บท 84: Jockeying for Position

The next morning I felt a little better, just because I'd slept.

But I'd forgotten we had an outing that morning. 

When I saw the dress that Abigail had hung on the frame next to the vanity looked like a riding dress, I groaned. 

"I can't ride horses today! I'm too... sick," I lied.

Abigail gave me a knowing smile and fluttered a hand. "Don't worry my lady, today won't be on horseback. You are taking the carriages to the lake. There will be a picnic!"

"I wonder if they'll be serving platters of Spotted Dick again," I ground out. 

"I believe cook has baked pies, this time," Abigail replied, without even the slightest hint that she was joking, or had caught the innuendo. 

Ash was spluttering behind me, though.

Two hours later we were told we were going to be piled into four open carriages, each with a set of beautiful, glossy, matched horses. Our Defender would ride as outriders, circling the carriages and watching for trouble.