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‘If you had not—Hector! Hector!—taken liberties—Hector!—’
    ‘A word of caution, Elizabeth—’ Nathaniel decided to interrupt what appeared to be warming up to a tirade worthy of his aunt when she had worked herself into an indignant lather ‘—the smugglers in this area are very real. And if some of them should be abroad at this time…’
    ‘I believe you are merely trying to frighten me, my lord.’
    ‘And why on earth should I wish to do that?’ he enquired mildly.
    ‘No doubt because you take some sort of dubious pleasure in doing so,’ Elizabeth retorted, having had more than enough of this man’s nonsense for one evening, of one type or another… ‘And I have no intention of being frightened by myth and legend—’ She broke off abruptly as she once again heard Hector barking in the distance.
    A bark that was accompanied by a sharp command closely followed by the snorting and whinnying of an obviously disturbed and unsettled horse!
    ‘Hector!’ Elizabeth gasped before running forwards into the darkness.
    Nathaniel hurried after her, his heart seeming to stop beating in his chest as he saw Elizabeth hurtling headlong towards where Hector could be seen barking up at a huge and ghostly pale horse that snorted and showed the whites of its eyes as it danced precariously close to the edge of the cliff, resisting all of its rider’s efforts to regain control as it reared up on its back legs.
    ‘Quiet, Hector!’ Nathaniel rasped at the same time as Elizabeth grasped hold of the horse’s reins, talking soothingly as it came down on all four dancing—and lethally dangerous—hooves in front of her, eyes wild, nostrils flaring as it continued to snort and prance despite the dog having now been rendered silent. ‘Get control, man!’ Nathaniel instructed the black-clad rider harshly, ignoring the pain in his ribs as he stepped forwards to take a firm grasp of the horse’s bridle.
    Held captive on both sides, the grey finally began to calm. ‘There’s a good lad,’ Elizabeth crooned soothingly as she stroked and petted the horse’s silky neck. ‘Good boy. Good lad,’ she continued admiringly as the hose became calmer by the second. ‘There’s a fine fellow.’
    Nathaniel decided he would deal with Miss Elizabeth Thompson’s recklessness in approaching a rearing horse later, instead concentrating his not inconsiderable wrath upon the rider of the horse as the man slid smoothly down from the saddle to stand beside him on the pathway. ‘What did you think you were doing, man?’ he demanded forcefully as he maintained a hold upon the bridle of the still-skittish horse.
    ‘What did I—?’ That gentleman seemed momentarily at a loss for words. ‘If you had not allowed your wretched dog loose to startle Starlight, then none of this would have happened!’
    Elizabeth was very aware—the slight upon Hector aside—that the gentleman’s accusation was a merited one. ‘I am afraid that was my fault, sir.’ The pale oval of the man’s face turned sharply in her direction. ‘I inadvertently allowed Hector’s leash to slip through my fingers, and in doing so obviously caused—’
    ‘Who are you?’ the man demanded sharply, his black cloak billowing gently about him in the darkness, his tall hat having also somehow remained secure upon his head. Elizabeth was startled by the intensity of the question. ‘I am Eliza—Betsy Thompson, sir. And I sincerely apologise if I have caused you and your horse any distress. I am afraid I was momentarily—distracted, and allowed Hector to escape.’ She scowled at the reason for that distraction.
    ‘Eliza Thompson, you say?’ that gentleman prompted tersely.
    ‘Elizabeth. But I am called Betsy,’ she said. ‘I trust you and Starlight have suffered no harm, sir?’
    ‘I cannot vouch for that until I have Starlight back in his stable and a lantern to see by,’ the man growled.
    ‘Is that you, Tennant?’ Nathaniel asked suddenly.
    ‘My name is