This first book in the Hartley-Hebdon family saga is the story of the arranged marriage between Natalie Pembroke of Virginia and Adam Hebdon, 6^th Duke of Lonsworth.

When Natalie’s mother dies in childbirth in 1833 her father, Augustus Pembroke, deposits her with his neighbors, Henry and Bertha Hartley, where she shares an idyllic, if boisterous, childhood with the Hartley’s seven sons, eventually falling in love with the eldest son, Peter.  But before Peter has the opportunity to ask her father for her hand, she is packed off to London to marry a man she most definitely does not want.

The feeling is mutual.  Adam Hebdon considers Natalie, a girl he has never even seen, to be a most unsuitable bride for a man of his position.  More importantly, Adam has been coerced into the marriage by Augustus Pembroke’s nefarious scheming of which Natalie knows nothing.

She has many adventures and misadventures during the early months of her marriage and it takes a twist of fate to sort things out so that the unfortunate bride and groom can finally admit they have fallen in love with each other.

Hermione Steele was born and raised in West Yorkshire, England then lived in London for five years before marrying and arriving in the U.S.  She has resided in several areas of the U.S., but most of her adult life has been spent in the Maryland/Virginia area.  These three areas Virginia, London and West Yorkshire, are the settings for her book, Around Her Little Finger.  Hermione now lives in Southern California.

As frequently happens, a string of events conspire to make the best-laid plans go awry.  It was just such a string that led to Natalie finding out how babies are made, definitely a learning experience.

The covering yard, the place where the horses were mated, was always off limits to all women and children when the yard was in use, which was most of the time from May through early October.

On this particular day the following things went wrong.  Henry decided a mare was ready for service the day before she had been scheduled.  So he moved up the servicing by a day.  The lad who was supposed to be on the gate was not informed of the change in schedule.  No one noticed the lad was missing so the gate was left open.

Natalie was riding postilion while she and Peter were training a team of six for a stagecoach when Polygon, the horse she was riding, went seriously lame.  Dismounting she discovered to her horror that the horse appeared to have broken his left foreleg.  While Peter and the lads un-harnessed the horse, Natalie mounted another horse and rode to get Uncle Henry who she knew was probably in the brood mares stable.  When she arrived she was told he had gone into the covering yard.  She looked over to the yard, saw the gate open and went in thinking it permissible to do so and not paying much attention as she was so worried about the lame horse.  She couldn’t have chosen a more inopportune moment to walk inside the yard.  Just as she went through the door she saw the stallion rear up on its hind legs and plunge its huge penis into the mare.  The mare let out an ungodly shriek and Natalie froze in horror.  Her fist went into her mouth as she stood unknowingly watching the creation of a foal.  She was too shocked to let out a sound.

Her eyes took in everything.  To Natalie’s utter distress she saw the mare had been hobbled.  There was a leather strap attached to its hind legs and then to its left front leg tightly enough so the front leg was doubled backward off the ground.  The mare could neither walk nor kick.  The poor thing had been made immobile and, in addition, Natalie did not understand the huge leather blanket over its neck.  Uncle Henry was holding the reins of the stallion while Lars held the reins of the mare.  One of the two lads who were the only other people in the yard finally saw the horrified Natalie and let Henry know she was there.  It was really too late, Natalie had watched in silent sympathy for the mare as the stallion lunged himself repeatedly into her while she raised her head back and made those dreadful noises.  There was nothing Henry could do until the stallion was finished.  He had to remain with the stallion.  He told the lad to get Natalie out of the yard and stay with her until he was free.

When Henry was finally able to lead the stallion out of the yard and hand him over to the lad standing beside a distraught Natalie, who was seated on the ground with her head in her hands, he asked the lad what he had told her.

“Nothing, boss, nothing,” the man assured him as he led the stallion away.

When she heard Uncle Henry’s voice she looked up accusingly, “What were you doing to that mare?”

Henry was furious she had seen something he kept all women and children from seeing.  “You know you aren’t allowed in that yard when the gate is closed, why did you come in?”

Natalie was not going to be put off.  “Why were you torturing that mare?

“I wasn’t torturing her.  Natalie, you know you have never been allowed in that yard when the gate is closed.  Why did you come in?”  He repeated.

“The gate was open, I had to find you, one of the horses I was training has gone lame I think its leg is broken, I came to get you.  I was upset about Polygon, I didn’t think.  What were you doing Uncle Henry?”

The anguished look on her face cooled his anger quickly because now he was going to have to tell a fourteen-year-old girl just what had been happening in the yard.  None of his sons had been allowed in that yard yet, seventeen or even older would be plenty of time for that.  He sat down beside her on the grass and didn’t know where to begin.  It would have been nice to send her to Bertha but Bertha had no idea just what happened when a stallion covered a mare, she had never wanted to find out.

“Natalie we weren’t torturing the mare.”

“She was screaming, Uncle Henry,” Natalie was indignant.

“Yes – well - you see--” Henry rubbed his face at a loss for words.

“Why did the stallion rear up on his hind legs and push that appendage, that you said comes out when he has an urgent call of nature, into the mare.”  ‘Call of nature’ was the term all the family used when they needed to relieve themselves.  “It hurt her, she screamed with pain.  Why did you let him do that?  You were standing there letting him do it, and you had the mare hobbled so that she couldn’t get away.”  She was getting angrier and angrier as she spoke.

“Natalie, Natalie.  She wasn’t crying out in pain Natalie, it was cries of pleasure you heard.”

“Pleasure!”  Natalie shouted in outrage.

There was nothing for it but to just come right out with it and tell her.  He looked at the ground.  “Natalie, they were making a new foal.  That’s what happens.  All male animals have that appendage, bulls, dogs, cats, sheep.  They have to insert it into a female in order to plant their seed inside her to make young.”

He looked at Natalie’s face to see if she understood what he was talking about.  Her look of bewilderment let him know she understood only too well.  He saw the exact moment when she realized this didn’t just apply to animals.

Her eyes opened wider, “You--you mean people?    Nooooo!”  She covered her red face with her hands in shock and embarrassment.

In order to save both of them further discomfiture he explained that they hadn’t been torturing the mare; the mare is hobbled so she won’t kick the stallion and do severe damage.  He reiterated again that the mare wasn’t screaming in pain but in pleasure.

At that Natalie looked at him in total disbelief.  “Why did she have the leather yolk across her neck?”

“Because the stallion sometimes bites and does her severe damage.  Then he hastily added.  “People aren’t like horses, Natalie.”

The look of disgust on Natalie’s face finally made Henry want to smile.  “It’s not as bad as all that, lass.”  He said trying to assuage her fears a little.  “I think you’d better talk to your Aunt Bertha, Natalie.  In the meantime we’d better see about Polygon.”