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 and 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…