Josette didn't look at her. "Did I cause you pain?"
"No, I told you, neither Lani nor I occupy his bed. Your Jared cannot discard what he doesn't possess."
Josette heaved a sigh of relief. "Good, I really didn't mean to hurt you that time. It just slipped out." She changed the subject. "How fast is Kapu?"
"I have no idea. Bradford is going to clock him tomorrow morning."
"Can I be there?" Josette's face was alight with eagerness.
She smiled indulgently. "If you like. I don't see why it's so important. I don't intend to race him."
"Of course you will. Everyone races here. It's very exciting. What hour?"
"Eleven."
"I'll be here." Her expression clouded. "Maybe. If Jared isn't too displeased with me and sends me packing."
"Would that be so bad?"
"Yes." She added haltingly, "They hate me there."
She could not imagine anyone hating this urchin. In spite of her prickly nature and swaggering bravado there was something very appealing about Josette. "I'm sure you're wrong."
"What do you know? They hate me." She shrugged with a pretense of carelessness. "Not that I care."
"Why would they dislike you?"
"Because they're stupid and jealous." She added, "They say I'm a foreigner and the enemy."
Cassie looked at her in bewilderment. "Foreigner?"
"I'm Josette Brasnier, the Comptesse de Talaisar." She rolled the title off her tongue with flamboyant grandeur. "And a French comptesse is far better than any of their puny English titles."
Foreigner. Brasnier. French. The words whirled wildly in Cassie's mind. She had heard that name only once before, but it was one she would never forget.
"What's wrong?" Josette asked, stiffening.
The words were difficult to form, "Who was… the Compte de Talaisar to you?"
Josette frowned. "My father, of course."
The child. Cassie had been so stunned at the murderous implication against her father, she had forgotten completely about the child Jared's father had rescued from the soldiers. This must be the only survivor of the family Jared claimed her father had betrayed. "Danjuet."
"You've heard of my home?"
"Yes." The story Jared had told her was suddenly coming alive in the form of this young girl. She didn't want that past to come alive; she wanted to push it away from her.
"Did Jared tell-"
"I think it's time you went back to the carriage room," she interrupted harshly as she opened the door of the stall. "You may not want to sleep, but I do."
"What did I do?" Josette asked, bewildered. "What did I say to-" She broke off and then lifted her head proudly. "It's because I'm French, isn't it? You hate me because of that beast Napoleon. You're like all the others."
"No."
"You lie. It's because I'm not English. Why else would you change so quickly? I can feel you going away from me."
It would be easier to let Josette think that it was her French birth that offended Cassie-but she couldn't do it. She herself had been balanced too long between two worlds. "It's not because you're French. My father was French, and if anyone's a foreigner in this land, it's I." She didn't look at her. "Ask Jared."
"I'm asking you."
"And I'm not answering you. Ask Jared." She lay down on the straw, drew her blanket over her, and turned her back. "And after you do, I doubt you'll care what I think."
She could feel Josette's gaze on her back. She felt as if she had struck a puppy. Ridiculous. Josette was much more like a young tigress. When Jared told her that Cassie was the daughter of the man responsible for her parents' death, she would probably launch a lethal attack.
She heard Josette's soft exclamation and then retreating footsteps.
Go to sleep. Nothing had changed just because she had met one of the people who had shared that terrible experience at Danjuet. It wasn't as if Josette would ever have been a friend to her, anyway. She must make no friends here at Morland. She must keep everyone at a distance.
Yet Josette had not allowed her to distance herself; she had plummeted into Cassie's life and forced a place for herself. Almost from the first moment Cassie had felt as comfortable with Josette as if she had known her all her life.
Well, the incident was over. The girl meant nothing to her. This strange bond of familiarity between the two of them could not hold firm when tested by the information Jared would give the young comptesse.
She heard the slam of the coach door in the carriage room. Josette was settling for the night.
Cassie shivered and drew the covers around her shoulders. The early-morning chill was beginning to creep into the stable.
She should have made Josette take one of Kapu's blankets…
It was barely dawn when Cassie left the stable. She was only halfway across the courtyard when Jared opened the front door and stood watching her come toward him. He was without a coat, his shirtsleeves rolled up and his dark hair tousled. His appearance at this hour could not be a coincidence. He had been waiting for her.
Dear God, she did not want to face him now. She felt grimy and sleepy, and she was still suffering that odd sense of loss.
"I hope Kapu had a better night than I." Jared's gaze raked her face. "Or you."
"I slept." It was true that after much tossing and turning she had finally managed to snatch a few hours' sleep.
"I didn't." He smiled mockingly. "I sat in my chair in the library and waited for you to abandon your vigil."
"I told you I wasn't going to come to you."
"You malign me." He opened the door and stepped aside to let her pass. "I had no lustful motives… this time. I merely stayed to see that you found your way to your quarters. Morland has three wings and many chambers. It would have been very distressing to the servants to have to search for you if you became lost."
"I would have just waited on the doorstep until the household woke. Besides, I never became lost on the island. I doubt if I would here."
"But the island is your home, your territory." He smiled. "This is mine."
She didn't need him to remind her. Now that she was away from the familiar sights and scents of the stable, she was beginning to feel very much alone and far from home. "Will you stop boasting and show me where I'm to sleep?"
"I wasn't boasting, I was merely pointing out the similarities between-" His smile faded as he studied her. "I'm not going to lie to you. There are very few similarities between your island and England. You're going to hate it here." He paused. "Unless you let me help you."
"A bargain, I suppose?"
His lips tightened. "No, goddammit, what's between us is a thing apart. I brought you here and that makes me responsible for you. I don't want you hurt."
"I won't be hurt." She turned and started for the stairs. "Did you put me in a chamber close to Lani?"
"No, I put you in the chamber next door to me." He moved past her and up the stairs. "So close I may be able to hear you breathe. I think I'll enjoy lying in my bed and listening for every little sound." He looked at her over his shoulder, and his voice deepened to silken sensuality. "It will be almost like being beside you."
A wave of heat surged through her as she met his gaze. Blast it, this was exactly what he wanted her to feel. She gave him a deliberately derisive glance. "These walls appear too thick to hear anything but a cannon shot."
His lips twitched. "True. Too bad you noticed."
"And I want to be next door to Lani."
He preceded her down a long hallway. "Guests have no choice in their quarters here at Morland. Placing you near Lani might prove inconvenient later."
He meant when she changed her mind and came to his bed. "I can't foresee any possible inconvenience."
He stopped before a door. "I can." He threw open the door. "I can foresee an endless variety. So you'll remain here." He nodded at the brocade bellpull on the wall across the room. "Ring if you need anything. I'd say a bath is in order." He turned away. "I'll send you breakfast at ten. You were going to meet Bradford at eleven, I believe."