Page 42

“No,” Rolfe said, knowing if she went to the palace, she would most definitely come across someone who had already heard of their marriage.

Cordelia’s networking in passing information was remarkable.

He didn’t want to think of how Cassia would react at being congratulated on a marriage she didn’t even know existed.

“You shouldn’t go to the palace as yet. I feel it is not safe.

I’m quite confident in the king’s ability to take care of the situation.

We’re not even certain that the queen was being poisoned.

And besides, I was of a mind to go riding in the park this morning, and wondered if you felt up to joining me?

I took the liberty of asking Winifred to fetch your riding clothes in hopes that you would.

A quiet ride around the park might be just the thing. ”

Cassia’s eyes immediately lit. “You want me to go riding with you?”

“Yes. Unless, of course, you don’t feel up to it yet.”

“No—I mean, yes. I do feel up to it. I feel more than up to it. I’ve been feeling restless all day. A ride outdoors will do me a world of good, I would think. I feel like I haven’t sat a horse in ages. If you would please but allow me a moment to change, I would be most happy to join you, my lord.”

Rolfe watched her go, and allowed himself the possibility of hope.

She was back within a quarter hour, dressed in a moss green riding habit, complete with a white feathered plume in her cocked hat.

The cut of the riding habit mimicked a man’s in style, flared doublet buttoned over a white shirt and lacy cravat.

Still, Rolfe thought, he had never seen a woman look more feminine.

The two horses were soon saddled and waiting for them at the front of the house. The morning had been dampened by an early rain, but the sun had since come out from behind the clouds and was now shining its brilliance down upon them. It promised to be a most pleasant day.

After assisting Cassia up and into the sidesaddle atop a sweet-faced bay mare, Rolfe vaulted onto his own horse, a dappled gray he’d affectionately named for his friend, Dante, after the horse had displayed a salient liking for sniffing after the mares.

“Are we off, then?” he asked Cassia.

“Yes, indeed, my lord.”

With the touch of their boot heels, and a swish of both horse’s tails, they started off, Rolfe steering them away from the more public St. James Park, heading instead for the wooded Hyde Park where they would be less apt to run into anyone from court.

Despite the sunshine, there remained a brisk bite to the air that Cassia found invigorating after having been confined the past days. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply of the chill air, letting it fill her lungs, losing herself to the soft sway of the horse beneath her.

It had been months since she had last ridden, not since she’d gone to Tunbridge with the king and court. She clucked softly to the mare, named Clover for her liking for it, the Kulhaven groomsman had said, breaking into an easy trot.

Once inside the park, they encountered no one, except for a small group of riders near the entrance gate who were headed in the direction of the more public Ring. They took no more notice of Rolfe and Cassia than a slight tip of their hats and a polite “good day.”

Rolfe directed them onto a path away from the other riders, moving toward the northern fringes of the park where the ground was more rugged and the woodland dense. Originally a royal hunting ground, this was an area less frequented by the park visitors.

“Whoa, girl,” Cassia said when Clover suddenly reared beneath her, jarring her atop the saddle. She tightened her hold to keep herself astride.

“Is everything all right,” Rolfe said, coming to her side to steady the dancing mare. “I was told that mare had a gentle nature. Perhaps we should return to the house for another mount.”

“No, no,” Cassia said, shifting slightly in the saddle, more embarrassed than anything else. “Something just seemed to spook her all of a sudden.” Cassia ran a gloved hand gently along the horse’s neck. “Everything seems settled now.”

They continued riding alongside each other for a distance, past fields full of once lush green grass, now dried and awaiting winter’s blanket of white.

As they passed through the park, they spotted a small herd of deer leaping swiftly through the fields.

Rolfe told Cassia that the deer had only recently been replaced, the original stock having been sold off along with most everything else of any value during the reign of the Commonwealth.

In fact, the parkland itself was fairly recent, having been opened to the public through the generosity of the previous king, Charles I, before the civil wars.

After a short walk, they halted the horses beside a secluded pond that was nearly hidden by a coppice of beech trees. The water rippled softly in the breeze, and two long-necked black swans floated elegantly along the surface.

