Dark Rider

by Iris Johansen

  “What do—” Jared’s eyes widened. “You’ve bedded her?”

  “No, but it’s my most earnest hope to do so.” He met Jared’s gaze. “However, I may have to wait until the lady consents to wed me.”

  Jared inhaled sharply. “Bradford … no.”

  “Yes.” He held up his hand as Jared opened his lips to speak. “And it’s you who will not interfere. I will not have it.”

  Jared had rarely heard that steely firmness in his tone. “You’re a fool. She’s Deville’s mistress.”

  Bradford made a face. “That is an obstacle. Your thirst for vengeance is another.” He nodded at Cassie on the dock. “And your lust for Lani’s little friend is still another. It didn’t get in the way when the girl was willing, but that’s changed now. I won’t have you making my task more difficult by keeping Lani on edge all the time. I want her free to think only of me.”

  “She doesn’t think of anyone but Deville.” He paused. “For God’s sake, she was even planning on bedding me to help him.”

  “I thought as much. Lani’s very determined, and she would see nothing wrong with using copulation to help a loved one. It was fortunate for me that it didn’t happen.” He smiled pleasantly. “And will never happen now that you know I’ll beat you senseless if you make the mistake of taking her up on her invitation.”

  “Goddammit, I have no intention—”

  “I know,” he interrupted. “But it never hurts to clarify matters. At any rate, I wish you to facilitate this business of capturing Deville as quickly as possible. It’s getting in my way.”

  Jared followed him. “My apologies. I’ll try to take care of the matter before you’re seriously inconvenienced. You might remember I’ve been wanting it done for more than a decade. I’m sending a message to Guillaume in Paris before we leave the dock. Will that be soon enough for you?”

  “It will have to do.” Bradford started down the gangplank. “What quarters are you giving the ladies once we reach Morland?”

  “You needn’t worry. I’m not going to throw them into the dungeon. I’ll make sure they’re guarded carefully, but I don’t think they’ll be eager to escape until they’re sure Deville has reached France.”

  “And how will they know that?”

  His smile was twisted. “Why, through me, of course. Cassie has made no bones about the fact that I’m to be used. She will do her best to spy out any information. I suppose it’s useless to tell you that you should also be on your guard?”

  Bradford nodded. “Completely. I can’t promise to be on your side this time, Jared.”

  “Then I’d best keep my own counsel.” He hadn’t felt so alone since the first night he’d come to Bradford’s town house. Well, so be it. He straightened his shoulders and smiled recklessly. “But don’t you act the spy, Bradford. I’d find that kind of betrayal unforgivable. I’m afraid I’d become very angry and exact a high penalty.” He glanced at Cassie on the dock. “A very high penalty.”

  “I’m not worried. I believe you’ll find making war on women distasteful.”

  Jared didn’t answer as he watched Cassie smile and speak to Lani. But her expression became shuttered as he approached.

  He smothered the irritation her response brought. “Welcome to England, ladies,” he said lightly. “I hope you find it pleasant.”

  “We do not,” Cassie said. “It’s a cold and barren place.” Her gaze went to the trees bordering the path up the hill. “And the trees are bare.”

  “It’s autumn and the leaves have already fallen. I regret that we can’t provide you with flowering shrubs such as those in the paradise you left behind.”

  “It doesn’t matter. We’ll be here only a short time.”

  “One never knows,” Jared said.

  She met his gaze. “I know.”

  Lani interjected quickly. “How far is this port from Morland?”

  “A few miles. They keep horses for me here at the stables at the inn. We should be at Morland by afternoon.” He added, “I’ll allow you the freedom of the grounds, but naturally you’ll be watched.”

  “Naturally,” Cassie said. “You need not worry about us leaving until there’s a reason to do so. Then we will go and you won’t be able to prevent it.”

  “I’d be curious to see how you accomplish—”

  “Come along, Cassie.” Lani moved toward the inn Jared had indicated. “I’m growing chill here by the water. I want to be on our way.”

