Two days later, she was summoned to the Duke's study, a place she had never once entered in all her time working at the estate. Her hands trembled slightly as she knocked on the heavy wooden door, unsure whether she was about to be praised or dismissed.
When she stepped inside, Duke Alaric Vane was standing near the window, his back to her, hands clasped behind him.
"You rode Tempest without a saddle," he said, not turning around. "My finest horsemen have tried for years and failed. I would like to know how a maid accomplished what they could not."
Elsie hesitated before answering honestly. "I grew up with horses, Your Grace. Before I came here, my family trained them. I did not learn this skill in your stables. I brought it with me."
The Duke finally turned to face her, studying her with an intensity that made her want to look away, though she forced herself to hold his gaze. There was no anger in his expression, only genuine curiosity and something else she could not quite identify.