Page 18 of The Bookworm and the Pegasus Tamer

“You said three years. He bonded with you when you went into the mountains and brought down a stallion for the king.”

“Yes, Echo chose me on that trip,” Danton said. “And I’ve had to keep him a secret since. I think the head pegasus groom at the palace suspects—I visit the stables often when I’m in the capital, and I know too much about pegasi. But as far as I’m aware, he hasn’t said anything to anyone.”

“Where is Echo now?” Aurelia asked, trying to think through the ramifications of the Earl’s confession.

“I sent him into the mountains for the length of the house party. He’s waiting there for us.”

Aurelia’s brows rose at that statement, but she had another question to ask first.

“How does Echo relate to healing the royal herd? He isn’t sick too, is he?”

“No, thankfully. I’ve asked him about the sickness, and what might be keeping him healthy, but he doesn’t know, unfortunately. The reason I need to find the cure myself is because the king has promised that if I can find a way to heal the royal herd, he’ll give me special permission to host another herd here at Windward.”

Aurelia’s brows shot the rest of the way up.

“If Danton can get that permission,” Phoebe said, “then Echo won’t have to live in hiding anymore. Danton could ride him freely—even to the capital. And I won’t have to live in constant fear that my brother will be found out and punished by the king.”

Danton put his arm around her shoulders, giving her a quick squeeze. The look he directed toward Aurelia was pleading, and her heart wasn’t strong enough to resist it.

“So if I help you, and if we do manage to find a plant to heal those sick pegasi, then you’ll get your own herd?” she said slowly, taking time to absorb the situation.

“If Echo can start his own herd, it won’t belong to me,” Danton said. “But we’ll build a proper stables here for them, and they’ll belong to Windward, just like Phoebe and I do. And Echo won’t have to choose between me and having his own herd.”

He let go of his sister and came to Aurelia, taking her hands as he had the previous time they had met in the library. “Please help us, Aurelia.”

“Very well, my lord,” she said softly. “Although I still don’t know what help I’ll be.”

His relieved smile was dazzling, piercing straight to her heart. “We should leave this afternoon.”

Aurelia’s brows drew together. “Is a single afternoon enough time? Shouldn’t we set out earlier in the day in order to maximize our time?”

“It won’t be a one-day trip,” he said. “We’ll have to travel higher into the foothills if we hope to find a wild herd.”

“More than one day?” She stared at him. “But I can’t go into the mountains with you overnight!”

“We’ll bring tents, of course,” he said quickly. “And we won’t be alone. I have a team from the estate ready—all loyal men who can be trusted—and Phoebe will come, too, of course.” He grinned across at her. “It will get her on her feet and her nose out of those endless books for once. Nothing could be better for her.”

Phoebe wrinkled her nose at him, but Aurelia caught the genuine exasperation beneath the Earl’s affectionate teasing. He was a man of action, and he didn’t like his sister reading.

Aurelia’s heart sank. She had told herself she was being foolish in feeling a connection between them, but part of her had insisted on feeling it anyway. But now she had all the proof she needed. The Earl didn’t like bookworms. He had never picked Aurelia from a crowd. She was his sister’s friend and someone who might be able to help him get something he desperately wanted. That was all. No doubt he was attracted to athletic girls like Lucia.

“Even with Phoebe along, my mother will never agree,” she said woodenly.

“Aunt Ophelia will come as well,” Phoebe assured her, and the surprising revelation was enough to snap Aurelia out of her fog.

“Your aunt will trek into the mountains with us?”

Danton grinned. “She’s much tougher than she looks, I promise. And she’s a stickler for propriety. It’s an unusual undertaking, but you’ll share a tent with Phoebe and our aunt, and all proprieties will be observed.”

“We won’t have to put the tent up ourselves, will we?” Aurelia regarded Phoebe doubtfully. Did her friend have hidden skills?

Danton laughed. “Don’t worry, two of the gamekeepers will do that. All I need from you is your agreement to come.”

Aurelia sighed. “Then you have it. As long as my mother will allow it.”

Nine

Somewhat to Aurelia’s surprise, her mother readily agreed once she understood Lady Ophelia was to accompany the two girls. It was described to her as a pleasure trip for the purpose of sighting wild pegasi, and she didn’t even question Aurelia’s uncharacteristic desire to go traipsing up hills and sleeping in makeshift tents.