Lady Lavinia's Match. Mary Nichols

one each side of her, they set off for Hyde Park.

      The crowds were so thick they found it difficult to do make their way at all; the Ride, when they turned into it, was no better. It was thronged with riders, from men on spirited thoroughbreds, and ladies dressed in the latest frogged habits and plumed hats, right down to toddlers on tiny ponies. They certainly could not trot or canter, which is what Lavinia wanted to do. And the carriage way was even more packed with vehicles of every description: lumbering old-fashioned coaches, barouches, landaus, tilburys, phaetons and curricles. It seemed everyone in town was determined to see and be seen.

      ‘Where have they all come from?’ Lavinia asked. ‘I never saw so many people out and about.’

      ‘Oh, I expect it is the presence of the Queen in town,’ James said, forgetting his intention to remain in the background.

      ‘Well, whatever it is, it has quite spoiled my ride,’ Lavinia said. ‘Do you think it will be like this all summer long?’

      ‘Undoubtedly it will, at least until after the coronation,’ Edmund put in. ‘Perhaps we should arrange a day in the country to get away from it all.’

      ‘What a splendid idea! I shall put it to Stepmama as soon as we return.’

      ‘In the meantime, do you think Green Park will be less crowded?’

      ‘Let’s go and see,’ she said, turning her horse towards the nearest exit which happened to be Hyde Park Gate. It took no time at all to cross the road and enter Green Park which was, as Edmund had predicted, far less crowded. The park was more informal than Hyde Park, with areas of grass on which cows grazed, little copses of trees and winding paths.

      ‘Oh, this is better,’ Lavinia said, throwing back her head so that the plume on her hat tickled her cheek. She lifted a gloved hand to brush it away. ‘But I really think if one wants to ride properly, it will have to be very early in the morning. To have a good gallop one needs space, do you not agree, Lord Wincote?’

      ‘Now, Vinny,’ James murmured. He did not want Wincote reminded that he had met Lavinia out with him at what polite society would consider an unholy hour. As far as he was aware nothing had been noised abroad and he supposed Wincote had decided it would not do to sully the reputation of the young lady on whom he had fixed his attention. But he did not want Wincote to conclude that Lavinia was ready to meet anyone who took her fancy at that early hour.

      Although she had had three years’ schooling in the ways of the haut monde, she was not always aware of the consequences of flouting convention. For James, it was part of her charm and he loved to indulge her, but that did not mean he would sit back and allow her to meet Wincote, or any other young buck, before breakfast.

      ‘Indeed, yes, my lady,’ Lord Wincote said. ‘But in London, space is at a premium, especially this summer. Now, up in Cumberland, on our estate near Windermere, it is mostly heathland—’

      ‘I thought it was for the most part water,’ James put in, mischievously. ‘I do not know about you, but I for one cannot ride on water.’

      ‘James, do not tease,’ Lavinia said, then, turning to Lord Wincote, ‘Take no note of him, my lord, he is in a very strange mood. Tell me about your estate. What is it called? How many acres does it cover?’

      ‘The house is called Ridgemere, but I am not at all sure of the exact acreage. It used to cover several miles in all directions, but my grandfather reduced the holding before he died. I think there might still be five hundred acres.’

      ‘Heathland?’ James queried.

      ‘Three-quarters of it is. It supports a prodigious number of sheep. And below ground there are mines.’

      ‘You own the mining rights?’ James queried.

      ‘Yes.’ Forestalling more questions, he turned from James to Lavinia. ‘One may gallop for miles and hardly meet a soul. I should like you to see it.’

      ‘Perhaps one day I shall,’ she said. ‘But until then, I must make what I can of the space available.’ And with that she dug her spur into Misty’s flank and galloped off across the grass. ‘Race you to that group of trees,’ she shouted behind her and then crouched over her mount and concentrated on riding.

      It was a moment or two before the men gathered themselves to follow her and it was James, more used to her ways, who was first off the mark. She could hear the hooves of his stallion behind her and laughed at the sheer exhilaration of it. Not that she could win, she knew she could not. James had the swifter horse and she was handicapped by having to ride side saddle. He overtook her easily and Edmund was drawing abreast as they reached the trees and pulled up.

      ‘You would not have done that if we had been at Risley,’ she said, dismounting to rest her horse. ‘I would have been riding astride and given you a run for your money.’

      ‘Hoyden!’ James laughed as he slid from his horse, followed by Edmund. ‘I will put that to the test next time we are there.’

      ‘Done!’

      ‘I am sure I could not take advantage of a lady by beating her,’ Edmund said pompously.

      ‘Fustian!’ she said.

      ‘Tell you what, Wincote,’ James put in. ‘If you are so averse to riding against a lady, why not pit yourself against your own sex? Join us on Hampstead Heath in a fortnight’s time for some racing. Nothing formal, just a few friends competing against each other for ha’pennies.’

      ‘Very well. I shall be honoured.’

      ‘Oh, good,’ Lavinia said. ‘We shall organise that day in the country we talked of. The ladies can come and watch. Or,’ she added with a chuckle, ‘we could hold our own events.’

      James sighed. It was just like Lavinia to take what was to have been a purely masculine occasion and turn it into a big event, but she was in such a good humour, her apparent annoyance over his presence dispelled, that he could not remonstrate with her. Lavinia at her sunniest was irresistible.