  Cassie turned at once and followed her down the dock.

  Jared stood watching them go, frustration and irritation coursing through him. She would go anywhere, do anything, Lani asked, but he received only defiance.

  “Feeling a tad at a loss?” Bradford asked. “I didn’t think it would happen already.”

  “I’m not at a loss.”

  Jared stalked down the dock toward the inn.

  Ten

  “Very splendid,” Lani said in an undertone to Cassie as they watched Jared move down the long line of servants gathered in the courtyard to greet him. “It seems the English may know more of ceremony than we do.” She wrinkled her nose. “Though they could use a bit of color. What a somber collection. Do you suppose we could persuade them to trade those stiff, dark uniforms for a few decent sarongs?”

  “I doubt it.” Cassie chuckled as Bradford helped her down from Kapu. Bless Lani, for an instant she had actually felt a little nervous at this display of power and prestige. Cassie could barely remember the palaces and châteaus of France, but she was sure they could not have been as imposing as Morland. Still, Lani was right: this castle might be very grand, but their island was much more beautiful. Jared might be king here, but they were used to a royalty with its own set of customs. “Are you going to try?”

  “Dear God, please don’t,” Bradford groaned, his glance going to an elderly gray-haired woman whose body resembled a plump partridge. “Mrs. Blakely dandled me on her knee when I was barely out of the nursery. I don’t think I could become accustomed to her without her starched skirts and high collars.”

  “That’s very selfish of you,” Cassie said, smiling. “Think of her. How can her body breathe swathed in all that material? It’s almost as bad as the gowns Clara chose for me.”

  “Impossible,” Jared said as he approached them.

  Cassie’s smile faded and she instinctively braced herself. It was the first word he’d spoken to her since they’d left the dock. “Then you must approve of Lani’s plan.”

  He frowned. “What plan?”

  “Why, Lani thinks that sarongs would be much more appropriate garb for your servants.”

  “Not bloody likely,” he said distinctly. “No sarongs. Not here. Do you understand?”

  “Lani was joking.”

  “But are you?”

  She turned away and changed the subject. “Where’s the stable? I have to get Kapu settled.”

  He would not be deterred. “Were you joking, Cassie?”

  “Perhaps. Your England is so cold, it’s no wonder everyone bundles up.” Her glance fell on a long, low outbuilding across the courtyard. “Is that the stable?” When Jared nodded, she started toward it, brushing aside the young boy who rushed forward to take Kapu’s reins. “Don’t bother going with me. I don’t need your help.”

  “How kind of you to dismiss me,” Jared said. “Will you go with her, Bradford? I’ll escort Lani to her quarters.”

  “Delighted,” Bradford replied. “I’m very proud of the horses in that stable, as I had a hand in choosing a good many of them. I think even Cassie will have to admit their excellence.”

  “Not if they don’t wear sarongs,” Jared said sarcastically.

  Bradford chuckled as he moved after Cassie. “Good God, what a picture that brings to mind.” He opened the door of the stable and stepped aside for Cassie and Kapu to pass. “I’m afraid we’ve irritated dear Jared. I’ve noticed a certain lack of humor in him since you appeared in our lives.” He closed the stable door behind them a
nd gazed at Cassie expectantly. “Well?”

  “It’s so … clean.” An understatement: the stable was bright and well scrubbed; even the brass latches on the stalls gleamed as if just polished. The main stable area was enormous; spacious stalls accommodated at least thirty horses. Through an arched opening in the west wall she glimpsed a carriage room that was even larger than the stable.

  “Jared believes that cleanliness keeps animals healthy. He’s very particular.” Bradford stopped before an empty stall. “Will this do? No horse on either side of him. Your Kapu isn’t used to company.”

  “It will be fine.” She led Kapu into the stall and began unsaddling him. The familiar duty was soothing, as comforting as the smell of horse and straw that surrounded her. Her sense of strangeness and tension began gradually to ebb away. “It’s like a palace compared to his stable at the cottage. Thank you, Bradford.”

