He wasn't surprised that she hadn't been really been riding. It wasn't terribly common for women in general, regardless of station, to ride. At least not that he'd seen. Henry by no means thought that they shouldn't, but there was an added layer of difficulty with all the extra layers they had -in terms of skirts, to maneuver up and down off a saddle.
“A secret place I go sometimes,” he said, then added without really thinking, “but I guess it won't really be a secret anymore.” Thankfully, he hadn't been looking at Opal, because Henry winced. That ended up sounding far more harsh than he would have intended. It was not her fault he had brought her here and she was trying to make her way in a rather irritatingly difficult world to navigate, even for someone who had been born into it. He really needed to stop seeing this as an inconvenience.
He really needed to stop seeing her as an inconvenience.
So, a moment later, he amended with a slightly more genuine smile as he looked at her, “unless you will keep it secret.” As they neared the side door for the stables, he asked, “will you, Opal? Keep it secret?”