He fought the urge to laugh. “Yes. And if I’d had any idea of how she was treating you, I would have taken the door down to get to you.”
“You didn’t know me then,” she reminded him.
“Ah, but as a member of the king’s Royal Guard, I swore an oath to protect all the citizens of our kingdom. That included you, whether or not I knew you.”
“But just think, if you’d barged in and rescued me there, you might not have fallen in love with me. We wouldn’t have had any baby goats to knock us over and pull death defying stunts.”
He grinned at the reminder of Mollie. “Yes, well, we’ll just have to stop guessing what might have happened. Besides, we’re here.”
He dismounted and reached up to her, setting his hands around her waist and helping her down. He left his hands there a moment longer, leaning down to steal a kiss, before letting her go and turning his attention to his mount.
“Let’s see if Kellan stopped by or if they are entirely unaware that we’re about to barge in,” he said as he gathered his reins and reached back for Sophia’s hand.
“Will they be prepared?” Sophia asked anxiously as she stopped walking and pulled her hand from his. “Uninvited guests are such a hardship on the staff.”
He turned to her. “It will be unexpected, but it won’t be a hardship for them, I promise. We’re all used to roughing it, and if they have to run to the market to buy some more food for dinner, they won’t mind. No one will yell or scream if there are unwashed linens, or if there isn’t a five-course dinner prepared for us.”
He’d meant the words as a joke, but he could see in her eyes that he’d struck a chord.
Fury built up inside him at how Lady Manning must have treated everyone in her household for Sophia to still feel this way a year after leaving.
“Sophia,” he said softly, closing the distance she’d left between them and tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “They will not be unhappy to see us, I promise. If you want, we can help them prepare the food and rooms. Just come inside and meet everyone. I know they’re going to love you.”
She allowed him to take her hand again, and he led them to the gate that kept their home apart from the busy street. He tied his horse to the fence, then led her through the gate.
As they climbed the steps to the front entrance, Caspian tried to see their home through her eyes. Did it seem too much like Lady Manning’s? All the mansions that lined this street were owned by nobility, homes for those who had estates elsewhere but needed a place to stay when they were in the city. They all looked similar—was it too similar?
He let go of her hand as he opened the front door and called out, “Rawlings, I’m home.” The words echoed through the large foyer, and a moment later, Rawlings popped up.
“Lord Caspian,” he said in delight. “This is unexpected.”
Then his eyes took in Sophia standing next to him. “Oh, my goodness, what have you done to this poor girl?”
Caspian shook his head. “Why would you assume it’s my fault? I rescued her.”
“Isn’t it usually your fault?” Rawlings asked, amusement glinting in his eyes.
“How dare you insinuate that I’m usually causing trouble,” Caspian said, narrowing his eyes at the older man who’d cared for him during his two years in Riyel.
Sophia reached for his hand. “He didn’t cause any trouble. I was kidnapped, and he saved me.”
She looked up at him with love in her eyes and it took everything in him not to swoop down and kiss her senseless right in front of Rawlings.
No, he couldn’t do that. “This is Lady Sophia,” Caspian said, in a vain attempt to distract himself. “She’s had a rough couple of days, but we’re going to get it all sorted out.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Sophia. Let’s get you taken care of, why don’t we?” Rawlings asked, hurrying to the wall and pulling a rope. “Would you like some tea while we prepare a hot bath?”
Caspian looked down at Sophia, who suddenly appeared as if she was going to burst into tears. “Tea sounds lovely,” he said. “I’ll take her to the sitting room. Oh, and Kellan is here, and maybe eight other guards and men from the Northlands. They’ll be arriving at some point and will need rooms as well.”
“Will everyone need a bath?” Rawlings asked, showing his first sign of alarm.
“No,” Caspian said. “Just this one.” He reached out to take her hand and gently led her toward the sitting room. It was one of his favorite rooms in the house, where he and his brothers and his parents had spent many hours before they’d made the move to the Northlands as their usual residence. There were many happy memories here.
And now there would be more.
He sat down on a sofa and pulled Sophia onto his lap. She startled, and moved as if she wanted to slide off, but he simply wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her neck.
Having her here, safe, in his home…it made everything that had happened start to sink in a little more. The very real danger that she’d been in, the fact that he could have been killed. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” he whispered, the words muffled by her skin. “I was so worried about you.”