  “My pleasure.” He leaned against the stall gate, watching her. “Exceptional animal. How fast is he?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never timed him.” She smiled over her shoulder. “We don’t have horse races in Hawaii.”

  “Will you let me time him?”

  She frowned. “Why?”

  “Because I’ve an insatiable curiosity where horses are concerned. I have to know everything about them.” He smiled coaxingly. “Please?”

  She softened as she looked at him. Bradford had never been anything but kind to her, and it was a small thing to ask. “If you like.”

  “Tomorrow morning. Eleven?”

  She nodded. “But it makes no difference how fast he is.”

  “It does to me.” His smile was luminous. “Speed is part of the glory. Not all of it, however. There’s nothing more beautiful in the world than a fine horse running like the wind.”

  She had a sudden memory of Kapu streaking down the beach, mane blowing, muscles bunching, gathering, gleaming with every powerful stride. “No, there isn’t,” she said softly.

  They exchanged a glance of complete understanding.

  Bradford nodded and straightened away from the gate of the stall. “I’ll leave you to get him settled. I’ll go see if Lani is comfortable and then meet you in the front hall of the castle in an hour. Will that be enough time?”

  She shook her head. “I’ll find my own way. Kapu may need me to stay with him.” She began to wipe the stallion down.

  “Well, promise you won’t stay the night. There’s nothing here that can harm him.”

  “If he settles well.”

  “Please make the effort. Jared’s stable boys aren’t accustomed to ladies occupying the horses’ stalls. It will disconcert them.”

  She grimaced and didn’t answer.

  “I didn’t think that would be a convincing argument.” Bradford started to turn away.

  “Wait!”

  He glanced at her inquiringly.

  “Which horse is Morgana?”

  He smiled. “Ah, the Queen? I should have known Jared would have told you about her.” He motioned for her to follow him. “Come see her. She’s at the end of the stable.”

  Cassie gave Kapu a pat and left the stall. “He didn’t really tell me anything about her.” She had stopped him, afraid she would be drawn further into the net by confidences. She felt no such threat with Bradford and was curious to see the mare Jared had said was finer than Kapu. “Why do you call her the Queen?”

  “You’ll see.” Bradford stepped aside and gestured to the horse in the end stall. “Her Majesty.”

  Cassie inhaled sharply and took a step closer. She was a truly beautiful bay, much smaller than Kapu, but every line of her body sang with beauty, strength, and power. She could indeed see why Bradford called her the Queen; she had never seen a horse with such a regal air. “Lovely,” she murmured. She reached out a hand to touch the mare’s muzzle, but Morgana shied away. “Good,” she told her softly. “You have spirit and you’re particular. I should have let you get to know me first.”

  “At least she didn’t take your hand off at the wrist, as your stallion would have done,” Bradford said.

  “But she’s not docile.” Dear heaven, she was beautiful. “Will she let anyone but Jared ride her?”

  “I’ve ridden her on occasion. When Her Majesty permits. She definitely has a mind of her own.” He drew closer and held out his hand and, when Morgana didn’t flinch, began to stroke her muzzle. “It’s like sailing on a smooth sea. I imagine the ride on your Kapu is a world of difference.”

  “Yes.” Riding Kapu was like harnessing a storm—exciting, a little unstable, but exhilarating power in every stride. “Very different. How long has Jared had her?”

  “Four years. He got her as a foal from Sheikh Galen Ben Hassan of Sedikhan.”

  “Sedikhan?” She frowned, trying to place it. “I’ve never heard of it.”

  “Not many people have. It’s a barbarous desert land very far from here.” He smiled. “The sheikh also has his barbaric moments, but Jared and he hit it off. He has a magnificent stable, and horsemen always have common ground.”

  “And he bought her from this sheikh?”

  “No, the sheikh wouldn’t sell. Jared won him in a wager.”

  “What kind of wager?”

  For the first time Bradford looked a trifle discomforted. “Just a wager,” he said vaguely.

