Virginia Henley Read Online Free PDF

leather saddle holsters to go with the pistols. Kit winked at his twin as they followed their father out to the stables. “I love surprises.”
    And surprise was what Christopher got when his father presented him with the savage black Thoroughbred stallion. An unpleasant surprise. A bolt of fear akin to lightning shot through him as he stood rooted to the spot, reliving his tenth birthday. Until then, the twins had been mounted on ponies they’d had since they were three and which represented no threat. Then Hatton decided that at ten years old, his heir was ready for a spirited black hunter.
    The animal had terrified Kit, and he wished with all his heart that the docile gray filly presented to Nicholas could be his instead. He remembered how he had avoided going close to the hunter for two days, until his father had demanded to see him ride. He had crept up upon the great beast with a saddle over one arm and a riding whip clutched in his sweating palm.
    The hunter didn’t make his move until Kit was well into the stall, then suddenly he bared vicious teeth and lunged for him. Kit lashed out wildly with the whip, but this only put the black in a frenzy. He reared up with flailing hooves, ready to trample the boy who was lashing out at him.
    That was the day his twin, Nicholas, saved his life.
    “Don’t whip him!” Nick cried, snatching up a pitchfork and gently backing the animal into a corner of the stall. “Quick, run!” Nick cried, but Kit was paralyzed with fear. As the hunter again reared and screamed, Nick dropped the pitchfork, darted in, grabbed his brother, and rolled with him from beneath the flailing iron-clad hooves. That was the day Christopher Hatton decided his twin loved him far more than his father did.
    But saving him was only half the story. Nick had donned Kit’s clothes and ridden the black hunter under their father’s critical eye. Later, Nick explained that the horse too had been driven by fear, and only kindness and a firm hand could win him over. It had taken a whole year before Christopher could ride the hunter without being drenched in perspiration, and another year before he could ride him with the nonchalant, hell-for-leather horsemanship that came naturally to Nicholas.
    Kit again felt the familiar trickle of sweat between his shoulder blades, and the miasma of horse-lant, straw, and leather rose up to nauseate him, but he had learned never to show weakness before his father. “He has magnificent lines; how does the name Renegade strike you?” Kit drawled.
    Henry Hatton smiled with satisfaction and turned to Nicholas. “There’s a fine pair of guns up at the house for you, my boy. If you apply yourself and practice, you may someday achieve Christopher’s skill at marksmanship.”
    The minute their father was out of earshot, Kit cursed, “Christ Almighty, why is he so fucking obtuse?”
    Nicholas put his arm across his brother’s shoulders. “He isn’t obtuse, Kit. He is well aware that I have a passion for horses, and you have a passion for guns.”
    Kit clenched his fists impotently and swore between his teeth. “I hate the son of a bitch, don’t you?”
    Nick’s gray eyes darkened as they stared after their father. He shook his head slowly. “No, Kit, I don’t hate him. I pity him.”
     
    Because Lady Longford, Alexandra, and Rupert arrived on Saturday before the rest of the weekend guests and were old family friends, they were given their choice of bedchambers. Alexandra had a special request for Mr. Burke, the majordomo, and asked for the room that was directly above Nicholas Hatton’s. She remembered once, when they were children, she had caught Rupert and Christopher spying on Nick through a peephole in the floor. Alexandra hoped the hole was still there, because she had plans to put it to good use.
    As she opened the tall window that overlooked the ornamental lake, the sight of the wooden punt floating at the lake’s edge evoked happy childhood memories. She