He snatched the whip up from the cobbles, breaking the wooden handle in two over his knee, and tossed it away.
The stable lad gave a pathetic little whimper, scrambling away.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
“Sorry won’t unwhip the horse, will it?”
Noah was aware that his voice was pitching higher and more angrily, but he couldn’t seem to help himself. He took a step forward, and the stable lad yelped, scuttling away with his tail between his legs. As his running footsteps echoed away, it occurred to Noah that he was now alone with Senga.
She had gotten to her feet at some point and stood silently behind him, watching. He didn’t look at her, but heknewthat she was watching. He could feel the weight of her gaze upon him.
Instead of turning to face her, Noah took a careful step towards the horse.
Because heknewhorses. Horses were always the same, always predictable, always trustworthy. You knew where you were with a horse.
This horse in particular eyed him nervously. He could see the whites of her eyes, and dried, bloody foam flecked around her mouth. Her nearside foreleg wouldn’t quite touch the ground, and as he approached, he saw that she had a nasty cut on the inside of her leg.
It had probably caught on a splinter in her stable; he would have to look over the stalls and find the offending splinter to prevent any further animals from being injured. The stable lad should have noticed it.
He hummed under his breath, which some horses found soothing, and approached gingerly, hand outstretched before him. The horse watched his approach warily, ears flickering. He paused about two arms’ lengths away, seeing that the horse was still nervous. If he went closer, Noah knew, he risked getting kicked.
He couldn’t blame the horse, of course. She was frightened, in pain, and had just been roughly treated. She didn’t know him, and she certainly didn’t trust him. But he couldn’t let her stay loose in the courtyard, and her leg would need to be tended to.
“It’s alright, Bluebell, lassie,” came Senga’s voice at his side.
To his amazement, he watched as Senga approached, close enough to smooth the horse’s nose with her palm. She leaned down, inspecting the horse’s injured leg. The creature’s ears flicked briefly back, but she stood staunchly, letting it happen.
“Poor lassie,” Senga murmured, straightening up.
She rested her forehead against the horse’s nose, and the creature huffed, ears flicking forward.
Noah found that his jaw was slack and closed it with a snap.
“Ye seem comfortable with the creature,” he managed at last.
Senga nodded, not turning to look at him. “Her name is Bluebell, and her master is dead. I took her with me when I went outside the Keep the other day—he told me to take her. I feel responsible for her.”
“As ye should,” Noah responded. “She seems to be yer horse now.”
He wasn’t sure what he’d expected as a response, but Senga gave a small, wry smile at that. She smoothed Bluebell’s nose one more time and stepped back.
“I believe I can guide her back to the stables,” she said at last. “But I will need ye to take her inside. Can ye do that?”
“Aye, I can. Ye certainly have a knack with horses, lassie.”
Senga looked properly at him then, her eyes a little reddened and not quite looking him in the eyes.
“Well, aye. I fell in love with a stable boy, remember?”
Noah’s chest tightened painfully until he could barely breathe. He hated himself for feeling this way. It was beyond ridiculous.
Remember the pain of her betrayal,he told himself.Hold on to that. She might want to act as though none of it has ever happened, but itdidhappen. It did. Ye cannot let yerself forget it.
Swallowing hard, he dragged his gaze away from her and focused on the horse again. This time, when he stepped forward, the horse’s ears didn’t flatten warningly against her skull. He gingerly picked up the rope dangling from her bridle, and she watched him through thoughtful, liquid black eyes.
“Good lassie,” he murmured, smoothing her nose.
He made no attempt to lead her, however. He waited until Senga began to walk away, and the horse began to clop after her. He followed, keeping the rope slack. The rope was only there in case the horse decided to try something dangerous, like charging at a group of children.
