Chapter 183

"Merissa!" Cassandra was already frantically dismounting from her horse.

Draven followed suit and hurried after her, his attention divided between the fallen pair and the agitated animals.

Two stable hands hurried towards them to regain control of the horses, while one led Merissa’s mount away before it could cause further trouble.

Merissa was attempting to sit upright when Cassandra reached her. Simon remained beside her, one hand braced against the ground as he recovered from the fall.

"Do not try to stand yet," Cassandra urged. "Are you hurt?"

"I believe so." Merissa’s voice wavered, though she was making a visible effort to appear more alright than she truly was. She looked down towards her ankle and winced. "My leg hurts rather badly."

Draven crouched beside her. "Can you move it?"

Merissa attempted to shift her foot and immediately drew back with a sharp breath.

"Do not force it," he said, lightly touching her injured ankle, causing her to wince. He turned to the nearest stable hand. "Take her horse back to the stables, then send someone for the physician. Tell him we may have a sprain, but I want him to examine her properly."

The man hurried to obey.

Simon rose from the ground slowly, brushing dirt from his clothes. The fall had left him a bit disoriented but he was quick to snap out of it. Ignoring his cousin who was still hovering nearby, he focused all his attention on Merissa.

"Can you sit comfortably?" He asked worriedly.

"I can manage." She looked up at him, concern replacing her own discomfort when she noticed the state of his clothes. "You took the worst of it. Are you injured?"

"Nothing serious."

"You cannot know that." She argued. To Draven, she said, "he will need to be examined by a physician as well."

"I assure you, I have survived worse indignities than falling." His dry reply was accompanied by a brief, reassuring small. "I’m just a bit dirtier, that’s all. You need not concern yourself with me."

Merissa gave him a doubtful glance before turning back to Cassandra. "I am sorry to have disrupted your ride."

"Do not be absurd. You have done nothing wrong." Cassandra replied. "We are only concerned that you are hurt."

"It’s not so serious. I think it is merely a sprain, like cousin Draven said."

"We shall let the physician decide that," Draven said. "Lets head inside and see to it that your injury is taken care of."

Merissa shook her head. "I do not want to spoil the morning for everyone. You and Cassandra should go on without me."

"Your wellbeing is more important," Cassandra replied. "We can simply reschedule the ride to when you’re feeling better."

"I know, but I am not seriously injured. I know how much cousin Draven enjoys his morning ride." Merissa glanced towards Draven. "Please do not abandon your plans on my account. You can check on me when you return."

Draven did not look convinced. He would have preferred to escort her inside himself and remain until the physician arrived, but Merissa was determined not to make a greater fuss of the accident.

Cassandra appeared equally reluctant to leave her. It took more convincing to get her to relent.

"Very well," Draven said at last. "You will go inside, and get treated before you attempt to walk anywhere."

"Of course." Merissa shifted her attention to Simon. "Would you mind escorting me in? I would be grateful for your help."

The request made Draven’s right eye twitch.

He did not want Simon inside the house. He already had to deal with his mother’s refusal to have Simon kicked out, and the prospect of allowing him to remain under his home for another day was completely out of the question.

Yet Simon had just saved Merissa and prevented an even bigger tragedy.

To refuse her request now, merely because Draven disliked the man offering assistance, would be petty. Worse, it would make him appear wholly unreasonable, churlish, uncivil even.

His objections would seem boorish.

Simon, meanwhile, waited for his answer with a glint in his eyes that did nothing to improve Draven’s temper.

"Take Merissa inside," Draven instructed eventually. "See that she is settled comfortably and that the physician attends her. I will hold you accountable if anything happens to her."

Simon’s eyebrows rose slightly. "Then you have nothing to worry about, cousin. Merissa is in good hands."

The reply sounded perfectly civil, which made the provocation all the more irritating.

Draven had some choice words for the lout but he held his tongue.

Simon offered Merissa his arm, helping her rise carefully while ensuring she did not place unnecessary weight on her injured leg.

She leaned against him, and together they began the slow journey towards the house.

Cassandra watched them go, a crease forming between her brows. "I hope she has not done any serious damage to her ankle."

"The physician will tell us soon enough," Draven replied. He turned towards the stable hand who had returned after securing the horses. "Before you do anything else, find out where that sound came from. I want to know what caused it and whether anyone on the grounds is injured. Report to me as soon as you have an answer."

"Yes, Your Grace." The stable hand hurried off to do as he was told.

Draven offered Cassandra his hand and helped her mount again, taking care to ensure her horse was calm before he swung into his own saddle.

His attention remained divided between the direction Simon had taken Merissa and the distant part of the estate from where ruckus had come from.

It sounded like gunshots. It was unlikely that the noise had been anything else but he had no intention of dismissing it without an explanation.

Cassandra settled her reins and glanced towards the house. "We shall return as soon as we can. I would like to see how Merissa is faring."

"We will."

There was little more to be said. The morning had already taken a turn neither of them could have anticipated, and Draven’s irritation at Simon’s continued presence festered, joined by concern for Merissa.

He guided his horse towards the path leading away from the stables, Cassandra riding beside him.

The path beyond the stables wound through the estate, bordered by stretches of clipped grass and trees still carrying the coolness of the morning.

Draven and Cassandra rode side by side at an easy pace, their horses moving at a steady gait. With no particular destination in mind, they followed the path deeper into the grounds.

"I hope Merissa has not injured herself too badly," she said. "She was looking forward to attending more social events this season."

"I am certain she will recover nicely," Draven replied. "Simon will no doubt see to that."

There was something about the statement that made Cassandra turn her head.

"Is that a complaint?" She probed, detecting a hint of snark in his tone.

"It is an observation." He replied testily.

"An unusually displeased observation." She couldn’t help herself. She rarely knew him to behave like this and it was rather amusing.

Draven adjusted his reins. "I find the circumstances irritating. My cousin has spent years demonstrating an almost supernatural talent for making himself a nuisance, yet the instant he performs one decent act, everyone is expected to regard him as a changed man." His lips flattened into a thin line.

Draven’s displeasure was not solely about Simon’s heroic act; his recent argument with his mother had also contributed to his irritation.

Simon saving Merissa would only strengthen Octavia’s conviction that there was more to Simon than others gave him credit for, making her feel justified in her belief about him.