Heat rushed to her cheeks. “How do you know I was worrying?”
His answer was an enigmatic smile. It said louder than words that he thought he knew her.
He was wrong. She’d changed. She wasn’t that girl he remembered.
“Please, Mother,” Jonathan said. “Eat your peas.”
“Those are usually my words to you,” she answered.
“Yes, well, it is good advice,” Jonathan replied with perfect seriousness, and Colonel Chattan laughed. He’d been won over.
“I have to like horse-mad lads,” he said. He stood, again favoring the right leg. “I’ll go ahead and meet you there.”
“Are you going to ride Ajax, sir?” Jonathan wanted to know.
“Of course I am.” There was a beat of silence, and then the colonel said, “Would you two like to ride over with me? We’ll meet your mother at the stables.”
Nothing could have pleased the boys more. Christopher’s eyes were so wide with his sudden good fortune that he couldn’t speak. Jonathan did it for him. “Please, Mother, may we go?”
This would be a special treat that her sons would talk about forever. Thea couldn’t say no. “Listen to what the colonel says. Behave yourselves.”
“We’ll follow any orders he gives us,” Jonathan promised. Christopher had already climbed off his chair. He reached up and took the colonel’s hand.
The sternness in Colonel Chattan’s face softened. “You’ll be good soldiers,” he said and held out his other hand for Jonathan as he asked Lyon, “You will be coming directly?”
“Of course,” his lordship answered.
“Don’t tarry” was the colonel’s last word before he led the boys out of the dining room, Christopher already barraging him with questions—and Jonathan walking so proudly that it almost hurt Thea’s heart to see him.
Her oldest was growing up. He wouldn’t be her little boy much longer. She didn’t know if she could ever part with either of them. Whenever the world grew too dark and too lonely, they gave her the courage to keep going.
“It is very kind of the colonel to do this,” she said.
Neal laughed. “How could he not? They’ve been staring at him as if he were Hercules and St. George combined. Their excitement is contagious.”
Thea turned to Neal. “What happened to your brother’s leg?”
“You noticed. Most people don’t, and he works very hard to keep it that way.” He pushed his fork pensively and then said, “Cannon fire. At Salamanca. He should have come home. The treatment here would have been better, but Harry’s a military man through and through. He attempted to stay on and fight with his men, but he can’t ride like he used to, and eventually Wellington moved him to his staff. Finally, Harry had no choice but to return home. He had always defined himself as a horseman. He could do anything on a horse, including riding upside down if he’d a mind to. Now he rides, but after a period of time, his leg gives him great pain.”
There was something more he wasn’t telling her. She sensed it. Their childhood friendship had been such that she could read him easily.
“Your brother is not pleased that you wish to marry,” she observed, setting aside her napkin.
Neal shrugged. “It is not his life.”
“Why is he so set against you marrying?”
Green eyes assessed her. “The curse,” he answered, as if daring her to walk off again.
Thea looked around the room. There were other diners. Some were well-heeled travelers who enjoyed the meal with their families; some were bachelors here for their evening meals; others were out to enjoy the chef’s excellentpoulet.
She faced Neal. “I don’t believe in curses. I don’t believe in bad luck or fate or anything other than what we control ourselves.”
“Not even such a thing as the hand of God?” he challenged.
“I’ve noticed the reasoning behind ‘the hand of God’ is often people making their own bad choices. It’s all just life. We want to take credit for our successes but quickly point the finger at superstition or fate when something goes wrong.”
He now looked around the room and appeared to notice how crowded the dining room had become. “Let us discuss this in the coach.” He rose from the table and she came up with him. He took her arm and guided her out of the room. They didn’t say anything while gathering their coats and hats and waiting for Bonner to bringthe horses around, but once inside the coach, Neal didn’t waste time.