Hay crunched underneath her riding boots. Before she could jump back behind the wall, beautiful blue eyes collided with hers.
“I... Your Highness... I’m so sorry,” he stuttered. The happiness and joking demeanor he had demonstrated with Elsie was gone. “She’s just... she’s a beautiful mare. I was only...”
“Why are you apologizing? She clearly favors you.” Helaina gave a nervous smile. She rarely met anyone new here, it made her anxious. Her eyes jolted in every direction, attempting not to stare at that absurdly attractive face. “I’ll come back.”
“You don’t have to leave. Forgive me, I should have introduced myself. My name is Dolion... Dolion Creed.”
Creed, as in... “Glen is your?—”
“Father, yes,” Dolion offered. “He’s injured, Your Highness. He sent me here to work while he recovers.”
She hadn’t been away from the stables long. Maybe a few days, no more than a week. He already looked so comfortable here.
He picked up a shovel leaning against the door and began cleaning Elsie’s stall. “I usually do stable chores for those in town, and on the local farms. Nothing as impressive as this.” He gestured to the ceiling above. Their stable was grand, a wooden building filled with more than twenty occupied stalls.
Helaina smiled and tried to keep her voice steady. “I’m grateful to see they are well cared for in your father’s absence. He’s a good man, I hope he recovers soon.” Sheknew Glen had a son, but she had never inquired about him, didn’t even know his name before today. Glen was such a quiet man, always keeping on task. He never offered much detail on his personal life.
“Elsie doesn’t let many feed her. She can be picky.” Her fingers were in her mouth, chewing on those chipped nails as she approached. Gods, what a terrible habit. She hastily removed her hands from her lips and grasped them both behind her back to prevent the nervous temptation from rising again. “It’s clear you made a notable first impression.”
As she watched him work, Helaina’s legs felt as unstable as the jam she spread on her toast this morning.
“Elsie... I like that name. I’m still trying to learn them all.” Dolion put down the shovel, then gave the mare’s cream mane a firm pat.
“I could help you... learn their names, if you like.” She timidly took a few steps toward him. She was talking to someone not a member of her family, not a servant or a soldier. Someone else, someone new.
“I would like that very much,” he replied.
She stopped an arm’s reach in front of him as he exited the stall, using her fingertips to push some stray strands of hair behind her ears.
“The gray brute that sometimes kicks down his stall door is Toby.” She pointed to the back corner at her brother’s stallion. “That brown one over there, Milo, he will gorge himself on food if you let him. It’s best to give him small feeds and save treats for special occasions.”
Dolion was giving her his utmost attention, his eyes fixed upon her.
“Fern is pregnant. I think your father told me she was due any day.”
He glanced down the stalls and nodded. “Yes, he’s been very excited.”
“Your Highness?” Cedric poked his bald head around the stall gate. He gave the new stable hand a once-over. “Time to head back.”
Damn.
“I have to go.” She immediately turned to follow the soldier walking ahead.
She felt the young man’s eyes on her as she retreated. “Will you visit again?”
Had Glen not informed him of her love for these beasts? Elsie was hers, and she never let Toby go more than a week without at least attempting to give him some affection.
She looked back, meeting his gaze once more. “How else would I ensure my mare is being well cared for?”
She turned back around and continued toward the exit before her false bravado buckled.
“Till next time, Your Highness,” she heard him say as she steadily rounded the corner, then rushed toward the gatehouse.
She had met someone, and she couldn’t wait to see him again.
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
Her eyes grew wide, like a doe spotting her hunter in the brush.
