They Dared the Maid to Ride the Duke’s Wildest Stallion—She Shocked Everyone by Riding It Bareback
Chapter 2
Thunder struck the stall door again.
The iron latch rattled.
Lord Edmund laughed.
“Perhaps ten guineas?”
Eleanor did not answer.
“Twenty?”
One of the gentlemen whistled.
“Edmund, you’ll bankrupt yourself over a servant.”
“Not at all.”
He leaned against the stable wall.
“I merely want to see whether the girl has courage.”
Eleanor placed her basket on the ground.
Every eye followed her.
She walked toward Thunder’s stall.
“Eleanor,” whispered one of the stable boys.
She stopped.
“What?”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“I know.”
She turned toward Thunder.
The stallion’s nostrils widened.
His ears flicked backward.
Eleanor did not reach for him.
She simply stood outside the stall.
The courtyard waited.
Thunder snorted.
Eleanor spoke softly.
“You don’t like crowds.”
The stallion’s ears moved.
Someone laughed.
“She is speaking to him.”
Eleanor ignored them.
“You don’t like the iron bit.”
Thunder shook his head.
“And you don’t trust men who pull the reins.”
The stallion stopped moving.
Lord Edmund’s smile faded slightly.
Eleanor slowly extended her hand.
Thunder stretched his neck.
The distance between them narrowed.
His muzzle touched her fingers.
The stable fell completely silent.
Nobody laughed now.
Eleanor whispered something too softly for anyone else to hear.
Thunder breathed against her palm.
Then he lowered his head.
One of the stable boys stared.
“That is impossible.”
Eleanor opened the stall.
Thunder did not charge.
She stepped inside.
Lord Edmund straightened.
“Careful.”
She ignored him.
She moved slowly along the stallion’s shoulder.
Her fingers rested against his neck.
Thunder shivered.
She waited.
Then she found a small scar beneath his mane.
It was old, almost hidden.
Her expression changed.
“Who did this to you?”
Thunder turned his head.
Eleanor saw something else.
A thin leather strap was tied beneath his jaw.
Not a bridle.
A restraint.
She untied it.
Thunder immediately exhaled.
The tension in his body softened.
Eleanor looked toward the stable master.
“Who put this on him?”
Nobody answered.
Lord Edmund said, “Enough.”
But Eleanor did not look at him.
She ran her fingers over Thunder’s neck.
“He isn’t wild.”
“What?”
“He is frightened.”
Lord Edmund laughed.
“Then ride him.”
Eleanor looked at him.
“Very well.”
A murmur swept through the yard.
Lord Edmund grinned.
“I knew you had courage.”
But Eleanor raised one finger.
“I will not use a saddle.”
The laughter stopped.
“You’re joking.”
“No.”
“You intend to ride Thunder bareback?”
“Yes.”
Lord Edmund’s face brightened.
“Excellent.”
Eleanor looked at the stallion.
Then she quietly removed her shoes.
