“How elegant you look, my darling,” her mother exclaimed. “I am sure if Lord Westbridge should see you, he would fall instantly in love.”
It disturbed Louisa to realise that Lord Westbridge was never far from her parents’ thoughts. It was as though they had decided already that she was to marry a man she had never met.
Blake appeared at the front door with Firefly. He held another horse and was dressed for riding.
“Blake will go with you,” her mother said.
“Oh, no!” Louisa exclaimed involuntarily. She did not want to be alone with Blake until she had recovered her poise.
She managed a merry laugh.
“There is no need, Mama. I have always ridden alone. What danger can there be when everyone here is my friend?”
“But if you were to fall,” Lady Hatton protested. “Blake felt –”
“Blake fel
