Hugh watched in horror as his horse reared back, its hooves slashing at the air above where they stood. Before he could even act, Lady Julianna had turned toward the horse, whether it was out of shock or fear he could not say.

He wanted to cry out for her to stay away but he dared not upset the horse further. Moving slowly, he hoped to pull the young lady away swiftly and carefully before she got hurt. As he got closer though he realized that she was talking softly to the horse. Just at the point that he was sure she would be injured the horse's front legs settled back to the ground. Its ears still flicked back with its eyes wide.

"Shush, now. All right now, there you go," she was saying in a soft, soothing voice.

Hugh stopped dead in his tracks as he saw her pluck the reins deftly from where they hung across the saddle and gently tie them to a cross piece on the fence.

"There now. All better," she stroked the beast on the shoulder the tension visibly leaving it until eventually the horse calmly stood looking down at its dark-haired tamer.

“Well, that was exciting." She turned around and said with a smile.

"Exciting?" he asked, much too loudly. Hugh had no idea why but he was suddenly furious with her. "What do you think you were doing? You could have been killed!"

Unbelievably, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "Perhaps, but the horse was scared and my only thought was to calm him down. I suppose I acted out of instinct."

“Your only thought was to calm the horse,” he repeated, not quite believing what she was saying. “You should have been scared to death. Why were you not scared?”

“Oh, horses do not scare me,” she said easily turning back to the large horse. “I ride nearly every morning when I am home at Alverston.”

“You enjoy riding horses?” Hugh realized that he must sound like a complete idiot as he seemed to be repeating everything that she said. It was not often that he met a young lady that was not either scared of horses or thought they were much too untidy, or more so, enjoyed riding beyond the occasional outing at house parties and the like.

“Goodness, Repington, is there something wrong with your hearing?” Sedgwick was leaning against the fence looking delighted at Hugh’s discomfiture.

“Nonsense,” Hugh very nearly shouted. “I was only distracted by the horse being startled.”

“And look at Lady Julianna, she does not look distracted or concerned, does she, Timothy?” Lady Amelia asked, clearly teasing Hugh even though the question was directed at her brother.

“It is all right, Mr Repington,” Julianna remarked. He was about to thank her when she went on. “Not every person can be as comfortable around horses, as I am. It is a gift.”

Sedgwick began to howl with laughter.

"Are ye lads ever going to bring the horses back in or are ye going to let them suffer at the fence all day?"

Sedgwick and Hugh turned away from the fence.

"My apologies, Kirk. It is all my sister's fault."

"It is not!" Lady Amelia exclaimed, sounding so like Hugh's only sister, Henrietta, that he could not help but laugh.

"Oh right, it was Lady Amelia who neglected her horse and then stood there doing nothing as it reared up and try to stomp us all to death," and Lady Julianna said to him lightly. Then turned to him. "Oh, Heavens, I am all mixed up. That was you, was it not, Mr Repington?”

"Yes, I believe it was Mr Repington," Lady Amelia agreed.

Once again, Sedgwick began to laugh and Hugh felt himself begin to scowl again.

"Oh, Mr Repington, do not be so sour," Lady Amelia told him. "We are only teasing you."

"What is the lass talkin' about, Master Timothy?"

Sedgwick grimaced at his sister before turning back to the man standing in the stable door. "Kirk, it was nothing. Juno was startled and when up on his back legs for a moment."

Lady Amelia sniffed at Sedgwick's explanation but said nothing. Kirk, however, was not to be deceived.

"Are ye tellin' me the truth, lad? Yer sister and the lass seem to think it was more than nothin'."

Sedgwick shot his sister a frown, but Hugh had heard enough. "It was indeed my fault. My apologies, Kirk. I left Juno unattended near the fence and when he was startled I was not close enough to settle him."

Kirk made a tsking sound which made the others chuckle and Hugh hoped that his face was not turning red as it often did when he was embarrassed.

"It is not yer fault, Mr Repington. Juno has been known to be nervous and Master Timothy knows that very well." The older man turned to Sedgwick. "Ye should have kept a closer eye on the horse."

"Aw, Kirk, do not be angry with me." Sedgwick began leading his horse into the stable. Hugh nodded at the two ladies before leading a much more placid Juno into the stable.

Sedgwick and Kirk were arguing amiably, something that they did often. Hugh stood in the stable trying not to think about Lady Julianna. While he wanted to be annoyed with her for being so outspoken upon just meeting, he could not help but appreciate her apparent interest and knowledge of horses, as well as her loyalty to Lady Amelia.

The house party was his first event of the Season but he had been quickly reminded that most of the young ladies were interested in little but fashion and the next ball or party. As much as he found Lady Julianna exasperating he was somewhat intrigued by her.

"Repington, I did not get a chance to ask you about it during our ride, but how was your evening with Lady Priscilla?" Sedgwick asked when they had left the stable.

Hugh thought about the young lady with whom he had spent most of his previous evening. "It went rather well. She is quite beautiful and as you might expect, extremely gracious and perfectly comfortable at social events."

"And yet you do not look happy. I thought that Lady Priscilla would be exactly what you were looking for, is she not?"

Hugh knew that Sedgwick was right, he did not feel happy. He was not sure what the problem was, although his relaxing morning ride had done nothing more than cause him to be more anxious. He shook his head. "No, Lady Priscilla is perfect. I believe the problem lies with me."

"With you? Whatever do you mean?"

"I have been locked up by myself for far too long. It seems I have forgotten the normal conventions of today's society."

"Oh?" Sedgwick replied.

"I have been around no one but academics. I was not prepared for the long discussion regarding the latest fashions in London."

"Oh, of course," Sedgwick said giving him a knowing look then stopped to look Hugh over. "Hmmm. Perhaps she was trying to tell you something."

"Perhaps," he answered not really listening until suddenly the other man's word sank in. "Wait. What do you mean by that?"

The other man grimaced slightly. "When we return to London I believe we should visit my tailor."

He looked down at his breeches, he had not followed the current trend of men wearing pantaloons. If he were to court Lady Priscilla and become a fixture in London society he should be dressed for it.

With a sigh, he said, "Yes, I suppose that I should."