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“And what exactly will I call you, huh? Your Royal Highness? Galahad, Gale?”
“Well, I was hoping you’d come up with something a little more endearing,” I shot back, parking the car. “Something like sweetie, baby, love.”
“I hardly think it would be appropriate to call you baby, Gale.”
“Didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t think—”
“Was that for the rest of my life?”
I shifted and turned to her. “Fine, I’ll leave you to think of a good nickname then. Until then, come on.”
Her head whipped back to look at where we were, obviously only now noticing we had stopped.
“Horses?” She gasped, already opening the door before I could. “We are going horseback riding?”
“Well, you loved it so much the first time, and I wanted you to meet a special horse,” I said, closing the door behind.
She grinned from ear to ear. “Ass? You are taking me to meet your horse.”
Taking her hand, I led her to the stables. At the end of the road, two older men, Mr. Sorkins and Mr. Pepes waited for us, as well as some other stable hands.
“Your Highness. Miss.” They bowed. “We are so pleased you both could come.”
“We are happy to be here. How is our new addition?”
“Settling in quite nicely. Would you like to see him? He is a beauty.”
I nodded.
“You got another horse?” Odette whispered as we walked into a stable.
I still didn’t answer, just took us farther and farther inside until we arrived at the dark-haired horse with a white underbelly and mark on his forehead shaped like a maple leaf.
Immediately, she let go of my hand, stepping forward. “Maple?” She spun back to look at me. “No way.”
I nodded.
“Maple?” She laughed again, going up to the horse. He was startled at first, then sniffed once again before moving closer. “Hey, boy! Hey! Look at you! Oh, my God. Gale, how?”
Stepping up beside her, I said. “Magic.”
She scoffed but let it go, brushing through Maple’s coat. The truth was, I had asked Balduin to search for him before the garden party. He had spent days looking through sales records and book logs before finally finding that Maple had been sold to breeders in Kentucky. It cost a pretty penny to have him brought over. Of course, her father would have given her a one-of-kind, thoroughbred Arabian stallion. But seeing how happy she was, seeing the tears that filled her eyes, but she didn’t let fall, was well worth it and much more.
“We can come to see him whenever we have time,” I said, reaching out and brushing him as well.
“Thank you.” She sniffled, stroking his nose, and smiling wildly. “Really, thank you, Gale.”
“It’s me who should be thanking you,” I whispered back. Thanking you for being here.
“For?”
I shook my head, turning to look back at the men behind us. “Would it be all right to take them both for a walk?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Both?” she asked.
I pointed to the stall beside me, my noble steed with a mouth full of hay by my head. When I tried to pet his nose, he brushed me off to eat more.