Rolfe dismounted, then helped Cassia down from her mount before tethering the horses to graze by a nearby tree.

“Shall we stroll a bit?” he said, offering Cassia his arm.

She nodded. Her face was flushed a lovely pink and her eyes were bright.

Together they skirted the edge of the pond, listening to the sounds of the birds above, watching as several red squirrels frolicked beneath the branches of a nearby oak.

The solitude of the park was most peaceful.

Cassia removed her hat and allowed her hair which was tied at her nape, to trail down her back, a few stray tendrils loosened from their ride lifting in the gentle wind.

Rolfe looked over at her.

“You are looking much more the picture of health today, my lady.”

Cassia smiled. “Thank you. I am feeling much better today as well. It is such a lovely day.” She stopped, turning to face him, but her face grew suddenly serious. “You know, I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for saving my life that night at the palace.”

He grinned down at her. “Well I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for surviving it.”

“You know, my lord, you shouldn’t belittle my gratitude with teasing.”

“I promise you I’m not belittling at all. If you hadn’t had the will to live, if you hadn’t had the strength to fight ...”

Cassia wasn’t certain how she should reply. No one had ever told her that she mattered before, at least not that she believed. But somehow, when Rolfe just said the words to her, she knew he was sincere. It was a feeling that was foreign to her and she wasn’t sure how to respond.

Rolfe took a step toward her.

She suddenly knew he was going to kiss her, so when he lowered his head to hers, she didn’t pull away.

Instead, she welcomed it. Cassia didn’t understand this mysterious pulse of feeling that seemed to surround them.

It was like a strange wind had blown in, circling around only the two of them, drawing them closer.

She only knew she didn’t want it to end.

She leaned against him, and her gloved fingers clutched at the opening of his coat. She could feel him deepen the kiss. Timidly, she returned the kiss with her own. The intimacy between them filled her with wonder, and an eagerness for more. It was a heady, heady feeling, this new boldness.

She slid her hands against his chest and moved them beneath his coat to his shirtfront.

The warmth of his skin was delightful. She wanted to nestle beneath his coat.

She could feel the steady drum of his heartbeat, the musculature of his chest. She felt nearly undone when Rolfe pulled her even closer into his arms, his mouth asking more.

The feeling was more intoxicating than the time when she’d drunk too much champagne as a girl and had felt as it the world was turning on a spiral. Time seemed to have stopped as they stood together at the edge of that pond, with the sunlight beaming down upon them.

This, she thought to herself, her mind clouded as his mouth possessed hers, this was what all those stories no one ever knew she had read were about, stories of the brave knight-errant who carried off his maiden on a white horse, taking her to his castle atop the hill to live with her forever.

If only it could be so in the real world. If only ...

When she felt Rolfe’s hand brush against the side of her breast, it sent a tremble through her, throwing over all thoughts of knights-errant, maidens, and castles.

Cassia allowed her head to fall back as his mouth kissed down over her neck and throat.

She wasn’t even aware that he had unfastened her neckcloth and was loosening the tiny buttons of her cambric shirt until she felt the chill air against her skin. It only added to the excitement.

Cassia arched against the touch of his hand, wanting to feel him even closer. “Oh, Rolfe ...”

Her words dropped off, the power of speech beyond her now.

She thought, her whole body thrumming and alive, what is he doing to me?

Why do I feel this intense wanting, this desperate need for him?

Her hips pressed forward, but it didn’t relieve the tension inside of her.

It only made it build. And she knew Rolfe must feel the same because the groan he released into her mouth was as heady as any drug.

Cassia’s pulse beat was drumming in her ears. The world beyond that pond, the trees around them, ceased to exist.

Until the unexpected sound of rustling leaves and boot steps crunching over the ground suddenly shattered the spell that wound them together.

“Oh, good heavens. A thousand pardons. I didn’t know there was anyone here this far north in the park. Normally people prefer the Ring and the more public venues. I only come up here myself to view the wildlife. I say, my good man, is everything all right?”