Call Down the Moon (16 page)

“No … no, that would be fine,” he replied with a strained smile. “You said as much yesterday, and I should show it to you. Why not now?”

“Why not?” she said cheerfully, lowering her hands, since her touch seemed to pain him. Hugo obviously felt as frustrated by their wait as she did, and that made her feel much better—at least she wasn’t the only one ready to melt with wanting. “Hugo … since Hadrian has never seen the sea either, may we bring him along?” she asked in a small voice, already anticipating his reaction.

He surprised her. Instead of the expected outburst, he shrugged one shoulder. “If it will give you pleasure, why not,” he said. “It is your wedding day, after all. I want you to be happy.”

“Oh, thank you!” she cried in surprise and delight, thinking all over again what a good, kind man he was. “I am happy—very happy.”

“Good. Do you ride?”

“Horses? Well, when I was little, Aunt Emily gave me a pony of my own and I rode him all the time. Then she died and I went to the orphanage, and I haven’t been on a horse since. So I suppose the answer is maybe.”

Hugo smiled down at her. “Would you like to try? The sea is not very far from here, and I spotted a mare in the stables this morning that might suit you. Coldsnap said she was gentle.”

“I would love to try,” Meggie said. “You will have to be patient with me, though. I will probably bounce around like a sack of potatoes before ending up on my head.”

“I won’t let that happen,” Hugo replied, taking her hand and squeezing it lightly. “Let’s go on up to the house and see if one of those ridiculous women can’t find you one of Lally’s old riding habits. I’ll ask Roberto to saddle up the horses and bring them around front.”

Meggie beamed. “It will be an adventure. A perfect, wonderful adventure.”

“Something tells me, my dear Meggie,” he said, lifting her hand to his mouth and kissing her fingertips one by one, “that life with you will always be an adventure.”

“Oh, I do hope so,” she replied with a laugh. “I’d so hate to be boring.”

T
he mare, a pretty bay with the unimaginative name of Star, stood patiently while Meggie mounted the unfamiliar sidesaddle with the help of Hugo’s hand under her foot.

Hadrian intently watched the process, his head tilted and his ears pricked, and Meggie had to laugh. She knew perfectly well what Hadrian thought of Hugo, and the wolf could not be pleased that the man who had already so rudely appropriated his mistress was now putting her in possible danger.

“We’re going to the sea, Hadrian,” she crowed, picking up the reins. “Just you wait. You can run along the sand—there is sand, isn’t there, Hugo?”

“I would hope so,” he said, swinging up onto his own mount, one of the white geldings.

“Oh, good. You can chase crabs, too—there are crabs, aren’t there, Hugo?”

“I will do my best to locate a crab for you,” he said, looking amused. “I haven’t actually been to this part of the seaside myself.”

“Oh. Well, I’m sure there will be lots of things for Hadrian to chase, even if there aren’t any crabs. May we go now?”

“Absolutely. As soon as Roberto lets go of her head all you have to do is nudge her with your heel and she ought to walk on. Don’t be frightened.”

“Frightened? Heavens, whatever for? Star might be surprised to have someone on her back after all this time, but she’s perfectly happy to be going out for some exercise, aren’t you, poor darling? She’s been bored to tears.”

“Oh, and I suppose she told you so when you were whispering in her ear?” Hugo said dryly.

Meggie bit her lip. In her excitement she’d spoken far too freely. She would have to be more careful if she was to keep the truth about her gift from Hugo. “It only makes sense,” she retorted. “Wouldn’t you be bored if you were penned in all the time?”

“I wouldn’t know, as it’s never happened to me. All right, Roberto, let her head go.”

“Be careful, dear!” Ottoline and Dorelia cried in tandem from their vantage point on the steps.

“I will,” Meggie said with a wave. “We’ll be back before dark.”

“No hurry, no hurry. Have a lovely time and mind the high tide.” They waved their handkerchiefs wildly as if Hugo and Meggie were going off for a month instead of a few hours.

Hugo turned the gelding’s head toward the east and moved off. Meggie urged Star forward, quietly asking her rather than using her heel, which seemed rude. The mare was happy to oblige, taking her place on Hugo’s right as if she’d always done so.

“That’s another thing,” Meggie said to him, after whistling for Hadrian to follow. “I cannot possibly call this dear horse Star.”

“You can’t?” Hugo said, the comer of his mouth twitching. “Why is that?”

“Because it doesn’t suit her. She needs a prettier name, something more lyrical.”

“Like Madrigal, perhaps?” he said, casting a sidelong glance over at her, his sapphire eyes dancing wickedly.

“Hugo, do not start up with that again. You needn’t call me anything but Meggie, but it’s very unkind of you to make fun of the name my mother chose for me. Aunt Emily told me my mother’s last request was that I be called Madrigal Anna. In a way, my name is the only gift I have from her, other than my life, of course, and since she gave her own for mine, I owe her a special honor.”

