Page 91 of A Single Obsession

“It’s Romeo! Well, blow me down—Robson looks as if he was born to it.”

“What? Who did you say was riding?”

“Robson—friend of Merry’s who rode in the hunt with us,” Beau said, without taking his eyes off the racetrack.

“Oh. I didn’t realise,” Ant said in a rather strange voice.

“I thought at the time he’d make a great jockey, but I never imagined he would be this good in his first race.”

As they entered the final straight, the two horses were neck and neck.

“Do you see him—sat right on Majesty’s back?”

“Is he fast enough to overtake him?”

“I think so,” said Beau, hardly daring to hope. “We’ll soon know. If Robson can stay on, he’s in with a real chance.”

“Pray to God that he stays on. Cunningham’s jockey might get nasty if he feels threatened.”

Beau was surprised at the earnestness in Ant’s voice. “Don’t worry. I’m praying!”

Half-way down the final straight, Majesty edged ahead again.

“Come on, boy,” Beau yelled. “For Eliza,” he added under his breath.

Robson crouched low over Romeo’s neck and looked as if he was whispering in the horse’s ear. With a sudden spurt of speed, the bay colt sailed past Majesty, winning the race by a clear length.

Beau clapped his friend on the back. “He won!”

Ant exhaled heavily, as though he had been holding his breath for a long time. “Yes. He won.”

Almost skipping for joy at his victory, Beau headed for the paddock. He was free of his mother at last. Now he could prove to Eliza he wasn’t marrying her to get his inheritance. He could make everything right again.

Cunningham walked over to him, shaking his head from side to side as if he could not believe what he had just witnessed.

He extended his arm toward him with obvious reluctance. “Congratulations. You have a real champion there. I take it you’re in no hurry to part with him?”

Beau grasped his rival’s hand and shook it. “Sorry, no—and I’m glad I don’t have to.”

The older gentleman gave a wry smile. “I shall be sad to see Majesty go, but I have other racers coming up behind him. I’ll beat your Romeo yet.”

Beau tilted his head to one side. “You’re welcome to try.”

Cunningham jerked his chin up, as if accepting the challenge, and strode off. Beau couldn’t help thinking the man seemed more frustrated he’d been beaten than that he’d lost a vast sum of money and his prize racehorse.

When they reached the race enclosure, Ant held back, leaving him to approach Romeo on his own. The formalities had been completed, and Finch was leading him through the paddock where crowds of people were gathered round, eager to pat the winning horse and offer their congratulations.

“That was a tremendous run,” Beau said, coming up behind them.

Robson jumped in the saddle as if his voice had startled him. He bent low over the horse’s neck without meeting Beau’s eyes. “Thank you, my lord.”

“Take Romeo away, Finch. I’m staying at the King’s Head, if you could deliver him to me there. And bring Robson too, of course. I want to arrange suitable remuneration for claiming such a splendid victory.”

The groom nodded and continued on his way, but Beau stopped him, moving up to Romeo’s head once more and rubbing noses with his horse. “Well done, my treasure.”

To his surprise, Robson let out a whimper. Beau responded to the noise on instinct, staring up full into the jockey’s face.

For what seemed like an eternity, their gazes locked. He struggled to breathe as he tried to fathom what he saw. It was the first time he’d scrutinised Robson’s features. The man’s pale blue eyes resembled Eliza’s. The nose, the lips, the shape of his face were so similar to those of the woman he loved.