Page 11 of Hooked

My face fell along with my shoulders. I hated when she referred to herself that way.

“They are not the ones who quite literally saved my life and my sanity.” She looked at me with such affection that I could not argue. “You did that. You three are not servants to me. You are my friends. And I’m very sorry if that makes things uncomfortable for you, but I—” She grabbed hold of both my and Emeline’s hands and directed her gaze at Beatrice. “I find I simply cannot give you up.”

Emeline scooted closer and laid her head against Marilee’s shoulder. “I like having tea with you.”

Leave it to Emeline to make me feel like an ungrateful wretch. And really she was right. What did I care if a few servants were envious? Was it worth hurting my friend in order to keep myself as low and invisible as possible?

“Shall I pour?” Beatrice asked as if that was the end of it.

And it was.

Except that it was only the beginning. Marilee never did anything by halves.

She sought me out a few days later, breezing through the doorway and looking relieved to find me. “There you are,” she breathed as though it had been a sore trial to find me.

“Here I am indeed, right where I should be,” I said as I tugged the coverlet in place over her bed.

“Do you know how to ride?” she asked without responding to my teasing.

“Ride?”

“A horse.”

“I…knew how when I was younger. My father put me on a horse nearly as soon as I could walk, but I was only nine when he was taken away and I moved to my uncle’s house. After that, I was only allowed the use of a horse three or four times in the six years I spent there.”

“So you have not ridden since you were how old?” Marilee knew the basics of my past, but I tended to avoid the topic and never spoke of it in detail.

“I was…fifteen the last time I rode,” I said as I smoothed the last wrinkles. “But it was only a short walk around a park.”

“Did you enjoy it?”

“Of course.” I had missed it greatly when that pleasure was stripped from me along with so many others. It was why I visited the stables.

She held out a hand. “Then come with me.”

I took it, trusting her completely but befuddled nonetheless. “Where are we going, Your Highness?”

“You’re going to sit a horse again.”

The idea lit a happy lamp in my heart. “Why the sudden need to put me on a horse?”

She wrapped my arm around hers, a carefree smile stretching her face. “So that you can go riding with me whenever I want. I can’t always drag James along with me, and now that I have plenty of horses to offer, I think it’s time you kept me company. It’s all very selfish, I assure you.”

“Ah,” I nearly laughed. That made sense. She had spent a good amount of time in Dalthia galavanting about with her sisters, Sir James, or both. It was no surprise she wanted to continue, especially when Sir James had some of the best horseflesh around.

We stopped at her room so that she could force me into one of her riding skirts, then headed outside.

“I shall have an expert tutor you so that you will be comfortable again in no time.”

We arrived at the stables and I wondered which groom she would select to instruct me.

“Falstone,” Marilee called.

I looked to the other end of the stables, where Falstone was brushing a horse. Surely not…

“Good afternoon, Princess. Is our pupil ready?” He shifted his eyes to me.

My stomach dropped. We had not spoken since I had told him of my displeasure with his prying questions. And now we were to be thrown together, likely in close proximity, for at least the afternoon, if not longer.