Past Loves

Part 22

Chapter 22

Rose shifted uneasily on her horse.  Here she was sitting on her own sidesaddle while Emily sat behind Peirce, her arms wrapped around him as if they were her last hold on life.  Did the woman not realize that it was improper?  Rose should have ridden with Ramsey, and Emily could have borrowed her horse.  They were out of luck though. It seemed that horses did not like Ms. Emily, as Will had called her several times while laughing at their predicament.  At least that was a positive outlook on her situation; she no longer had the Prince laughing at the three of them as they attempted to dissuade Emily from her plans.  Once the woman had her mind set on something, she would not change it.  A quality, Rose admitted, that the two women shared.

“Why is she here?” Ramsey asked, making his voice as low as possible, but loud enough to hear from the feet between their two horses.

Rose glanced at Peirce and Emily, who were a good while ahead of them, then sighed at her brother.  “She needs an escort home.”

“Why can she not leave the way she arrived?”

Rose opened her mouth before snapping it shut.  How did Emily arrive?  The woman had not had a horse with her, and if she did, Rose doubted she would have been able to ride alone.  A carriage was not outside the manor either.  How did the woman get to the manor?  “I must admit that I have not a single thought on the matter.”

Her brother rolled his eyes at her.  “Well, may I say that that is a comforting statement?  Tell me, dear sister, will you allow her to steal your man, or shall you fight?”

“She does not want to be with Peirce.”

“And may I guess?  She told you that she has no sights set on Peirce.  The two of your loves are much too powerful for her to overcome,” Ramsey let out a harsh laugh.  “You are older than me, Roselyn, but you are still as naïve as you were when we were children.”

“You are being hateful,” she whispered, hurt that her brother would speak to her that way.

Something flashed in his eyes, but he shrugged at her.  “You must begin looking at life how it truly is.  Those you can trust, you never see, and those you cannot, you allow to know your deepest secrets.”

“Ramsey,” she said, connecting eyes with her brother, “are we speaking of you or I?”

He turned away from her, looking towards Peirce and Emily.  “If you wish for me to help you in this matter, I shall.  Say the word, and I shall keep Ms. Emily and Peirce apart.”

“How?” she asked, skeptically.  She wanted to know what her brother was thinking, but she also realized she was being manipulated into changing the conversation.

A smile settled on his face, and Rose blinked when she saw the complete emptiness it held.  This was her brother, her baby brother, the one who had followed her and Cassie around throughout their lives.  This man sitting beside her on Fury was changed, and Rose wanted nothing more than to find the old Ramsey once more. 

“I learned quite a few things as I grew into age,” Ramsey said with a shrug.  “Did you not remember?  I can manipulate the best of people, make them believe things that are not true, make them see things that are not there, and I do it very well.”

“That is not you.”

His eyes settled on her, the brown in them empty of emotion.  “Have we not had a conversation similar to this moments earlier?  Listen to me well, dear sister, I am not who I was.  I am changed, and when you begin to accept this fact, I believe that we will get along much better.”

“Ramsey-”

“I am finished speaking of the matter,” he interrupted, while settling onto his horse better.  “Now, watch, and do not be surprised when Emily’s best laid plans begin to haunt her.”

Ramsey ran a hand up Fury’s neck before whispering something to the horse.  To Rose’s surprise, Fury began trotting ahead.  Ramsey must have spent many days with Fury, because there was no movement used to signal the horse’s actions, only words.  She patted her own horse, a mare, which was quite ugly, but would ride for days.  The horse was what Rose wanted, reliable. 

Ramsey slowed once he reached Emily and Peirce.  Watching her brother, she was once more shocked when he sent Emily a charming smile.  Rose could not hear the words that Ramsey was saying, but soon, both horses were stopped in front of her.  Ramsey jumped from Fury before walking towards Emily with a palm up.  The woman took his hand, and Ramsey eased her from the horse.

Peirce eased off Dread, and glanced at Ramsey and Emily before striding toward her.  Once he reached her, he raised an eyebrow.  “Well?”

“What?” she asked, looking down on him from atop her mare.

“Ramsey said you needed relief, that you do not ride often.”

She bit the inside of her cheek.  It was her own fault.  She merely needed to ask what Ramsey’s plan was, and her brother would have readied her for this little false.  “I am quite-”

“He is sneaky,” Peirce said with a smile, not letting her continue his sentence.  “He wanted Emily to ride with him; therefore, he concocted this entire scheme, did he not?”

“He did not,” Rose answered, but Peirce did not seem to hear her.

He smiled at her.  “Your brother has quite a brilliant mind.”

“Yes,” she mumbled, “and that brilliant mind is walking our way at this very moment.”

Peirce smiled at her one more time before turning towards Ramsey and Emily.  Ramsey lifted the corner of his mouth in a sembalance of a smile.  “Ms. Emily feels quite uncomfortable riding as she is with Peirce.  You must know that she had never ridden anything but sidesaddle.  On the other hand, my sister has done both.”

“We have tried this, Ramsey,” Rose said with a sigh.  “My mare would not allow Emily near her.”

“Yes,” Ramsey said with a shrug, “but that was when I was not near.  Give me a moment, Rose, and I will prove to you that Ms. Emily can sit atop of your old mare without worry.”

Rose went to slide off the saddle, but Peirce was there before she could.  Grabbing her below her arms, he eased her from the mare.  As her body settled to the ground, close to his, she wished she could stay where she was, wrapped in his arms.  They stood there for a moment, basking in the most contact that had had all day. 

“Done,” Ramsey interrupted. 

Peirce dropped his arms, and they both glanced towards the mare.  Sitting there, looking as proper as always, was Emily.  Both rider and horse looked at ease, as if they had no care in the world. 

Rose let out a sigh.  “Come, Ramsey, we shall settle onto Fury.”

“No, we shall not,” Ramsey said, taking a step towards her.  “I do not like to be touched.  Not even by you, sister.”

She narrowed her eyes at him.  What was he planning?  His own brown eyes lit up with amusement as he walked past her.  She heard a faint, “You are welcome,” before he strode past her.  Without effort, he swung onto Fury, leaving Rose watching in confusion.

Peirce snagged her hand while pulling her towards Dread.  “It looks as if your brother thought everything through.  Tell me, Rose, how much will you enjoy sitting behind me for the next days?”

She rolled her eyes at him; the man thought to highly of himself.  Letting out a sigh, she let him help her onto Dread.  As Peirce swung onto the horse in front of her, she wrapped her arms around him.  This is where she belonged, where she wanted to be, but in only a few days’ time, she would be back on her horse, alone.