As they pulled in their horses after galloping over the field, the Earl looked at Gina with a twinkle in his eyes.
“I need not have worried about you being a good rider,” he said. “In fact I am astonished at how good you are.”
“You are making it sound rather uncomplimentary,” Gina said, “but I must admit, I have never before ridden such a marvellous horse as this.”
“That is something I wanted to hear you say,” the Earl replied.
He looked as he spoke to where Alice was talking animatedly with Sir Charles Carstairs.
Then, as if they wanted to be on their own, they moved off side-by-side and went into the wood, which was on the edge of the flat piece of land where they had been galloping.
Gina had not been surprised when she and Alice had come downstairs to go riding with the Earl to fi
