Dark Rider (30 page)

Cassie trailed behind, deliberately holding Kapu back, watching Jared. He and the mare were incredibly beautiful together. She had seen Jared on horseback only that one brief, explosive moment on the beach, and that didn’t really count. Lean, tight grace and centaur strength merged with the high-spirited beauty of the mare. He effortlessly controlled Morgana yet used no force.

He reined in, glancing over his shoulder.

She nudged Kapu into a faster pace in response to the silent demand. Demand and response. In the hot darkness of the cabin she had become accustomed to meeting every need even before he voiced them, just as he had met her own. But now everything was different; she must break the habit. She deliberately slowed Kapu again as she drew near Jared.

He smiled crookedly. “Lower your guard, for God’s sake. Every minute doesn’t have to be a battle. I’ve no devious purpose at the moment. I just want to watch Kapu run. Is that so terrible?”

She could hardly object when she had lingered behind to see Jared and Morgana together. “No.” She paused. “But it’s your fault I’m on guard. You always make remarks … and threats.”

“Very well, I’ll curb my tongue.”

The surrender was unexpected, therefore suspicious. “And your intentions?”

“Temporarily.”

“Why?”

“I had a long time to think last night. It’s not fair play to pursue you on unfamiliar ground. It annoys me exceedingly, but I believe I’m forced to give you time to grow familiar with Morland before I pounce.”

It did annoy him. She could sense the barely leashed frustration beneath the mocking tone. She responded slowly, “Bradford said you were a just man.”

“On occasion. I know it’s a disappointment to realize I’m not completely lost to virtue.”

He was right. She didn’t want him to be honorable or just; he was robbing her of weapons to fight him.
“You
didn’t seem overly virtuous this morning.”

“I’m being patient, not foolish. I have every intention of seducing you to my way of thinking. I just promise not to snatch … for a while.”

“Thank you.”

He ignored the irony of her tone. “But I’ll require something from you in return.” He held up his hand when she opened her lips to object. “The opportunity to seduce. I won’t touch you against your will, but you’ll come to supper every night, and you must give me some portion of the day to persuade you to come back to my bed.”

“I don’t have to give you anything.”

“Christ, you’re stubborn. Can’t you see I’m trying to make this easier for you?”

She looked away from him.

“Would you prefer threats? I can make it very uncomfortable for you at Morland. The master of the castle is also the master of the stable.” His gaze went meaningly to Kapu. “What if I forbade you access to the stallion?”

Her gaze flew to him in alarm. “You wouldn’t do that.”

“Why not? Don’t yon think I’d do anything to—” He broke off, then said wearily, “No, I wouldn’t do that to you. I’d find another way.”

Yet he had discarded the one weapon that would have forced her to his will. He had known she would have yielded almost anything for Kapu. “There’s no other way,” she whispered.

“I’m wagering there may be one.” He met her gaze. “Fair play, Cassie. You don’t like to be bound by it any more than I do, but you can’t turn your back. I’m giving a great deal, including Kapu, and asking very little.”

If she did as he asked, it would be a way to be close to him without returning to that sensual underworld. She might be able to learn something that would help Papa. She felt a scalding rush of emotion at the thought. Betrayal. Betrayal of Jared.

Dear God, she should not be ashamed to think of her father at this moment. Why else was she here? “It’s not going to change anything. Papa …”

He knew at once what she was trying to say. He smiled mirthlessly. “I didn’t think it would. I’m not trying to seduce your soul, only your body. You claim the two are separate, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Yet in those last days on the ship she had begun to have doubts and had broken the bond. What he was offering now was time spent in a sunlit world. Surely it was the coupling that had been dangerous, the pleasure intoxicating. It was the blending of the darkness and the sunlight that she had feared. “I suppose we could … ride together.”

“Not a splendid concession. It’s difficult to seduce a woman on a horse.” He pretended to think about it. “Though not impossible. And what shall we do if the
weather is inclement? Never mind, I’ll think of something.”

It had seemed a small concession, but she was suddenly beset by doubts. “Perhaps I shouldn’t.…”

“Come on,” he interrupted. “There’s a cliff just ahead. Don’t let Kapu veer off the path, or you’ll find yourself falling a hundred feet onto some very sharp rocks.”