“I beg your pardon,” he said quietly, the expression in his eyes sincere. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Actually, I think Madrigal a very nice name, just—unusual. How did it come to be shortened to Meggie?”

“I don’t remember,” she replied. “I suppose Meggie was easier for people, so that’s what they called me. It’s not so unusual for people to have their names shortened, is it?”

“Not at all. As a matter of fact, my brother’s name is Raphael, but his good friends and his family call him Rafe. Everyone else calls him Your Grace,” he added with a short laugh.

“Then he’s the duke,” Meggie said, trying to imagine Hugo’s brother, wondering if they looked anything alike. “He must be very grand.”

“Rafe? No, not really. He can be annoyingly highhanded, but he doesn’t have time or tolerance for airs and graces.”

“Are you and Rafe close?” she asked, wishing she’d had a brother or sister to share her joys and sorrows with.

“No, I wouldn’t say we were close, exactly,” he replied, glancing over at her. “Our natures are very different. For a long time we weren’t even friends, but we’ve ironed out the worst of our difficulties, which I think is a relief to us both.”

“Well, that’s good. It would be a great pity to have a brother and not be friends. Are there any more of you? Brothers and sisters, I mean?” Meggie knew she was plaguing him with questions, but she knew almost nothing about Hugo beyond what little he’d chosen to tell her.

“No,” he said patiently enough, “just Rafe and myself. I suppose there might have been more of us, but my father died when I was a small child, and my mother never remarried.”

“I’m so sorry,” Meggie said, her heart going out to him. “Losing your father at such a young age must have been very hard. What happened?”

“An accident. I don’t remember much about it,” he replied curtly. “But let’s not think about anything unhappy, Meggie. Today is about the future, not the past. It is a chance for us both to make a new beginning.”

Meggie nodded. She liked the sound of that, although she didn’t see why Hugo needed to make a new beginning. It seemed to her that he was already doing very well. To her, Hugo was a man who knew his own mind and acted on it without hesitation.

Take her for example. He’d seen her once, decided he’d fallen in love with her and wanted her for his wife, despite her background. Now here she was, riding at his side with a wedding ring on her finger and a brand new name.

It was the same with Lyden Hall. He’d only just arrived to take charge of it, but he’d wasted no time in discovering what needed to be done and how to improve the situation.

Maybe for Hugo a new beginning only meant moving into a new home with a new wife, but for her, life itself had completely changed. Nothing would ever be the same again, and all thanks to him.

“Wave,” he said.

“Pardon me?” Meggie asked, startled from her thoughts. “Wave at what?”

Hugo looked at her as if she were an imbecile. “At the people, Meggie, what did you think? You do see the people on my left, just up ahead? Well, those are Lyden tenants. You are their new mistress, so wave at them.”

Meggie looked where Hugo had directed, spotting a group of men and women in work clothes standing on the side of the road. The women were bobbing curtsies, the men were respectfully touching the brims of their caps.

Tears started to Meggie’s eyes as a flood of goodwill and enthusiasm rushed directly from them to her, filling her with surprise.

She was accustomed to being ignored in the outside world, being invisible. To be welcomed so, as if she was of real importance, as if she actually
mattered,
overwhelmed and awed her. For the first time she realized just how great her responsibilities as Hugo’s wife would be. These people were now her people, just as they were Hugo’s.

She waved at them with a huge smile, her heart overflowing with gratitude for their unquestioning acceptance of her.

“Enough,” Hugo murmured, lowering his own hand. “You need only be gracious. Save your energy for tonight.”

Meggie stared at him, then burst into laughter. “Are you afraid I will prematurely tire myself, my lord? I assure you, I am no wilting flower, even if I did faint yesterday. However, that was an aberration, due largely to lack of food and too many shocks, and is not likely to occur again.”

“The point,” he said, raising his eyebrow, “is that you are a lady now. A lady does not wave like a circus performer. She simply raises a hand and moves it slightly and briefly from the wrist. You may apply the same principle to any physical activity. One wants to appear graceful and restrained at all times.”

“Oh?” Meggie said, unable to suppress her laughter. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Naturally I am sure. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you just told me to save my energy for tonight, although I cannot think what I will need it for if I am to be restrained. But as you wish, Hugo.”

He ran a finger back and forth over his eyebrow. “You needn’t interpret everything I say quite so literally, Meggie. I was referring to your behavior in front of others.”

“That
is
a relief,” Meggie said, thinking that sometimes Hugo’s sense of humor went entirely missing. Maybe he just didn’t like being teased. Or maybe he didn’t like to be reminded of her background and how ignorant she was of his way of life. She sighed. Oh, well. Maybe with time she’d learn and he’d forget.

