But Cyrus’ smile was half-assed at best. Upon Sameer’s insistence, he joined our group in full. Miss Lydia dropped her gaze, and Aggy greeted him, thanking him brightly for taking her Prince’s place.
“Aye,” Evergreen said, in a tone that was evenlessconvincing than his grin. “What a perfect plan.” But he wasn’t happy like I had hoped. He was distant.
I took a deep breath, suddenly aware that I still clung to the Prince. I felt bad about the demonstration. When I let go, there was no change to the swordsman’s face.
“Thank you for seeing to this,” Sam said to him. “You’re a good friend.” He clapped his hand to his back. “I’ll compensate you somehow, of course.”
“Of course,” Evergreen said.
Chapter 3
Ihad never seen someone tying a saddle knot so furiously before, but Mr. Evergreen was making it his sole purpose in life to guarantee the one he worked. I arrived quietly enough to see him yank, shove, and weave the leather in and out of Edith’s straps with such careful precision that I knewundoubtedlythe act was a common outlet for his vexations. Yet he moved so deftly, and it was such a grand display of the mastered control he had over his fingers, that I could not help but stare. His anger only grew once he noticed I was there.
“Good morning,” I said tentatively.
“Is it?”He tossed one end over the other. “What’sgoodabout it?”
“...Well,” I started. “The sun is-”
“That wasrhetorical, Princess. Rhetorical means I wasn’t looking for an answer, but of course you’d reply anyway. Wouldn’t you?”
“I know what rhetorical means, sir,” I said. I checked the other stalls. “Where is Isaac?” Tails was ready instead, and the whole barn was eerily quiet and filled with horses I didn’t recognize.
“Isaac is at my cottage,” he said.
“Are we not riding her today?” I asked.
“I will break her on my own time,” he went on. “And I will deliver her to you when that is done. October maybe. Sooner if you stop scheduling me for things liketours.”
I nodded. “Am I to infer that you are angry about today’s adventure?”
“Adventure?” he asked. “Yes. Sure. Let’s call it that.”
“Call it what you want, but I did what I had to do, sir. If you had but agreed to speak privately with me yesterday, I would not have had to schedule this tour. I can only play the hand that I am dealt. The handyoudealt me, not to mention.”
“I didn’t peg you for a stake player, Your Highness,” he said.
I snickered, and the fury in his returning gaze dared to catch me alight.
“Where was the joke?” he asked. “Is it me?”
“No.” I straightened, losing the grin. “No, it’s just… It’s sort of strange to find myself on this end of a tantrum, is all.”
“Tantrum?” Cyrus’ eyes did not blink. “This is not a tantrum, Your Highness. This is what a man whowantedspace andaskedfor space looks like when he is not granted the mercy of space! Do not accuse me oftantrumswhen you are the Queen of throwing fits!”
“Space?”I asked. “Space? Is that what I heard?”
“Yes!”
“I don’t remember you asking for space!”
“I told you we could not?—”
“What? Be friends? Why? Because my knight discovered us in the farmhouse,youcarried me into?”
“He thought we had?—”
“He thought whatanybodyelsewith half a brain would have thought, finding us like that! We were isolated in a decrepit house, alone and late into the evening! You are an unwed man. I am an unwed woman! We were unchaperoned!”
