“You ride well,” he said drily to Felicity and then turned his horse to look at Atayla and say,
“Surely the child is old enough to ride side-saddle? I disapprove of girls trying to pretend they are boys!”
The way he spoke and the note of rudeness in his voice made Atayla reply sharply,
“It is not a question of pretending, my Lord. I merely thought, as Felicity was riding a horse for the first time, that it was safer for her to ride astride. I also think the pummel on a lady’s saddle would be too big for her.”
“I have already instructed Jackson to buy a pony for her,” the Earl said, “and in future see that she rides side-saddle. I have no use for modern ideas and innovations where women are concerned!”
He did not wait for Atayla to reply, but rode off and she thought that the way he sp