“Kapu isn’t stupid enough to fall off a cliff. I’ll just show him the edge and he’ll avoid the danger.”

“Ah, how I envy those splendid instincts. But sometimes the thrill of dancing on the edge is worth the danger.” He changed the subject. “You met Josette last night. What did you think of her?”

“It doesn’t matter what I think.” She paused. “Did you tell her why I’m here?”

“Yes. I could hardly keep silent when you told her to ask me. I didn’t mention our intimacy on the ship, but I told her all about you and Lani … and your father.”

“What did she … never mind. I don’t want to know.”

He answered her anyway. “She was shocked, of course. She was little more than a babe when I brought her to Morland and has only a vague recollection of her parents.”

She veered away from the thought of the doomed Compte and his wife. “She said she was a comptesse.”

He nodded. “Thanks to the terror, there was no one else to inherit. However, the revolutionary government confiscated the estate, so she has only the title.”

If Papa was to blame for her parents’ deaths, then he was also to blame for Josette’s loss of her birthright.

If? The thought had come out of nowhere, and yet she knew it must have been lying dormant. It was the first time she had ever questioned his innocence, and she must not do it again. All she had to sustain her was her trust. “I’m sure you’ll make certain she wants for nothing.”

“We try.” He grimaced. “But Josette’s needs are for more than food and shelter. It was easier when she was a little girl running about Morland, caring only about the horses and her boat.”

“Boat?”

He glanced at the vast gray ocean. “In case you didn’t notice, we live by the sea. Josette has had a small sailboat since she was old enough to handle it. When she’s not on a horse’s back, she’s sailing.”

“She seems to spend more time penned up in this Lady Carradine’s school than doing either.”

His lips tightened. “It was necessary.”

“Because you didn’t wish to modify your lewd actions to make a home for her.”

“Who told …” He shook his head. “Bradford.”

“You should not have made her your ward if you wished to fornicate with all those women.”

“I suppose I should have left her alone in France,” he said sarcastically.

“I didn’t say that. You told me once that every action has a response. Perhaps in some instances action also requires adaptation.”

“Bradford and I didn’t know anything about raising a young girl. We did the best we could.”

“By letting her run wild and witness your debauchery.”

“She did not witness—” He stopped, thought back, and modified the statement. “Much. And it did no harm when she was a child. She was happy. It was
only later that I realized—Dammit, I was only a boy. I didn’t know anything about being a guardian.”

“You’re not a boy now, and your conduct in Hawaii and shipboard was carnal in the extreme. I see no sign that you’ve changed your ways.”

He scowled. “I’m not a monk. Nothing I did away from her could have affected Josette.” His eyes suddenly narrowed. “Why are you so passionately concerned about my behavior? You ran wild yourself as a child, and in your philosophy coupling is of no importance. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s right.” She wasn’t certain why the idea of him in bed with those other women had so upset her. She had been irritated when Josette had casually mentioned them the night before, and Bradford’s confirmation had added salt to the wound. She pounced on the first reasonable answer that occurred to her. “But Bradford says that such unfettered conduct is condemned here. Condemnation can hurt, and to cause pain to another is never good.”

“I don’t believe that Josette’s pain is your entire reason for attacking me.” He smiled. “But I won’t pursue the matter, since I’m not sure you’re aware of it yourself.” He reined in and gestured to the path. “Here we are, you can let Kapu go now. Stop at the forest. The ground becomes rough there.”

Hiding her relief, she carefully nudged Kapu past Morgana. “Aren’t you coming?”

He shook his head. “I want to watch him run. Even if I can’t time him, I’ll be able to judge his speed.”

“I don’t see why it’s important. You saw him run the first night I met you.”

He smiled. “But I wasn’t able to concentrate on the stallion. I was definitely distracted.”

She could feel heat rise to her cheeks as the memory
of that night came back to her. It had been no mere distraction for her. He had walked out of that thatch of trees into her life, changing it forever.

She bent over the stallion’s neck and loosened the reins. “Go, Kapu!”

It was the only invitation he needed. He streaked like an arrow down the path. Cassie clung to him, gripping with thighs and calves.

Wind whipped her cheeks and snatched away her breath.

