They continued on, Mariel commenting on each horse. Her knowledge and intuition were equal to his own and her observations very astute. They came to an empty stall, and she halted. “Now this one is truly spectacular.”
He frowned as he scanned the empty space. “What do you mean?”
“Just look at his lines. He has a grace, even standing still.”
Truly puzzled now, he turned her toward him. “Mariel?”
She chuckled. “He is the horse of my dreams. He can be whatever I wish.”
“Ah, I see. And do you wish for a stallion?”
“No, one is enough. I would like a gelding who is affectionate and of happy disposition.”
He raised one brow. “You sound like you wish for a dog.”
“I suppose it does sound that way, but I don’t want a dog. They are too small. Each of my horses have a dominating characteristic. One is headstrong, one is fast, one is a great jumper, one is a true lady, and one is unpredictable, but none are affectionate.”
Did she long for affection? Did she even know she did? He wanted to give her that, the horse of her dreams, and more.
“I could spend the whole day in here. The scents, the sounds, the animals, the—oh.” She crinkled her nose.
He looked around her into the next stall to see the large horse inside had just relieved himself. He chuckled. “You did say you enjoyed the scents.”
She pinched her nose. “Some are better than others.”
At the sound of her voice, he laughed. “Then may I suggest we remove ourselves from the vicinity and make our way to the auctions?”
Letting go of her nose, she hooked her arm in his again. “Yes, please.”
Still smiling, he walked them down the center of the massive stables. He had thought Mariel unchanged, but he was discovering new sides to her daily, and he enjoyed every one of them. She’d always been sweet, but never forthright. She’d been witty, but not outright funny. There was so much more to her now, or was it that she was allowing him to see more?
“Wait.”
He halted at her command. “What is it?”
“That horse. I wish to see it.”
He moved them closer to a Thoroughbred unlike the others, it stood against the back wall, its gaze on them, but not moving.
Marie set one gloved hand upon the stall door. “We mean you no harm.” Her voice was soft and soothing as she spoke to the gelding. “What is amiss that you look at us so?”
The horse didn’t move, not even a swish of its tail.
“You poor thing. You’re so beautiful. No one should treat you so poorly.” She moved her gaze from the horse to him. “He deserves a better owner. He doesn’t know it, but his sale will probably save his life.”
Shocked by her words, he studied the horse more carefully, finally noticing what she had. Scars. An age-old anger simmered in his gut. There were two incidents he would not let go unpunished, the mistreatment of horses and the mistreatment of women.
She turned back to the horse. “I promise you. It will be better when you leave here.”
Her belief in mankind humbled him, but he was not so naïve. He glanced at the horse’s name as they turned away. He couldn’t leave now without ensuring the animal had a better owner.
As they exited the stables, they strolled back into the courtyard. He led her past the fountain and to the far end of the covered walkway on the right where an auctioneer had just finished a sale. He brought her just under the cover, but not too close to become a part of the proceedings.
A horse was led up the walkway and made to stand near the front of the auctioneer, but they couldn’t see it as they stood in the back. The crowd of men shifted slightly forward. As the bidding started, Mariel’s head moved as she sought out each bidder, her body leaning forward. When the winner was called, she let out a breath. “How fascinating. I’m not sure I would be very good at buying a horse in this way. I’m sure I would either spend too much or bow out too soon. Just watching it left me a bit breathless.”
“Shall we move closer to see the horse auctioned? As long as you can refrain from bidding, you may find it more interesting.”
“More interesting than watching a man standing above this crowd of hats and seeing random hands go up?” She widened her eyes as if that had been incredibly exciting.
