Page 69 of A Single Obsession

“I spoke to the constable first thing, but he wasn’t hopeful, I’m afraid. There’s little these fellows can do. We must send for a Bow Street Runner.”

“I appreciate that,” said Beau, “but I’m not sure there’s much they can do either. I suspect Romeo’s well on the way to Ireland already. They couldn’t race him over here. He’s too recognisable.”

“What puzzles me is why they only took the one horse.”

“I expect they were disturbed before they could take any others,” Lady Harting said calmly, as if the reason was obvious.

“Yes, but it is as if they knew the racehorse was here, and he’s only just arrived. The thieves must have tracked him from Newmarket, though why they didn’t make a grab for him on the road rather than attack my stables beats me.”

Her ladyship screwed up her face in distaste, expressing her disapproval both of the subject and of her husband for pursuing it.

His stepfather seemed not to have noticed and was about to continue when the door opened, and Eliza entered.

To Beau’s surprise, she came straight toward him, holding out her arms. He raised his own in response, and she took his hands and gave them a sympathetic squeeze before taking her seat.

“I’m so, so sorry to hear about Romeo.”

“Thank you,” he said, sitting down beside her.

Eliza spoke little during breakfast, but then, she rarely did. She always seemed to clam up in company, especially when his mother was present.

It was peaceful. He liked it that way. Now and then, their eyes met, and she shot him a small, reassuring smile.

Beau took this as a good sign. “I want to apologise—”

He broke off, unable to say more. Not here.

“Walk with me? In the rose garden, after breakfast.”

She gave a brief nod of assent.

Now he had set things in motion, he wished breakfast would last forever, as all his old fears of inadequacy came tumbling in on him. His palms grew sweaty at the thought of what he was about to do.

Would he make a lousy husband? Would Eliza even want to marry him? How would she react if she ever found out about the bet and how he’d tried to escape marriage?

He feared that if she did, she would never believe he loved her and was marrying her because he wanted to, and not just to save his horses.

When he could delay no longer, he stood up from the table. As he exited the room, he caught a satisfied smile on his mother’s face out of the corner of his eye. He found her approval unnerving, but he brushed it aside and headed for the garden with Eliza.

The roses were in full bloom, filling the air with a heady scent, but the effect was lost on Beau. He was almost choking with nervousness.

Away from the watchful eyes of the others, Eliza was a different person. “Your poor horse,” she said, slipping her arm through his. “If only you had got there sooner, you might have been able to stop them. Is there nothing you can do to find him?”

Beau shrugged. “Harting is doing all he can. He’s upset someone broke into his stables and can’t understand why they stole none of his animals, but if the horse thieves knew what they were doing—as they must have done to nab Romeo—it’s no great surprise. I wouldn’t want any of his horses if you gave them to me. Strange they didn’t pinch your mare, or Jet, though. Even stranger not to help themselves to my bays. They would have fetched a pretty penny and would be far harder to trace than Romeo.”

Together, they walked along the rose-covered walkway.

“I’m sorry about last night,” he said, staring at the ground.

Eliza didn’t respond.

When he risked a look at her face, he saw she was biting her lip, gazing up at him with big, questioning eyes, a furrow upon her brow. He stared into the pale blue pools of mystery that seemed to see right into his soul.

She looked so sad, so vulnerable, that he wanted to sweep her into his arms and kiss her and tell her everything was going to be all right.

“Please say you forgive me.”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” she said, looking away.