Page 57 of Betting on a Duke
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was theday of the 2000 Guineas Stakes, and Samuel was pacing outside Zeus’s stall at one of several stables at the Newmarket Racecourse, with a knot in his stomach the size of London. He hadn’t seen Clarice since he’d returned her to the Red Lion Inn after dinner with the baron and baroness.
Also the night he’d found out about having a son.
Something he could not allow himself to dwell on today, as it was race day and he needed to focus on one thing only: Getting Zeus to the starting gate and running the Rowley Mile.
At the end of this row of stalls was Ramsbury’s horse, Thunder, which was being watched over by his trainer. Since this was Samuel’s first race with Zeus, he didn’t trust anyone else to stay with him. Once Tobias mounted Zeus and Albert, his trainer, led them to the starting line, Samuel would hurry to find Clarice, and hopefully watch his thoroughbred win—or at least show.
“Your Grace,” Tobias said as he entered the stables and approached him. “It’s time.”
“Relax, Your Grace,” Albert said, having arrived with Tobias. “We will take it from here. Tobias is ready, and Zeus has been trained for this day.”
He heard their words and knew they were true, but Samuel still found it hard to leave Zeus. Did all owners feel this way? The three ofthem had spoken earlier in the day, so there was nothing more for Samuel to do or say. “Take care of Zeus,” Samuel said as he walked away from the stables, stepped into the filtered sunshine, and inhaled the fresh air. He paused to brush dust and hay particles off his black jacket and trousers. When he started toward the course, he had to weave around spectators on horseback and in both open and closed carriages as they searched for a spot to watch the race. Not to mention all the people walking around. He wondered if he would ever find Clarice in this crowd.
Just when he was about to give up hope of ever finding them, he heard Greyson yell, “Stanton, over here!” Greyson was standing up in an open barouche with Lady Rutherford, Lady Aurora, and Lady Anastasia. Hunter was in another barouche parked beside theirs with Clarice, who waved enthusiastically.
He sighed with relief upon seeing Clarice happy. The tension in his shoulders relaxed, and the nerves plaguing him earlier turned into excitement as he headed toward his friends.
“How are you faring?” Greyson asked.
“Better now than I was,” he replied as he climbed into the carriage with Clarice and Hunter, taking the seat beside Clarice and immediately holding her hand. He took his timepiece out of his jacket pocket and set it on the seat next to him.
“It’s going to be a great race. Zeus will do well. He had good times during practice runs on the course,” Greyson shouted to be heard over the ever-growing and overly passionate crowd.
Samuel removed his black top hat, ran his hands through his hair, and placed it back on his head. The brim would help block the sun’s glare when the race started. His eyes fixed on the wide, flat grass racecourse. In less than thirty minutes, Zeus would either win or lose this race. Since the stables were near the finish line, the spot Samuel needed to be, Hunter and Greyson had found the perfect place to watch the race’s end. Looking down the straightaway, he could see the “Dip” in the distance. During the trials, Zeus handled the dip well.
“Here they come,” Hunter said, pulling him out of his introspection.
And they were coming, but not yet racing. The horses were being led by their jockeys and trainers down the track, a mile away from the starting line.
“Samuel,” Clarice squeezed his hand. “Your silks stand out. The yellow stripes were a perfect choice.”
She spoke the truth. Tobias was easy to identify.
“I can’t believe I never thought to ask about your silks,” Greyson bellowed from his carriage. “You did well with the design and colors.”
“Yes, you did,” Hunter said in agreement.
Samuel struggled to contain his excitement now that he saw Zeus heading to the starting line. It made everything feel real for the first time. He had known the race was coming up, but it had seemed like a dream. It had been hard to think it would all actually come to fruition.
“How are you doing?” Clarice’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
“Better, now that the race is here and you’re by my side.”
“Me too,” she said as she looked at him and smiled. “All I could think about was you the past two days.” She lowered her voice so Hunter couldn’t hear. “I should never have burdened you with our conversation the other night, knowing how much strain you were under because of the race. I should have waited. And this morning, I tried to imagine what you were going through. The anxiety, the excitement, the nerves. Time couldn’t go by fast enough so I could be with you.”
He raised her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I’m glad you told me, so we can share the pain and loss together.” He grinned and winked, burying the ache inside for today. “I want to pull you into my arms and kiss you, but this will have to do.”
Hunter heard his last comment and chuckled as he sat across from them. Samuel ignored him while he picked up his timepiece. His eyeswidened, his stomach dropped, and his heart pounded even harder than before. “The race has begun.”
He stood up on trembling legs, and his friends did the same, all straining their necks to see down the track. Samuel heard the thunder and felt the vibrations of the horses running long before he could see them. When they finally came into view, it was so fast—happening quickly—that everything was a blur of horses and colors. Samuel’s eyes fixed on Tobias. He was neck and neck with two other horses, one of which he recognized as Ramsbury’s horse.
Screaming and cheering nearly deafened him as the horses reached the finish line. Having no idea who won, he jumped down from the carriage and held out his hand for Clarice. “Come. We need to hurry to the finish line.”
As they quickly weaved through the crowd, spilling onto the track, they reached Tobias, who yelled over the crowd, “We won! We won!”
Samuel turned to Clarice, lifted her up, and spun her around while shouting, “We won! We won!”
