To Win a Viscount (Daughters of Amhurst) Read Online Free Page A

stealing his mare, I am borrowing it—to bring prestige and recognition to his house. My house. I am a fully competent rider, I assure you. Ask any of your hands. They can vouch for the truthfulness of my assertion and the consistency of my practice. They know me well.”
    Edmund crossed his arms in front of his chest to prevent his hand from touching one of her glossy curls. “I rely more on my opinion and not those who are easily swayed by the promise of coin.”
    “I did not purchase anyone’s loyalty.” Her fingers tightened around the rim of her hat. “And I shall prove it.”

Chapter Two
    Albina spun on her heel, stalking out of the mare’s stall and away from the pair of cerulean-blue eyes she was certain were boring into her back. If proving her skill to the ginger-haired groom with the dimpled chin meant a saddle on top of a horse and leather between her legs, she would gladly oblige.
    “And how do you intend to prove your claim, let alone your competence? My staff have not yet returned from the pasture.” He followed, his footsteps heavy and sure on the dirt floor.
    “By riding a horse.” Goodness. She would have thought the solution an obvious one.
    “In…in your present attire?”
    Albina stilled, glancing down at her thinning masculine garments. The pair of gentleman’s breeches had grown tight over the last few years as her hips had widened, but they were still suitable and more than adequate for the style of riding she enjoyed best.
    “You can’t very well expect me to ride astride in anything else.” She glanced down the stalls and made her way to the familiar backside of the trusted bay mare she usually requested for her morning rides.
    “Well, no, I don’t expect I would—were I to allow you to ride astride.”
    “Then it is a good thing I do not require your permission.”
    He snatched the tail of her jacket, the wool pulling taut against her chest. She took a step back to steady herself and swiveled her head to shoot him her best indignant glare. “I beg your pardon, sir.”
    “Nothing happens in this barn without my permission.” He stared at her with the full authority granted his position—an authority she had grossly underestimated.
    Albina cleared her throat. “I am the earl’s guest.”
    “Which is precisely why you cannot ride a horse astride. It is not decent for any woman. Let alone one connected to the earl.”
    “And yet I have been doing so for longer than you have been head groom.”
    He maintained his grip on the coarse fibers of her old jacket and narrowed his eyes. “You have not ridden astride while I have been at Plumburn.”
    “No,” she said slowly. “Only because I have not yet had the opportunity.” With a deft twist, she tugged her jacket out of his hand and took a step forward—only to have a wide palm bear down on her shoulder.
    The man was far too intimate for his position. She had never been so manhandled, so…affected by a man’s touch. Why, her flesh prickled beneath his hand. Most likely because the morning was still new, and the air damp. She was reacting to the chill—and not the overbearing grip of some manservant and his appealing musky and oiled-leather scent.
    “I am afraid that particular opportunity to ride astride has once again eluded you.”
    “Oh? And how do you propose to confirm the sincerity of my claim?” She lowered her shoulder, sloughing off his hand and once again making her way toward the mare.
    “By watching you ride—with the proper saddle and attire.”
    “Excellent, as this attire is befitting a jockey.” She entered the stall and stepped alongside the horse.
    He followed not two steps behind, his tall, lean frame darkening the entrance of the stall. “Were you a man, as your clothing suggests, I would not argue your logic.”
    “I need not be a man for you to allow me the opportunity to prove myself worthy of the position I seek to claim.”
    Albina settled her hat on a hook and lifted a set of leather