A boy of about thirteen introduced himself as Franco. She wondered how he would reach the ball without falling from his horse. "Are you Luc's girlfriend?" Franco asked.
Maggie's mouth opened and closed. She imagined she resembled a fish in an aquarium.
"It's complicated."
They were the very words she'd been thinking, but Maggie wasn't the one who'd said them.
She glanced behind her to see a young woman approach. "That's what Uncle Luc always says when I ask him about it."
"You must be Guinevere."
The girl was smiling and wearing a uniform that matched Maggie's. Her handshake was quick and firm, and she kept on smiling even as the teams were announced to rousing cheers from the crowd.
The horse Maggie was introduced to was a pretty mare with a coat like lustrous chocolate. She let the horse get her scent, stroked its neck with a gentle hand.
The mare was intelligent, comfortable with all the noise and strangers around her.
When Maggie swung up into the saddle, she was almost herself again.
Be Tirith.
She could do this. She just had to pretend she couldn't ride.
"That's it!"
Luc turned at Maggie's cry, which was almost drowned out by the cheers of the crowd as Guinevere knocked the ball through the goalposts.
Jean Marc rode close as they wheeled their horses to the center of the field. "Moreno. Get your head in the game."
Luc glared at him, but he couldn't deny his friend was right.
It was impossible to concentrate with Princess Maggie riding. She'd almost come unseated twice—he had never imagined she knew trick riding—and had fumbled her mallet at least three times. Each time she made an error, the crowd reacted. It was as if they were on the edge of their seats, unable to look away.
Luc knew how they felt.
And the blue team was winning.
Somehow, without seeming to do anything at all, Maggie was passing the ball to her teammates and setting them up for plays that led to points on the scoreboard. And it wasn't only Paul VanGardner, the professional player on her team, who was benefiting from her sneaky maneuvers. She'd diverted the ball to Guinevere and Franco more than double the times she'd sent it to VanGardner.
The game was playing out exactly how Luc had wanted it to. And Maggie was making it happen.Andentertaining the crowd.
Maybe he owed her an apology.
The umpire blew his whistle to signal the end of the third chukkas. They'd take a four-minute break while grooms changed out the horses. Then, they’d play the last period.
Luc guzzled from a bottle of cold water, trying to ignore his buzzing thoughts. It was impossible.
Maggie was like no one he'd ever met.
She'd been through something traumatic and yet had braved the garden party. All for him and to benefit his brother's foundation. And now this, today, for Guinevere.
Who had abandoned her team and was skipping over to Luc. "Guess what?"
He never could guess. Guinevere might easily be thinking about unicorns and rainbows instead of the game they were currently playing.
"Tell me, Peanut."
"Princess Tirith invited me to the castle to see the horses there! Isn't that amazing?"