“Meggie—look,” he said as they topped the rise of a hill. “There it is. Your sea.” He pulled his horse to a halt and pointed.

She stopped alongside him, gazing at the dark, shining water that seemed to stretch forever, then closed her eyes, drawing in a deep breath. So this was how the sea smelled—rich with brine and a myriad of other unfamiliar aromas. The sharp, exuberant scent filled not only her nose, but her head, her heart, her very being, with joy.

She looked down at Hadrian, whose own nose twitched back and forth, his yellow eyes half-closed as he drank in all the delicious permutations she could only begin to guess at with her own limited sense of smell.

She fancied she saw a smile on his face, and she understood why. She could feel the joy running through his blood.

“May we go quickly, Hugo?” she asked, unable to contain her excitement.

“Do you really think you can stay on if we pick up the pace?” he asked, looking dubious.

“Don’t be silly. If I’ve stayed on this long, I don’t think I’ll fall now. Anyway, I don’t have time to fall. Hadrian and I are in a terrible hurry.”

Hugo regarded her with absolutely no expression. “Whatever you say, Meggie. I must confess, if nothing else, your confidence is staggering, but I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Caution only comes with common sense.”

“Are you saying I have no common sense?” Meggie said indignantly. “All I asked was to go a little faster.”

He released a quick breath. “Very well. Lean slightly forward and keep your hands steady. Try to move with the natural rhythm of the gait, not unlike being on a rocking horse. Perhaps you remember that much from your childhood.”

Meggie, who remembered very little but trusted completely in the ability of her mare to keep her safe, just nodded impatiently.

“Stay next to me, and for heaven’s sake, whatever you do, don’t let the horse get away from you. If she does, sit back, then draw on the reins, which will grind the bit against the sensitive comers of her mouth.”

Not on your life, Meggie thought. She couldn’t believe anyone would do such a horrible thing to an animal. “Don’t worry,” she said out loud. “We’ll both do very nicely. Let’s just go, Hugo. I’m about to jump out of my skin with impatience.”

He gave her one last look, then moved forward into a canter.

Meggie instantly followed, finding the mare’s gait smooth and easy. She glanced over her shoulder to check on Hadrian who loped just behind, mouth open and tongue hanging out, not in exhaustion but in sheer delight.

Laughing, Meggie leaned forward over the mare’s neck. “Go on, girl, ran as fast as you please. Give yourself some real pleasure.”

The horse tossed her head with a whinny and obliged, stretching her neck out and lengthening her stride until the road streaked by in a blur.

The wind whipped about Meggie’s face, flicking loose strands of hair against her cheeks. She raised her face to the sun, thanking God for giving them all such a perfect moment.

This
was freedom, this wild rush to the sea, no boundaries to stop them, no rules or regulations to hold them back. Nothing existed but the sun beating down and the wind blowing hard, the coast only a heartbeat away now.

She glanced over at Hugo to see if he was enjoying himself as much as she, only to find him watching her at that very moment with a smile of amazed approval on his face. She supposed he was thrilled that he hadn’t had to scrape her up off the ground just yet.

She grinned at him, then turned her focus back to the fast-approaching beach, her heart pounding with anticipation.

Minutes later they arrived.

“You, my dear girl, are entirely unpredictable,” Hugo said, reaching up to help Meggie dismount. “I never know what to expect from you. You say you haven’t ridden since you were a little girl, and yet you behave as if riding a horse at breakneck speed is second nature.” He parked her on firm ground.

Meggie looked up at him, her hands still resting on his shoulders. Her clear gray eyes filled with her own brand of amusement that he was only just beginning to recognize. “Why shouldn’t it be?” she asked. “The mare and I have no argument with each other.”

“It has nothing to do with argument, Meggie,” he said as patiently as he could manage. “Generally speaking, a certain level of skill is involved in sitting a horse at a gallop.”

“Oh,” Meggie said, waving her hand in a dismissive fashion. “Well, that may be, but I don’t think skill always applies. She happens to be a very sensible animal who knows exactly what needs to be done, which makes up for my own lack of expertise. I’ve decided her name should be Aria, Greek for the wind, since she runs like it.”

“How on
earth
would you know the Greek word for the wind?” Hugo asked, taken aback by her casual statement.

“Oh. I—I suppose I heard it somewhere,” she said, her hand slipping to her cheek, coloring as if she’d said something wrong. “All those years of Catholic liturgy must have left their mark.” She bent down and began to strip off her boots and stockings, her face hidden from him.

“I imagine so,” Hugo said faintly, trying to ignore the tantalizing sight of Meggie’s slender ankles. It wasn’t beyond reason that a few words might have unwittingly slipped into her head, although by all rights they should have been Latin, not Greek. What other explanation could there be? But why on earth had she looked so mortified, as if she thought it a sin to have a bit of knowledge?

Meggie was becoming more of a mystery by the moment.