Book1 ERROR of UNDERSTANDING

With thundering hooves and flying manes, the two horses raced neck-and-neck around the Flemington race track while keeping level with each other for two-thirds of the distance. It was at this moment that Louisa looked over at her rival and she bestowed upon him a mischievous grin. Leaning slightly forward in the saddle, she gave to Hilton the signal, for which he had been waiting, thereby giving him his head totally.
From then onwards, there was no contest – or race either, for that matter – because Phillip’s horse and its somewhat rueful rider were left so far in their wake that they appeared to be standing still on some distant horizon while being but casual observers to the rapid progress of the large, black stallion and the girl with the long, auburn hair flying behind her.
Jubilant, Louisa continued on her way until well beyond the finishing line. There, she brought Hilton to a canter and she turned him before retracing his steps as Phillip came up beside her. She threw back her head as she laughed in triumph and she hid none of the delight that she felt at being the victor this day. He came to her, with a grin on his face.
“We won! We won!” Louisa shouted, carelessly throwing her head back and laughing once again as her hair, in a dishevelled state, fell about her shoulders, with the ribbon but loosely tied.
“I concede,” he admitted ruefully. “Although on an animal such as that, only a fool could lose. I knew I’d lost the minute I set eyes on him.”
They were both somewhat breathless following the ride, so they rode side-by-side in silence with the horses proceeding at a gentle canter back toward the starting line where the other two men should have been waiting. Patrick, however, was hurrying away from them. He was heading at what seemed to be a fast pace towards his horse, which was tethered some distance away near the grandstand while Nathaniel remained at the place where he was standing when the race commenced. He was concentrating his attention on them and he did not appear to have noticed the figure of a man standing some distance behind him. The new arrival stood with arms akimbo while watching intently the two carefree riders on the track.
The overall appearance of the new arrival was dishevelled, with his white shirt open at the neck, his hair unruly, his waistcoat unbuttoned and he was devoid of coat and hat. Never had Louisa seen the usually immaculately-clad Charles Lyndhurst in a public place in a state such as this. The last time that Louisa had witnessed him in this particular stance was on the day when she had ridden her horse back to the house after her first wild ride on Hilton at Lyndhurst Park. On that occasion, he had stood on the lawn by the front corner of the house – with arms akimbo, also – and with anger showing on his countenance. Whether or not, there was anger on his countenance now, Louisa could not tell, because the distance between them was great at this moment. But, there was no doubt from his stance that rage was not far beneath the surface of his being. Phillip’s eyes followed Louisa’s stunned gaze and he gave an audible gasp as he stiffened noticeably.
“How the hell did he know?” he asked, with a definite gasp.
“I don’t know,” she murmured slowly; then, she confided with a prediction. “But, I do not think I’m going to enjoy the next few hours. Leave now, Phillip. Leave while you can. There’ll be no reasoning with him, believe me!”
Phillip looked from Louisa to her irate husband and back again while frowning deeply. He was shaking his head slowly and deliberately.
“It’ll only make it worse for me if you stay. Go right now!” Louisa stated, with pleading in her tone.
“I don’t want to leave you in his clutches. Come with me now. We can leave here together. I’ll take you to Sydney with me tomorrow and hide you there until we can make good our escape. Please, Louisa, come now. We can be away before he realises what is occurring,” he asked, with his hand on her arm as he begged her to agree to his hastily though ill-conceived plan.