up. “Grandma likes to read the gossip columns, so she’s read all about you and Miss Lucas!”
I snorted. “I didn’t know I was that famous.”
“Fame is fleeting,” Ben teased me with a wink of his eyes.
“Why don’t you go tell your grandmother that His Excellency is here,” Lambert suggested as he gave the lad a push.
“Alright!” David shouted before he zoomed off into the house.
Lambert smiled at his retreating grandson. “I hope you don’t mind his helping me out, Your Excellency.”
Ben gave him a severe look. “I don’t mind that, but the title you keep using is a little too formal, especially considering you’ve known me since I was in diapers.”
Lambert chuckled. “It was just in front of the boy, Ben. I need to teach him to respect you first before you become friends.”
Ben grinned. “I look forward to the day when I can tell him stories of his own diaper years, but-” A snort from Ferox reminded all of us that the horse had been promised grain upon our arrival.
Lambert eyed Ferox with an appreciative look. “I see you still have this beautiful demon. He hasn’t trampled you out of orneriness?”
“Not for lack of trying, especially when he’s late for his afternoon grain,” Ben told him.
