She saw that the Earl did not understand and explained,
“The groom, who was riding the stallion, was attending to a trapped rabbit in the woods. The horse was left unattended and Tony, who happened to be walking by, jumped onto its back and rode off, taking all the high jumps as he did so.”
She paused and, after what seemed to her a long silence, the Earl said,
“Is that the sort of behaviour I can expect from my relatives?”
“Tony will make his apologies,” Olivia replied, “and please accept mine. But it has been a very boring time for him waiting to see you to ask if he can go on helping to exercise the horses as he has always done in the past.”
“I have grooms to do that!” the Earl declared coldly.
Olivia looked at him in consternation.
“Do you mean that you will not allow us in futu
