Barely a Bride (Free Fellows League 1)

“But I always tack up my mount at home,” Alyssa argued.

“That’s the country, miss. This is London, and the rules are different.” Abrams paused. “As you well know. Besides, Joshua isn’t in his stall, and you weren’t tacking him up with a fork and a muck bucket.” He allowed himself a knowing grin.

“I intended to ride,” Alyssa bluffed. “But Joshua was gone. And as his stall needed cleaning, I thought I’d lend the stable boys a hand with their chores.”

“I beg to differ, miss, because I know you weren’t going to ride alone,” Abrams countered. “Or leave the house dressed like that.”

“Who would notice what I wear at this time of morning?” she challenged.

“The gentlemen riding along the Row would certainly notice,” Abrams replied. “Your father among them.”

“My father wouldn’t notice if I paraded down the Row dressed as Lady Godiva.” Alyssa winced. The truth hurt. But Abrams had been in service to the Carrollton family for more years than she had been alive, and there was no point in dissembling or pretending. The truth was that Alyssa doubted her father would recognize her, much less notice her clothing. He had little regard or time for human females. His attention was tuned to the breeding mares in his stables and the bitches in his kennels. Although he appeared to be quite fond of his wife, the Earl of Tressingham barely acknowledged Alyssa, her three older sisters, or their growing families. Not one of his four daughters commanded the attention he devoted to his horses and hounds. With the exception of his wife, females needed hooves or paws to claim Johnny Tressingham’s attention, and Alyssa had neither.

Abrams cleared his throat. “But others would. So I’d say that it’s a lucky thing that I removed temptation from your path by instructing young Ellis to take Joshua and accompany Lord Tressingham on his jaunt through the park, thereby saving you and Lady Tressingham a heap of embarrassment.” He lifted the muck bucket out of Alyssa’s grasp and hefted the contents onto a wooden cart. “Now, if I could only do that with the stalls.”

Alyssa shot him a look of wide-eyed innocence.

He shook his head. “I’m on to you, miss.”

“On to me?”

Abrams nodded. “You didn’t come here to ride. You came here to gather Joshua’s leavings to use in the gardens.”

“Well, how else am I going to get it?” she demanded.

“I can’t answer that, miss.”

“Mother forbade the gardeners’ helpers from collecting it from the stables for me, and she forbade the grooms from delivering it to the greenhouse.” Alyssa heaved a sigh of frustration. “She knows I need fertilizer for the garden.”

Abrams clucked his tongue. “That may be true, miss, but you can’t be in here collecting it.”

“I’m the only one left who can,” Alyssa answered. “She’s forbidden everyone else.”

“She’s forbidden you as well,” Abrams reminded her. “Your mother ordered us to keep you out of the stables so long as we’re in London.”

“What am I supposed to do if I’m invited to go riding?” Alyssa asked.

“You send word to the stables to have your mount saddled and a groom ready to accompany you at whatever time you wish to depart.” Abrams winked at her. “And none of this crack of dawn stuff…”

Alyssa frowned.

The head groom continued. “The early morning hours along Rotten Row are reserved for the gentlemen. Ladies ride the Mile at a more sedate pace and at a later hour.”

“Why should I have to wait until ten o’clock in the morning to ride when I’m accustomed to riding at daybreak?” Alyssa demanded.

“Because you’re a young lady, miss, and only the gentlemen ride at that time of morning.”

“Joshua will be kicking down his stall long before ten o’clock in the morning.”

“I’ll see that young Ellis attends to Joshua’s exercise before you ride him,” Abrams told her.

Other than digging in the garden and puttering around in the kitchen, exercising Joshua at the break of dawn when most of the world was still asleep was the thing Alyssa loved best. “I don’t want young Ellis attending to Joshua’s exercise. I don’t want anyone attending to Joshua’s exercise or to his keeping except me,” Alyssa complained.

“I understand, miss,” Abrams said, “but rules are rules. And a young lady from a fine family must protect her reputation. Riding with the gentlemen during the early morning hours is a surefire way of endangering it.”

“So, I’m to be denied the pleasure of riding.”

“Not necessarily.” Abrams eyed her disreputable habit. “But if you ride, you’re to be properly outfitted, properly seated, and accompanied by a groom.”