“Nonsense,” he said roughly. “You’re the most—”

“Oh no!” she broke in. “You’re bleeding!”

Natalie was staring in dismay at his left shoulder. He glanced down to see that a portion of his upper sleeve had been ripped open, the shirt beneath it torn as well. Blood oozed from a laceration the size of a hoof. Now that she’d brought it to his attention, his shoulder ached like the very devil.

“One of Thunder’s feet clipped me, that’s all. It’s nothing serious.”

“Another inch or two, and it might have been your skull!” She dug in her pocket and whipped out a folded handkerchief, gently pressing it to the wound. “Thunder—that’s the horse’s name?”

“Yes.” Hadrian ignored the pain and concentrated on her closeness, savoring her enticing feminine fragrance. “Wymark recently purchased the stallion. The beast is too excitable to be ridden by someone so inexperienced.”

Those gorgeous eyes lifted to his. “An animal with such a high-strung temperament won’t be easy to tame.”

“Precisely why my cousin should never have mounted Thunder. Bert is his trainer. That’s Wymark’s groom.”

“I see.” She lifted the square of linen to examine the injury, not a difficult task since she was barely half a head shorter than him. He hadn’t realized until this moment how irksome it was to a man of his height always having to gaze down at much daintier women. “There may be some bandaging supplies kept in the stable,” she said. “Hold this in place to stop the bleeding, and I’ll find out.”

“That won’t be necessary,” he said, tucking the handkerchief inside the torn fabric so that the intact portion of his coat held it in place. “Chumley will doctor me.”

“Your valet is a man of many talents. However, I very much doubt that he’ll be able to fix the damage to your coat without sending it to a tailor. The tear is jagged and you’ll likely need to replace the entire sleeve.”

“Don’t look so glum,” he said, warmed by her concern. “A ruined jacket is no great tragedy when compared to the safety of you and Leo.”

“You’re very kind, Mr. Duke. Especially as it appears your expensive wardrobe isn’t safe around either of us.”

Smitten by her smile, he said impulsively, “My name is Hadrian. I hope you’ll consider me enough of a friend to use it.”

“Then do call me Natalie.” She paused, a hint of irony twisting her lips. “Unless you fear your cousins might object to any familiarity with a provincial upstart.”

“Leave them to me.” A smudge of dirt marred her cheek, and without thinking, he brushed it away with his thumb. The rose-petal softness of her skin jolted his pulse beat, a reminder of the temptation she posed. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll have a word with Wymark. It appears that Thunder managed to unseat him.”

Hadrian forced himself to walk away from her. He headed toward Wymark, who was sitting on the grass, rubbing his knee. The damned sprout was lucky he hadn’t broken his neck. He deserved that and more for having come within a hairsbreadth of trampling Leo and Natalie.