Kapu’s stride lengthened until he scarcely touched the ground.

Sea, sky, and earth became a blur.

“That’s right,” she murmured. “Run!”

He ran! She could hear his labored breathing as the pace increased and then increased again.

Dear Lord, she had missed this almost as much as Kapu had.

She felt as if she were floating, anchored to the earth only by the thunder of the stallion’s hooves.

They reached the edge of the forest too soon for either of them. She reluctantly reined him in and turned back toward the castle.

Jared met her when she was halfway back to the stable, his eyes blazing with excitement. “My God, he’s wonderful.”

“Yes,” she said simply. Contentment flowed through her as if he had praised her child. She was too filled with sheer joy to feel antagonism or wariness for anyone in the world. “It was a good run. He feels better now.”

“And so do you.”

She nodded. “Maybe this England isn’t completely bad. The wind is sharp, but battling it causes a certain exhilaration.” She patted Kapu’s neck. “We enjoyed
it, didn’t we, boy?” She glanced at Jared. “Well, did you judge his speed?”

He blinked. “No!”

“Why not?”

“I was watching him and, dammit, I forgot all about it.”

She burst out laughing. She had never known Jared not to be in control, and now he looked like a cross little boy.

Her lips were still twitching when she said, “I assure you, he was very fast indeed.”

“I know.” His tone was distinctly surly. “And I don’t like to be laughed at.”

Her eyes were dancing as she accused, “You were dazzled.”

His gaze was fixed bemusedly on her face. “Completely.” He glanced away from her. “I still am.”

Her smile vanished. Warmth and humor and amusement were all there in his expression. In a way, such emotions were more dangerous than lust. She hurriedly glanced down at Morgana. “She’s a magnificent mare.”

“As I told you.”

“But not as fine as Kapu.”

“And what makes the stallion better?”

“Because he’s mine,” she said simply.

He laughed. “Why doesn’t that statement surprise me?”

“Aren’t you the same? Don’t you think that Morgana is finer because she belongs to you?”

“I suppose I’m a bit biased, but I try to control it. For instance, I’m ready to admit that Kapu may be faster.”

She grunted in disgust. “I don’t see why you’re all
so excited about how fast they are. Bradford could talk about nothing but the races you have here.”

“I admit I’m also guilty. I’d love to see Morgana and Kapu race.”

“I won’t allow it,” she said quickly. “I don’t want them ever pitted against each other.”

“Why not?”

“Because I like Morgana.”

“And?”

“Can’t you see? They don’t like each other. They’re only ignoring each other now, but I won’t have them enemies.”

“They’re not ignoring each other.”

“Of course they are.”

“Oh, they’re not being obvious about it, but I’ve noticed a few sidelong glances.”

She frowned. “You’re wrong.”

“Watch them. Perhaps I’m more accustomed to such subtleties than you are.” His glance shifted away from her to the fence bordering the meadow. “There’s Josette. She’s waiting for you.”

Cassie stiffened as her gaze followed his to the small figure sitting on the top rail of the fence. “There’s no reason for her to want to speak to me. She’s probably waiting for you.”

His lips twisted. “I assure you that after our talk this morning she won’t want to see me for a while. Besides, she came up with a rather unique suggestion regarding you. She probably wants to discuss it.”

The girl probably wanted to see her drawn and quartered, Cassie thought gloomily.

“At any rate, I’ll leave you alone and let her have her chance.” He nudged Morgana into a gallop and headed for the stable. He nodded at Josette as he
passed, and she gave him a wary glance. Then her attention shifted to Cassie.

“You’ve been a long time. I’ve been waiting for hours.” Her gaze went to Kapu. “How fast is he?”

“You didn’t wait for me to find out how fast Kapu could run.” Cassie rode the stallion up to the fence and braced herself. “Did you?”

“Well, not primarily, but I’m always interested.” Josette soberly met her gaze. “You think I’m going to blame you for what your father did.”

“For what Jared says my father did,” she corrected.

“He’s usually right about most things.”

“He’s not about—”

Josette waved her hand to silence her. “I’m not here to argue. The quarrel’s between Jared and him, not us. I’d never blame anyone for being born to the wrong father or the wrong country. I’ve suffered too much myself for my birth.”