Is this what it feels like to be a real woman?she wondered. Then she dismissed the thought. It had been a long and emotional day and she was exhausted. When she finally fell asleep she began to dream straight away.
There was a man on the hill, standing with his arms folded looking down at the sea, singing in a fine masculine voice. The song was lively, a celebration, and it made her want to dance.
He looked around and saw her, smiled, and stopped singing, then he came down to her and took her hand. She looked down and saw the ocean stretching out as far as the horizon in a broad green expanse. It drove a fresh wind uphill and caught them in their exposed position, but the man put an arm around her waist and held her tightly, and she felt safe.
They stood for a while looking silently at the sea, then she sighed. “I have to go,” she said regretfully, looking into his lovely eyes. They were deep brown, and his hair was dark. He was beautiful.
“Will I see you again?” he asked, and his voice was hopeful, but sad. Then he answered his own question. “No, I can see that you have another sweetheart and you will never want me.” He gave her a sad smile and faded away.
This time Caitlyn did not wake up. She slept on till morning, but when she opened her eyes the events of the day and night before came crowding in, and she groaned with misery. She was hoping to go home that day if her father came; her mother was now fit enough to travel and she did not want to stay under the same roof as Alastair Duncan for a minute longer than she had to. The tension between them had become unbearable, but she would be very sorry to leave Ava, who had become like a sister.
She did not know at what time her father would arrive, if indeed he came that day, so she decided to pass time with Ava for a while. It might be the last time she would see her, and perhaps today she could persuade her outside.
Ava, as always, looked delighted to see her. “I think I am ready to go downstairs,” she said, smiling, but barely able to contain her nervousness.
Caitlyn hugged her. “That is so good to hear,” she said warmly. “Are you coming down to breakfast? I will ask the cook to make kippers—I know they are your favorite.”
Ava nodded happily.
“Is Alastair here or has he gone out?” Ava asked. “I wanted to ask him to ride Pinky past the window today.”
“I have no idea.” Caitlyn answered, but her heart had begun to beat wildly at the mention of his name. “But if you like, I can ride her.”
“Of course you can!” Ava cried delightedly. “Why did we not think of it before?”
Caitlyn thought about that for a moment as Ava got dressed, then she realized that it was because Alastair had such an air of authority that he seemed almost indispensable, as if no one else was capable of doing what he could do. That was rubbish, in Caitlyn’s opinion. He was a man like any other.
Caitlyn tried to pretend that the emotion she felt when she saw him in the dining room was anger, but although she was annoyed with him, in her heart of hearts she knew she was lying to herself. The feeling was desire—not love—but the simple need of a woman for a man, and again her body responded with a flood of moisture and a fluttering of pleasure.
Despite her anger, she would have rushed into his arms had he held them out to her. When he looked up from breakfast and saw his sister he gave a whoop of delight and went to embrace and kiss her.
“I am so proud of you,” he said, smiling into her eyes, “and so happy.” Then he hugged her again, looking over his shoulder at Caitlyn. He was unsurprised but saddened that she would not look at him.
“Has she not done well, Caitlyn?” he asked her.
She smiled at him tightly. “Indeed she has,” she replied. “Little steps might be slow but they get you there in the end.” Then she dropped her gaze to her food again.
While they ate, Alastair tried not to look at Caitlyn but found it impossible. Caitlyn, on the other hand, seemed very composed and carried on an animated conversation with his sister while not speaking to him at all, and if Ava noticed anything amiss, she said nothing.
At the end of the meal Alastair caught Caitlyn’s arm as she went out to the stables. Ava had said that she would go back to her room by herself—another major step—so Caitlyn was going to take Pinky for her ride past the window.
She hauled her arm out of his grasp and he stepped back, holding up his hands in an attitude of surrender. The eyes that were blazing up at him were like green fire, and he knew that this was not going to be easy.
“I told you not to touch me!” she spat, her face a mask of anger. In spite of himself, Alastair wanted to kiss her again; she was absolutely gorgeous when she was angry.
“I wanted to apologize,” he said quietly. “I had no right to do what I did.”
“No, you did not!” she snapped, then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, calming herself down. “Thank you for the apology. We will consider it forgotten...again!”
When Caitlyn reached the stables, she found that Pinky looked like a different horse from the bedraggled specimen who had been brought in a few days earlier.
She passed her hands over her smooth, shining belly and flanks, then ran her fingers through the creamy silky mane. Gone were the muddy patches, fir needles, and assorted forest debris. She was back to being her old beautiful self. Pinky whickered and rubbed her nose over Caitlyn’s hair, messing it into a tangle, but Caitlyn only laughed. Horses, especially beautiful ones like this, made her happy.
She mounted Pinky and rode her around in front of Ava’s window. She reined Pinky in and waved at her friend, then she rode her around in a circle so that Ava could see her from all angles before they cantered back to the stables.
Ava watched Caitlyn’s expert handling of her beautiful mare and felt a tug of longing to be out in the open again. She had forgotten what a lovely creature Pinky was and realized how much she had missed her.
Tomorrow, she thought determinedly.I will go and see my Pinky tomorrow.Then she sighed. Tomorrow would likely be Caitlyn’s last day at Mullach Castle, and Ava was going to miss her very, very much.
