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"We must arrange a hunt soon," Helen suggested to her husband.
"I'll see to it, my dear," he promised.
* * *
Paris didn't know how he'd found the breath to speak, for Helen possessed a luminous, spellbinding beauty, like the sun bursting through heavenly clouds. Her long curls shimmered as though they were laced with golden thread. Her eyes were a startling bright green, and her delicate features were lovelier than any of the goddesses from Mt. Olympus. She graciously accepted the gifts he'd brought her, exclaimed over the beauty of the bracelets, and added them to those already on her wrist. All too swiftly she excused herself and left them with her little daughter trailing. The pretty child would surely grow up to be as striking a beauty as her mother.
He had to draw in a deep breath to gather himself rather than appear to be a love-struck fool. Helen had been kind and welcoming, but there had been no joy reflected in her gaze. She'd followed tradition and extended the palace's hospitality as though she'd memorized the words years ago. She hadn't glanced toward her husband when she'd spoken to him. If she couldn't even bear to glance his way, then Menelaus's fears she'd not had time to forgive him appeared justified.
* * *
Alexandros was welcomed to the palace with a proper feast. Menelaus ate without tasting a bite, and talked of Sparta until they were both yawning and could no longer stay awake. He excused himself and went to his wife's chamber.
Moonlight lent the room a soft glow, and he cast off his sandals and tunic and lay down beside her. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "I don't expect anything from you, but I want you to know where I've spent the night."
She smelled the wine on his breath, and wondered if he'd drunk it to enjoy the feast, or merely for courage to join her. She was used to his scent and embrace, the way his muscular body curved against hers, and how his hair fell across his face as he slept. He was a reasonable man, but she'd pushed him, and probably to his limit. Wisely, she didn't reply.
* * *
Paris had not expected Helen to ride with them on the hunt and was elated when she did. She wore a beige hooded cloak over her skirt and bolero to avoid the chill of the early morning air, and with curls flying loose near her face, she looked impossibly young. Her perfect skin held a peachy glow and made her appear no more than seventeen or eighteen and very near his age. Girls wed at thirteen or fourteen, so it was possible she was not yet twenty, or if that, no more than a few years past.
She rode a powerful bay gelding that she handled as easily as an obedient pet. Dawn broke over them with rose-hued streaks and promised a fine day for a hunt, but again, Paris saw no joy in Helen's gaze. Menelaus had told him that weather permitting, she rode everyday, and often spent afternoons giving Hermione riding lessons on her pony. There was always more to do than any woman could acc
omplish each day, but Paris couldn't bear how little joy Helen appeared to glean from what anyone would assume would be the perfect life in such a fine palace.
He hadn't noticed the quiver on her back until she rode ahead of him. Oenone had been an excellent archer, but she was a country girl, not a queen. Helen continually surprised him, and when they spotted a fine fallow deer with a regal rack of antlers leaping through the edge of the forest, Menelaus gestured for her to take the first shot. To Paris's utter amazement, Helen brought down the deer with a single arrow, and there would be tasty venison at tonight's feast. She rode home ahead of the men, and while they had not exchanged more than a nod of greeting, Paris was desperate for a chance to talk with her without Menelaus standing close enough to overhear. He'd have to find a way to let her know he saw her sorrow, and how deeply he wished to make her smile.
* * *
Hermione loved her white pony, but she was content to ride her in a slow circle outside the stable rather than venture any farther. Helen had been patient with her little girl, but couldn't continue repeating lessons Hermione had already mastered. When she saw the Trojan prince approaching, she welcomed him as a break in their routine.
"Good afternoon," he greeted them. "What a handsome pony. What's his name?"
Hermione cocked her head and observed him with a slyly critical glance. "She has a fancy name, Cloud Crest, but I call her Cloud Baby, or just Baby. Do you own many horses?"
"My father, King Priam, owns more than I have counted, and I may ride whichever one I choose. The countryside is so pretty here, when do you ride? I'd like to go with you."
"She prefers to ride here in a small ring where the palace is never out of sight," Helen answered with a weary shake of her head.
"Aren't you tired of the same view?" he asked.
Hermione shrugged. "I don't want Cloud Baby to get tired."
"No, of course not, but she might enjoy carrying you to the olive trees on the nearby hill."
Helen smiled at how easily Alexandros led her daughter into venturing the short ride. She walked alongside him as Hermione rode Baby. The gentle pony's mane hung down over her eyes, and she went wherever Hermione wished to go.
Alexandros was a handsome young man, but his sheer eagerness for life made Helen uncomfortable. "Tell us something of Troy," she asked before he could direct the conversation with questions she'd rather not answer.
"It's on the Aegean Sea and faces the sea channel, the Hellespont. The citadel and palace are at the top of a hill and possess a commanding view clear to the horizon. The city spreads around the hill and across the plain. It's said the walls were built by Poseidon and Apollo and will never fall. I wish you could come with me to see it."
She found his company unsettling on dry land and dismissed the thought of a voyage together. "I prefer to remain in my homeland where the ground is firm beneath my feet."
"Our land is equally solid," Paris assured her with a dry chuckle.
"I was referring to a trip across the sea," she explained. "Travel by boat doesn't appeal to me."
"I found it exhilarating. The whole world borders the sea and the wind carries us wherever we wish to go. I'm so glad I came here. Now that I have a chance, I must tell you how impressed I was with your skill with a bow."
