"Hand flat," Archie instructed."Let her smell you."
I held out my hand, and the mare snuffled at it, her breath warm and soft.Up close, she was beautiful, dappled grey coat, gentle eyes, the kind of presence that made you want to be calm around her.
"She likes you," Archie said.
"How can you tell?"
"She hasn't bitten you yet.That's Azzurra's version of approval."
I laughed and stroked her neck, surprised by how soft her coat was."When will she foal?"
"Any time now.The vet checks her daily, and we have a camera in the stall so staff can monitor her overnight."He moved to stand beside me, both of us petting the mare."I want to be here when it happens.I know that's probably impractical given everything else going on."
"It's not impractical.It's important to you."
"Most people would say the investigation is more important."
"Most people don't understand that sometimes you need something normal and real to hold onto when everything else is chaos."
He looked at me then, really looked at me, and something shifted in his expression."You do understand."
"I make coffee for a living.Made coffee, past tense.But when people would come in stressed or upset or having the worst day, sometimes the most helpful thing I could do was just make their drink exactly how they liked it and chat with them about normal things.Weather, sports, weekend plans.Just...being human for a minute."
"I miss that about you," he said.
"Miss what?"
"The way you see people instead of positions.The way you treat everyone the same whether they're royalty or staff."He was standing very close now, his hand resting on Azzurra beside mine."Most people can't do that.They get lost in the hierarchy of who's important and who's not.But you just see people."
"That's just being a decent human."
"It's rarer than you think."
Our hands were almost touching on the horse's neck.I could feel the warmth of him beside me, could smell his cologne mixed with the scent of hay and horses.
This was dangerous.We were supposed to be colleagues investigating a sabotage plot, not standing in a stable having moments that felt too much like the early days when I'd thought Peter was just a nice guy who worked at the palace.
"We should get back," I said, not moving.
"Probably."
"The investigation, though..."
"Will still be there in ten minutes."
Azzurra shifted, and we both had to step back.The spell broke, and we were just two people in a stable instead of whatever complicated thing we'd been becoming.
Archie gave the mare one final pat."I'll come check on you tonight, beautiful girl.Try to wait for me before you have this baby, okay?"
Azzurra snorted and returned to her hay, clearly unimpressed by human concerns.
We walked back to the palace in silence.The break had helped, I felt clearer, less frustrated with the dead ends of the investigation.But I also felt more confused about Archie, about the man who could be Prince Archibald one minute and Peter the next.
About which version I was supposed to stay angry at.
We were crossing through the main entrance hall when my phone rang.Captain Steiner.
"Your Highness, we have a situation."