  “What kind of—”

  “No,” he said with firmness. “Forget it. I should not have mentioned it. Such details are not for your ears.”

  She was tempted to pursue the matter, but it was evident he would not be moved. “I’m surprised he wanted a filly so badly.”

  “Look at her.”

  “As a foal she wouldn’t have looked like this. There’s nothing more awkward and disproportionate.”

  “Jared has infallible instincts where horses are concerned. Besides, he saw the dam. He knew Morgana would be a queen.” He glanced at her sideways. “And fast. She’s the fastest horse in England. There’s not a man in the ton who wouldn’t give his soul to own her.”

  “Jared told me he races her.”

  “Of course, Jared is a very competitive man. He enjoys winning.”

  She already knew that about him. “But does Morgana?”

  He nodded. “Oh, yes, racing is bred in the horses of Sedikhan. It offends her royal dignity to be put in the same class as lesser beings, but she loves leaving them in the dust.”

  It was an amusing picture, and a smile tugged at Cassie’s lips as she visualized the proud disdain of the filly. “I like her.” She chuckled. “Not that she cares.”

  “She will care. Let her get to know you. She has a great heart.”

  But Cassie might not be here long enough for the magnificent filly to get to know her, she thought with a pang. A month or two and she might be in France or, if all went well, on her way back to Hawaii. Not that she regretted it, she assured herself quickly. She wanted nothing more than to be gone from here and return to her old life. It was just that the filly was extraordinary.…

  But not as wonderful as Kapu. Kapu was her own, her heart. She had no need for another horse when she had the stallion. When this was over, she would take him back to Hawaii and she would find him a mare worthy of him and start her horse farm. She wouldn’t be—

  A mare worthy of him.

  She stared at Morgana, stunned. Where would she find a mare worthier of Kapu than Morgana? Perfection and perfection. Royal rogue and haughty majesty.

  “What is it?” Bradford was staring at her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” It was a lie. Something was very wrong. Now that she had seen Morgana, she would never be satisfied with another mare with which to breed Kapu. Well, she would have to be satisfied with a lesser consort. She knew she could not have Morgana. But, dear God, how she wanted her for Kapu.

  “Don’t compare the two,” Bradford said. “They’re both splendid in their own way.”

  He thought she was having doubts about Kapu’s superiority and trying to be k
ind. “There’s nothing to compare.” She smiled with an effort and turned away from the mare. “I have to get back to Kapu.”

  “I suppose we aren’t going to see you at dinner?”

  “No, even if I return to the castle, I’ll eat in my quarters from now on.”

  “I thought that particular social pretense was at an end.” He paused. “Jared won’t like it, you know.”

  “Then he doesn’t have to feed me.”

  “I realize you eat and sleep horses, but I believe you’d find hay and grain a poor repast.”

  She reached Kapu’s stall and resumed wiping him.

  Bradford sighed as he moved toward the stable door. “I suppose this means Lani won’t join us either.”

  “Lani makes her own decisions. You’ll have to ask her.”

  “Oh, be assured, I will.”

  Cassie finished wiping Kapu down and threw aside the toweling. He wasn’t as nervous as she had feared. Perhaps because he was so glad to get back on land. She stepped closer and laid her head against Kapu’s mane. “It’s a fine, lovely stall, but don’t get too used to it,” she whispered. “We don’t belong here. We’ve still got to find our own place.”

  She heard a soft neigh from down the corridor. Morgana? It could be any of a dozen horses, but she instinctively knew it was the mare.

  Kapu went still and his ears pricked forward.

  “She’s beautiful, boy. But she doesn’t belong to us either. It’s just as well she’s too far away for you to see her.”

  But she felt an aching sense of loss as she remembered those beautiful lines, the proud lift of the mare’s head. What a pair they would have made together.

  The distant crunch of footsteps …

  Cassie drowsily lifted her head from the straw. She had been just about to fall asleep when the sound had disturbed her. It was probably nothing. A young stable boy had come to check on the horses shortly before dark, but after she had sent him to his bed, there had been no one.