When I look up, there’s a smile on his handsome face. “You were lost in thought when I expected to find you celebrating.”
I don’t know what to say to that, and I wonder if he saw Cassian in here, the son of the man who murdered his parents. I wonder if he knows who he is.
King Anson covers the awkward silence. “Congratulations, Lady Aubrey. You competed beautifully.”
“Thank you, sir. I wish I could have won for us. I’ll do better next time.”
“You did Paravel proud. We only ask your best.”
I remember my promise to Cassian to talk about the stables as much as possible. “I couldn’t have done it without the Bellerose Livery Stables. It’s a wonderful place to ride.”
The King’s gaze sharpens. “You’re still keeping your horse there?”
My heart sinks. If the King doesn’t approve or is suspicious of Cassian, then it’s hopeless for him to even try to make a go of things. Everyone will turn their backs on him if the King tells them to. “The owner has nothing to do with the old regime,” I say quickly. “Cassian doesn’t trust anyone not to mistreat Onyx, so he keeps him. Onyx is just a horse. He can’t help who his owner was.”
The King laughs. “You mistake my interest, Lady Aubrey. I thought the Archduke would have persuaded you away from there by now. I understand it’s not a popular place with your family.”
Or yours, probably, I think. But maybe King Anson doesn’t like living in the past, either.
“Daddy hates it,” I say flatly. “But Cassian—Mr. Bellerose—didn’t even know his father and has no loyalty to him. He just loves horses.”
“Like you?”
“Yes, like me, Sir.” My heart is beating too fast. Cassian and Daddy would probably be furious with me if they knew I was talking about Lungren to the King, but someone has to do something to clear away all these ghosts from the past.
“I’m happy you’re able to do what you love,” the King tells me, “and that Bellerose has kept his stables. Don’t let anyone take what you love away from you.”
I watch his face carefully as he speaks, and I see only sincerity. “What about you, Sir? What do you love?”
He looks startled, and, for a moment, that serene mask slips, but then it settles over his face once more. “Perhaps it’s a cliché, but I love Paravel. I never saw much of it while I was locked away, but the more I see of it, the more I like it. Keep doing what you love, won’t you?”
I nod, my heart swelling in gratitude.
“Good girl. Congratulations again, Lady Aubrey.”
I sink into a curtsey as he moves away. I believe him when he says he loves Paravel, but I wonder if there’s something else he loves, too. Or someone. After all he’s suffered, he deserves to be happy.15Cassian“I think you’d like the King, Cassian. He came to see me again after the event, and we had a proper conversation. He’s not proud or snobby at all.”
“So, not like your father, then?”
Aubrey makes a face at me, but she’s still smiling. She’s leaning against the wall while I muck out Aster’s stall. There’s a piece of hay in her hair, and her cheeks are flushed from riding. She’s so beautiful that it makes my heart ache.
I pause what I’m doing and lean over to kiss her. There are only the horses to see, and she raises her lips to mine without hesitation. I wish afternoons like these could last forever.
“I hope he was grateful to you for how well you rode. I think everyone was expecting Paravel to come in last, given Varga hated competitive sports so much.”
Aubrey rubs the tip of her nose against mine and smiles. “King Anson was kind and said he was happy for the country and proud of me.”
“Good. As he should be.”
“Daddy bought all the international newspapers to see what they’d written about me and Paravel. The French papers made a lot of Daphne winning, of course, and made sure to say that I’d learned dressage in France. That annoyed me, considering they wouldn’t let me compete internationally the entire time I lived there.” She’s silent a moment, and then asks, “Any inquiries from people wanting to stable their horses here?”
I resume pushing straw around with my fork. “Not yet. It’ll happen.”
It’s never going to happen. This time next month, I’ll have to shut the place down and sell the property. I’ve lost my last shred of hope. If the dressage competition didn’t change things for me, then nothing will.
I gaze at Aubrey, despair filling me. The whole country is rejoicing their newfound freedom, but all that freedom means to me is that I’m going to lose everything. At least I was able to have Aubrey to myself for a little while.