Lady Eve's Indiscretion by Grace Burrowes

that got you to take up the reins when, for seven years, everything your entire family has done in that direction has been unavailing, hmm?”
    ***
    Gayle was going to be a superb duke. He had a kind of quiet perspicacity about him that fit well with the obligations of both an exalted title and being head of a large family. But he hadn’t yet learned to hide from his eyes the hurt and puzzlement Eve saw virtually every time she caught her brother regarding her.
    â€œI’m not sure what Deene did.” She rose from the sofa, and being a good brother, Gayle allowed her space by remaining seated. “I suppose it was what he didn’t do.”
    â€œI should also like to not do it, then, whatever it was, as would Louisa, Jenny, and—I regret to inform you—Her Grace.”
    â€œMerciful heavens.”
    He did rise, but ambled over to the piano bench, sat, closed the cover, and rested an elbow on it. “It’s just a ride in the park, Evie. If you want my advice, go on as if it didn’t happen.”
    â€œStare them down. One of Her Grace’s favorite tactics.”
    She settled beside him on the piano bench, realizing that she wanted to talk to somebody about this outing with Deene.
    â€œHe simply put the reins in my hands and jumped out of the vehicle before the horses had even come to a halt.” Recalling the moment brought a frisson of anxiety to her middle but also a sense of blooming wonder.
    â€œHe assumed you were capable of handling a team, which you are.”
    Gayle was frowning, as if he, too, were puzzled.
    â€œI am not.” She got to her feet. “I was not.” Again he let her wander the room while he watched her out of curious green eyes. Deene shared Westhaven’s build—tall, a shade more muscular than lanky—but Westhaven had hair of a dark chestnut in contrast to Deene’s blond, blue-eyed good looks.
    â€œI assumed I wasn’t capable,” she eventually clarified. “He proved me wrong, and I have never been happier to be wrong, it’s just… why him?”
    â€œDoes it matter? You enjoyed an outing and learned something wonderful about yourself.”
    As usual, the man’s logic was unassailable.
    â€œThey’re a lovely team, his geldings. Marquis and Duke. His stud colt is King William.” She felt sheepish recounting these details, almost as if she were confessing to Deene taking her hand or kissing her cheek.
    â€œI’ve met His Highness, and if he’s brought along properly, I agree with Deene he’s a one-in-a-million horse. St. Just was quite taken with him as well.”
    â€œDevlin is taken with anything sporting a mane and a tail.”
    And then, with breathtaking precision, Westhaven made his point. “You were once too.”
    Rotten man. Rotten, honest, brilliant, brave man. How did Anna stand being married to such a fellow?
    Eve sank onto the settee but did not meet her brother’s gaze for some time. His four little true words were underscoring something Eve had long since stopped allowing herself to acknowledge: by eschewing her passion for all things equestrian, she’d firmly closed an unfortunate chapter of her life and minimized the possibility of any more severe injuries to her person.
    She’d also given up one of her greatest joys and told herself it was for the best.
    â€œI made a small misstep in my enthusiasm to take the reins,” she said.
    Gayle waited. He was an infernally patient man.
    â€œI did not want to be in Deene’s debt, so I agreed to assist him in separating the sheep and goats among the Season’s offerings on the marriage market. He has no sisters…” She fell silent rather than further justify her actions. She wasn’t sure they could be justified, except on the odd abacus that had taken up residence between her and the Marquis of Deene.
    â€œI’m sure he’ll appreciate your aid in this regard,