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 He. 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 kind. "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.
A soft jingle of bells.
It was coming from the carriage room.
A door slammed!
She sat bolt upright, her heart pounding wildly. It didn't have to be anything ominous. She knew nothing about castles, yet it didn't seem likely that anyone would be wandering about the stables in the middle of the night.
There's not a man in the ton who wouldn't give his soul to have Morgana.
Horse thieves.
It was certainly a possibility. If Morgana was considered such a jewel, then there would always be men who would pay to obtain the treasure.
She found herself rising to her feet even before she made a conscious decision. She would never let them have that beautiful filly. The mare belonged to Jared, and here she was treated like the queen she was.
Kapu neighed softly as she left the stall.
"Shh," she whispered. Her hand was shaking as she lit the lantern and took it down from the post. She had no weapon, but the heavy lantern might be used as a bludgeon. "I'll be right back.
Why was she whispering? If the intruders heard her, they might think they were discovered and flee. She moved toward the cavernous opening leading to the carriage house.
Maybe they were already gone. After all, a door had slammed. Perhaps they had taken whatever booty they had wanted and left.
Let them be gone, she prayed as she crossed the threshold of the carriage house.
The light from her lantern caused the dozens of coaches and phaetons to cast eerie shadows on the wall-giant monsters ready to pounce on her own shadow as she slowly walked down the long aisle.
A sharp metallic squeak.
She skidded to a halt. Where had it come from? Her throat was dry with fear as she called, "I know you're here. Where are-"
The door of the carriage on her left flew open!
She caught only a fleeting glimpse of a slim, boyish figure as it launched itself at her.
The breath left her body as she hit the floor.
Her assailant was immediately astraddle her.
She fought darkness and struck out.
He grunted in pain as she connected with his eye.
She rolled over, taking him with her. Now he was beneath her, and she reached for the lantern that had dropped from her hand. She lifted the lantern. If she could knock him out and then run to the castle for help…
"Blast it, wait! I give up."
Cassie froze in place. The voice had been furious, disgusted, and undoubtedly feminine. Slowly, she lowered the lantern and looked down at her attacker.
Green eyes glared up at her from a face as angelic as the ones in the pictures in Lani's Bible. Short pale-gold curls rioted around the girl's thin face. She looked a mere child-certainly no more than fifteen or sixteen. "Let me up!"
"Why should I? So you can attack me again?"
"I didn't attack you. I just jumped on you. If I'd attacked you, I wouldn't have let you get the best of me."
"You knocked the breath out of me."
"But I didn't try to hit you with a blasted lantern. Let me up."
"When you tell me what you're doing here. Are you one of the servants' children?"
She said defiantly, "It's none of your business."
"Then we'll stay here all night."
"You'll get bored or Jared will come for you."
Jared. If the girl was one of the servants' children, she would not be so familiar.
"Perhaps he's missing you already," the girl said. "Let me up and go to him."
"He knows where I am." She added, "And what is His Grace to you?"
"More than he'll ever be to a scraggly tart who pleases him only in bed." Her scathing glance traveled over Cassie's worn riding habit. "Where did he get you? London?" She shook her head. "His lady birds from London are much more comely. He must have gone directly from Tahiti to the dock and picked you up. I overheard one of Jared's friends say a man becomes desperate after long weeks at sea."
Unexpectedly Cassie found her anger lessening. The girl was helpless, facing an unknown threat, and still had the courage to spit defiance. In similar circumstances she hoped she would have done the same.
"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" she asked.
The girl set her jaw and was silent.
"Who are you?"
The girl didn't speak.
"Very well. I'll go ask Jared."
A sly expression crossed the girl's face. "Good idea. Go ahead."
And when she came back, the girl would be gone. Again she had a notion of vague familiarity. "After I find a rope to tie you up."
"No!" The girl hesitated and then said grudgingly, "My name is Josette."
"And your surname?"
"Get off me. You're crushing my stomach. You must weigh as much as Morgana."
"You know Morgana?"
"Of course I do." Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What were you doing creeping about in the stable in the middle of the night? Did someone pay you to bed Jared and then try to steal Morgana?"
"I'm not a horse thief. In fact, I thought the same about you. That's why I decided to search the carriage house."
Josette snorted. "You came after a horse thief with only a lantern? What were you going to do? Set him on fire? Not likely."