Page 85 of A Tenuous Betrothal
“Want to go for a ride?” Rhi said.
Firestorm bobbed her head and pressed against her again.
“Could we get her saddled?” she asked the stablehands.
“Yes, miss.” The stablehands ran again, leaving Firestorm with her, which she appreciated.
Prince Frederick reached out a hand. “She is a beautiful horse.”
“Thank you. She’s got quite a personality. But I love that about her.”
Firestorm jerked away from Frederick.
He laughed. “Whoa, girl.”
“That’s my girl.” Rhi laughed. “She might warm up to you, but she might not.”
He smiled. “I only want her to warm up if she wants to.”
“That’s the perfect answer.” She studied him. He was a lot like Marc but, at the same time, different. There was perhaps more of an edge to him. Or maybe it was just that he was older. She couldn’t tell. He had the same hair and build but different eyes. And she found herself missing Marc.
Prince Frederick’s eyebrows rose, and she realized she was staring. “Oh, pardon me. I’m so sorry. You just look so much like Marc.”
“The handsomer version—that’s what they tell me.” He winked.
And she noticed another thing completely different from Marc, but she would give Prince Frederick time before she completely wrote him off as arrogant.
The stablehands brought Morning Star to him.
“Is this your horse?” she asked.
“Yes, he’s a beauty.”
Firestorm eyed Morning Star and seemed to think he was acceptable enough, so they stood side by side.
“Shall we?” Prince Frederick pointed toward the opposite entrance and what looked like great fields beyond.
“Oh, I need this.”
They walked out to the grassy area, and then, before Prince Frederick could assume she needed help, she leaped up onto her horse and rode out slowly across the green.
The prince was soon beside her, and they took their ride slow at first. She wanted to warm up Firestorm before pushing her too fast, but her mare was impatient and apparently wanted to run just as much as Rhi did, so after some stomping and lifting of Firestorm’s legs, Rhi let her have her head. They took off across the field, the world whirring by, and Rhi reveled in it.
At first, Prince Frederick and Morning Star kept up at her side, but Firestorm viewed it as a race, so he backed up a little, staying a few strides behind.
They rode and rode and rode, and she wished their excursion would never end. She closed her eyes and imagined she was back in Wales. Her parents were still alive, and the fields were full of heather.
And then she opened her eyes again and imagined she was with Marc. That was easy enough since Prince Frederick’s profile out of the corner of her eye might as well have been Marc’s.
They made it to the back end of the field and a stream with some trees, so she pulled Firestorm to a stop. “Should we water the horses?” She looked back over her shoulder and was surprised to see the prince farther behind than she’d expected and talking to two other men on horses. They gave him a packet of something and saluted before taking off, and Prince Frederick lifted his head in her direction, raised a hand, and then joined her.
“Palace business that couldn’t wait?” She indicated the packet.
“Something like that, in addition to invitations Mother wants me to look over for the ball she and Father are hosting in your honor.”
“They’re hosting a ball?”
“Of course. She wants the whole country to meet her new daughter-in-law.”
